24 THE SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OP 



I think it is a potent argument, in so far as if large sums are 

 received by the Government we can legitimately ask the Govern- 

 ment to utilise those sums for the extension of tire policy which 

 we are advocating ; but I would not like to lay too much stress 

 upon that point of view, either ; and the argument which I should 

 like to submit to your point of view, my Lord, is this, that we owe 

 the preservation of these interesting and valuable, and sometimes 

 disappearing, types of animal life as a duty to nature and to the 

 world. I have seen enough of the world in travelling to know 

 not merely that many of these types have irretrievably gone, but 

 that owing to the scandalous neglect of our predecessors there are 

 others which are tending to dwindle and disappear now. Wo are 

 the owners of the greatest Empire in the universe ; we are con- 

 tinually using language which implies that we are the trustees for 

 posterity of the Empire, but we are also the trustees for posterity 

 of the natural contents of that Empire, and among them I do 

 undoubtedly place those rare and interesting typos of animal life 

 to which I have referred. 



I hope I have said enough, without boring you, to indicate that 

 there really is a strong case to be made out for the policy of 

 reserves which we are putting before you to-day. I am willing at 

 once to say, as regards reserves, be as careful as you can as to 

 where you allocate them: put them in places suitable for their 

 purpose, and not inconvenient or unsuitable tothefneedsof others; 

 then, when you have got them, have an efficient body of watch- 

 men, sufficiently large in order to make the reserves effective, and 

 also do not, in the interests of sport or for any other reason, allow 

 the carnivora, dangerous wild animals, inside the reserves to 

 multiply at the expense of the innocuous and beautiful specimens 

 of animal life which we really desire to preserve. In a word, 1 

 think we may say that reserves which I am advocating to you 

 ought to exist not for the gratification of the sportsman, but for 

 the preservation of interesting types of animal life. If we can 

 ground ourselves upon that principle, Lord. Elgin, I think we shall 

 stand well both with the public and with the officials of the 

 Government, and I hope we may on those grounds, if on no other, 

 commend our case to your sympathy this morning. 



Mr. E. N. BUXTON: I have' asked Mr. Austen to say a few 

 words on the important point of disease-carrying by animals, and 

 the tsetse fly. 



Mr. E. E. Austen : My Lord, with regard to this point which 

 has been brought up recently in the daily Press by people who, 

 perhaps, were not altogether' quite qualified to write about it, there 

 are one or two things to be said which I venture to think are of 

 extreme importance. As, of course, you are aware, a great deal of 

 attention is being attracted at the present time to the question of 

 the sleeping sickness. Before that, attention was attracted for a 

 certain time by the investigation into malaria, to a very common 

 disease in domestic animals, commonly known as tsetse fly, or 

 nagana. Both these diseases, the tsetse-fly disease, or nagana, 



