and under the Ghâts, but they had proved failures. It was subsequently ascertained that the positions chosen by Gilbert were most unsuitable for the growth of teak. Blair recommended the deputation of an officer to inspect the forests in order to compare the value of their timber with other forests. He also expressed his concurrence with Munro on the impolicy of renting out the forests, being of opinion that no trees ought to be cut save those selected by a proper officer. He thought that the forests ought to be inspected for other products besides teak, as they contained poon-spars, blackwood and other more common timber, which might be found a valuable source of revenue." A most interesting remark, since it displayed an intuitive insight of the fact, realised at a much later date, that the exploitation of the forests should not be confined to the one principal timber, but that an attempt should be made to place other species on the markets.

The report on the Rajahmundry forests was by the Collector, Mr. G. A. Smith, dated August, 1838. He stated that the forests were not exactly in the Rajahmundry district, but about 70 miles beyond its frontier "in the territories of the Nizam of Hyderabad in that part called the Cumbham Mittoo Licar." Merchants who wished to purchase the timber of these forests sent agents, who made advances to the hill people who cut and delivered the timber to them on the banks of the Godavery, from whence it was floated down to Rajahmundry. Smith was of opinion that the supply of big timber from these forests was falling off, since when he first joined the district in 1822 he had seen an immense quantity of large timber for the supply of which the forests had been severely taxed, and that now only small timber was to be observed, and complaints had been made about the failing supply.

In submitting the reports of the Collectors of Malabar and Canara the Board of Revenue expressed the opinion that interference, if at all necessary for the conservation of the teak forests, should be left in the hands of the Revenue officers; that no independent authority should be set up, and that the Collector of Malabar might be authorised to issue orders prohibiting the felling of small timber and under-sized trees. They passed no remark on the Rajahmundry report.

These proposals were so obviously short of what was essential if the teak forests were to be saved from destruction that the question was referred to the Military Board at Madras for

their views, both as to the perpetuation of the teak timber supply and to the development of other timber products. The Military Board deputed Lieutenant Miller, of the Ordnance at Canara, in November, 1838, to make enquiries in that province. He was to examine the forests "particularly with reference to the resources in saul timber as well as teak," and the Resident in Travancore and Collector in Malabar were also requested to report on the resources of their forests in sâl timber. This appears to be the first record extant on the possible utilisation of the sâl, which, in the absence of teak, held the premier place in the timber markets of the plains forests of Central, Northern and North-Eastern India.

Meanwhile, the Government of Bombay had been carrying out an enquiry of their own. Little or no supervision up to 1838 had been exercised over the felling of the timber in their forests since the country had been acquired. Teak and blackwood had been regarded as royalties, and in the Deccan and Concan were considered the property of Government on whatever land they grew, "except in those known lands and villages where the right to timber had been specially granted to the Mandaris by the terms of their sunnud." In the year 1838 the attention of the Government was drawn to the indiscriminate destruction of the forests then going on; and the necessity which existed for adopting measures to check their further reckless waste in the Bombay Presidency was considered. The first step adopted was to issue orders, in 1839, prohibiting the felling of teak without express permission. In the following year Dr. Gibson, the superintendent of the Botanical Gardens, was directed to inspect and report upon the northern forests. His report confirmed the destruction taking place.

The subject of the supply of larger teak timber had been brought up in May, 1838, by the Commissary-General at Bombay who had asked whether, in concluding a timber contract, he should stipulate for a supply of larger timber for frigates and line-of-battle ships in anticipation of such vessels being again built at Bombay for Her Majesty's Service. The Government referred the matter to Admiral Sir C. Malcolm, Superintendent of the Indian Navy, and requested him to consult Captain Harris of the Indian Navy, who had been Timber Agent in Malabar in 1828-29, and had some practical knowledge of the timber resources of the Malabar Forests. The Admiral was also asked to express an opinion as to whether the timber supplies required by Government could be best

obtained by contract or agency, a point which was being debated. Admiral Malcolm replied with commendable promptitude in the following month submitting a report from Captain Harris. This report confirmed the appalling destruction of the accessible forests which had taken place, trees of all sizes having been felled and all accessible supplies near to water carriage being exhausted. Owing to the inadequate transport arrangements of the merchants for dealing with large timber in the more remote localities distant from the rivers, where the aid of elephants and experienced men was required to extract the timber, both the Admiral and Captain Harris recommended the appointment of an officer at Malabar as agent for the supply of timber; and the Admiral further proposed to add to the duties of the agent that of Conservator of Forests with full power to supervise felling operations and the protection and amelioration of the forests. As a preliminary step he advised the deputation of an officer to Malabar and Canara examine into the state of the teak forests and report upon them." In his report Captain Harris agreed as to the correctness of the views expressed in the Nilumbur Rajah's letter already alluded to.

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In the same year, 1838, the Commissary-General again addressed the Government of Bombay on the subject of the supply of timber and submitted a report by Lieutenant Thresbie and a letter from Mr. J. Fell, "senior merchant of Calicut" and a member of the Bombay Civil Service. Thresbie was Sub-Assistant Commissary-General at Malabar and had been deputed to obtain information about the forests. He appears to have absorbed many of Clementson's ideas on the subject, for in his report he says, "that the statements which had been made as to the alarming decrease of their (i.e. the Malabar Forests) resources in teak were ground

In other respects his report coincided with Clementson's views. Mr. Fell's letter dealt with the question "whether a contract or an agency was the better mode of procuring timber for the public service." He was decidedly in favour of an agency as, having had a good deal to do with the timber problem, he said that all contracts within his knowledge since 1832 for any large supply had failed or proved unsatisfactory. And he added: "I am in doubts of there being any person in possession of Kooty Kunum, or right of selling teak timber, to make a contract, and if there are, whether in the forests to which that right applies there be trees adequate for naval

purposes, for with the exception of one district in the northeastern quarter and another to the southward all the forests of Malabar are exhausted."

The Government of Bombay did not act upon these reports, but communicated their substance to the Court of Directors and forwarded a copy of them to the Madras Government for suggestions or arrangements calculated to assist in obtaining the necessary timber supplies. The Government of Madras referred the matter to the Board of Revenue, and the latter, in January, 1839, noticed the great diversity in opinion on the subject of the amount of timber contained in the Malabar Forests, and pointed out that the only consensus of opinion was upon the question of an agency being preferable to contracts. They therefore advocated the appointment of a qualified agent to inspect personally and report upon the extent and condition of the timber from whose labour they anticipated much benefit. For they recognised that if the forests were being ruined," no time should be lost in taking steps to reform a system which must ultimately prove so injurious to the interests of the Province in the destruction of one of the most valuable products."

This looked as if something at length would be done, but for some years it remained a mere expression of opinion.

The Indian Navy Department again came on the scene with a letter received from Sir Robert Oliver, the Superintendent, by the Government of Bombay in January, 1839, on the subject of procuring timber for the construction of certain steam vessels which it was proposed to build at Bombay. This letter was the outcome of a representation from the Controller of the Dockyard, Lieutenant Williams, pointing out that his stock of timber was small and the supply in the market scanty, the material inferior and the prices increasing. Sir Robert asked that immediate steps should be taken to procure good timber at an equitable price, for, he said, "a continuance of the present contract system will preclude the possibility of building at all in Bombay, and be the means of forfeiting the high character hitherto maintained in this branch of the Service." He advised the deputation of Lieutenant Williams to the forests as Agent to select and purchase the required quantities of timber. The Government of Bombay agreed to the proposal, and Williams was deputed to the coast of Malabar as a temporary measure and the arrangement was reported to the Government of Madras. In reply the latter

Government sent the correspondence, already mentioned as having been received from their officers, with a view to showing that the improvement of the forests of Malabar had been engaging their attention though "nothing decisive towards that end had been done" owing to the limited information as yet available. They agreed to the recommendation of the Board of Revenue on the subject of the deputation of an officer to inspect and report on the forests, and as Lieutenant Williams had already been deputed to Malabar they advised his being entrusted with that duty. They would accordingly instruct their officers to assist him.

A most notable contribution to this rather chaotic correspondence and procedure was issued shortly afterwards in a Minute dated 4th April, 1839, by Mr. Farish, who was then acting Governor of Bombay.

Farish supported the proposal to station an Agent permanently on the Malabar coast to purchase timber for both Governments. He did not agree with Clementson and Thresbie as to the great abundance of teak in the forests. He proposed that a survey of the forests should be made in order to distinguish between the Government and private forests and so secure the private rights. He suggested that during the progress of this survey, and as the private claims were admitted, the Government should "endeavour to purchase the royalty or forest rights" on such tracts as were well suited for the transportation of timber to the coast either on the plan adopted by Watson in 1807-8 or in any other way determined upon. By the term "royalty or forest rights" Farish explained that he meant a right to exercise the conservancy of the forests, and to forbid the felling of timber not of proper size, or not requiring to be removed for the purpose of thinning the forests or other sufficient reasons of which the Conservator would be the judge. This appears to be the first allusion in the correspondence to the sylvicultural necessity of carrying out "thinnings" in the forests. Farish saw nothing in the office of Conservator which need interfere with private rights, provided the Conservator's powers and work were strictly defined and any interference with private rights forbidden and the office placed under the Collector of the district. He commended for purchase the tracts near rivers in Malabar from which the large timber had been cleared, and he advised that on all lands of which the royalty was purchased the Government should retain a prior right to the timber felled