plantation on an extensive scale at some convenient point upon either bank of the Cauvery above Erode. So far as the railways are concerned, the situation would be a singularly favourable one, inasmuch as a large supply of firewood delivered at Erode would be available for the Madras Railway in both directions, and for the Great Southern India Railway. With water carriage to Erode, available throughout most of the year, it matters little how far it is necessary to go up the Cauvery before a suitable site is reached.

In a letter, dated 12th May, 1868, the Officiating Conservator of Forests informed me that he had under consideration the formation of a large firewood plantation on the banks of the Cauvery near Cauverypooram, some 50 miles above Erode. It was with great very regret that I learnt in a letter (No. 1217, 9th March, 1869), which I have the honour to submit, that up to the 9th ultimo no progress had been made towards forming the plantation, and that it was doubtful whether suitable land could be obtained. I beg that the Forest Department may be urged to take early and decisive action in this matter. The progress of denudation in the jungle tracts, which have hitherto fed the railways, renders the question one of national importance, and no small plantation near Bhowany can remedy the evil. It is difficult to believe in the existence of any insuperable difficulty in the way of acquiring suitable sites for the establishment of plantations on a sufficiently large scale."

As a matter of fact, there were serious difficulties in the way, and not the least the lukewarmness of the Collectors to assist in the matter, which attitude was translated into active opposition by their Indian subordinate staff. The Engineer concluded his letter as follows: Whether or not the formation of plantations upon these sites," he was referring to two areas which had been taken up by the railway authorities to form plantations before the Secretary of State's veto had arrived, "has as yet been undertaken by the Forest Department, I am ignorant; but I must respectfully press upon Government the necessity which exists for immediate and vigorous action on the part of that Department throughout those districts, at least, in the Presidency which are, or are likely to be, traversed by railways. By the decision of the Secretary of State, direct action in the matter on the part of the railway companies has been precluded, and private individuals also are effectually prevented from embarking their capital in

such an enterprise, so long as, owing to the lowness of the rates of seigniorage, it continues to be cheaper to procure firewood from the tracts of natural forest than to grow it. In the meantime the resources of the country, especially in the neighbourhood of the railways and the large towns, are being rapidly exhausted and, in the interest of the Department under my control, I feel it my duty to urge the necessity of estensive operations being promptly undertaken by the direct agency of the State."

In a letter (June, 1869) on the above suggestions and proposals of the Consulting Engineer, Beddome agreed to the suggested increased rate for fuel, this rate to be for fuel of the size used by locomotives and not to be paid for small firewood sticks. The question of the formation of a large plantation on the banks of the Cauvery above Erode was still under consideration, said the Conservator. Colonel Morgan had inspected the area and been in communication with the revenue authorities, and said there was no suitable land available. The Consulting Engineer had disposed of the local Locomotive Superintendent's (at Erode) contention that he would not be able to pay more than Rs.5 per ton at Erode, whereas Morgan estimated that it would not be possible to deliver fuel there at less than Rs.10 per ton. But Beddome had by now grasped at the real solution of the problem, as his following remarks show:

There are very large, I may say almost inexhaustible, forests within short distances of the Cauvery River above Erode if a tramway could be made from any of these to a navigable part of the river, large rafts of timber and boats laden with fuel might be brought down to Erode. The subject is well worth the careful consideration of the railway company.

The dense shola' forests on the Bolamputty Hills, the Paulghaut Hills and the Anaimalais, may be said to be quite inexhaustible, and are all within a short distance of the line; the advisability of having tramways to any of these tracts should be considered.

There is a very large extent of hill-forest in the Salem district quite contiguous to the line. The jungles of the plains have been heavily indented upon for fuel to a considerable distance, but no timber has as yet been taken from the hills, or the ravines on the slopes. These hills contain a great deal

of wood that is of no use except for fuel; but I am not sure that the supply is sufficient to authorise a tramway, but a timber slip would probably pay well.

We have little or no data to enable us to make even a rough estimate of the cost of producing fuel from plantations. With the exception of casuarina, I believe it will be very heavy in those districts where it is most required. Under these circumstances I do not think we should attempt plantations at first on any very large scale, and unless they are upon an enormous scale they will, I feel sure, be quite inadequate to meet future requirements, and tramways will eventually be resorted to. If this be the case, the sooner they are commenced the better. The traffic in timber, besides fuel from tracts like the Anaimalais and Pennagra Forests, would be very considerable.

Plantations are mostly required in dry, timberless countries like the Ghooty district; it is in these districts, however, that they will be most expensive. We have now commenced a large plantation of upwards of 600 acres in a most favourable locality near Ghooty, and two smaller ones between that place and Cuddapah. I am not very sanguine as to the results, as I am afraid the cost will be very heavy, particularly if we have unfavourable seasons like this and the last three years. It is, however, quite right that it should be tried; but I would not recommend any great extension till we see the results of two or three years. I am giving every attention to the trial of various kinds of trees.

The casuarina plantation at Trivellum promises to be a success; it is about 350 acres in extent, and we now have upwards of 30,000 young trees planted out, which show rapid growth; the nurseries are full of plants ready for transplanting out, but the season has been most unfavourable.

I cannot quit this subject without pointing out the importance of bringing all fuel-yielding tracts in the vicinity of the railways under one administration. At present certain tracts under Collectors dovetail with ours; these are not worked on any system and have no establishment, and the fuel from them is certainly, in some instances, brought in without any payment for seigniorage, and they interfere much with our arrangements for checking smuggling. Again, there are considerable tracts of 'zemindary,' or private forests, which it would be advantageous if Government could lease at almost any cost."

The Government orders on the above sanctioned the increased rates for fuel without distinction, and ordered detailed proposals to be submitted, both on the suggestion in re the use of tramways and on the subject of the proposals anent the leasing zemindary or private forests by Government.

That the progress of the Forest Conservancy in the Presidency was slow and the work difficult, owing to the unfortunate attitude taken up by many of the Revenue officials, becomes only too apparaent from the correspondence of the period. The following extract from a letter from the Acting Collector of Cuddapah to the Secretary, Board of Revenue (7th April, 1869), on the subject of the Conservator's desire to take up an area of land in the district for the formation of a railway fuel plantation, is apposite :

"Last year, in North Arcot, I decided that the Forest Department should pay the assessment upon a bit of land they wished to take up; but I observed lately, in one of the Board's volumes, that on Mr. J. D. Robinson's recommendation the Board upset my decision, and ruled that the Forest Department should have the land free of assessment.

If the Board see no objection to the application of this principle to all lands required by the Forest Department, the simplest plan, in the present instance, will, of course, be to make a permanent deduction in the land revenue by reducing the 'shrotriemdar's'' jody.'

I cannot, however, myself see why the Forest Department should be favoured to the extent of being permitted to increase its revenue at the expense of the land revenue.

The Board will observe that, in the same Proceedings, I am ordered to hand over to the Forest Department another tract between Cuddapah and the Papugny River. It consists of 450 acres, 250 of which have been, and the remainder was about to be, planted from local funds.

The Jungle Conservancy branch of local funds is sadly wanting in stability. One day the Forest Department demands, and obtains more old forest, thus materially reducing our jungle conservancy income, and the next we have to hand over to them, on refund of the bare outlay, what we fondly hoped would be a remunerative investment, on behalf of the local public in a new railway fuel plantation. It is hoped that the Board will appreciate the difficulty, under these

circumstances, of framing a budget in regards to interests so fleeting.

But as the site is Imperial property, I fear we have no locus standi from whence, as immediate guardians of the funds of the local public, we can, in the present instance, effectively protest against the sacrifice of our local interests, and the implied contempt for our local efforts to supply fuel to the railway."

There is no doubt that Collectors of Districts were often placed in difficult positions, and the difficulty was to persist owing to the inability of the Board of Revenue to make up its mind to order a proper survey and demarcation of all the forest areas and waste tracts in Madras, and publicly notify what were required for Forest Conservation purposes. The supineness which delayed this measure being taken up put back Madras, so far as progress in true Forest Conservancy goes, by decades, and resulted during the period in the Department occupying a subordinate and incorrect position in the Presidency. But it was only here and there at the period dealt with that a Collector or Commissioner was found with vision long-sighted enough to avoid putting on record in his correspondence such a childish exhibition of pettiness as is displayed in the above letter. In this case the Board took the view of the Forest Department, but that such a state of affairs should exist made real advance impossible.

The Madras Railway Company complained bitterly of the increased fuel rates and, as had been so often the case in the past when Companies had influential Boards at home, they appealed direct to the Secretary of State. The Duke of Argyll, Secretary of State in 1869, transmitted the complaint to the Governor in Council in Madras, with the closing remark that the final decision in the matter of rates must be left to the Governor in Council. The latter dealt with the question in a statesmanlike manner. In a Despatch dated 13th August, 1870, to the Secretary of State, they reported that they had appointed a Conference to meet and discuss the matter. The members consisted of the Consulting Engineer, Conservator of Forests and the Agent and Manager, Madras Railways. The Despatch states:

"It will be seen that at the Conference referred to, it was admitted by the officers present that, having in view the cost of the reproduction of wood fuel, the present rate of seigniorage