to system and arrangement, arguing that since Nature had failed to maintain the necessary supply of teak seedlings in the forests, in spite of the large annual production of good teak seed by the trees, sowing seed by hand over these areas could not produce any better results. Falconer concluded his Report with the following strongly worded recommendation: "In order to carry out any measures of renewal of the teak forests in the Tenasserim Province with success, I consider it to be indispensable that a qualified Conservator be appointed, who should have no other duties to attend to besides the charge of the forests. The Officers who have filled the appointment since 1841 have most of them held it in conjunction with other responsible avocations, requiring their presence in Moulmein, and although they have evinced much zeal and ability in the general administration of the forests, they could not be expected to be possessed of the theoretical and practical knowledge of arboriculture required in an efficient conservator, and which were essential for conducting operations to a successful issue. To this cause I attribute the failure of the nurseries established in 1843, and the want of any subsequent effort to replace them. These officers, from the circumstances above noticed, had not probably that weight and influence with the grantees which their office ought to have carried along with it. The practical administration of the forests since 1848 has been made over to the Commissioner's Assistant, and a sufficiently well-organised system is in operation for regulating the felling and collection of the timber duties, but the Conservancy' of the forests, properly so-called, is entirely unprovided for, and I would not recommend that any measures of renewal be commenced upon till the vacancy is suitably filled up. The Government would then have the assurance that they were conducted with professional skill and a thorough knowledge of the subject. Errors and causes of past failure would be avoided or, when committed, they would be speedily remedied. The grantees would have a qualified authority on the spot to refer to for information and advice, which I consider to be of great importance." As was abundantly proved later on, the last thing the grantees wanted was to have a proper qualified Conservator in charge of the administration of the forests. But Falconer's strong recommendation, backing up the demands in this matter of the Madras and Bombay Govern ments, and a year or two later supported by Dr. McClelland in Pegu, eventually resulted in the appointment of Dr. Brandis as the first trained Conservator in India. Dr. Brandis was appointed to Pegu in 1856, but the Tenasserim Forests were added to his charge in 1857. During the years which intervened between Falconer's visit and this appointment the management of the latter forests remained very much in the position his Report describes them, although, as will be shown, McClelland laid a foundation in Pegu upon which Brandis built. 9731 CHAPTER XIV FOREST OPERATIONS IN BURMA (PEGU) 1850-1857 (continued) DR. MCCLELLAND'S WORK IN THE PEGU FORESTS T AND THE FOREST CHARTER HE annexation of Burma was perhaps to some extent an outcome of the valuable teak forests the country contained. The annexation of the two southern Provinces of Burma, Tenasserim and Martaban, took place at the end of the first Burmese War in 1826. This annexation was primarily due to the necessity of safeguarding our south-eastern frontier, which the chaotic conditions engendered by the misrule of the Burmese Government rendered otherwise untenable. It has been shown that under the unfortunate licence system introduced, the teak forests in this region were nearly cut out during the ensuing quarter of a century. The outcome of the second Burmese War was the annexation of the Province of Pegu by proclamation on the 20th December, 1852. Rangoon was the capital, having been founded by the Alompra dynasty in 1775. It had been the principal mart for the export of teak timber for nearly a century, teak being the chief staple industry of the port. The teak tree had been proclaimed a royal tree by this dynasty and was consequently regarded as a royal monopoly. Following this precedent soon after the annexation, a notification was issued by the British Government stating that "all the forests are the property of Government, and no general permission to cut timber therein will be granted to anyone. The Government of India therefore made a distinct claim to the full ownership of the teak forests and their contents, as expressed by the words, "All the forests are the property of Government," and their instructions to the Superintendent were that “the Superintendent of Forests will mark the trees Pozi (212) |