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affairs' personal clement is an important factor, and, while there may be sound conservation laws and regulations, unless an active machinery is provided for the enforcement of these laws and regulations all efforts to carry out a sound policy may be fruitless. Remuneration of Staff. The business of the Forest Service cannot be conducted with efficiency and economy unless there be attracted to, and retained in, the Public Service a group of highly trained, well-paid, and permanent officers of supervisory grades. Uncertainty of tenure in some instances, and inadequacy of compensation, have closed the Public Service to many men of the best type, or forced them out of Government employ at the moment of their greatest usefulness. If a permanent Forest Service is aimed at which, will include men of great ability and high attainments, and 1 litis prevent mistakes and failures, a broad attitude must be adopted to obtain and hold employees of the character so imperatively needed in the interests of economy, efficiency, and safety. This Service will require the services of highly trained experts, many of whom are sought by industrial enterprises, and if insufficient limitations are placed on the compensation of these men the Service will not be able to hold them. In this connection it might be well to point out that this Forest Service, if organized on the lines suggested, should have in its jurisdiction the Dominion forests, valued at between £10,000,000 and ,£15,000,000. The administration and management of this large asset in its many varied activities require men of highest calibre, and your investigator cannot too strongly emphasize the need of regarding t\w. salary question in a, broad light, irrespective of other poorly paid Government Departments of this country. The Responsibilities, Duties, and Authority of the Forest Service. In the development of a Forest Service the writer earnestly suggests an adherence to the principle of a unified line of responsibility —that is, one in which a clear chain of administration may be secured from the Director through to the forest: guard. Undivided control and action tend to increase the efficiency of each officer, and make for economy and directness in dealing with the, public, since all business relating to forest administration is transacted by one and the same officer. Moreover, authority is centred, and there is never any conflict, strife, or jealousy arising between men belonging to the .same Department. This system, wdiich naturally develops men of all-round ability and experience, and affords much, greater opportunities than one founded on the " specialist " plan, is indeed a very important factor in attracting and holding good men in the Service. Personnel. The staff employed in the Forest Service should be technical experts in forestry and other related lines of work —executive officers in charge of forest-conservation regions and forests, clerical assistants, and labourers. Those who hold appointments, besides having suitable knowledge and experience, are required to be honest, industrious, sober, and courteous. Efficiency is the primary quality upon which the advancement of each individual should depend. The, Forest Service- the Steward of the People. —This Service should be in a very real sense the steward of the people and the servant of the people in the protection and use of the people's own property. By a frank and direct method of procedure through its bulletins, addresses, and by personal intercourse, this Department should do all in its power to inform the people of New Zealand about their own property which it administers in trust. Co-operation with the timber industry is one of the main elements in forestry progress, and this Service must make a special effort to obtain, in its own and in the common interest, the co-operation of tiinbermen and other forest-users in its work. Central Office at Wellington. —The writer has provided for a central executive office in Wellington, at which point would be situated (under plan No. 1) the Director, the Secretary and his secretariat, the meeting-place of the Consultative Forest Board, the Chief Inspector, and the necessary directional and investigative staff. Later in the development of the organization an Inspector-General should be appointed to assume the execution of all activities under the Director, and to act as Deputy Director if need be. The work of this officer would be to directly correlate and co-ordinate the work of the Service, and also to maintain a high standard of efficiency throughout the organization. From this office should be directed the activities of the Forest Products Laboratory; borest Experiment Stations; all special and technical investigations; _ and the managerial duties of the seven conservation regions into which New Zealand has been divided. Unit of Management.— -For the formative period the unit of management for purposes of forest administration should be the forest conservation region, for it must be seen that varying conditions make permanent rules by the central authority wholly impracticable; and it should always be the policy of the Director to decentralize the work as soon as the local officer can carry the burden of management. ~-,.• The Conservator of Forests.— Owing to the lack of men well qualified by education, experience, and ability, only very large districts can be established at first, As trained men become available, and as the business' of these districts increases, the larger districts may be subdivided. Ibe officer in charge of each conservation region, which should be considered as the unit tor the present, should be known as the Conservator of Forests, and be entirely responsible for the conduct of all the work in his area, and he should be expected to make himself familiar with all forest and related activities therein, and with the work of each of his subordinates ...... , Forest Assistants.— -From time to time forest officers with qualified technical training and experience, known as Forest Assistants, may be temporarily or permanently detailed to a forest

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