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APPENDIX 111. Report of the Education Committee of the British Empire Forestry Conference (1923). Report of the Committee appointed " to review the report of the Education Committee of the British Empire Forestry Conference in .1920 and the subsequent Interdepartmental Committee of 1921, and to consider in the existing circumstances how the recommendations of these Committees can be adapted to meet, the wants of the Empire with regard to post-graeiuate and research courses." The- Committee begs to report as follows : — 1. it may be well to begin by briefly recapitulating the steps previously taken in regard to the matter. As a result of the resolution passed by the 1920 Conference (Resolution No. 9) and of the. report to that Conference (Appendix C) an Interdepartmental Committee, representing the India Office, the Colonial Office, and the Forestry Commission, with Professor J, B. Farmer as an independent scientific member, was sot up, " to prepare a scheme for giving effect to the resolution of the British Empire Forestry Conference with regarel to a central institution for training forest officers . . ." The report of this Committee was issued in February, 192.1 (Command Paper 1166). Subsequently negotiations were entered into between the Colonial Office and the Forestry Commission with a view to guaranteeing sufficient funds to start the institution anei to maintain it for five years in the first instance, whether the Government of India found itself able to co-operate or not. It was decided that the bulk of the necessary funds should be guaranteed by the Forestry Commission and the various colonies and protectorates with important Forestry Departments, as they would be more directly concerned with the institution than would the self-governing Dominions. So far as the colonies and protectorates went, the ielea met with unanimous approval, and all the Governments concerned were at that time prepared to make the necessary contribution, except in tho case of Kenya, who were unable to subscribe until their financial position had improved. Unfortunately, however, the Imperial Treasury were unable, for the time being, to authorize the necessary expenditure on the part of the Forestry Commission or on the part of certain African protectorates who were in receipt of a grant-in-aid from the Imperial Exchequer and whose expenditure was in consequence subject to Treasury approval. The proposal, therefore, had to be temporarily dropped. 2. We desire emphatically to endorse the view held by the: 1920 Conference that a central institution of this kind is required in the interests of forestry within the Empire. We greatly regret that the setting-up of such an institution has hael to be postponed, and we urge most strongly that steps be taken to start it without delay. 3. We: endorse the action taken in setting up the Interdepartmental Committee referred to above, and we agree with the modifications which on further inquiry that Committee found it necessary to make in the recommendations of the 1920 Conference. 4. In view of the somewhat partial support which the idea of a central institution received in 1921 at the hands of the self-governing Dominions and the Australian States, we have been at particular pains to ascertain how such an institution could now be made of the greatest value in meeting the varied and special needs of forestry in the self-governing Dominions. As a result we are of the opinion that, given sufficient staff, the institution could make itself of great value to the Dominions, both by providing advanceei post-graduate training for future forest officers who have received suitable preparatory training in their own Dominion, and also by providing the necessary post-graduate training for specialists and research officers. In the latter connection wo draw attention to the difficulty of obtaining well-trained forest entomologists for Canada. We, are informed that under present conditions there are no suitable facilities for obtaining the necessary advanced training in forest entomology such as is required for the higher positions in the Government service. We have received evidence from representatives of all tho self-governing Dominions expressing strong approval of the setting-up of such an institution, although in the case of Australia it is doubtful whether the forestry training at present available in that Commonwealth is sufficiently advanced to fit students for undertaking the post-graduate courses. This objection will no doubt be removed in course of time. 5. It is also possible that the Government of India may wish to make use of a central institution, both for the post-graduate training of selected graduates from the forest school of Dehra Dun and for " refresher " and " special " courses for selected officers who have clone some years' service. 6. We have carefully examined the report of the Interdepartmental Committee on Imperial forestry education and find ourselves in general agreement with its recommendations. («.) As regards finance and staff, we do not consider that we have at our disposal the necessary information on which to base detailed recommendations. Details of this nature must be left for discussion by the Departments principally concerned, and between them and the Board of Control of the institution when it is set up. At the same time we feel confident that if the central institute could be set up under good management and endowed with sufficient funds to make an effective start it would rapidly justify its existence and would develop as time went on, attracting an increaseel measure of support and extending its sphere of usefulness, particularly in the direction of providing for the individual needs of specialist research students, a branch of its activities in which we believe there will be an increased demand as the various Forest Departments of the Empire develop.

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