WOODS AND FORESTS COMMITTEE.

LETTER V.

I proceed to relate the condition and management of the New Forest, the last of the forests yet brought under the notice of the Committee.

Mr. Commissioner Milne is of opinion, that the present state of the New Forest is not" entirely" satisfactory. (4,587.) From the evidence l it does not appear that anything connected,with it can be regarded as satisfactory in any single particular.

The New Forest extends over 103 square miles of the county of Hampshire. The forest itself contains 66,291 acres of open and enclosed woodland, heath, bog, and rough pasture. Under the directions of an act of Parliament, 6,000 acres may be enclosed for the growth of young timber; there are 1,000 acres over which there are no common rights, 806 acres of encroachments, 135 acres copy- hold of the manor of Lyndhurst, and 2,074 acres of other enclosed land than that mentioned, of which 900 acres are enclosed for the growth of trees; the freehold land of private parties within the limits of the forest amounts to 26,073 acres, not included in the 66,291 acres of the actual forest; 40,000 acres are extra-parochial. The office of Lord Warden of the Forest is granted only for life. It was lately held by the Right Honourable Mr. Sturges Bourne; and is now held by his Royal

Highness the Duke of Cambridge, who is entitled to 801. a year from forest rents, and sixteen bucks. The duties of the Lord Warden relate to all matters con- nected with the preservation of the deer, the cbace, hunting and vert within the forest; and the appointment of the officers in his department is vested in him. Mr. Compton, M.P., is Lieutenant of the New Forest. The forest is divided into fifteen walks. In each walk there is a Master-keeper, (JforeJtarius,) and a Groom. keeper. Among the Master-keepers, are Lord Palmerston, the Earl of "Malmesbury, Prince George of Cambridge, Sir G. Rose, &C. They receive no salary, but are entitled to a buck-warrant, which includes a claim for a doe, (p.301); and their nomination of the groom-keepers of their respective walks is sometimes assented to. A Forester was a ministerial officer, and he was sworn to keep watch both early and late of vert and venison. It was an office that might be granted in fee, and be held by a woman, who might serve by deputy. At the opening of the Court of the Justice Seat, each Forester presented to the Chief JUstice his born . and if; as some of the witnesses have meet urgently desired, Lord Morpeth would 'obtain a commission to hold a court, he would no doubt return Lord Palmerston his horn with a very gracious speech, requesting him to reaccept it, as it could not be in better keeping, and that the glades of the forests would joyfully reecho its noisiest and most vigorous blasts. The Foresters, Verderers, Begarders, and Agistors of a forest, were officers of record, being made by matter of record.

There are fifteen Groom-keepers or Sub-foresters. Their salaries are not less than 94/. a year each, or more than 1141. They have from eight to twenty-six acres of land each, free from rent, tithes, and taxes, and receive from 61. to 301. each for buck-fees: they have each a house and garden, generally very plea- santly situated and very badly kept, fuel and venison perquisites. One of them has a house, twenty-six acres of land, 1141. salary, and 301. a year buck-fees; and six, exclusive of other things, receive a salary of 1141. each. They are very desirable appointments, and might have been conferred on an efficient and in- structed class of men.

The repairs of the houses of the Keepers are usually made by the Government: the consequence is that they are not well kept,-an apt illustration of the effect

of dependence on is, support, not unlike that of an Irishman who was lately asked, "Why he kept his farm-buildings so badly ? " "Why, your ho- nour, I do hope Parliament will do something to assist me next session." There are eight Browsers; whose duty it is to lop bellies or browse for the deer. These are exclusive of those who live with the Keepers, and receive 2s. 3d. per day for about five or six months in the year. (1,946-2,530.)

There are two Rangers, namely, Lord Viscount Canning and A. R. Drummond, Esq.: they are entitled to a salary of 21. 138. 4d. a year each, and a warrant for a buck each. The duty of a Ranger was to rechase and drive back the wild beasts of the forest which should escape into the purlieus, and to present all unlawful hunting, and all other offences to the Court of Attachment or Sweinmote.

The-Bow-bearer is Hugh Rose, Esq.; who is entitled to a salary of V. a year, and to a buck. Though not mentioned in the evidence, Sir H. Parnell, in his work on Financial Reform, (1,831, p. 342,) names Mr. Stephenson as holding the office of Riding Forester, of the New Forest, with a salary of 4521. us, a year; the ancient duty of Riding Forester being to lead the King in the hunt. The Lord Warden's Steward occupies the -Queen's Houseat Lyndhurst, and nine acres of land: he receives 1101. a year salary, 101. for the pannage of hogs, and 75/. for fern-tickets: he has to collect, among other duties, the Lord Warden's rents of 801. a year ; and, as the sums are small and frequently not immediately paid when demanded, he mayhave to ride upwards of 2,000 miles, and has ac- tually ridden upwards of 100 miles without being able to collect a few shillings.

The Lord Warden's establishment., estimated by Mr. Commissioner Milne to cost about 20001. a year, (1,749,) relates solely to the deer.

The number of deer in the forest in 1847 was 3,196. The number of bucks killed in the same year was 163, and of does 36. A royal warrant for donations of dew is issued for killing 81. The fee payable.on a buck is 11. 68. and on a doe 13s.• and no other fee or emolument is.allowed on any pretence whatever. (P. 39.) This payment on 103 bucks and 36 does would, amount to 155/. 168.; but the amount of buck-fees accounted for is 2361. (P. 294.) The paling round. the plantations, "to keep out the deer," cost 20,7711. 5s., (1,798,) exclusive of gates, &c.; the whole having cost 23,4081.: it is a total loss at the end of thirty-five years • and Mr. Ma fairly admits that it may faly be calcu- lated at 1,0001. a year (1,818)' loss of interest at 5 per cent. In addition to these expenses on account of the deer, is New Park farm ; which consists of 230 acres, and is worth 345/. a year to let. (4,496.) Ninety-five tons of hay are on an average supplied from this farm for the deer, which Mr. Milne says "is believed to be of very had quality." (1,949.) Mr. Reed says, "of very good quality." (2,710.) The actual sum received from the farm in 1846-7 was 3591., the produce applied to farm and forest purposes 4931., and the total ex- penditure 10241. Mr. Milne was asked, "In the event of the deer being done away with in the New Forest, might not a great saving be made in the general expenditure ? " "A great reduction of expenditure might be made in that case." Mr. Trelawny then asked, (4,749-50,) "Would it not effect a large saving in the hay supplied to the deer ? " "It would save all the expense of New Park." "Which is kept up for the purpose of the deer? " " his." The New Park ex- penses for the deer in 1846-7 may therefore be set down at 1,0241., the sum ac- tually expended, (for the receipts are expended on the deer,) and the loss of rent 3541., or a total of 1,3781.

The total expenses of the establishment for deer is thus explained to be 4,378/. for the year 1846-7; but to this is to be added the total loss of 4,3021. on the New Park farm from 1803 to 1846-7.

How many schools might have been built and endowed, proving to generations hence the beneficence and carefulness of the Government, out of the money abso- lutely wasted since 1803 in providing for the deer, and in taking precautions against the mischief they might occasion? 2,0001. a year paid to officers and keepers, the range over nearly 60,000 acres of land, an expenditure averaging 500/. a year for the repairs of the New Park and keepers' lodges, (1,825,) 23,4081. expended on enclosures, (subject to the deduction of the cost of some fencing,) the loss of 4,3021. on New Park farm 17,511/. the value of farm produce, the en- tire rent and expenses of New Park farm, and the greater part of 10,000 feet of timber-wood in a year, (4,538,) has been the national endowment of the wild ani- mals in the New Forest! What sense of their duties have official men enter- tained, to have approved of such an expenditure ? These matters are suggestive of sad reflections; but what is the condition of the population where wild animals have been so well cared for? Mr. Milne states that the Crown has frequently made donations of land for benevolent purposes, and has contributed to the erection of churches and schools in the New Forest; but he could not state to what extent: (4,755.) There is now building at Lynd- hurst a school already the ornament of the place. It ought to have been erected and endowed by the Crown as lord of the manor of Lyndhurst, and the great landowner of the district; but each things attract so little official attention, that even the contributions made are forgotten-they relate neither to the deer nor to the timber. The donations of the last ten years have been a grant for a church, an addition of land to a churchyard, one for a school, and a most proper and use- ful grant of six acres to the New Forest Poor-law Union. (1,853.) The fact is, the population of the Forest is in the darkest and most deplorable state of igno- rance. Whereschools are wanted there are none; and where there are schools there is no endowment, or sufficient payment for an efficient master or mistress; and what is called education is worthless. Teaching to read is not instruction. During the late inquiry at Lyndhurst into the plundering of timber from the Fo- rest, one witness, aged seventeen, who had been at school, professed such an en- tire absence of instruction on all religious matters, that his evidence could not be

received, though very important. Another, when about to be sworn, was asked by Mr. Compton, " If he new the nature of an oath?" He replied, " No, I do not: I was never before a Magistrate before in my life"; and the reporter adds, no other remark being made-" Mr. Brown (the defendant's agent) advised the witness to be sworn, and the oath was administered.* These instances may be said to be exceptional; but they prove something of the state of opinion in the neighbourhood, and, in their absence, it might be inferred on other grounds.

The establishment of the Woods and Forests consists of a Deputy Sarveyor, who receives 3501. a year, 50/. also for Parkhurst Forest in the Isle of Wight, and 501. a year for the management of New Park farm. He has a house at New Park, and is allowed the keep of two horses (or three ponies) and two cows. His as- sistant receives 2001. a year, and 301. is allowed for a horse. He employs or em- ployed his two sons in his office, one at a salary of 1201. a year, and the other at a salary of 801. a year. (2,524.) The total expenses of the establishment are up- wards of 5,7001. a year. There are 25,000 acres of land in the forest covered with timber, good land; 20,000 acres fit for the growth of timber, strong good soil; and 20,000 acres of bad land. (2,521.) It is over a great part of 45,000 acres of good land that the Commissioners of Woods and Forests act the part of nursery-gardeners. The late Lord Glenbervie was the first chief planting Commissioner. Over the doors of some of the lodges of the woodmen is to be seen a stone tablet, and on the top, at one corner, is cut the number of acres of the enclosure, and leaving a large space for such an inscription as " En arbores has ! me habuerunt satorem, a Deo nemus exspectes"; at the opposite corner is sculptured the name of " Glenbervie."

There are ten nurseries for the growth of young plants. The cost of planting is estimated at 51. the acre, (2,689,) and with the expenses of fencing, trenching, and enclosing, about 101. the acre, (2,693,) omitting all loss of rent. At the end of thirty years an enclosure should pay its expenses, (2,789,) but the evi- dence does not afford any means to ascertain the cost of any particular enclosure or the value of its produce. Mr. Mills of Bistern Park, one of the Verderers, states that nothing can be worse than the condition of the plantation at Wilverley, of 500 acres which has lately been thrown cpen; that the timber is buzzle-headed, and that a very small quantity will ever be fit for naval purposes. (2,872-5.) Another plantation near blinstead, called Furzy Lawn, thrown out in the earliest times, he describes as without timber at all worth anything. (2,877.) As every effort has been made for many years to reduce the forest to a state of wildness, it becomes important to ascertain the expenses incurred in such an-un- dertaking, the losses, and. the expected advantages. It is to be inferred from the evidence given respecting other forests, that an acre of well-timbered land of about 150 years' growth is valued on an average at 1001. The supply of timber for the Navy from the Royal Forests has been stopped since 1833; contractors being able to supply oak at 21. 68. 7d. a load cheaper than the Commissioners of Woods and Forests. Any remarks on this part of the sub- ject may be reserved for the next and last letter, on the proceedings of the Board of Woods and Forests.

In 1823, fir-trees were not planted in the young plantations of the New Forest, on account of a strong prejudice among those who had residences in or near the forest. They were expected to injure the beauty of the forest scenery, and were therefore only made use of to a limited extent, and when little hope was enter- tained that oaks standing alone would succeed. (4,740.) Those trees whose deep and dark foliage gives to the winter scenery so much both of grandeur and of beautyt were rejected at that time, (for they were subsequently planted,) to please the whims of a very few silly persons-persons of the very same class and fami- lies to whom Mr. Milne refers, when he says, "I know that improvements of the forest would, with many persons residing in the neighbourhood, be unpopular" (4,785); the same persons again who opposed, and were aided by the Government in opposing, (2,854,) the railway passing through the forest (2,122); and the seine persons who actually oprose the Government in the exercise of any ownership over the soil, or the use of the money derived from the sale of forest land, except so far LIB they believe it tends to promote their own personal objects. . These are the per- sons all-powerful and influential in the office of the Woods and Forests, and to whom assistance has been given in promoting hinderances and annoyances in the prosecution of every great national measure affecting the New Forest.

The income derived from the forest in the four years 1804-7 amounted to 39,7661., and the expenditure to 13,486E; leaving a surplus of 26,2861. The in- come for the four years 1843-7 amounted to 37,2441., and the expenditure-to 42,9091.; leaving a deficiency of 5,665/. In the last year, 1846-7, the income was . 6,9711., and the expenditure 10,2371.; leaving a deficiency of 8,2661. The annual expenditure has increased since 1807 to the amount of 7,1111., and ia ascribed to the expenses of the new plantations. Thus, this vast domain of 103 square miles is worse than profitless. It is admitted that there are about 45,000 acres suited for the growth of timber, and equally suited for agricultural pur- poses; but there is no sufficient.evidence to draw any correct conclusions of the profit and loss of planting. The rental of the land is not alluded tom any account. Nearly all freeholders in the neighbourhood of the New Forest have rights of • common appurtenant over it. Numerous persons who have no rights of common enjoy them; and nothing can be more blameable than the state of things in this respect, which the Government has allowed to exist. The Verderers affect to be the defenders of the common rights of the freeholders; but their defence has been worthless. Some freeholders bad rights of common all the year round, which has been limited in a very summary manner-perhaps advantageously-by an act of Parliament, though their rights had been allowed in the last Court of the Justice Seat. The possessors of encroachments, amounting to 806 acres, exercise rights of common; and the Verderers neither prevented the encroachments-many of them no doubt, made a long time paste-or restrain the exercise of common rights claimed on account of them. Some large landowners-such as Mr. Stanley, Mr. Drummond, and others-have lost their rights of common in consequence of a role of law, that if the owner of common appurtenant purchases any part of the land over which the right extends, he altogether extinguishes his right of com- mon; and yet the Verderers do not interfere. Everything connected with these rights, throughout the forest, is in a state of confusion.

Nevertheless, the New Forest has been peculiarly under the superintendence of the Board of the Commissioners of Woods and Forest. "I have been there once in every year," says Mr. Commissioner Milne. "and frequently twice; not more than twice in any year but always once." (4,742.) What report could he have made on it? "The trees grow "-could he have said more, seeing that year after- year passed without bringing under the notice of Parliament in any report the glaring abuses which must have bPen so patent to every official? The state of the Ranger's department, and the enormous expenses on account of the deer, are utterly defenceless: the condition of the common rights required interference; the expenses of the plantations and their failures in the instances mentioned by Mr. Mills, and perhaps in others, required to be noticed; the application of the pro- duce of the New Park farm to the deer, and the expenses of the farm, should have been stopped; accounts of the quantity of timber felled and sold were sent to the office of the Board, and yet the unsold trees were carried. off by a body of orga- nized thieves to an incalculable amount, without the unaccounted-for trees being inquired after! All these things occurred and were officially unnoticed, to the great injury of the Government; and they have been productive of a public scandal to which no department of the Government ought to be exposed.

I have no space to comment on the evils arising from the divided jurisdictions existing in the New Forest, and shall therefore leave them unnoticed.

In my next letter, I shall remark on some proceedings for which the Board of Woods and Forests is alone responsible, and complete this series of letters.

T. F.