70
THE MANAGEMENT OF EPPING FOREST.
future. His own observations made that afternoon, and the evidence he had
heard from those best acquainted with the peculiar conditions of the Forest, had
convinced him that the thinnings were an absolute necessity.
The President then put Professor Boulger's resolution to the meeting, when
forty-one voted for it, and eight against—the Verderers and members of the Epping
Forest Committee present not voting.
Mr. T. V. Holmes (Vice-President) said that he had great pleasure in pro-
posing a vote of thanks to their Conductors and more especially to Mr. E. N.
Buxton, from whose clear and full explanations they had learned so thoroughly
both what had been done and the reasons for doing it. There was a singular
notion among some persons that Epping Forest had been an almost virgin forest
previous to the present management, but a glance at Mr. Buxton's excellent
Guide, which was obtainable for one shilling, would at once show the absurdity
of that view. The present managers were indeed doing their best to undo the
deplorable results of the pollarding and general artificialising of the Forest which
had prevailed before their time. In the hideously grotesque group of pollards
adjoining Monk's Wood they had seen what the Forest generally would have
been like had it been left untouched by its present Conservators. On the other
hand, in Lord's Bushes they had visited a spot which had been described as one
in which the most ruthless devastation had recently taken place, and yet Lord's
Bushes had been the most natural-looking piece of the Forest they had seen. He
had therefore great pleasure in proposing a hearty vote of thanks to Mr. E. N.
Buxton and their other Conductors for their services on that occasion. .
Mr. John Spiller seconded, and the vote of thanks was carried nem. con.
Mr. Buxton, in the course of his reply on behalf of the Conductors, said that
he had had the greatest possible pleasure in acting as guide that afternoon, and
he was very gratified to see such an interest taken in the dear old Forest. He had
visited many so-called "natural" forests in the four quarters of the world, but
never one from which man was not taking toll. But there was this difference ,
that whereas, generally, man removes the best or the most applicable to his pur-
pose, in Epping Forest only that is removed which is unsightly or injurious.
A vote of thanks to the President for presiding was cordially passed at the
instance of Mr. Gellatly and Mr. F. C. Gould, and brought the meeting to
an end.
[I feel that no apology is needed for presenting my readers with a nearly
verbatim report of the above meeting, in order that the true position of the Club
in this matter may be put fairly before the public. The tone of some of the
newspaper correspondence could only be paralleled in the lower kinds of political
controversy, and it was evident that many of the writers were quite ignorant of the
history and condition of the Forest. One or two did not scruple to take the name
of the Club in vain, and attempt to father upon it or upon members (either
individually or collectively as "founders of the Club") opinions which these
members have for years strongly repudiated. They further attempted to support
their views by a kind of reckless assertiveness of statement which the real lovers
and students of the Forest knew to be either simply untrue, or often ludicrously
exaggerated and unfair to the Conservators, and I feared that the Club was
getting seriously compromised. Were it not from unwillingness to stand in the
way of more important speakers, I should (as the "Founder of the Club") have
repudiated, as Prof. Meldola did, the absurd charge of inconsistency. My
opposition to some of the proceedings of the Conservators years ago had reference
either to a totally different subject (e.g., railway or tramway schemes) or to fears
that they were adopting a policy of artificialisation with regard to the Forest,
which further experience and observation has in most cases (excepting with
regard to deep drainage) proved to be unwarranted, or it originated in lack