§ SIR ROBERT HOBART (Hampshire, New Forest)I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether His Majesty's Commissioner of Woods and Forests has received a memorial from the commoners and other inhabitants of Burley, in the New Forest, protesting against the burnings of gorse and heather recently carried out by the Crown authorities in that neighbourhood; whether application had been made to the Crown authorities, and refused by them, for permission to cut such gorse and heather; whether further application, similarly made, expressly to spare from burning certain spots of the forest on account of their natural beauty, has been entirely disregarded; whether he is aware that dissatisfaction has arisen in this neighbourhood and the New Forest generally on the subject; whether any, and what, steps will be taken to control in the future similar action giving rise to so much local annoyance; and whether he will cause a special and independent local inquiry to be held respecting the matter now complained of.
§ MR. CHARLES HOBHOUSEI am informed that the memorial referred to (from the commoners and other inhabitants of Burley, in the New Forest) has been received by the Commissioner of Woods in charge of the New Forest. 1663 The burning complained of is of strips of waste by the roadside, and was carried out by the Commissioner's instructions as a precautionary measure with a view to reducing the risk of conflagrations over large areas started by persons passing along the roads. I understand that such fires occur frequently every year during the dry season of the early spring and, through not being under control, are often the cause of great damage and disfigurement to the forest. No application had been received by the Crown authorities for permission to cut the gorse and heather on the strips in question. One person asked that certain gorse might not be burned, and his request was met as far as possible. Several applications have been received, including some from residents of Burley, asking that further areas might be burned. A certain amount of dissatisfaction with what has been done appears to have arisen in the neighbourhood of Burley, and some temporary disfigurement of the forest, as seen from the high roads, was unavoidable, but it is believed that in a few weeks little trace of the burning will be visible, as the ground that was blackened is already becoming green. The Commissioner will personally inspect the areas in question, and the matter will continue to have his careful consideration.