CHEAPER TIMBER.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 36, 12 February 1925, Page 5

CHEAPER TIMBER.

SUPPLIES TOR SCHOOLS. ' PRISON LABOUR EXPERIMENT. . The Minister of Education, Sir .Tames Parr, had something interesting to say. to-day regarding the utilisation of prison labour for afforestation, and also tho supplying of timber from a prison-labour timber mill. "One of tho activities of the Prison Department is a sawmill at Enia, in tha Waimarino district." said the Minister. This mill cuts all the usual King Country timbers, such as rimu, matai and totara, aud it largely supplies the railways and the Public Works' Department. It has a good plant, and abrufc thirty or forty prisoners there under a competent foreman. The Minister in charge of prisons is hoping to be able to help the Minister of Education to reduce the cost of school construction, and his Department is installing new machinery in order to lie able to supply timber at cost price for new woodoix schools. The cost will be something lielow market rates. The. Kducation. Department is making a proposal on these lines to the Auckland and other; Korth Island Boards. "J do not think." observed the Minister, "that the labour of the prisoners can be. put to better use than that of helping to get cheaper timber for tho construction of schools for the children. "An interesting phase is that as WO put out the natural bush we replant; immediately. Tin; Director of Forestry, Mr. Mclntosh Elliot, has promised tho Comptroller! .'eneniT of Prisons to CO-o;>----erato with the Forestry Department in this work. The Forestry Department will no doubt supply us with plants and direct planting, and the replanted areas will he properly fenced and safeguarded. If for every i roc ive cut in Zcfl.ln,n(X two were planted, the timber problem of this country would be fur generations."