AFFORESTATION.
SCARCITY OF TIMBER.
RAVAGES OF DEER. 'POSSUMS ALSO INDICTED. (By Telegrapn.—Parliamentary Keporter.) WELLINGTON, Thursday. Incidental on arguments arising out of discussion of the report of the Forestry Department in the House of Representatives to-day, deer came in for destructive criticism; and passing through the gamut of "pests," including of course, .Brer Rabbit, even the 'cute little 'possums, the skins of which have been making much money for trappers recently, were subjected to suspicious observations.
The Leader of the Opposition led the way through the thinning forests of New Zealand, observing that the Empire Press delegates had expressed surprise at our waste of timber in the past, and urged reafforestation. Hundreds of thousands of acres should be planted out with trees, said Mr. Forbes, and if we made a start now we would soon have forests growing into money. Here was a good chance for a Minister to make for himself a name which would live long after he had gone out of. politics.
Mr. Hudson (Motueka) bemoaned the lack of timber suitable for props for mines, saying lie was sure that this shortage was partly responsible for tile increased cost of coal. Fruitgrowers had now to send to other part sof the -world for timber for cases. The Government should encourage syndicates to take up otherwise- useless land for timbergrowing.
Mr. de la Perelle (Awarua) declared that the Government got £10,000 annually in royalties from timber in Southland, and he demanded that the Government should place £10,000 on the Estimates to give Southland a good start in reafforestation.
Sir George Hunter (Waipawa) also sang the song of the forest, and expressed deep concern regarding the destruction of the beautiful native buah at the foot of the Kuahine Eanges.
The engagement of prison labour for afforestation was deprecated by Mr. Sidey (Dunedin South), who said that from the point of view of the Fojestry Department it had been found very expensive in New South Wales, however satisfactory to the Prisons Department, which was only concerned with the reformation of the prisoner.
The opinion was expressed by the Minister of Agriculture that money spent in tree-planting would merely be money wasted unless the red deer was exterminated. The Government would have to take up the matter of eradicating •this pest with a strong hand. Sport woud have to go in the interests of the country—and the deer would have to go.
A member: Who brought the deer here ?
"I do not know," replied Mr. Nosworthy, "but lots of pests, including the destructive rabits have been brought here. Whether in Otago, Canterbury, or the North Island, the spending of money on treee without the prior destruction of deer would be so much money wasted."
Mr. Hockly (Rotorua) congratulated the Minister on removing the restriction on the destructioa of deer, and uttered a stern v.-arning against the 'possum. Some people expected that the country would make a lot of money by breeding millions of opossums for their skins. But opossums did not live on air. No; they must be fed. They would do considerable damage.
Words of congratulation were poured into the ears of the Minister of Education for having included the subject of forestry in the curriculum of State school students—Mr. Linklater (Manawatu) being the conveyor of the glad words.
The information that the dairying industry required from 30.000,000 to 40,000,000 super, feet of timber annually for butter boxes and cheese crates, was impressed on the House by Mr. Covrigan (Patea), who w.anted to know where the boxes and crates of the future were to come from unless we reafforestated.
The importance of the timber industry as a source of wealth and employment ■was stressed by Mr. Langstone (Waimarino), who dwelt on the fact that tree slaughtering in the past had not only brought about a shortage of timber, but had caused a denudation of forest, resulting in floods, which had brought about great damage arid destruction—his own district being an instance.
War on deer was also declared by Mr. Field (Otaki), who tirged the extermination of these animals and the perpetuation of trees.
In reply, the Minister-in-charge of Forestry (Sir Heaton Rhodes) declared that the Government programme aimed at bringing about full supplies of timber for the needs of the nation in 30 years from now.
Log in