IMPERIAL FORESTRY.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 190, 13 August 1928, Page 9

IMPERIAL FORESTRY.

EMPIRE CONFERENCE IN AUSTRALIA. DELEGATES BY NIAGARA. NEW ZEALAND VTSTT PROJECTED. Passing through by the Xingara. to-day are several heads of the Forestry Service of Canada. They are bound for the British Empire Forestry Conference, which assembles in Australia this month. At tlie head of the delegation is Mr. E. 11. Finlayson, Director of Forestry in the Dominion. He is a vice-president of the conference. Mr. E. Roy Cameron, Associate-Director, Dr. J. M. Swayne, bead of the Federal entomological branch, Mr. E. J. Zabwitz, Deputy-Min-ister of Forestry for the Province of Ontario, and Mr. P. Z. Caverhill, Chief Forester of British Columbia, are also members of the party. Another delepate is Lieut..-General Sir William Furze, Director of the Imperial Institute, which keeps closely in touch with' Empire forestry problems. The last conference was held in Canada in 192.} under the presidency of Lord Lovat, on that occasion head of the British delegation. This year Lord Clinton wiil be the principal British representative. It is anticipated that not only the Dominions and colonies will bo represented at the gathering in Australia but also the Crown colonies, as was the ease five years ago.

The object of these quinquennial gatherings is twofold. Firstly, the meetings are intended to assist, the countries in which they are held by bringing about an exchange of the knowledge of the best brains engaged in this important subject. Secondly, it lias been demonstrated that such* conferences stimulate public interest in the problems of forestry, and so increase the susceptibility of Governments to listen to the representations of their officials that more money should be made available for the actual prosecution of the services in their own countries. It has been gradually brought home to most of tho Empire •Governments of recent years that we are within measurable distance of a world s timber shortage and that such a state of affairs portends a real national calamity. It is just here that the British Empire Conference is doing possibly its most valuable work.

The procedure of the present conference will be to first of all visit the natural forests and the plantations of Australia, commencing with the hardwood districts of the far west. After extensive observations in the field five days will be devoted to meetings at Canberra.

Later most of the delegates—probably as many as thirty-—will visit New Zealand, spending a fortnight in this Dominion.

The New Zealand representatives to attend the conference have not yet been appointed.