THE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21213, 11 July 1934, Page 10

THE SCHOOL OF FORESTRY

PROTEST AGAINST CLOSING DEPUTATION TO I'RIMK MINISTER Members of the Advisory Committee on Tree Planting in North Canterbury met the Prime Minister (the Pa. Hon. G. W. Forbes) at Rangiora yesterday afternoon to protest against the removal of the annual grant of £IOOO to the Canterbury College School of Forestry, necessitating the closing of the school. Speakers claimed that the closing of the school would have a detrimental effect on the future of afforestation work in New Zealand, and Mr Forbes said that he would go into the question again with the Minister for Education, from whose department the grant came. However, lie held out little hope of its being restored. On behalf of the Advisory Committee Mr J. R. Wilkinson said it was felt that the closing of the school was not on the lines of normal economy. The membership of his committee consisted of icpresentatives of local bodies in the North Canterbury district and when this protest had first been proposed, 14 out of 16 bodies had voted in favour of its being made. The committee was anxious that there should be some senior scientific forestry officer in the neighbourhood and would feel very hard hit if the authoritative advice available from the school was withdrawn. The local bodies in Die district, said Mr Wilkinson, had pushed ahead with tree planting and were continually in need of skilled and experienced advice such as had been available from the school. The planting of trees by farmers was also going ahead, and scientific advice must be available if these plantations were to be successful.

Minister's Arguments Opposed

Mr J. E. Straehan. headmaster ol the Rangiora High School, who represented the high sehoo] board of governors, claimed that the Ministor for Education had been singularly unlortunate m the arguments which he had adduced in favour of the closing of the school. He had .stated, for example, that it cost £l2O a year to train students and that there wees no work for them to do when trained. If the Minister's argument was a sound one it would certainly provide the Government with a way out of many of its difficulties. Why should the Government not close all schools, for instance, and on the ground that there was no work for teachers make a very substantial budgetary saving? "This question whether the Forestry School should be continued." said Mr Sfrachan. "should be iudged not on what the school is costing, but on the value of the services that can be rendered to the country bv trained foresters. The whole' question, in New Zealand, turns on the value of afforertation. In every country in the world to-day tremendous efforts arc being directed towards the more efficient use of natural resources and we should think of the question from that angle here.''

Supply of Trained Foresters Mr Strachan claimed that the market for forest products was increasing more rapidly than it could be supplied, thanks to the growing need for wood for cellulose, paper, rayon, and artificial silk manufacture, and he urged that it was necessary in New Zealand to keep up research work into forestry and to maintain the supply of trained experts who would be needed to carry out the reafforestation of the countrv. Mr 6. Duff urged the Prime Minister not to drive tree lovers into the wrong political camp by antagonising them on this question. The sum of £IOOO was, he said, neither here nor there in the budget, of the countrv nor in the educational budget. "One cannot shut one's eyes to the fact that, if it was not for money, one would be able to do a lot of things," remarked the Prime Minister in reply to the deputation. "'lt is my duty to remember, however, that no matter how much 1 may favour a thing personally I have to go to the pockets of the taxpayers and take some of their badly needed money if it is to go through. There is pressure from all sides for additional expenditure, and in times like these one has to be very careful indeed wha* cne goes in for."'

Criticism of Government IYIr Forbes said that he cared nothing tor the political aspects of the ease or for the suggestion that the supporters of the school might obtain from another partv something the Government would not give them. "1 do not think you arc ontitled to criticise the Government on such grounds as those," said Mr Forbes. "What you must do is to consider whether the Government can a fiord to give you what you want. 1 ' Mr Forbes said lie had received definite information that there were a large number of former forestry students unable to obtain any work at all. The Forestry Department was fully staffed, and even had students working as labourers. He personally felt guilty about asking young men to go into a profession when there was no possibility of finding work for them.

"If there were openings lev the young men after they had been through, the school,"' he said, "one would think it perfectly well worth while. At it is there are only a certain number of positions, and there are more students than arc wanted to fill them

"However. I shall be very pleased to place the representations you have made to me before the Minister for Education, the man who will have to find the money,"' concluded Mr Forbes. "One speaker remarked that £ 1000 was a small sum and did not matter, but I assure you that there are so many demands for money from the Education Department's estimates that £IOOO matters very much indeed. Nevertheless, I shall discuss the matter iullv with the Minister.' 1