TIMBER COMMISSION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 473, 3 April 1909, Page 14

TIMBER COMMISSION.

FURTHER EVIDENCE,

(BT TILEOBirH—PRESS ASSOCIATION.)

Dunedin, April 1. The Timber Commission sat at Dunedin this morning.

The first witness was T. Scott, of Scott t and Wilson, venctian-blind makers. Ho '! said the bulk of tho timber ho used was ! imported,' nono of the Now Zealand timber J being suitable. Ho referred to tho anoma- , lies of tho present tariff on imported timber, 1 tho chief anomaly being a slight difference i between timber imported in bulk and dressed ] or manufactured timber. Ho said that somo J years ago slats used by him wero cut and j dressed in New Zealand, but now, owing i to an anomalous duty, they wero imported 1 from Sydney ready dressed, and New Zea- j land plants for preparing timber were shut • down. By importing this timber ready dressed manufacturers here saved one-third in freight and one-third in duty, for one- : third of tho timber ,went into sawdust in ; the process of manufacture. Witness considered that tho timber was now 25 per cent, dearer than it used to bo. The cost of labour had not increased more than 10 per cent. It would bo a mistake to place a duty on imported timber. He thought ! thore should bo an export duty placed on kauri. Tho extra work that would be given tho building trade if timber were imported, : and tho price, would moro than compensate ; for work lost by New Zealand sawmills. ; Witness said there was undoubtedly a ring among kauri timber merchants, as the prico was fixed, and was too high. Mr. Crawford, president of tho Builders' ' and Contractors' Union of Employers, was , the next witness. He read a resolution passed by his association for presentation to the commission, expressing the opinion . that the importation of foreign timbers . would facilitate building operations, and emphasising the necessity of the import duty being removed. Witness said the principal reason for' wishing the duty removed was the difficulty in obtaining local timber. The Builders' Association had no understanding as to prices with the Sawmillers' Association. Alexander M'Pherson, timber merchant, said there used to be considerable inquiry from Australia for birch, and his firm shipped fair quantities tlfero till tho Commonwealth imposed a duty of 2s. 6d., which shut Now Zealand birch out. He considered something should bo done to put kauri and birch on the same footing. He did not think the increase in the cost of timber was caused by a close combine of associations. Members of tho Sawmillers' Association wore not subjected to any penalties if they sold timber at below certain prices. He thought that the percentage of bad debts was 2£per cent, of tne cost of timber. Gabriel Hodges, builder and contractor, said he was in favour of Oregon and other foreign timber being admitted duty free. Oregon and Australian hardwood filled a much-felt want. Prices for timber in general in Dunedin had advanced of late years, but still compared favourably with prices ruling in other centres. The price of timber affected the number of buildings being erected, especially as regarded buildings of a speculative nature. Oregon and Australian hardwood supplied a want that it was impossible to fill with any native timber. It gave better lengths, bigger sizes, was better seasoned, easier to handle, and retained size and shape better than .any local timber. Builders put in unseasoned timber because they could not get seasoned. The extra cost of timber now, as compared with some years ago, was principally for dressed timber, such as linings, ceilings, mouldings, etc. He understood thero was a combination among timber merchants in Dunedin to keep up prices. Thero was a fixed ■ prico list. He did not think forest plantations would provido a duplicate of native timber. They would provide another timber of some commercial value, but not as good. H. Y. Haddock, manager for Murdoch and Co., timber merchants, said the importation of timber made vijry little difference to Southland and other sawmills. More Oregon had, come, to the mill during the last two or three months than in the past, ' Blu& gum and black pine had given way to concrete for piles, and there was not the same necessity for importing hardwood. There had been no revision of prices except as to Baltic and Oregon pine. Dunedin prices were fixed at Invercargill. The railway freights were reasonable. It would not make any difference to him whether the duty was taken off or put on imported timber. He thought it was desirable to con- , sorve our forests to some extent. T<jn years ago timber was 10s., with o per cent, discount, now it was 135., with 10 per cent, discount. The expense of getting timber was a great deal less in the past than now. A. M'Callum, sawmiller and timber mer- , chant, _ advocated a duty on air sizes of Oregon pine. Timber might bo brought from | such places as Colac Bay and tho West : Coast by vessels at' less price than they : were now paying. The timber business was j not as payable as it was 10 years ago. Ore- , gon. was not likely to reduce the cost of New Zealand timber. Dunedin, April 2. l At to-day's_ sitting of the Timber Com--3 mission, Edwin Broad, manager of the l Dunedin Timber Company, said the Duneciin , timber merchants had to compete with' the , Southland sawmillers, and although the - price for red pine was 13s: 6d. per 100 feet, . less discount, they had to sell it at lis. 6(1. , to compete with Southland. Ten years ago ; the price was 10s.

To Mr. Arnold: He knew of no threat by the Southland Sawmillers' Association not to allow any of their mills to supply < his or any firm dealing with outside mills. , He did not think the unrestricted importa- | tion of timber would greatly stimulate the , building trade. As a timber merchant, witness was not particular whether the duty ! on Oregon was removed or not, but for the welfare of the oommunity he would like to see it retained. )Yitness paid 19s. for kauri in Auckland, and sold it in Dunedin for 325., less discount. The difference was due to freight and .harbour dues, cartage, and waste in cutting it up. To Mr. Meld: if merchants charged 255. per cent, additional on what they paid for New Zealand timber, it would cover freight, payment of men, rates, and taxes, etc., and leavo a margin of profit, but a very small margin indeed. Mr. Hanan: Timber merchants in Dunedin have been doing fairly well. You have not heard of any of them going to shut down? Witness replied that because business was kept going it did not follow it was showing a profit. Witness went on to say that if duty were taken off long sizes of Oregon,' it might have the eifect of stopping small sizes being brought in; this would be a good thing. Robert Crawford, builder and. contractor, said it was quite impossible to get seasoned timber in Dunedin. Tho usual practice in house-building was to stack dressed timber on tho ground at the beginning of a job. To Mr. Leyland: He would bo in favour of reducing tho duty on large sizes of Oregon. In fact, ho would not be averse to seeing it admitted free. A. R. Wallis, sawmiller, of Invercargill, said ho did not _ belong bo tho Southland Sawmillers' Association. There was no understanding among "outside" mills as to prices. Ho fixed prices according to demand, eto. Ho did not think tho free importation of Oregon would mean a deathblow to tho New Zealand sawmilling iu--1 dustry.