TIMBER COMMISSION.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 111, 12 May 1909, Page 4

TIMBER COMMISSION.

EVIDENCE AT .AUCKLAND SITTINGS. (Bt Telegraph. — Peess Association,) AUCKLAND, l'lth May. LAt the sitting of the Timber Commission, Heniy Valder, managing director of Ellis and Burnard, Ltd., said that his firm cut about 1,500,000 ft per month, and employed between 300 and 400 men. Although the cost of living and provisions had gone up of late years, the cost of felling — that is from log to truek — had not gone up in the same proportion, owing to improved methods of haulage 'by steam, instead of by bullocks. St^am haulage had. mado many parts of the bush access ible which were not previously so. For every 100 ft of timber produced, his firm paid 5s 6d in wages. Consequently, for every 100 ft imported, that sum in wages was lost to workers here. He thought that an increased duty should be placed on long lengths of Oregon pine. He admitted that a number of small sawmills in the Waikato and King Country were in difficulties before the importation of Oregon pine commenced. iMr. Leyland : So Oregon pine is not responsible for their difficulties"? IWitness : !Not entirely. Nevertheless, it has had a bad eSect upon the industry. 'G-. LET. iNorie, railway storekeeper at Newmarket, said that he had great difficulty in obtaining supplies of heart of rimu and kauri. He had placed orders some time ago which had not been executed yet. He admitted that the Government were very exacting in regard to the quality. They had used a little Oregon, but the policy was to support local industry. They used about 100,000 ft a month. 'About eighteen months ago {.hey had cancelled unfulfilled orders for 1,100,000 ft of kauri. Since the importation of Oregon pine, however, the supplies of kauri required by the ( Government had been coming forward more freely. He favoured an export duty on kauri.