"OIL-CAN WANTED"

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 145, 20 June 1924, Page 11

"OIL-CAN WANTED"

TO CALM A DISPUTE

FACTS AND FIGURES

RELATING TO TiatßEß EXPORTS.

When the building conference, at present sitting in Wellington, reached the stage yesterday afternoon of discussing the kinds of Umber that should be used in flooring, the proceedings livened up considerably. The recommendation" before the conference was that several New Zealand woods should be allowed as well as approved imported timbers. Mr. A. J. Paterson, who had continuously protested against some of the New Zealand timbers adopted in the earlier discussion, moved as an amendment "that all imported timbers be allowed."

A member: "As approved." Mr. Paterson: "No. Not approved. All the imported timbers are better than at least five of the timbers named in this list. The Government talks about stopping exportation, but I think it is wrong to have an absolute prohibition. If timbers could go out for box-making, etc., and be returned in good imported timbers, we would get houses that would last.'"

A member: "And the sawmillers would want to put 10s entrance duty on to it.'" DEFINITION OF' SAP. A few minutes later there was a somewhat acrimonious discussion on the definition of sap, and Mr. A. R. Entrican, engineer, State Forest Service, produced several returns. He said that in the North Island, due to better grading practices and better timbers 33.87----per cent, of heart' timber was produced, and 66.13 per cent, of o.b. These figures were taken from six mills over

iv period of six months. On the West Coast tho percentage ran -down to approximately 12 to 14 per cent, of heart in the eleven mills from which returns were procured. At the same time there was no doubt that what he had said on a previous occasion about the regrading of the West Coast timber was correct" Hegrading was undoubtedly done by the merchants in Wellington." There was also no doubt about another fact, and that was that the people in Australia liked the better grades of timber, though this- was denied by tho sawmillers.

Mr. S. M. Stone (Wellington Region Sawmillers) said there seemed to him to be a certain amount of feeling running between the Department and ono of the sections. He was representing Uie sawmillers, and was iv a position to say that certain of Mr. Entrican's remarks were contrary to fact. Thestatement he objected to was that thp sawmillers were getting another class out of the timbers to the dotrimont of the sawmillers in the South.

Mr. Entrican said he might not havn as much experience as Mr. Stone, but he (Mr. Entrican) stood by what he had stated. Mr. Stone-: "So do I." Another delegate rose to speak. Mr. Paterson: "Oil-can wanted." Mr. Entrican said the Wellington merchants had the facilities locally to reolas's tho timbers, and it appeared that the timber could be better reclassified here than at the mills. He was not saying anything detrimental whatever. The timber merchant, played a very im- . portrait part in the affairs of the community. AUSTRALIA WANTS SOFT TIMBER. Mr. J. Butler (Auckland) said a very extensive experience enabled him .to say that the Australian buyers did not want heart timber. 'In a great many cases they objected to it. It was the soft timber they wanted. In his case, over many millions of feet that had been exported, there had never been a heart timber order from Australia. One of the West Coast delegates also agreed that practically no heart timber was sent to Australia. Mr. J. Maxwell (Auckland: "Is it not a fact that the best kauri timber is exported to EnglandV" Mr. Maxwell: "We are alloived to ship 500,000 feet out annually to wherever we please. Of that^the Kauri Timber ■Company's quota is 330,000 feet. We have an output, roughly, of 16,C00,CC0 to 17,000,000 feet per annum, and 330,000 feet cannot account for much. The timber sold is mostly for brewer's' vats and the decking of boats. At one time we sitipped- up to '40,CC0,C00 feet. The discussion then dropped.