THE TIMBER COMMISSION

Evening Star, Issue 14185, 9 October 1909, Page 8

THE TIMBER COMMISSION

“ OF NO PRACTICAL VALUE.”

LOCAL VIEWS.

One of our representatives interviewed a few of onr local timber merchants this morning, when they expressed their views on the report of the Timber Commission; Mr H. P. Moee said: I think, in the first place, the personnel of th© Commission was rather a mistake. There were so many conflicting interests represented that it must have been a very difficult matter for them to arrive at anything like a satisfactory and unanimous decision.. It seems to roe to have been a case of everyone poshing his own barrow, so to speak. The statements made about the middleman's profit do not apply to the Otago and Southland as most of the saw-millers in Southland Save their direct representatives, either in the form of timber yards or travelling salesmen, so that so far as Dunedin is concerned the trad© and the consumers generally have the benefit of the lowest prices possible. In a conversation with some of the practical saw-millers on the Commission during their visit to Invercargill they admitted that timber could not be produced in Southland to sell at a lower rate than at present. That statement was mad© after they had inspected portion of th© Long-wood Forest. In fact, on© largo saw-miller on the Commission said he would not like to mill in such a country, and wondered how we could possibly produce the timber to sell at the prices we do. Taking the distance Dunedin is from the sawmills, there is no city in New Zealand where timber is sold cheaper. With regard to afforestation, 1 am quite in accord wdh the report of the Commission. The opening of lauds for selection by the Lands Department, one of the conditions of which is that the felling and clearing of the land is part of the improvement, is, however, to be deplored. Every effort should be made to enable saw-millers to clear the land of timber previous to settlement. By this means not only would the State profit by the receipt .of royalty for the timber, but the settler would have a good deal of the heaviest portion of his work done for him, and he would thus be able to work his land more profitably and better for himself. The compromise arrived at by the Commission to allow Oregon, long lengths, to come in duty free, and to impose a further duty of 50 per cent, increase on smaller lengths, seems to me impracticable. There would be nothing to prevent a saw-miller getting in a large percentage of long lengths, as the basis on which Oregon is sold lengths extend up to 40ft, so that a saw-miller could get in a shipment of long lengths duty free and by cutting them up in his mill could make a considerable saving and practically deprive th© country of the duty imposed on short lengths. Seeing the shortage of kauri and the large exportation that gees on, it is necessary that something should be done to either replace that timber or to prevent its exportation, and Oregon seems to be the cheapest to take its place. To my mind kauri is the test allround timber in the world, and the outside world is beginning to recognise this, ter they will take as much as New Zealand can send them. The result is that it is well-nigh impossible to get kauri orders fulfilled at all. I understand that the Government themselves are some millions of feet behind in their orders for kauri, and that is certainly e shocking state of affairs, considering the large quantity of this timber that is required for railway-carriage construction and other purposes. Surely, therefore, it should not be a very difficult thing for the Government to realise that this timber should be kept in New Zealand, especially seeing that it is only grown in one place in the world—the northern part of Auckland. There is one thing certain : the people here are not paying too much for the timber that is being put into their houses. When they complain of the extra cost of buildings they should take into consideration that they are getting a different style of house built than formerly. Then they have to conform to Drainage Board regulations, and they have up-to-date conveniences, which make the cost of building higher than it was in previous years. It is quite fallacious to think that any little extra oast of timber is the cause of the enhanced cost of the construction oi buildings. Mr J. C. Thomson (president of the Timber Merchants) was very downright. “ My impression generally,” he said, “is that the report is of no practical value whatever. Th© appointment of the Commission was a glaring political job, and a most unwarrantable expenditure of public money at a time when the utmost economy in every direction was imperative. I think that the personnel of the Commission doomed it to failure from the start. It was not composed of men who were experts in the trade, and it was absurdly large. And, like th© proverbial mountain in labor, it brought forth a mouse, but a mighty expensive mouse.” Mr Thomson continued that the Premier must have known that the conditions existing in the timber trade were very similar to those existing in every other business, and that when the disturbing cause died away things would right themselves, as they wore nor. - doing. The rccommendations wore of little value. Of course, it stood to reason that where rough country carrying sparse bush existed a larger area should be granted, but expenditure in the direction of large mills was not likely to take place, owing to the comparatively small market which, with a small population, existed. In fact, there were areas where the only profitable method of working would bo by a man and his family clearing the Land for agricultural purposes. The Commission further recommended the publication of a work upon native bush, being apparently unaware of, or ignoring, the existence of that excellent work on ‘ Forest Flora of New Zealand,’ by F. Kirk, which was already issued bv the Government, and which contained full and detailed information on the subject. In answer to a question concerning the importation of Oregon, Mr Thomson said that a great deal had been said of this as a disturbing element. The fact was that the importation of this timber in abnormal quantities had been the result of conditions in America after the recent collapse; and while it mnst continue to be imported to some degree, since both kauri and red pine were difficult to obtain in long lengths, yet- the importation would not be on the scale which the previously existing -conditions had brought about.