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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4158, 18 July 1874, Page 2

Anyone attempting to read the exhaustive series of papers relating to State Forests, submitted to Parliament, will not wonder that honorable members requested an adjournment, in order to give them selves an opportunity of forming an opinion upon so important a subject. The 121 pages of matter produced show that the Ministry, during the recess, gave to the subject very serious consideration. Their industry cannot be impugned. And there certainly seems no good and sufficient reasons why, as the question has been raised, and hon. members are placed in possession of a much larger amount of information respecting it than they could have expected, they should not deal with it this session, in which there does not appear to be matter of more pressing importance to exercise their energies upon. Tacitly it is admitted that as timber is a product of many years growth, and as it is being destroyed more rapidly than it is being produced, there looms the probability of a scarcity in the future, and, should there be such, it will be felt most severely by those who are the least able ■ to bear it. Under such- circumstances delay cannot be the wisest policy to pursue. If legislation is to tako place, we do not see how anyone can read the papers the Ministry have 'collected, and not come to the conclusion "'t were well it wore done quickly." There are destruction and waste going on that should be stayed at the earliest possible moment, and there is necessary provision for the future that should be entered upon at once.

Perusal of the papers will show how necessary forest legislation has been found in Germany, India, and elsewhere, and' also what success, pecuniary and otherwise, has attended the efforts that have been put forth. These certainly surpass the most sanguine expectations that could be formed. And it is to be recollected that land in a densely populated country like Germany has a commercial value very different to that which it obtains here. What is considered no more than a fair rental in the one country nearly suffices for its purchase in fee simple in the other. And, as far as we can judge, forests in Now Zealand, if properly cultivated, would be more profitable than they are in tho old world. The foresters there can scarcely boast, as we can here, of a tree cutting £SOO worth of timber. There is one conclusion that it is inevitable the papors applied load up to. Forests that are carefully planted, tended, and tho timber of which is cut down at proper seasons, aro immensely more profitable than those which are allowed to grow at haphazard, and are cleared at chance. Skill and experience can make a revenue from the growth of timber, instead of there boing an annual loss. This is one feature that has been contemplated by tho Government. The idea is not merely to preserve what wood we have from being wasted, but to provide a stock for tho future. Towards attaining this object, the very able paper of Captain Campbell Walker, F.R.G.S., will bo found of great utility. Whilst, says he, State forests may not be a necessity in England, whore tho market for timber is commanded, in India tho position is quite different, in consequence of the large and ever increasing local demand arising from tho wants of a population of over two hundred millions, accustomed to look to the Government for everything. The attention of those interested was at once turned to Germany, whore forestry, and particularly the management of forests by tho Stato, had been carried on for loin-

deeds of years. -There the foresters " can tell the name, local and botanical, of every tree, shrub, and plant, classifying it, and state its uses ; name and classify every beetle and insect in the forest, and know whether they are harmless or destructive to trees, in what shape they do damage, and what are the best known preventative measures ; inform you of the nature of the soil, and to what period the formation belongs, what trees will grow best, and why. All this is known thoroughly, theoretically, and practically." A portion of the scheme of the Government that should find favor in the eyes of lion, members is that which proposes to make the State forests discharge the public liabilities respecting which we occasionally hear sounded, notes of alarm. We submit that thepapers presented to Parliament fully prove the possibility of this taking place. If the same success attend efforts made here that has followed those in Germany, and of this there can be little question, the extinction of the "general indebtedness" of the Colony is a mere matter of time. Moreover, if the idea of the Government should be carried out, a danger will be avoided, that, although it does not threaten now, might do so at some future time. The Government proposes, on receipt of three acres of land out of every hundred in the Provinces, to relieve the Provincial Governments of any liability to special payments on account of public works constructed. The fact will be recollected that in Tasmania there was recently a disturbance in respect to liabilities such as these. Settlers refused payment of rates levied to provide interest on loans raised for the construction of local railways. The idea of the Government here is to relieve the Provinces of such charges, receiving a moiety of land which shall be so cultivated as to supply a requirement likely to be felt, and, at the same time, commence a fund out of which all the public liabilities of the ; Colony shall be discharged. This scheme should commend itself to hon. members. As the Premier said, he should "feel almost a sort of pride and gratification if this Parliament, which has done so much in favor of the construction of public works, would make provision not only for those public works but for the means of repaying them, and endow the future with what would no doubt be a most magnificent property—more valuable than therailways themselves—which will not only preserve the value of the country, but provide means in the future for the industrious population."