TOPICS OF THE DAY.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXV, Issue 5118, 10 November 1903, Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

Speaking tho ether day on tho Timber Export Bill, the Premier our remarked that our kauri, nvn.mxo forests wore being depleted! timbers, at such a rate that wor might soon have to prohibit tho export of that timber. It is palpable that for many years to come timber will be tho chief building materisE for dwcllinghauscs throughout New 'Zealand : hence the desirableness of providing that the colony is not depleted of a valuable asset which apparently cannot bo replaced. The" kauri is so slow of growth that, any planting that mightnow take place would only ho of valu® for tho preservation of the timber for ornamental and cabinet, work; for long" before tho trees would mature the necessity of using- timber for building purposes will doubtless have passed away. In thomeaulimo the question for consideration is how to secure a continuous supply of good building timber at a; moderate price. It is to be feared thattho result of export duties or oven of complete prohibition of tho export of kauri will not secure this end. An alternative is suggested in a letter which wo have received from Mr .Tames Frey berg, formerly Government Timber Expert. Mr Froyberg foresees tbo inevitable and early disappearance of the famous kauri timber, and ho raises tho question—“ What- have we to take its place?" - The abundance of our limber called “ white pine,” and tho fact of its being readily grown in any part of tho colony, while it is very ea-silv worked, suggests that it- might bo utilised as a substitute for kauri. Some of the varieties are beautiful in colour and texture; but hitherto this species of timber has had a had reputation, and nas been generally shunned, on account of tho ravages of a small worm tint attacks it. Tho problem of whether this difficulty can bo overcome deserves ttr bo grappled with: for, if white pine can bo freed from this destructive agent, it would prove very valuable for building purposes. A solution of tho problem in' suggested by our correspondent.

Mr Frey berg states that years of patient investigation all over •now xo the colony have elicited make the fact that under cerwhite tain circumstances white fine pine undoubtedly lasts durable, nnite as long ns any other timber, even when exposed to the weather and under apparently unfavourable conditions. “This led (be writes) to a careful investigation of all the circumstances where successful results were obtained: and the collection of many valuable pot pa that, unfortunately. were burned in the Hawker street fire; therefore, while the facts aro still fresh in my memory, it is a duty I owe the colony to publish them. Almost invariably ft was found that when the wood was towed through tha sea from a distance to save tho expense of carriage, the timber was dr.irnble—for example, the largo bote! at Maihola, built over forty years ago, and many houses in the Sounds and elsewhere; whilo tho submerged port on of the timber in bridges washed by tidal waters lasted capitally, , the upper woodwork bad to bo renewed three or four times. Briefly put, the fibre of tho wood is filled with n saccharine matter that tha worm feeds upon, and this is present, in greater quantities if the timber is felled when full of sap; but even then, if the bark is removed and the wood is immersed in sea or tidal water for thro®' months, the saccharine matter in washed out of the fibre and replaced with salino particles which the worm will not touch. Tho wood is by these 'means toughened, strengthened, and made less inflam-, mablo, whilo tho worm’s natural food has beer, removed. If, therefore, tha best white pine is properly immersed for three (months'in tidal ponds, we shall have n wood that will bo invaluable t« in in tho near future, and also an asset that will bring a largo return if exported. Tho very whitest varieties wera much admired by London timber merchants," and considered suitable tor tha cabinet and pianoforte trades; but the durability of the wood must bo secured, aa suggested. It would probably bo a good plan . that the timber' should be stamped by the Government- as having been immersed in sea water a sufficient time to ensure its durability. One log of white pin® that had evidently been in the sea for a year'or two was found to bo absolutely fire-proof and tough beyond belief.”’ The facts mentioned by Mr Freyberg| deserve tho careful attention of tha Government and of all interested in tin development of tho country’s natural resources.

What is a Conservative? Mr -J. M., Barrie, in one of his charm-; working ing novels, tells of a fore-' men man printer on a proving consbeva- cial newspaper who was altives. wavs dreading a “heavy j night” when Gladstone) died. Thinking of this had made him a Conservative! To the workers of New Zealand it must appear peculiarly incongruous to read of “ Working Meida Conservative Associations.” In thistcolony the workers put the Liberals in power over a dozen years ago, and have kept them there ever since. Hero nobody ’ever hears of a working man Conservative. Tho incongruity in the Old* Country is increased when we consider that tho “working men Conservatives” listened to, and applauded, Mr Cham-, herlain as ho expounded his famous pro--poeals for preferential trade within the Empire, involving as they do a complete right-about-face in Britain’s • policy. That tho Conservatives at Home should, bo the advocates of change, while tho Liberals wish to hang on to the old order of things fiscal is altogether out ail harmony with the traditions of those parties. It is almost as funny as s .th«i New Zealand “Conservatives” advocating the “reform” of tho Legislative; Council. But it all goes to show that tho real, old-fashioned Conservatism is as dead as Julius Caesar. All classes, and all shades of opinion are coming to realise that change—to which Conservatism is antipodal—is a natural and absolutely essential element of progress and success. As tho years march on, new, conditions arise and necessitate, new' methods. “ Conservatism "is out of date. Why not cpll tho opposing parties in polities tho “Ins” and the “Outs,” as, indeed, Mr Chamberlain himself puts it?