THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 1920. FORESTRY IN NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17902, 6 April 1920, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES TUESDAY, APRIL 6, 1920. FORESTRY IN NEW ZEALAND.

The opinion is expressed by Sir David Hutchins, whose authority on the subject is unquestionably high, that the future of the dominion is bound up with the future of its forestry. He actually declares, in what may be thought to be the language of extravagance, that tho forests in New Zealand to-day, although terribly depleted and in many instances wastefully destroyed, are worth far moro than all the possible export of wool, meat, and dairy produijp put together. Ho cites statistics, also, in support of the contention that the surest way of increasing the population of the dominion lies in the preservation of its forest lands. The policy pursued in New Zealand by successive Governments in the past in the matter of, the utilisation of the timber resources of the country is roundly condemned by him as " shortsighted." There has been, as he conceives, a mistaken aim of turning the dominion into a pastoral country, undar the exploded idea that hush country is valueless a-nd that grass is tho ideal to he aimed at; this being dono in pursuance of thd plan which was adopted at Home. Th© experience in Great Britain since ■ 1914 has gone to show the folly of disregarding the value of national forests. It has brought home tho amazing fact that the country was paying away £43,000,000 per annum for imported timber. It is indisputable that New Zealand has for her part beenguilty of foolish waste, of an important asset in her timbers. In a pamphlet lately issued hy the Department of Forestry over his name, Sir David Hutchins cries loudly for an altered policy. Although the work of destruction of the forests of the dominion has been permitted to proceed to a lamentablo degree he holds that it has not yet passed the point of repair. Even now thoro is time for us to retrace oar steps. " Reading the history of New Zealand," Sir David Hutchins writes, "it is difficult to discern that the country has ever been called upon to face so serious an issue as 4hat now before it in the forestdestruction which has gone so far that only a short further persistence in the present policy will render the restoration of the forests almost impossible at any reasonable cost. This will mean the final loss of theifinest forests in the Southern Hemisphere, and with them the loss of an export trade worth, in the future, more than either wool or dairy produce. It will mean the loss of land-settlement at tho rate • of one family per 75 acres, the bulk of this settlement being in the present 'unoccupied third' of New Zealand. It will mean the loss of the best industry that New Zealand has ever possessed or is ever likely to possess and the handicapping of two or three other industries in depriving them of thoir raw material at economical rates. It will mean a continued rise in the present high cost of living." The possession by New Zealand or national forests, properly cared for and' adequately cultivated, would, Sir David Hutchins avers, eventually bear moro than' the whole burden of the war debt of the dominion, to say nothing of the indirect benefits which forestry brings in its train. The policy pursued in the past has been one of rapid destruction and partial afforestation. Sir David Hutchins bitterly laments the loss of the Puhipuhi forest, one of the finest of the best kauri forests in the dominion. Although specially protected the bush was destroyed by fire and fully four-fifths of the timber absolutely lost. The net money loss, reckoned at present prices for kauri, is estimated at nearly £4,000,000. The contrast between the result of forest preservation and forest destruction is effectively and strikingly set forth: — Though the forest was .so good the soil was mostly poor, and naturally became poorer with the loss of tho. forest covering. On tho best of tho soil dairying is in progress, with the -result, from inquiries I made on tho spot, that 200 acres give employment to one family and bring in about £1 per acre yearly in butter fat, or 10s net after deducting about 10s per acre as the cost of labour. If the forest had been worked conservatively under trained foresters during the time that the crop of timber in the virgin forest was being cut, there would have been two or three times this amount of employment—in logging and milling tho timber, in reading, and' in organising the forest against fire, and in ensuring tii© full regeneration of tho forest with the maximum kauri crop. Mr F. Mander, M.P., who milled a considerable part of the Puhipuhi forest, and some others, have informed mo that it contained a large proportion of young timber. Thus, the timber returns from the Puhipuhi forest would have been continuous from the start of systematic working. Thoro would have been little or no transition period. Tho forest, by now. would have been earning some £7 per aero per year net, taking the present market kauri royalty at 10s. And kauri timber is rising so rapidly inprice that in a few years the Puhipuhi forest would liave been in a position of the normal kauri forest and earning some £10 net per aero per year. Full employment would then have been at tho rate of about one man per 75 acres, as against one man par 200 acres under dairying. Sir David Hutchins cites the rearing of pigs as one of the industries towards which the conservative system of forestry lends a useful impetus. As in Franco, it could be profitably employed in all kauri forests under regeneration. It is useful both to the forests and the consuming public. At present there are loss than a third of a million pigs in tho dominion and the member h dacreaaing. Forestry, jro-

perly pursued, would mean tho restoration- of bacon to tho breakfast table-3 of tho people of New Zealand. Sir David Hutchins insists that the racedeterioration which follows rural depopulation is an inevitable consequence of forest destruction and that New Zealand is at present pursuing a path of national decay. As mi incentive to a change of policy ho declares, out of tho depth of his experience, that in its own class Now Zealand timber stands supreme; it is better than in tho virgin forest of South Africa, bettor than in tho same forest in the highlands of British East Africa, and much better than that on tho Nilgirj mountains of India. In all those countries, valuable forests aro being preserved by their respective , Governments. Is this dominion to stand alone in a persistonco in a rotrogrado and distinctly wasteFul policy? Tho establishment of a Department cf Forestry, which is responsible for • tho publication of Sir David Hulchins's forcible criticism of the policy of tho pafit, suggests at least a hopeful answer to this question.

Tho traffic- returns for tho Easter season disclose much travelling by rail and tram. Tho tramway takings show a largo increase on last year's returns. On Thursday last they totalled £399 19s 7d, on Friday £295 15s 3d, and on Saturday £324 13s lid, as compared with £365 8s Id, £154 4s sd, and £266 9s 4d respectively last year. Tho only railway returns available last night were the following details of bookings on Thursday and Friday :■—Thursday—North ot Port Chalmers, 2001; south of Mosgiel, 1096. Friday—North of Port Chalmers, 1802; south of Mosgiel, 2086. Trains to Port Chalmers and Mosgiel and up country to Central Otago were also well patronised. The total bookings (9474) were 915, in excess of those for the corresponding two days in 1917/ the last year when Easter excursion tickets were used. Tho Duucdin portion of the mail brought from Australia by tho Mocroki is expected to reach this city by the first express today, in winch case it will be delivered tomorrow. English mails should arrive in Wellington about -the 18th hist, by tho Mouna, and at Auckland on tho following day by tho Niagara. H.M.S.-Renown, upon which tho Prince, of Wales is travelling, which is due at Auckland oil the 24th inst., has also a quantity of mail matter for New Zealand. TJiere was a bit of a scene in George street yesterday afternoon arising out of the arrest of a man who wa9 drunk. He resisted so violently that the arresting constable had to send for assistance, which came in the shapo of Sergeant Shanahan and a second constable. While tho inebriato was being escorted to the central station another man rushed in, and tho sergeant grappled with him. Thero was a violent struggle between tho two of some duration, in the course of which the sergeant had his face damaged. The first man is charged with drunkenness and assaulting the "police, a.nd the second with obstructing the sergeant and assaulting him. In tho evening there was similar trouble in tho vicinity of Manse street. Four young men went down to tho central station and stated tl?at ono of them had been assaulted by a man at the corner of Manse and High streets. Sergeant Scandrett and a constable proceeded there., but could not find their man. About a quarter of an hour later they discovered him in the act of attempting to strike another man who had three or four ladies in his oompany. The turbulent spirit resisted violently when arrested, and had to bo handcuffed before he could be taken to tho police station. He is charged with drunkenness, disorderly conduct while drunk, assaulting the young man, resisting the police, and obscene language. A five-roomed house in District road, Ravonsbourac, owned by Mr C. E. George, and occupied by Mr Reid, was completely demolished by fire last night. Tho Oity Fire Brigado received three calls yesterday, all being caused by grass or hedge fires. Tho first call was shortly before 1 p.m., and was due to a hedge in Somervillo street, Anderson's' Bay, catching fire. The second call, at 2.30 p.m., was to Eisbher crescent, Caveraham, whero a grass fire had. broken out. The third was shortly before 6 o'-clook, and was in consequence of a' girass fire at tho Woodhaugh Gardens. Practically no damage was dono in any instance. A first offender, for drunkenness, was convicted and discharged by Mr A. Russell, J.P., at a short -sitting of tho City Polico Court yesterday. Frederick George Smith and John Alexander Metcalfe were remanded till April 9, on the application of Senior Detective Cameron, on a charge of stealing a handbag and contents, of a total value of £27 17s 6d. Smith was allowed bail in his own recognisance of £100 and two sureties of £50, and Metcalf—self in £50 and two sureties of £25. Patrick Clare, who was charged with the theft of a Brownie camera, valued at 10s 6d, was remanded till tho Eome' date and allowed bail—self in £50' and' two sureties of £25. Another remand was granted in the case of Patrick Holland, who was charged with stealing 40 watches at Wellington on January 8. The watches were the property of tho Union Steam Ship Company and valued at £20. Bail was fixed—self in £25 and one surety of a like amount. "In New Zealand," said' Mr T. E. Sedgwick in his address on immigration at Chiristchurch, "if the population was spread around the coast line there would bo only one person to every four yards. In Australia thero would bo only one in.every fivo yards." If they wanted to keep the British flag flying over these countries they would have to get moro population; A Japanese- naval olficer had said to him, " You cannot keep a country merely by flying a flag over it; you must people' it." New Zealanders seemed more interested in going to the pictures than in what concerned their country, but pictures would not keep out tho Japanese and other Asiatics who were overflowing their own' countries and increasing at a rapid rate. A prominent Wellington business man remarked to tho Now Zealand Times:— Boots and leather aro coming in from America and also England, though not yet in any great quantities; while official figures wore published only recently showing that Australia last year sent.into New Zealand an average of over 30,C00 pairs of boots per month. So that the tanning and bootmaking trades in New Zealand have been in this position, that hides could bo*bought in New Zealand, taken to Australia, turned into tho finished article there; then tho finished product, with charges for duty, freight, insurance, handling and storage to pay, has been sent into New Zealand and been able to compete successfully with the boots produced by tamners and bootmakers here. This is a very extraordinary' state of affairs, and odq which requires a bit of explanation. Personally, I have no doubt that if tho bootmakers and tanners arrange to put up prices imports will increase and their business will suffer. , Replying to 'a question in tho Commonwealth House of Representatives, the Assistant Minister for Defence stated that civilian suiting was being manufactured at tho Fedoral Government Woollen Mills, Geolong, for sale to returned soldiers, sailors, and nurses only, and the distribution of tho cloth would be carried out by tho Returned Soldiers and Sailors' Impcrinl Leaguo, which would purcliase it from the mills at the following rates:—Quality No. 1 (grey tweed),, 5s 6d per yard; quality No. 2 (grey tweed), 6s 6d per yard; quality No. 5 (indigo blue tweed), 7s 6d per yard. Giving evidence before the Basic Wage Commission, tho manager of the Government Clothing Factory at South Melbourne produced a. smart-looking grey suit, which, he said, it was proposed to retail from the factory to returned soldiers at £3. The tweed had been supplied by tho Commonwealth Woollen Mill-, and the £3 was based on the price of the material at 6s 6d a yard. Similar material cost 12s to 13s in Melbourno shops. At. the proposed price the suit would return a profit to the factory. Ho added that the factory could turn out 1500 of these suits a week. It was not proposed to supply the general public, but; if tbey bad toe mnserkl and the extra hoods the? osnU do so,

Tho nomination of candidates for tho Bruce by-election, which takes place on the 14th inat., closed nt Milton at noon yesterday. The returning officer (Mr_L. W. Potter) announced that th© following nominations hnd been received:—James Be-sg and John Edie. Mr Begg is tho Government candidate, and Mr Edio is e landing in the Libend interest. "Hero you are, kdiea and galtlomcn, gonuino £1 Treasury notes going for twopenco," was a cry heard in Trafalgar square, London, recently. No ono Beomed inclined to take any risks in tho matter until tho well-dressed vcJidor had stood for nearly fivo minutes. Then a daring individual advanced and offered twopenco. lie was presented wlih a grimy,, well-worn Bradbury," a.nd told that it was genuine. The vondor (Mr Fred Barnes, of tlic music hall stage) then explained that tho notes wore offered »# the result of a l>ct. Tlio buyer naturally wanted to purchaso the entire stock at a littlo abovo the offered price, but tho time limit imposed by tho hot—fivo minutes —had expired. Tho bet arose out of Mr Barnes's contention that the avorago pavement vendor has a bad time, and more than earns his money. To test tho matter a bet of £50 was made, with a time limit of fivo minutes. Fifty gonuino not<:s woro put up in envelopes, separately; a'prominent notice of " £1 notes for 2d" was displayed over tho tray, and a note was on view to show that the offer was genuine. Only one note was sold in tho live minutes. , Tho Commonwealth Treasury has decided to reduce very considerably tho quantity of gold coinago which, passengers from tho commonwealth will bo allowed to tako with them 'to Eastern countries. In future Europeans travelling from Australia to Japan, India, and the East will not bo permitted to tako with them more than £15 in gold, instead of £30 as hitherto; whilo passengers for other countries will not be allowed to • tako with them moro than £25 in gold. Formerly the maximum was £50. In tho case of Hindus, Japanese, and Chinese- travellers, tho amount of gold coin which they can take away from the commonwealth ha 3 been limited to £10. It seems rather au absurd thing ,to say that tho coal shortage would lead to increased production on tho farm, but there a.rc not wanting signs that this is tending, to be tho effect in tho Danncvirke district (says an exchange). Tho lack of coal has stimulated an enormous demand for firewood and tho Railway Department has found its resources severely taxed to provide trucks to satisfy tho firewood dealers. The scene along the railway lino in Southern' Hawke's Bay has for years been disfigured by an array of blackened treo stumps, but the enormous demand for firewood is rapidly cleaning the paddocks up. On almost every farm men aro busily getting out the stumps and splitting them into fuel lengths. Huge stacks of firewood everywhere meet tho eyo, and it is apparent from tho rapid manner in which tho country is being cleared that the workers are not adopting the "go-slow" policy.'"Tho fuel provided should keep us going in Danncvirke with electricity, and as town-dwellers consume tho waste timber on the farms they aro helping to clear the way for tho plough and increased argicultural production.