RESERVES AND SETTLEMENT

Otago Witness, Issue 3102, 27 August 1913, Page 7

RESERVES AND SETTLEMENT

SAWMILLS OR SCENERY. GOVERNMENT’S SETTLEMENT POLICY. £Feou Our Own' Correspondent ) WELLINGTON, August 13. An important discussion upon the related subjects of reserves, settlement, and afforestation took place in the House this afternoon when the Prime Minister gave notice to remove the reservation imposed upon some 12,000 acres near Martinborough. Many speakers referred to the subject of afforestation, and gave their views on the treatment to be accorded the remaining portion of Native bush in the dominion.

In his reply the Prime Minister traversed some important grounds in the Government’s land settlement policy, and declared that for- the future the system of purchasing private lands for settlement would have to bo prosecuted more vigorously than in the past.

RESERVATIONS DEFENDED. On the paper being presented Mr Ell Bald the House was apparently getting careless over these reservation matters, and was not paying proper attention to them. He knew well enough the pressure that was brought upon the Prime Minister by settlers who were anxious to got on tho land, but it was not right that these reservations should be lifted without the closest inquiry. Mr Witty endorsed this, and said that the country was doing too much in the way of lifting reserves. It was not right to destroy bush which was likely to become good timber or to become useful for scenic purposes. People ought to be more patriotic and stick to the forests rather than see them destroyed.

Mr G. M. Thomson said he hoped that as Httle as possible would be done in the way of destroying; and giving up forest areas until the whole question had been very fully gone into. He held to the general principle that eawmillers and others were the last persons to be taken into consideration when it came to a question of reserving forests.—(Hear, heard Those people and also many people on the edge of forest ayeas looked upon the forests simply from a monetary point of view.

Mr Hanan emphatically supported the remarks of the previous speakers. r n whittling down reserves set apart for national reserves the Government was not doing right. He understood that to gratify its lust., for settlement at any price the Government had taken away a portion of a reserve at Masterton. Ho wished to enter his emphatic protest against that, and he would like a word as to the policy of the Government on the point. PRACTICAL AFFORESTATION.

Mr Coates said the idea of afforestation was splendid, but how did it work out practically? He recollected a reserve at Puhipuhi which was a splendid asset, but one match destroyed the lot. He would defy any man to preserve forests on high lands from fire in the North Island. He knew r of many reserves of from 1000 to 2000 acres which had been destroyed by fire during last summer. Mr Ell: Then it is no use having, plantations?

Mr Coates: Oh. yes. It is chiefly the fern and undergrowth which help the fire. He believed that by a reasonable system of small settlement they could carry out plantation work very successfully. Referring to the Waiapoua forest, he declared it impossible and ridiculous to preserve it with only one man. There were many miles of country there which could not always be watched. They- could see where fires'had started and run for chains into the bush. It was the biggest fluke in the world that it had not already gone. Next summer it might all go, and he believed it was far better to come down to practical commonsenso and preserve forests that could be saved and use those that could not be saved. He would not suggest how the bush should bo used, nor would he suggest that the sawmiller should be turned into this bush. If the timber was wanted by the State then the State should have it; but his noint was that bush country should be used before a fire took place. Mr Wilson supported the views of Mr Coates, and held that it would he better to devote small reserves to settlement purposes rather than have a few stunted trees growing upon them.

i Mr Forbes said that where the timber | had disappeared reservation could be | lifted, but he supported the general sysj tern. He urged the claims of the South Island for afforestation, and deplored the fact that so little had already been done. Mr Pearce commended the recommendation of the Forestry Commission that the | land at the mouth of the Rangitikei River should be planted. Mr R. W. Smith supported the views of Mr Coates, and contended that saw-milling was one of the most important industries in the dominion. | FULL INFORMATION GIVEN. , In reply, the Prime Minister said the area from which the reservation was proposed to be lifted consisted of 12,834 acres near Martinborough. There were 15,000 i or 16,000 acres of standing forest left. Under the heading of “Reason for proposal to withdraw” the department stated that it desired to lift the reservation in order that the land might be subdivided for settlement. A forest of 8394 acres had been destroyed by fire, and in order ! to obtain better boundaries it was deeirj able to include with this an additional area of 4500 acres. Although the bush was still standing on it it was in imminent danger of being swept by fire when the settlers cleared their holdings lower down. Fires had run through this forest at different times in the last 20 years. The land was valued at 25s per acre, and was suitable for grazing in large areas. About 8000 acres were already carrying , stock. There were well-formed roads to the land, which was about 18 miles distant from Martinborough. It had been stated that the land was capable of carry - . ing two sheep per acre. It had been asked that the area should lie reserved as a shelter for deer, but he felt that the land was more valuable to the country for settlement purposes, and accordingly preparations bad been made for using it. They had to remember that Crown land was becoming somewhat scarce in this country, and it would be seen later on, when the lands rep>rt reached Parliament, that it must become necessary for the State to purchase more land for settlement purposes in future than had been the case in recent years. This was for the simple reason that land suitable for settlement was being rapidly taken up, and as the supply must be equal to tho demand they must fall back upon privately-owned land. He thoroughly agreed with members who had spoken on the subject of afforestation. They had not done anything like enough in tho way of afforestation up to the present. Local bodies as well as the Government should take up the work, and private individuals should also do something. The Forestry Department was doing a good deal during the present session. It was planting no fewer than 6,850.(XX) trees. The greater ’ number of these trees bad been already planted, and the remainder would be planted within the next few weeks. Ha did not say that this was sufficient, but lie hoped to get things Maced on a more business-like and scientific basis presently than they had been for a long time. What they had to find out was the number of trees raquirod to meet the needs of the country for the next 25 or 30 years. His . promise that an opportunity would ho ’ given for the discussion of the Forestry Commission’s report would be kept, but he could not say when until the financial debate had been disposed of.

Replying to members who had asked for a ‘statement of policy in regard to reserves, he would say that where a reserve had any value for scenic or for forest purposes that reserve should be kept and should not be interfered with, but as one who had travelled round the country a good deal and as a practical man he considered that a great many of these reserves were of no value at all for the purpose for which they Had been set apart. Anyone who travelled through the. North Island must be aware of this. In”*inany cases these scenic and forest reserves were becoming breeding-places for noxious weeds and noxious animals. Settlers in various districts had petitioned him to lift the reservation from these areas. In accordance with a promise made last session ho had visited the Waipoua Forest during the recess. He agreed with Mr Coates about, the danger from fire, and '•considered it almost a miracle that the forest had not been burnt last summer. If the present state of things were allowed to continue, so surely as the sun rose tomorrow morning the Waipoua Forest would go up in smoke and fire. He be-

lieved that the commission was absolutely right in its recommendation regarding the forest, amd it should not be opened for the purposes of sawmilling in the ordinary way, but should be kept for the_ purposes of the State, 1-arge quantities of timber were used by the State, and what he thought should be done within the next year or two was to continue the Kaihu railway for four miles beyond the place at which it stopped to-day—to Donnelly’s Crossing- At this point it would tap the Waipoua Forest, and then a State sawmill should be put in and the timber used for the purposes of the State. No one was more anxious than he was to preserve part of this forest if it could possibly be done, and people in the district had told him that the royalties on the kauri in the forest would realise £500,000 and the royalties on other timber £250,000. This would give some idea of the value of the timber in the forest. Every attempt should be made to preserve some of the very best and most picturesque portions of the forest, but no it hern members would 'understand how exceedingly difficult it was to preserve' inflammable trees like the kauri. A large part of the forest area was fit for settlement. and the duty of the Government seemed to be to settle the land, utilise as much of the timber as possible for State purposes, and reserve some portions of the forest for the benefit of future generations.