NEGLECT OF FORESTRY.

Colonist, Volume LX, Issue 14622, 29 January 1918, Page 2

NEGLECT OF FORESTRY.

GREAT REVENUE LOST.

A QUESTION OF THE HOUR

At the meeting of the University Senate, Mr Yon ilaast moved. '-'That for the purpose of encouraging the j study of forestry the University al-j locate £150 a year for.three years for a travelling scholarship in forestry, provided that the Government contribute a like sum towards the scholarship, and make some arrangement for the employment in the Forestry Department of the scholar on the expiration of his scholarship." Mr Yon Haast said we had-not realised the importance of forestry in this country. In Germany a net" annual revenue of £16,000,000 was obtained from it, and there were 1,000,000 men employed in it. in 1904. there were 60 schools of forestry in Japan, 2,000 graduates, and 5600 un-der-graduates. In an interesting work on the subject by Mr Hutchins, it was stated that owing to bad forestry and neglect in the past 10 years Australia would lose £600,000,000 of revenue in the next 30 years. It was time the public realised now, great an industry was involved, how prolific a source of revenue. Hitherto we had done our best to exterminate the industry. NY hen the Government had appointed' a Commission that Commission recommended, in effect that the .New Zealand indigenous forests "were doomed and not worth conserving, and that we should plant foreign trees. According to this work of Mr Hutchins's this was an entirely wrong conclusion, and the remedy was to conserve and build up our forests. The destruction of the kauri forests was a national scandal. The New Zealand indigenous trees were not slower of growth than the indigenous trees of other countries. We were now at a. crisis, in this matter, because the experience of other countries had been that it was not safe to reduce the native forests of a country by more than 25 per cent., and our forests had been reduced from 21.000,000 acres in 1886 to 15,000.000 acres in 19 J£. I+,1 +, was necessary ij&w to determine whol tiier we were going to commence under proper direction a system of conservation, or throw away this valuable source of revenue. If'one-hundredth of the time had been spent on forestry that tad been spent on party strife we would have had millions of pounds of revenue from this source. The University was something more than an examining body, and" in a matter of this national moment the Senate should give a lead and help the Government in tneir endeavour to rehabilitate the forests. The first thing to be done was to create a Forestry Department, and free it from political control. Political control in Australia had led to the wanton destruction of a national asset for the. sake of a few votes. .Next, the department should be placed in.the hands of an expert, and provision made for education in and recruiting to the work. It was not advisable to start with a University school, bub we should send our promising young men abroad to study forestry. "Personally, he thought this "was a matter of such vital importance that the University itself might make some sacrifice of the funds committed to its charge to bring the best results about. He thought Biicii action would appeal to the Government more than if they merely went in the usual way with an appeal for money. This was undoubtedly an industry that would produce a great amount of revenue, would provide a remedy for rural depopulation, give a-fresh avenue of work for a rural population, provide an always open source of employment in crises of "unemployment, and provide a rural population that could be used as the backbone of a defence system in case of necessity, tie would suggest as probably the best course that the Senate affirm the principle, and refer the matter to the April meeting, allowing the Wellington, Recess Committee to report to that' meeting as to funds available. Dr Ferguson seconded the motion. The way in which the wealth of the community had been wasted in the destruction of the forests was a national disgrace. It was the primest necessity tliac the public should be educated, to this subject. Professor Scott said this was a country eminently suited for the growing of timber. No timber in the world approached kauri for shipbuilding. Ships built of it were perfectly sound after 40 years. Naval architects were always anxious to get kauri for decks. The supply, owing to the destruction of forests, was limited. He was able to report also that the quick-ly-grown oaks in .New Zealand were as good a,s\the Continental oaks and nearly as good a« the English. The breaking strain of oaks planted here within the memory of man was 75 per cent, or SO per -cent that of the English oak. Professor Macmillan Brown said that he found that the native trees grew just as rapidly as the introduced tree, and he could not understand the fallacy on this point. Professor Kirk said that New Zealand Governments had brought experts on forestry to New Zealand, published their reports, and then done nothing more. The Governments had not lacked expert advice, but had disregarded it as they had on other subjects. The New Zealand Government certainly did conserve certain forests, but in proportion to what they ought to have done they had been .criminally negligent. He' supported the motion, while he would like to sco something more practical done.- ' The Chancellor said the main trouble was that there had been no public support of any suggestion about forestry. Speaking in Auckland many years ago., about the conservation of the kauri forestSjho had pointed out that this timber would early become rare, as it had done. A gain,' in 3 886, the Government of the day had set aside a large reserve near Whangarei for a forestry school, but the next Government came into office and the whole thing was sqiiashed. The Chancellor proceeded to point out that there were men in New Zealand who knew all about forestry. lie- also reminded the Senate that the Government had not S been -entirely inactive. They had plant- ! Ed 50 5 000,060 trees in different parts of New Zealand. There were 38.000,----000 in the ltotorua district— mainly I larches, with also gums, pines, and j some English trees. The great difti- | culty in connection with these forests at present was the expense of thinning out. He heartily agreed with Mr Yon Haast's motion." The great thing that nad delayed forestry in New Zealand was that there had not been a public foelino; in favour of forestry. The motion was adopted and referred to the Recess Committee to report to the April meeting.;—Dunedin (iStar."