FORESTRY AND SETTLEMENTS.

Timaru Herald, Volume CVIII, Issue 16817, 12 May 1919, Page 5

FORESTRY AND SETTLEMENTS.

CONFLICTING POINTS OF VIEW. ■_' An 'important memorandum on the forestry policy of the Dominion was submitted by the' Minister in charge of* the Forestry Department (Sir Fran■cjs Bell) to the conference of Commissioners, of Crown Lands which was then sitting with the Minister of Lands (Hon. D.,H. Guthrie) in Wellington'; _ The point at which the. policies of the - two Departments may infringe 'is in the determination- of fthe-use""of lands now bearing forest. The purpose of the Lands Department is to -settle bush lands if it' appears thafc. the'returns from farming will be greater than from the timber that t may. .be <towiv upon them. The policy of the JToresWy; Department is to save tirabeptre'e.s. except on such areas aV are suitable if or : farming. The two Departments may come to the. same conclusion in jricist; cases, but they will approach t-he^q ; tf§6tions always from different points' of view. It may be remembered that tho suggestion of Sir Francis Bell was in •effect ;tha.t. all forestvlands Should 1 K-be-.Eijrn \°, +V|6 Forestry Department and that this Department should decide tho futtir e use of the lands. The o.'her point of view which was put to the, conference, was that the Lands Department should retain, control of the areas, handing over to the Forestry ■Department only those areas of bush "■which it might riot consider profitable at present to cut.out for closer settlement.. The memorandum was very fully considered by the conference, and it wasgenerally approved, but the point was made 'n the course of discussion that the Crown Lands Department would have to be exceedingly careful in these times, when there was such a great and only partly satisfied demand "for land, about making any provisional pro-jlama-+ious placing under the control of the Forestry Department lands which might be suitable for settlement.