£6 A HOUSE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17572, 24 June 1925, Page 7

£6 A HOUSE.

TIMBER FREIGHT UNDER NEW TARIFF. MILLERS COMPLAIN. (Special to the “Star.") WELLINGTON'. June 21. The first protest against the proposed new railway tariff comes from the Dominion Sawmillcrs’ Federation, and' the secretary (Mr Seed! states that the matter is so serious that a general meeting will probably be called to consider the question immediately. Mr Seed states that the timber industry is already in none too flourishing a condition, notwithstanding the building activity which is evident on all hands. This was due principally to the existence of competition from foreign timbers, and the increasing exclusion of wood in the erection of the large city buildings, which were almost entirely constructed of concrete. Another factor that had to be considered was the use of wood substitutes in the erection of the modern cottage—for example. fibrous wall boards and pressed steel ceilings. The proposed new tariff on timber. Mr beed said, was approximately a 23 per cent increase, which would further hamper local production to that degree. as it would offer just that much increased premium for the importation of foreign woods. Not only would the Dominion sawmillcrs suffer a very considerable reduction in their markets, but the railways would lose the carriage of locally produced timber, for which it would be substituted in the main centres of population by increased quantities of a foreign and inferior arFurther inquiries in Wellington show that the proposed increase will add about. £6 to the cost of the timber of a five-roomed house, if obtained from Main Trunk mills.