549

H.—24.

a. VALDEE.

every commodity used by him, and it is surely a desirable end to attain to get every possible man into the country, where better wages and conditions prevail for the working-man than in the large cities. The sole objection that has been argued against giving the concession asked for is that it is difficult to draw the line between building-timber and timber to be uSed for cases, &c. This can be overcome by stipulating that the reduced rate should only apply to '' timber in shooks not exceeding 4 ft. in length, for cases, crates, staves, &c." This would prevent any building-timber being sent at the lower rate, as practically no building-timber can be used in 4 ft. lengths. In regard to railway freight on white-pine, I consider that mills sending this timber more than eighty miles are treated most unfairly. The rate for white-pine for eighty miles is Is. 9d., and for other timbers 3s. for the same distance. The Railway Department justly recognise that being much lighter in weight and a low-priced timber some concession is advisable, but immediately the eighty miles is passed this timber is charged Id. per hundred feet for every six miles from eighty miles up to 200 miles, whilst other timbers pay Id. per hundred feet for nine miles over the same distance, so that after white-pine has travelled eighty miles it is charged 50 per cent. more than other timbers in spite of it being a much lighter timber. This has been pointed out to Ministers and to the Railway Department, and a promise was made that this would be borne in mind when rates were readjusted. The readjustment was made a few months ago, and a concession was made on white-pine carried over 200 miles, but as practically no mills send white-pine over this distance the concession was valueless. Practically all white-pine is seasoned before being sent away from the mill, and I give an instance of a truckload sent from one of our mills. This truck contained 9,001) ft. actual measurement, and weighed 10 tons 13cwt. : it was weighed by the Railway Department for their own information, and the following comparison is instructive. Our freight from Mananui mill to Auckland on white-pine is 3s. 2d., on other timbers 3s. 6d. Tons cwt. £ s. s. d. 9,ooojft. white-pine, at 3s. 2d., weighing 10 13, is 14 5= 26 8 per ton. 9,000 ft. rimu at 3s. 6d., „ 24 0, is 15 15=13 1 So that, reckoning by weight, white-pine is paying double the freight than rimu pays. In calculating the weight of rimu I have taken 61 lb. to the superficial feet, which is well under the average weight of building-timber shipped from the inland mills. Another means of assisting the sawmilling industry would be a more general use of our own New Zealand timbers in Government works. I have in my mind an instance at the railway bridge, Hamilton, where jar rah was used for posts and handrails for a distance of about a quarter of a mile. Our own totara would have done equally as well, if uot better, as there is absolutely no strain on tills. And, no doubt, there are numbers of similar instances where, if a general instruction was given that other things being equal our own timbers were to have the preference, it would mean a considerable amount of our timber would be used by the Government Departments, and it would be the means of keeping the money in the Dominion instead of paying it away to people outside the colony. And it must be borne in mind that every foot of foreign timber used in this country is decreasing the possible earning-power of the working-man. I attach herewith a copy of our costs-sheet for an average of three years. It is taken from our annual balance-sheets, certified to by an auditor. Costs of producing Timber: Average for Three Years, 1906-8. Logs,— s . d . s# d> Wages, accident insurance, housing &c. ... ... ... ... 1 8 - 42 Haulers —Depreciation ... ... ... ... ... ... 0 o'4l ~ Repairs and maintenance ... ... ... ... 0 0"59 Bullocks—Depreciation and deaths, grazing, &c. ... ... ... 0 0" 19 1 9-61 Royalty, not including cost of securing timber-rights, survey, and legal expenses ... ... ... ... .. 0 7"54 Tram,— Permanent trams (sinking fund) ... ... ... 0 3 Branch bush trams —Wages, repairs and maintenance, and accident. insurance ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 0 2 - 47 Haulage—Wages and accident insurance ... ... ... ... 0 7"31 ~ Depreciation, locomotive, trucks, &c. ... ... ... 0 4 - 48 ~ Repairs and maintenance, horse-feed, coal and stores, &c. ... 0 2'BB 1 8-14 Mill,— Sawing—Wages and accident insurance ... ... ... ... 1 547 ~ Oil, stores, &c. ... ... ... ... ... 0 039 « Yarding—Wages and accident insurance ... ... ... ... 0 7"21 ~ Haulage, loading, checking, &c. ... ... ... 0 4 Horses—Depreciation and deaths, horse-feed, harness, &c. ... ... 0 T62 Plant and buildings—Depreciation ... ... ... 0 073 >> Repairs, renewals, and maintenance, including saws, belting etc. ... ... ... 0 452 2 11-94 Total on railway-trucks at mill ... ... 7 1"23