THE TIMBER INDUSTRY.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 15874, 13 April 1917, Page 6

THE TIMBER INDUSTRY.

DEPUTATION TO SIR JAMES

.ALLEN

SUPPLIES OF WHITE PINE.

(SPECIAL TO "THE THESS.")

WELLINGTON, April 12. Alarm was expressed by a deputation of the Timber Workers' Federation which waited, upon the Aoting-Prime Minister (Sir James Allen) to-day lest the Government might take tho advice of certain farmers' organisations an-i put a prohibitive export tax on while pine. It was stated that this timber is the only timber procurable in Australasia ...j? which is suitable for butter boxes, and that to stop the export of it to Aus- 3 tralia would paralyse tho butter expoit *1 industry of that country. From the point of view of the timber workers . f:. the stoppage of export would bo disas- S trous, tor it would throw out of work v 75 per cent, of the men engaged now •'"! in the white pine millß and factories. On tho othor hand, it was urged that ' the Government should take some ac- ! v tion bccanse it was calculated that the supplies of white pine in the country would be exhausted in ten years even j at the present rate of consumption.' .. and it oould reasonably be assumed that the rate of consumption would hi-' : ; crease in tho future. The best plan seemed to be to experiment with other J timbers to take the place of white pitie V? for the making of butter boxes, and. the Government was urged to try tawaj of which there were hundreds of mil- ' lions of feet in New Zealand. If this ■ * timber were found suitable the Government should reserve all that was standing and allot it to the millers in the industry according to their require- ' V ments.

, Sir James Allen said that tho Grorernment had done nothing aboutimpofcißft/ restrictions on the export of"; white pine, but if the facts wero as repre-, sen ted, then it might be necessary-to> put_an export duty on,

The other question that had. teen •aised was one of great importance,; ■ md ho hoped that at would be can-i f sidered later by the Efficiency Boardfr Ho hoped that soon it would bo sible to set up a scientific research coifr-\£ mittee, which would ho able to deal wilh r 1 such problems as the substitution of , materials for those the supplies of' which were nearly exhausted. The pro- 1 posal to get up such a committei had been before Cabinet, and he hoped that some action wonld 600n be taken. Tin* committee, when it was set up, would \ ; be able to deal not onlv with whit's v pine hut with other industries, with V the establishment of new industries, the utilisation of waste products, and mat- . ters of that sort.