The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1918. A CALAMITY AND A REMINDER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 155, 20 March 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1918. A CALAMITY AND A REMINDER

The disastrous bush fires which yesterday wiped out fcho township of Raetihi"and which appear to have done an immense amount of damage- over a wide area will mean heavy losses, and possibly in many cases ruin, to the settlers in a thriving and progressive district. The full extent of tho losses suffered cannot yet be ascertained, hut from, all accounts they would appear to have exceeded anything experienced here i from bush fires in recent times. It may be necessary for the State to come to the assistance of such of the settlers as, may require'it, as has been clone on occasions in- tho past, and no doubt the Government will give sympathetic consideration to any suggestion, of this nature should the-circumstances be found to demand it. Though the conditions under which ■these disastrous fires in the llaetihi district occurred are no doubt exceptional, the event might be used to serve as a reminder of our folly in neglecting what should be .one of our best national assets—the indigenous forests of the Dominion. The adoption of a sound forest policy is demanded on many grounds, but one to which the events recorded to-daj give some point is that orderly methods of forest conservation and exploitation would entail, amongst other things, the creation of an organisation which would by regulation and otherwiso assist to restrict loss and damage from tho spread 'of bush- fires. It is part and parcel of the conditions under which the native forest is being rapidly and wastefully destroyed that ho efficient organisation exists for regulating and dealing with bush fires. Under all heads, an enormous amount of wealth has been destroyed in this country as a result of the unchecked spread of,such fires. Settlers have time and again suffered heavily in tho destruction of buildings and fences and the loss of live stock, and much good milling forest has also been destroyed. This by many is. regarded as inevitable; but such is not the case. Rational methods of forestry and regulation would go a long way towards checking and minimising tho recurrence of such disasters. Apart from the greater- protection and security which would be afforded 'to settlers against some of tho worst dangers and calamities to which they are now exposed, the adoption of a sound forest policy is urgently demandod on broader grounds. As matters' stand, our native forests are a vanishing as-, set. Abandoned as they_ now are to indiscriminate destruction and to every form of wasteful deterioration, they would in no very long time be lost beyond recall. Prompt action is needed if suitablo forest areas aro to bo preserved, as they should be, as a richly productive and permanent asset. At tho same time, these forest areas would provido an admirable field for the public enterprise which must be put in hand as soon as peace is concluded with a' view to providing employment for our soldiers returning from tho war. So long as the war is in progress, all that can be done in tho interests of forest development is to make orderly plans and preparations, but established facts relating to forestry and forest employment supply tlie strongest possible reasons for giving this enterprise a prominent placo in the demobilisation programme,_ Explicit evidence on the subject is supplied by Mr. D. E. Hutchins, an expert of high standing whom tho Government has employed to report upon our oxisting forest resources and tho best methods of turning

them to account, in a. pamphlet published somo time ago.

Tho introduction of systematic fovosiry now (ho observes) would lit opportune, 'i'hero is certain to bo much demand lor employment after the war, if not sooner. 11l South Africa, after tho Boer war, the Government iiad to find work for a largo number of whito men left stranded with tho cessation of war conditions and the largo special expenditure. The unemployed were found work partly on railway construction and partly on forestry, liven for tho weaklings and alcoholics light work was found in the timber plantations—thinning, bark-stripping, weeding nurseries, etc. For forest development in Now Zealand thero is work of an extensive character, and in the country away from town temptations. Por .tho able-bodied road-making, ringbarkini?, for natural regeneration, the formation of grassed fire-lines, tho putting up of rough buildings at "forest stations," tho preparation of strips of lnnd for the introduction of choice. 6elf-spreading exotic timbers. . For the maimed there is light work in the forest nurseries, and for those still 6trong on llisir legs employment as rang.?rs, foresters, and forest demarcation assistants.

It is noteworthy in this connection that in Great Britain the problem of afforestation is at present receiving serious attention. Britain has no such area of indigenous forest to work upon as still exists in this country, but an ambitious scheme of afforestation is being planned by tho Ministry of Reconstruction. Briefly, it is proposed to plant a sufficient area to make the United Kingdom independent of imported timber for three years on the present basis of war consumption. An expenditure of £3,500,000 is contemplated in the first ten years, and £15,000,000 in the first forty years. After that period, it is believed, the scheme would bo self-sup-porting. It is estimated that the scheme would result ultimately -in the settlement on tho soil of not less than 25,000 families, or 125,000 persons.

While this gives an idea of tho scope of employment offered by forest development it should be noted that, very much more profitable opportunities under this head aro open in New Zealand than in Great Britain. There is ample evidence that the preservation and systematic working of indigenous forest yield very much richer returns than any scheme of artificial afforestation, and in this country there are Btill considerable areas of unspoiled native forest and other areas which, though seriously depreciated, would ultimately be restored to productivity under proper treatment, and would return much greater profits than tho best artificial plantations. Tho main trouble is that our politicians do not look far enough ahead., They live in the present and for the present. .In spite of all the wanton and improvident destruction to which they have been exposed,' our forests— that is to say, the forest areas which, aro worth more in that character than the cleared land could over ho —aro still capable of being preserved in perpetuity as an enormously valuable asset. Indeed, there is expert authority for tho statement that the efficient conservation of our forests would be equivalent to providing a sinking fund for the debt incurred in the present war. At tho same time the forests offer an ample field of profitable employment in tho near future for returned soldiers, and ultimately for a numerous population living and working under splendidly healthy conditions. The- fact is well known that tho forest dwellers ! and workers in European countries rank in every respect amongst the finest members of their respective nationalities. Both on account of tho benefits and profits it offers in the near and more distant future, and because these benefits and profits if they aro not speedily grasped will soon pass beyond our reach, forest development at the present timo has unrivalled claims to attention.