NOTES OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 308, 24 September 1919, Page 6

NOTES OF THE DAY

On the question of housing, the Budget offers a ray of hope to harassed heads of families seeking the opportunity to secure homes of their own. In the .past, Governments have confined their activities in the direction of homing to providing homes for "workers"—"worker"' heirig defined as one whose ■ income docs.not exceed £175 per annum.' The Budget reference to the question, implies an intention not only to great] v extend, the erection of '''workers' dwellings," but to afford facilities to those who are not qualified to benefit under.the Workers' Thvollings Act to become houseowners The ideal, as stated by the'MiifiSTF.ii-of Finance, is "to enable the breadwinner of every family to.become'the owner of his home on the. easiest possible terms." Wo have urged; on previous, occasions that the benefit >if State assistance

in the securing of homes should not be confined only to the class whose needs lire met under the Workers' Dwellings Act. II; is just -is difficult nowadays for a family man with an income of £.'IOO or even £-100 a year to sec-tiro a homo for himself and his family as it was in 1010, -when the Workers' Dwellings Act was passed, for a man with an income of £175. The law badly needs amendment, arid apparently it is going to be amended and extended in the rif.ht direction. » J s » In what he has to say, in the Financial Statement about coal supplies, the Minister or Finance is rather more optimistic than the facts warrant. Ho points, it is true, to the reduction by more than half a million tons of supplies which in 1914 amounted to 2,793,000 tons per annum as disclosing an acute position, but the observation which follows is clearly not warranted by the facts of the case. "It is satisfactory to note," the Minister remarks, "that it lias been possible to so arrange the allocations of the coal available that no industry has been forced to suspend operations through lack of fuel." While there is no instance on record of an industry v.'liich had to completely suspend operations as a result of the coal shortage, it Is a matter of common knowledge that industries all over the country were heavily prejudiced from this .cause. Some important establishments had to close down for longer or shorter periods, but tin; effects of coal shortage have mr.de themselves most

conspicuously apparent Jn a general hampering mul (crippling of practically ail forms of industry. A reduction of something over sixty per cent, in railway services which previously had been cut dowi\, to a serious extent stands out as a conspicuous item in the total.and one that in itself resulted in a widespread disorganisation of all branches of industry. The Government, we, arc ready to admit, did its best to cope with the situation and succeeded as far as was possible. But the coal shortage had and has no single feature that warrants a note of satisfaction being struck. But that it would he throwing good money after bad'it could lie desired that an exhaustive inquiry might he made into the, effects of the coal shortage throughout the Dominion. Tho. resultant report would strikingly illustrate the criminal folly of."direct action" at home and abroad, but doubtless for those who are not wilfully blind to its essential features the situation is already clca'rjy enough defined.

Those- who, have given some thought and attention to the possibilities of profitable State forestry, in this country will find matter for satisfaction/in , the references .that are, made to this subject •in the Financial Statement. The Government is particularly- well-advised in inviting amplications in England for a Director and Assistant-Direc-tor of New Zealand Forestry.' Experts of the ■ necessary qualifications must be sought abroad for the good and sufficient reason that there has been hitherto a total neglect ofpractical forestry in this - country. Until Mr.' D. E. Hutchins had comniled .his able reports';it was hardly realised that the Dominion was rapidly : wasting and destroy-, ing in its indigenous forests such assets as in most civilised countries arc carefully conserved and worked as permanent sources of wealth. How far the destruction of New. Zealand forests has gone is indicated in the Budget statement that the total area now proclaimed as State forest, some of it provisionally, is . about 11,273,000 acres, whereas if our forests were in tho same ratio to land area as those of France and Germany they would have an area of more than thirteen million acres.,' Although much of the damage to forests is irreparable, or could be. made good only at prohibitive cost, there is still time to save a great deal out of the wreck. In order that an' enterprise which will be highly profitable to the Dominion may. proceed apace, the Government cannot too soon obtain the experts for whom it is advertising and place them in unhampered control of such areas as are dedicated to forest. With qualified foresters in charge- objections to the,- institution of a sound forest policy will soon die away. As regards objections to the cutting only of ripe timber, for instance, they will be able to demonstrate that this" is not merely practicable, but is i the course approved by world-wide experience.