The Guardian AND EVENING STAR, With which is incorporated “ The West Coast Times.” THURSDAY, MAY 19th, 1921. FORESTRY MATTERS.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 May 1921, Page 2

The Guardian AND EVENING STAR, With which is incorporated “ The West Coast Times.” THURSDAY, MAY 19th, 1921. FORESTRY MATTERS.

.i recent announcement said that with the object of educating the public on mat tors pertaining to forestry, the New Aeaiand Forestry League is launching a puolicity cumpagn throughout New Aeaiand. The lirst step in this direction has been the appointment of Mr Will Lawson as organiser. Mr Lawson is at present in Christchurch tor the purpose of con I erring with Mr James Leans stud other leaders in the movement there. Canterbury has an active brunch of the Forestry League, and this body and the Progress League have undertaken i<< push the campaign in the province. After returning to Wellington to map out a plan of action, Mr Lawson will carry out a campaign in the interests of forestry in Canterbury, Otago, Southland, Westland, Nelson and Marlborough. This is all very intersting, and seems quite complements! to the expensive way of doing things under the costly forestry policy now being established in New Zealand; but we would lain see the arts of the organiser turned in the direction of propaganda work to promote gold-mining prospecting. An was mentioned vesteraday, there is the need for a precis of the geological reports being published us a guide and an incentive to encourage prospecting throughout the country—hut we suppose that must be considered another story in these days when this forestry movement is so much the fashion with the powers that he. When we i-ead the announcement above of the luxurious appointment to he made of a publicity agent or organiser to enlighten the public on forestry resources, we were at the same time struck by the report of a deputation which waited on the Acting Prime Minister at Wellington regarding finance and unemployment. Tile Minister bemoaned the empty Treasury in the definite statement our renders are already aware of. One of the deputation thought lie saw a ray of hope, or had a clue as to where more money might he

got easily, and he asked in his innocence: “What about the five million surplus Mr Massey spoke about in Parliament?” The reply ol the Minister was a cold douche to the expectations, I for Sir Francis Bell said:—“We nl- ' ready have spent a large amount of that on public works. What remains we have to keepdo meet obligations. It is revenue and can only he spent on public works by vot« of Parliament. We have used as much as we can safely use. With what remains we have to pay pensions, salaries, interest on debt, etc.” So. the surplus, huge and all as it is—is gone! Actually we do not know what the true surplus was, for the Government still with-hold the authentic statement, though Mr Massey was able to sav before leaving that it was the large sum the deputationist referred to. Here we are in the second month of the financial year, and the nest egg which Sir Joseph Ward in his day was always able to preserve so usefully, has been dissolved by the present party in power. It will be interesting no doubt to bear a great deal about- forestry, but despite the ability

of the organiser as an entertaining writer and his invariable bon hoinie, we arc still wondering in what way he is going to be a profitable adjunct to the forestry policy. We refer below to his. own statement on the matter, and. the issue is to 11s rather clouded. What wc think the country wants most of all is the utilisation of its great tracts of forestry country in a profitable way now that production is so much called for. Yet the Government is bent on restricting the industry and pursuing a line of policy which must add cnoimoll sly to the cost of production, and to the charges to the consumer. Also, at the moment there is' talk of a slump in the timber trade, which is going to he restrictive and serious in the matter of employment, and this phase will wake up public opinion no doubt, very SIX) 11.

Aritot'os of the uses of the proposed Forestry “Organiser” just referred to. we have Mr Lawson, the proposed appointee, thus discoursing to a Christchurch paper: “An authority on forestry has stated that it is not forests, but the use of forests, that we seek to perpetuate. . Therefore, to be sound and convincing, educational publicity must include the timber business. So long as the public believes forestry good and sawmilling had. there will be confusion and no real progress. Nowhere does this axiom apply more than in New Zealand, where the most wanton waste has taken place in our forests. And the aim of the forestry policy must be. not to forbid the cutting of timber, but to encourage it upon thrifty lines. The Forestry Department has already begun the work of conserving the forests of this country. It is not within the province of the Department, however, to carry out a widespread campaign of education of the public in forestry. That work has been undertaken by the I New Zealand Forestry League, which was formed some years ago. The setting up of the Forestry Department may be claimed to be as important renull of its activity.” The organiser is to be an intermediate officer between the Department and the League, and his statement rather confuses the issue. He talks of “wanton waste” in the

[last, and then adds “the forestry policy must not be to fprbid cutting of timber, but to encourage it on thrifty lines.” While in the next sentence we are told the “Forestry Department lias already begun the work of conserving the forests of the country.” Here there is quite a confusion of ideas as to the forestry policy of the country, ami the experience promises to he that the Department on its remodelled lines is going to hamper a very important and indispensible industry, cheek enterprise and development and add enormously to the cost in the using of timber products. A propagandist to enlighten the public on these demerits of the present forestry policy would be of some use, helping to check as it would the trend of the expensive policy, the administrative costs of which are mounting up to a bill of tremendous annual proportions. When the pinch comes on the industry, as come it will, we hope the people will not wake up too late to finally retrieve the position. An unprecedentlv successful season for the dairying industry is disclosed, says the Dominion hv the figures now available. Between the beginning of August and the end of April, no less than 668,613 cwt. of butter and 1.059,183 cwt. of cheese was passed into the grading stores, and the value of the output is estimated 011 a conservative basis, at over £16,000,000. Wool lias always hitherto held the leading place in New Zealand’s exports, hut the dairying output for the season exceeds that of the wool export in any year except 1919, when it reached IDS millions. The highest figure reached in any

other year was slightly over 12 millions, so this season's dairying is about a third better than the wool return for any year save one. Although butter has made a sudden drop in price, it is still far above the pre-war level of values, and it is reasonable to assume flint the recent decline is partly due to the industrial dislocation in Britain Wool is again in firmer demand, with it welcome upward movement, and altogether the outlook is somewhat more cheerful than it has been of late. The improved outlook is very gratifying, and will he good news to the settlors of this district. Mention is made today of the projected visit of an officer of the Agricultural Department to Okuru to instruct the settlers in that locality with reference to the possibilities of dairvng as an industrial feature of the district. From the outlook for the market for daily products the settlers should he encouraged to take up dairying as a source' of stable income. The experience elsewhere is most encouraging, and for a district such as Okuru there should be no exception to the general rule of success. The pastoral land is there and the herds can be raised. Applied industry on the part of the people is all that is necessary to anticipate freely in the profits of dairying in the same successful manner as other progressive districts.