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Hokitika Guardian, 19 July 1926, Page 2

Some information is to lie gleaned from the parliamentary papers now in circulation in respect to the financial operations of the State Forest Service. The balance-sheet for the past year is published in the Public Accounts, and reveals that the past year opened with a credit balance of £169,399, and closed with a credit balance of £127,861. It is interesting to note that the principal item of income is revenue from indigenous forests, the gift of natn v itself which the Service had no part in creating. The sum of £111,063 was received from forests, plus £29.869 from indigenous forests set apart as national endowments. Of the latter sum only £9.7-10 was transferred to the NationaEndownments Account for the benefit of the original purpose for which the account was created. The receipts from nurseries and plantations were £13,391, an amount relatively small indeed. looking to the life of the plantations and nurseries, and the cost of their up-keep. It seems more plain year after year that the Forest Service is being maintained largely only by eating up the national forestry asset as far as it is able to yield income by way of royalties. But the Forest Service is not existing on the forest revenue only, the Estimates now before the House on account of the Consolidated Fund of the country, shows that the amount required from the public Treasury to assist in maintaining t l ''- Forest Service, aggregates £270.693, an amount nearly double of that derived last year from the indigenous forests. The large vote for this year

is a substantial increase on tliat of last year when £229,174 was voted, and £106,021 expended. The vote for this year is £104,672 above the amount expended last financial year. Of the £270,000 ear-marked for this year, £40,000 is for salaries, the staff for the whole Dominion now totalling 131 persons, as against 129 the previous year. Of the special votes very little special money is ear-marked for expenditure in Westland, though here is the main source of wealth for the Department, present and prospective. A vote of £3,000 is taken for forest experiment stations in Westland, a sum equal to that spent for the same purpose in the year previous. A vote of £2,600 is asked for the Westland nursery, as against £3.000 spent under the same heading in the district last year. Nothing is provided for new plantations, though many thousands of pounds are provided for that purpose in other parts of New Zealand, yet Westland is the natural home of the forest wealth of the Dominion. With the liberal expenditure that is provided for the Forest Service it is high time some results were being shown of a more satisfactory nature. But judging by the small return now derived from nurseries and plantations if is going to be a long time before anything material can be looked for. In the meantime the country has to foot an enourmous bill year after year for the maintenance of the Forest Service.