The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1927. WHEN THE TIDE TURNS.

Hokitika Guardian, 13 October 1927, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1927. WHEN THE TIDE TURNS.

There is some degree of satisfaction to us in that at last public opinion outside the Coast is waking up to the cost, the excessive cost of the State Forest. Service. This is a subject to which we have referred in the past, but it appeared to pass unnoticed. However, the Timber Growers’ Associatin has taken the matter up, and from their point of view have proceeded to demonstrate their survey of the matter. The Chairman of the Association in the course of his remarks on the cost of running the State Forest Service comes to this conclusion, and it is surely worth studying by the taxpayers of the Dominion: —“I find on closer examination that for the fouryear period under review the sum «• £74,358 was spent by the Service in collecting £101,473 of capital from the sale of our native forests. In other words, to collect £1 of this capital it has cost 3s Bd. For the year ending March 31st. 1927, the cost of collecting £1 of forest capital was 4s lid, or nearly 25 per cent. These are already eicessive figures, so that further charges would be beyond the bounds of reason. It will thus be seen that the audited statement of accounts shows the average cost of establishing one acre of forest exclusive of the cost of land, interest, etc., for the four-year period 1924-27 to be £6 2s and not £1 19s as shown by the graph appearing in the report. In other words, there is apparently a total discrepancy for the period of £224,975.” "While there is matter for consideration in the foregoing for the taxpayers of the Dominion as a whole, it was revealed at the Westland County Council meeting on Tuesday that there is something for the ratepayers of the Westland County in particular to stu<?V in connection with the Forest Service Department. A letter from the Minister in charge of the Service (Hon O. Hawken) stated, inter-alia, that the amount of revenue, present and prospective, taken from the local body by the State Forest Service by last year’s legislation, was no less a sum than £47,58G. These figures should he noted by the County ratepayers, for they represent a sum which they must make good eventually in rates. In other words, had the revenue been left to the County as provided by the law passed by Premier Seddon and supported by Prime Minister Massey, the local body would have the huge amount mentioned to draw upon from year to year to keep the annual rate levy down. The Forest Service Department has juggled with local body revenue before. It has the knack of securing its amendments to the law, not by straight out legislation, hut by introducing clauses into unexpected bills', and so getting away with the plunder. The local bodies are granted certain revenues under an act, but the Forest Service Department takes that revenue away not by an amending, bill directly amending the principal act, but through a separately named measure. This has been done on different occasions, and the practice shows what might be considered the deliberate unfairness of the Department. Its meth*

ods of unfairness extend in other directions, but for the moment we are concerned with the raid on local body funds, a matter in which the whole community is interested in pounds shillings and pence. It was good to see the Council itself take up the matter so promptly on Tuesday, and sanction a legal claim being made. Tt is fortunate for the people concerned that Mr Murdoch is Chairman at this juncture. On a former occasion lie was instrumental through his legal adI vice in recovering a large sum i llegalli I taken from the Council. There is a much larger sum involved on this occasion, and judging by the opinion expressed he has greater expectations of success. An action against the Crown will serve to ventilate the whole position and the publicity which will be afforded, will give an insight t> the Dominion of the operations of the State Forest Service in more than the direction directly under notice. The local bodies affected should combine and fortify Mr Murdoch in the step he is to take.