THE TIMBER SUPPLIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 311, 12 November 1910, Page 5

THE TIMBER SUPPLIES.

A GRAVE NATIONAL CONCERN,

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Builders' and Contractors' Association, Mr S. I. Clarke stated that in giving evidence before the Land Commission the Under-Secretary for Lipids gave it as his opinion that the length Qf time the present supply of timber is estimated to last at the present rate of output was from 40 to 50 years. The Under-Secretary said "at the present rate of output," but the Year Rook for 1908 showed that the inpregqed output of first-class timber at Auckland in five years v/as 109J million feet to 163& million feet —an increase of 50 per cent. In Westland during the same period the output rose from 14 million to 32 million feet -an increase of over 130 per cent. It was clear, added Mr Clarke, that the future ot' the timber supply of the Dominion was a matter of grave national concern, and it was to be hoped the Government would not yield to the interested clamour of the few who, for the sake of their own immediate wants or personal gain, would exclude all foreign supplies, which would have the effect of lengthening the duration of their own industry, and of staving off the evil day when we should be compelled to depend altogether upon what we may be able to obtain from outride sour :es.