STATE FOREST SCHEME.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4921, 30 December 1876, Page 3

STATE FOREST SCHEME.

Captain Campbell-Walker’s lecture,, delivered before the Otago Institute, on the subject of forestry, is well worthy of very careful perusal, containing as it does a vast quantity, of very valuable information on all branches .of the subject. We. regret that we have not room for more 1 than his concluding remarks:—V Before concluding, I must say a few words with special reference to the New Zealand forests, arid give some indications S of the nature of the proposals which so far as I_can at present judge, I shall lay before with my report in March next, i I need scarcely premise that my estimate, of the value of New Zealand forests is based on actual inspection and comparison with those in other countries, and that the Government are in no way pledged to accept my proposals for the organisation and working of the State Forest department, though I shall endeavor to make them such as they may with confidence recommend during next session to the honorable House for ,adoption. I think very highly, , of your. New Zealand : forests.' The kauri and puriri in , Auckland,. the totara in Hawke’s Bay . and Wellington, the red, black, and white pines and cedjir of the South Island, are timbers of their class second to. none.in the world, .They still exist in considerable quaritity and.large,dimensions, and if we adopt proper ’ measures in; time,' apermanent yield may, I am confident, still be secured. Then we have the so-calledblaok, red, and white, birches, .the kovyhai (Sophora, tetraptera), &c.. Useful for general purposes, and several descriptions, such; as the Bewarewa (Knightia'. excelsa) or honeysuckle, of great value as furniture or.omamental woods.' I have not . yet visited; the West Coast; but from wlat, I am|told, there is to be found there alone a supply of good timber for, many years, if; not feenturies, to come. I daresay many would call it an: inexhaustible supply ; but .we foresters maintain ; that there is no such thing as an inexhaustible supply, so long as the: forest is under,, no control, is being trenched upon at haphazard, and ■ without any data or regard to the annual incrementof timber. In fact, so long as we are working in, the. dark, without any ? knowledge of the extent of our capital or annual income .in wood. I think .many.of the New Zealand timbers have never had a: fair chance of trial, being Jelled at all seasons of .the year, and utilised at once, without seasoning, i As Mr, Kirk writes in his report on the durability of New Zealand timbers in constructive works:— “The disadvantages attendingwinter work in the bush have led to the anomalous fact that by far the larger '‘portion of timber used ii New'Zealand-is felled during the spring,an! summer months, arid this 1 has given nse to the' erroneous idea that some of our best timbers—the kauri, totara, And , othcra-j season, imperfectly, contracting in’ length (find breadth, long after they are used. . . . . Exactly similar results would attend the use of the best European arid American under similar circumstances.” I admit thy serious 'objections .may he raised: again* some of the species, both as regards durability, shrinking, and I confess that there aie ■ some conditions, both as regards the supply and demand, commercial value, rate pf growih and 1 re-production, - which I have not as jpt fully mastered,.and, with regard, to which, So ’far 'ah Tcan’leafni'-rio reliable' data are'jm record.' Speaking broadly,. however; I repiat* that I have formed a high opinion of the New Zealand forests, and I think, if the public vill permit us, we shall make a very valuable jjroperty of what we reserve, and secure a fairind steadily increasing revenue from what we 3ispose of. It has, f am aware, been argued, by 1 , some that the £IO,OOO per annum appropruted under the existing State Forests Act is inadequate for planting, purposes, and that, ai the colony cannot afford to supplements, or ejento spend' that sum, the whole thing had fetter be dropped. Now, I am very glad to have the £IO,OOO appropriation for the firit few years as a reserve fund to be drawn upon, but I don’t iptend to trench much upon it, and any scheme which I , may bring forward will be based on the principle that, the Forest department should be entirely self-supporting, the revenues derived from existing indigenous forests in the hands of the Crown beirg made sufficient,j to cover all expenditure for establishments,’ and working, gradual formations of plantations, &c., &0., the surplus, after defraying all the above charges, being colonial forest revenue. This is the system which jwe have gone on in India, where s we took over a forest property in a much mor% dilapidated condition , than that of New Zealand, and burtheried by the immemorial rights and privileges of a native population, numbering upwards of 200 millions, and have nevertheless, I am proud to say, paid, our way, formed extensive plantations, and already secured an annually increasing surplus of revenue over expenditure. I, wish especially to guard myself against forming or. expressing Utopian or too rosy .views on this subject, and I can have no interest in over-estimating the /value and importance Of the forests, as it is very improbable that I shall be able te remain as conservator, even if- the - Government and House should wish to retain my services beyond the year for which they are at presqn{ lent. I do not pretend that we are (going- to' clothe barren hill sides and desert plains with trees in a year, or even several <( yearß, or that the indigenous forests are at once to pay off your colonial debt, but I do say and think that, with proper management, we should he able to plant wherever necessary, secure a permanent and improved supply of timber for the use of individuals and public departments, and retain an intact and gradually improving forest property, whose capital value may represent your national debt, and the income derived from which ought to go far to meet the interest thereon. Xfthink I am justified by what I have seen in considering that this may be done, but it can only be done:by the public and its representatives in the House regarding the question of forest conservation as a national or colonial one, and not from a merely local point of view. Whatever is done must, of necessity, be donejn the interests of the colony at large, thafcs to say, of the public, and the only reason for State or Government hi terference and direct action is that damage to forests cannot he repaired in a day, nor can they, if once destroyed, be replaced in a year like a crop of wheat. Even a generation is, as a rule, too short to grow good timber, and you will, I am sure, admit that of all people colonists are the least likely to look .beyond the present, time or generation. The , Secretary of State for India, writing in 1863, makes the following remarks bearing upon this point:—“ To forests, from _ their natnre, ■ the usual maxim of political economy which ’ leaves such undertakings to private enterprise cannot bo applied. Their vast extent, .the long time that a tree takes to reach maturity, and the consequence that few persons :live long enough to obtain any, and more especially the highest, returns from expenditure even once in tho course of their lives, are proofs of the necessity that, forest

management should be conducted on permanent principles, and not be.left to the negligence,'avarice, or caprice of individuals, and, therefore point to the State as the proper administrator, hound to take .care that, in supplying • the want of the • present generation,; thereJs no, reckless waste, no needless, forestalling of the supply of future generations. This is a matter of experience, not in India only, but in all other countries ,of the world.” I have, you will kindly bear in mind, nothing to dq with oolpnial polities r—abolition; separation, or federation. The views and principles of the present, past, and future Governments of the colony have no. legitimate bearing on tiny duty, which is at present .to submit a . report on my inspection of the .New, Zealand .forests,; with proposals for tHeir management and conservation. Those proposals, so far as I have given them shape in my own mind, will consist in-—l., The Absolute reservation of. a-comparatively/small i prbpdrtion 'of the uualeniatod iforest areas. 2. The graduid disposal of the timber... and forest products on the remainder uf the waste forest lands to the best advantage. 3. The formation of. Government plantations wherever we can do so without ‘risk bf financial' or it is ■proved that they are absolutely essential tothe ' public good. 4. The encouragement of planting by private proprietors by liberal grants, of landinlieu of planted area. . .Under such a system the'whole forest revenue 'will of course be'quite colonial, and the expenditure be irrespective of the county or district, being in: fact greatest in ‘ the bjfst -instance’s in those contributing 1 the minimum of forest revenue; viz., in creating: fprest where none at present exists. This is, I think, the, only feasible: plan, of action, and I hope that the Government'may see their way to support it, and that the House may approve with such modification | as they may think fit. We pan then I set to' work in a systematic : and: regular manner with our forest valuations and demarcations, and working district' by | district. These things cannot be done in a. day,: but'they can be done in time, even in what; are' considered the most inaccessible places, by perseverance and patience, t have ripw’tb thank you for, your patience’in listening to i this paper, which has been written at intervals, - and as a rule, after a long dayirithe/saddle; or oh the coach —-which ; must be some eicuse for its' imperfections arid shortcomings. • It makes no claim to be exhaustive, or to convoy any instruction, bn forest subjects in detail. My only aim'has been .to .explain; ever so meagrely, what is the aim and object of State forestry and; therefore, .of the Government in proposing to, introduce it, and how it is carried out. * If I have succeeded in popularising the subject, and interesting any of you in it, so, far as l|}-make you desirous- of followin'; it up by studying for yourselves some of tho many, excellent works on the subject, written chiefly in French and German, I shall be well satisfied, and consider -that l our time this evening has been well spent. 1 -