The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 1878.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5322, 17 April 1878, Page 2

The New Zealand Times (PUBLISHED DAILY.) WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17, 1878.

It is very hard to persuade people who inhabit a country covered with indigenous forests that their descendants will sutler from the reckless destruction of the timber which is in many places at the present time almost a nuisance. In many parts of New Zealand the clearing of the land for settlement has been an expensive and necessary process, and those who have had to go * through the labor of opening up bush lauds will not listen to any warnings as to the necessity of preserving our forests. They say that the supply of timber is practically inexhaustible, and that it is worse than waste of money to attempt to regulate the cutting down of forests ; that any such attempts at regulation would be au injurious interference with the enterprise of settlers —not only would a tine timber trade be crippled, but the land on which the timber grows would be closed to settlement for another generation. On the other hand, those who live on the originally bare plains and hills of the South Island will tell you that in their country there is nothing to conserve, and that they do not wish to see their supplies of timber from other parts of the country lessened or increased in price. And from all quarters we hear the too often repeated cry that the establishment of a State Forestry Department would be a useless expense, and that we don’t want any more officials. Now, to begin with the last objection, which has been urged in every shape and tone since Sir Julius Yogel drew attention to the reckless waste of our forest estate. If a private individual thought he had on his estate a certain number of useless servants, and at the same time that a portion of his property was going to ruin for want of supervision, would he be content to say: “I have servants enough; I cannot be bothered with any more work or supervision on my property. If any part of it is to be ruined I cannot help it. At any rate I , cannot afford to incur any more expense.” Would it not rather strike him that his establishment wanted reorganization, and that above all the neglected resources of the estate should be developed and economised. He certainly would not consider the wages paid for developing these resources as so much money wasted. Supposing he had an abundance of timber on his estates, and that some of his low-lying lands were wanted for other purposes than timbergrowing; that in consequence of the abundant supply on the property, he had allowed it to be cut anywhere recklessly by any of his servants for whatever purpose they might require it ; and that he had further cleared it off wholesale, and sold it with a view of increasing his annual revenue. If under such circumstances ha were advised to employ a duly qualified forester, and it was shown to him that by judicious management he might still have a sufficient annual supply of timber for all necessary purposes, without endangering the future of the property, without laying bare the sources of the streams, and without sacrificing the whole crop of timber growing on lands that were fit for nothing else ;—if all this were clearly pointed out to him, and all he were asked to forego might be an abnormal increase of his revenue for a few years, obtained at the cost of the certain depreciation in value of the property in the future, what course would the proprietor be likely to take 1 It would perhaps depend on whether he had only a life interest in the estate, and whether it was to go to heirs in whom he had an interest; at any rate, it would depend on whether ho was or was not a sensible and conscientious man. How does the case stand with us, the people of New Zealand ? We have a magnificent estate, open laud and forest land, watered by streams that have hitherto not failed, but which have sensibly diminished in parts of the country where the forests have been completely destroyed. Our duty is to so manage this estate that our heirs shall not suffer by our improvidence. Now, it is a melancholy fact that, notwithstanding all the lessons to be learned from the experience of other countries, and all the warnings which have from time to time been given by the most far - seeing amongst us, we have taken no step to check the wanton destruction of our forests. They are being cut down and burnt in every direction, without the slightest consideration as to the circumstances of the surrounding country. The sources of streams have been laid bare ; in the neighborhood of this very town whole hill-sides, m absolutely useless for any other purpose, have been denuded of their forest covering, and the yellow clay is laid bare by repeated land-slips. The bushman lights his fire at the base of a fine old tree, and when he has cooked his food and boiled his billy he does not take the trouble to extinguish it, and for weeks a dense smoke, filling the air for miles around, tells of the reckless destruction going on. The small settler, who wants to clear his own patch of ground, cuts down some trees and sets them on fire, regardless of the extent to which the havoc spreads, pleased perhaps to think that there will for a time be a larger space for his cows to stray and pick up feed between the bare stems of the burned forest. The sawyer wanders over miles of timber, picking out the finest tree's, and destroying in the process thousands of young saplings, satisfied so long as he can supply his mills for the time, and oaring little for the immediate future, let alone future generations. Everywhere it is the same story, and yot the majority of our legislators look on with the utmost apathy, and answer every Warning with the cry that there is enough and to spare of forest, and that the sooner it is cut down the better. It is true that a few years ago Sir Julius Vogel managed to rouse Parliament to an extraordinary and spasmodic effort, a Forest Conservancy Bill was passed, a vast amount of information was accumulated, and the services of a skilled officer of the Indian Forest Department wore secured to report on the best course to be taken in this country. Unfortunately Captain CampbellWalker made himself very unpopular among the members of the Legislature, and his supposed personal demerits were too much for a cause that had become unpopular. It has never been alleged that his report is not a Very good and valuable contribution to the knowledge available on the subject of our timber supply. ; His suggestions are practical and good, and there aro few who have, studied the subject who dp not think that' the course lie proposes is sound and provident. But by the time Captain Camt-j:kll-Wax.kbh . came out, . the . apathetic majority of Parliament had. had; time to cool; down ; . they had. repented ?,of ;the providence which had induced, them to agree- to a' momentary sacrifice "; they were most lanxious ,to find reasons to back but of the: course they had "ehterad upon. Fortunately for their views, the officer who came out to report on the subject had not the gift of making himself per-

sonally popular ;/ and the whole question was practically-. 'shelved for a time. ■; We 9 doubt whether many people have road the exceedingly valuable and suggestive report which he has left behind him. But from all we hear frbni different parts of tlib country,' the eyes of the people are being opened to the neglect of their representatives, and inquiries are on foot in many places as to the possibility of taking practical steps to save some of our forests before it is too late. We are moving heaven and earth to foster the planting of new woods, while we are watching from day to day the destruction of our magnificent native timber. We propose to publish from time to time portions of Captain Camp-bell-Walker’s report; and we hope that those interested in this important question will consider how far ha has solved the problem of protecting the native forests, without incurring needless expense, and without hampering legitimate enterprise. It appears to us that he has shown not only how to conserve our forests economically, but also how to make them sources of wealth and revenue.