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Otago Daily Times, Issue 210, 11 August 1862, Page 5

(To the Editor of the Daily Times.) Sir, —I observe in your paper of to-day an advertisement purporting to issue from the Superintendent's office, calling for tenders to plank the newlylaade jetty, with 3-inch Van Diemen's Land blue gum. Now, Sir, I cauuot help thinking tiiat our engineering authorities, or whoever maybe responsible f>r this announcement, are a little too precipitate in the summary condemnation of native timber, which such an advertisement involves ; —still further, that it is the duty of a government charged with the general welfare Gf the community, to encourage the consumption of a native product, rather than to stigmatise it as inferior.before anything to its discvelit is or can be known. A considerable sum of money will have to be pel.l for the timber used for such a purpose in any case ; aud it needs no argument to show that (etcleris pari'ius) it iai belter'such money should be kept ■within tlie colony, thau that it should be sent away to p.ty for an imported 'article. Can any one inform me what are the data on«vhich our native timber is condemned, and on which we are called upon to remit to Tasmania some two or three thousand pounds for what we can produce certainly cheaper (and I believe quite as good) ourselves 1 From 1113- experience in such matters (which is net small), I believe the red pine,—which is to be obtained in the colony in any quantity,—to be an exceedingly tough, durable, and lasting timber, particularly weU"."idapt«d for the purpose for which it is proposed to employ blue gum ; aud that a 4-inch planking of it could be laid upon the present jetty for about the same money as a 3-inch planking of blue gum ; and there is no doubt it would be infinitely the better job. The interests of the community mi^ht possibly be Eervetl, and ! certainly no one could be injured, if the Government were to cali for separate tenders for the execution of the work in blue gam and red pine respectively,—a. course which I would strongly recommend to their adoption. I remain, Sir, Yours most obediently, W. A. F. Dunedin, August Bth, 1862.