THE NEW FOREST AND BUSH REGULATIONS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 340, 21 March 1874, Page 2

THE NEW FOREST AND BUSH REGULATIONS.

{To the Editor.) g IR) — The resolution arrived at by the Waste Lands Board for the future workiug of the forests, &c , calls for comment ; and in doing so, I shall confine my remarks under two distinct heads, "Forests" and " Bushes." I will deal with each separately, and take the most valuable and extensively worked first. POBESTS. " The ordinary claim for a saw mill shall comprise one mile square," for -which the sum of £640 is demanded. Now, Sir, nearly the whole of the inland- forests o£ this province have been worked from eight to twelve years'," making it almost an impossibility to obtain an area af one mile square. The best of the timber was taken and worked at the commencement, and now the saw miller has to

use trees that he rejected. years ago,, and by* that means his operations have to -extendover a greater area of ground to obfcarrj. suitable trees, for the saw miller requires nearly as much particularity as the splitter. By confining him within a certain area, in almost used-up forests, he is completely crippled in his operations. Take for instance the two localities — Tapanui and Tuapeka ' Mouth — which are the eliiei sources of supply of build- ' ' ing material for this and tho principal up--country districts. The first nainei forest "has been worked for the last eleven or twelve years, and that by two or three, anJ .utterly by five saw mills. ' Anyone, therefore, wiinout the slightest experience can at once ya .^e the uantity of timber that has bee : :. 3 1 and consumed to keep the above miib ir active operation for such a lengthened j.c.ic.l. The consequence is that it has driven the mill owner further back, and by that means caused the construction of miles of tramway at great expense. If, therefore, restrictions are placed upon his operations, he will be so crippled and confined that either he will have to relinquish the work or place an extra price on the timber of from 125 to 150 per cent. In reference to the Tuapeka Mouth Forest, the facilities for obtaining timber are more limited. Only along the banks of the Molyneux can timber be obtained for saw mill purposes, and this of a sparse nature and so limited in quality that at the present time, to obtain logs for the different descriptions of timber required, it is not uncommon to have to go fc distance of two, or oven three, mileß from the scene of their daily operations. In this locality it would be impossible to fix or appoint "3 any precise area of ground. When you consider tha,t the easiest and most workable timber was taken first, that the same ground is being gone over again, and that this description of timber, even in a maiden forest, is very thin in quantity, you can easily form an idea of what it will become when a Becond and even a third species of fossicking takes place, and this too in a forest limited and precipitous in its nature. To place restrictions on the working of forests that have been worked ' for years is tantamount to entirely crippling the mill owner, and to put a check upon enterprise. To show that the Board have been discussing a subject that they are totally unacquainted with, just dwell for a few moments on one of the resolutions carried by that body. "And in no case should manual woodcutters be allowed where saw mills are established, as the latter can more economically furnish the wants of the settlers than th» former." Now, Sir, the actual cost of cartage, including the rafting down the Molyneux to the Tuapeka Mouth (a distance of 10 or 12 miles), of the tops of trees, that part which is at present neglected by the 6aw miller, to Lawrence would Co3t £10 per bullock load, for it is from this direction and in el jse proximity to the saw mill that the whole of the timber required in the district for domestic and fencing purposes is obtained. Is it therefore possible that persons will pay £10 per load for cartage only when they can obtain superior timber (manuka) for domestic purposes, including all charges, for, £3 10i. per bullock load ? Yet such will be tHe state of things produced by the decision of the Waste Land Board. Had they requested information from saw mill owners and other* practically acquainted with the forests, there is no doubt they would have received suggestions that would have been invaluablo for future legislation on this subject ; but lam informed they did not do so. The Board have totally overlooked that timber fit fo : r the saw miller is "generally in the roughest and most inaccessible position of the province, the smallest in population, and therefore the local demand being so limited, and the expense in placing the same at the serrL* of the seller so great, that it would not justify the seller in incurring it, and would ba ruinous to the saw miller. I have almost forgot, one of the clauses passed by the Board. £640 is the amount demanded from the sawmiller for a mile square, which area he is to cut in 3 years. If the saw miller had one mile square of maiden bush, that quantity would not last him more than half the period the Board has apportioned to him, so that in fact the saw miller has to pay £1280. I come now to the next head under comment, and one that is of vital interest to the district, viz.: BUSHES. As I have before mentioned, the timber for the domestic and fencing purposes of the district is brought from the vicinity of Tuapeka Mouth ; a belt of timber, consisting of red. and white manuka, grows on the spurs and , ! ridges which run down to the Molyneuxj ; commonly known under the appellation of , Watsons Bush. If any thing was wanting toi show the ignorance that members of the ? Board have displayed in discussing this sub- . ject, the area they have allotted to each wood- > cutter is sufficient proof — 200 feet square for - 12 month ; a quantity that can be failed . and cut by any axeman in twelve days. f To confine bushmen to any given area F in bushes that are only required for firewood is absurd, as it totally prevents him from > obtaining fencing, mining, or stock-yard [ material. In this bush that lam now . working in, to obtain at the present, withoij;^^ . any restrictions, a load of the materials I hay» > just mentioned, has very often to be got at in ■ ■ six or seven places, and placed alongside the i main track. If even the bushman was s allowGd another two hundred feet after be , liad cut the preceding one, it woulJ take him i twelve months to gather a loa:l of the above l materials separately from it, and it would take - the carter a day to collect the same. No • buah can be worked more economically and i with less waste than this one. As I have i mentioned, the greater part consists of red manuka (which does not attain any great size), is cut in its entirety, and none but outspreading branches, which will not allow the tree to lie in the dray or waggon, are lopped off. Another circumstance in favor' of economy is, that timber that is obtained the. nearest has the quickest «ale ; and, therefore, the gullies have had sideling tracks cut along them, and the timber removed therefrom. Even supposing that the Board will grant licenses, no man will work under such restrictions , and therefore, to this district, as great a check will be given to settlement as bad immigration agents have done for the colony, for the settler will not be able to obtain firewood for winter or material to enclose lands, unless at such a price as places it totally beyond his reach. What do the Government require ? A bush worked without waste or destruction, and the whole of the timber as it is cut turned to a commercial value j if so, they already have it. Let this bush remain for two or three years, and before the whole of it could be realised upon, the greater part would have gone to waste, as the fire twelve months since haa killed the growth of the timber. Surely this ought to be consideration for the Government. Mr. M' Arthur, in his report, no doubt \xnintentionally has led the Board to form an erroneous conclusion. The splitter is not so destructive as the saw-miller. True, he requires trees of straight grain ; but what is unfit for the saw-miller on account of ita size is required by the splitter, aud even where he uses trees adapted for saw-milling purposes he is more economical, taking, as he does, from the tree all that is possible out of it. The residue that is left is worthless on account of its insignificance ; whereas the saw-miller uses, only t the trunk, which, according to the scientific opinion of the members of the committee of the Board, is only one-nineteenth of th» tre*. Where the splitter falls one, the saw-, miller falls fifty trees. ' '■ ~ The question naturally then* arises, What ' course can be adopted ? Two; and two only, prohibit the falling or removing of timber under' any circumstances whatever from the forests belonging to the Crown, until si^ck

period as increase of immigration causes demand to exist that the whole of the tree can be commercially realized upon: Allow the importation of timber duty free, for buildings must be proceeded with, and railways be proceeded with, or else allow the saw -miller to carry on his operations as at present without any restrictions, he paying an increase of price for privilege ; the same being applied by the Government with other grants to the planting and laying out of forests trees on an extensive and gigantic scale, in the most suitable localities, and within easy accessibility to inland thriving towns. This work will have to be undertaken sooner than is calculated on by theorists, and therefore the sooner commenced the better. Bush that is worked for the purpose of firewood and fencing material conjointly, requires no restrictions.

I beg to apologise for trespassing at such length on your columns, but I think the importance of the subject demands your consideration. — I am, &c, J. A. Dkuby.