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a—4

Schedule showing Approximate Quantities of Milling Timber on Private and Native Lands.

Review of Position. From a perusal of the reports of the various Commissioners of Crown Lands, it will be seen how the different districts of the colony compare with regard to timber supply and demand. Auckland. In Auckland the supply of mSling timber in 1904 was estimated at 7,465,053,000 superficial feet, of which 1 112,019,000 ft. was kauri '(vide parliamentary report C.-6 of 1905), but it is now estimated at only 6,573.235,855 ft., including 646,041,094 ft. of kauri. This illustrates in the clearest manner the very rapid destruction of the native forests in the north, which if continuing at the present rate will cause a cessation of the sawmilling industry within some fifteen years. During the past year the Government sold by public tender 41,847,206 ft. of milling timber, whilst the output of the various mills totalled 190,543,000 superficial feet, and for the twelve months ended 31st December, 1906, no less than 68,278,718 ft. of timber, valued at £276,411, were exported from the Auckland District. Owing to the increased output from the mills in the district (there being now fifty-nine, as against forty-nine in 1905), the supply of marketable timber is greatly reduced north of Auckland, and the Commissioner of Crown Lands estimates that the future supply of timber for the loial market will be derived from the southern part of the district, where large forests remain in the Lower Waikato, Taupo, and Rotorua districts. Every year sees an increased demand for timbers other than kauri, which up to now has been the chief source of supply and utilisation. Timbers that even a few years ago were almost disregarded, such as matai, rimu, "&c, are now largely drawn upon, and forests are in many instances being worked a second time, trees being now milled that formerly were passed over. In 1905 the estimated annual output from the mills was" 182,454,000 ft. It now amounts to 190,543,000 ft., and shows a tendency to still increase. Whereas two years ago 2,138 " hands" were employed at the mills, the number of workers is now given at 2,367. Hawke's Bay. In the southern part of the Hawke's Bay District the supply of milling timber is rapidly becoming scarce, and it is estimated that in four years' time there will be few, if any, mills working, and already mill-owners are securing forest areas outside the district. In the Poverty Bay portion, however, sawmilling is increasing, and particularly in the Motu distret there is every prospect of the industry assuming much larger dimensions when the railway from Gis v orne commences to tap the large forests existing in that locality. It has been estimated by private persons that there still remains about 900,000,000 superficial feet of milling timber on 20,000 acres in this locality, and though this is probably considerably in excess of the actual amount, there is no doubt that an extensive area is still available for sawmilling operations. The construction of bush railways frotn Waikaremoana, Waihirere, and Motu, to enable timber and stone to be procured from those localities, is now being considered by local bodies in the Cook County. However, in the whole of the district the number of mil's has dropped from sixty-one in 1905 to thirty-eight in 1907, and the annual output from 49,151,354 ft. to 40,868,118 ft. for the same period. This latter includes 2,500,000 ft. exported from the province. The chief timbers used are rimu and matai, while the proportion of totara is steadily diminishing, one-seventh of the total. Taranaki. Although a fair amount of "milling timber still remains in Taranaki, it is unlikely that a largo proportion can be utilised, owing to the lack of sufficient railway and road communication, and the distance of the forest from any centre where a demand for timber is likely to arise. The numbeT of mills in 1905 was thirty-one, their output being estimated at 20,323,700 ft. ; but in 1907 the mills were only twenty-nine in number, and their output 16,824,281 ft. It will be noticed from the detailed reports that rimu is the principal timber used in Taranaki, being two-thirds of the whole consumption.

Kauri. Rimu. Kahikatea. Totara. Matai. I Birches. Miscellaneous. Total. District. Auckland Hawke's Bay Taranaki .. Wellington Madborough Nelson Westland C-interbury Snp. ft. I Sup ft. 375,405,317 2,993,351,181 I 753,161,00' 388,277,211 ,2,855,845,001 55,000,OOf 535,149,118 1,049,000,OOf 1,600,OOf 80,944,000 137,275,000 Sup. ft. 642,664,471" 257,606,OOf 104,985,OOf 743,806,000 16,000,000 80,990,000 681,000,000 7,600,000 6,844,500 45,050,000 Snp. ft. 100,213,801 65,763,00* 32,075.101 215,853,001 297,00.' 42,187,000 134,000,001 4,200,000 5,393,600 14,055,000 Snp. ft. 810,127,447 149,700,000 16,196,400 1,261,921,000 3,000,000 126,010,000 119,000,000 1,300,000 22,789,900 17,770,000 Sup. ft. 5,004,000 147,339,280 30,500,000 36,300,000 12,298,600 81,100,000 Sup. ft. 131,627,500 194,263,000 •979,666,000 +4,000,000 J189,370,000 §300,000,000 Sup. ft. 5,053,449,774 1,226,230,000 735,800,719 6,057,091,000 78,297,000 1,120,995,393 2,313,500,000 51,000,000 153,009,500 330,200,000 24,738,900 §34,950,000 Ocago Southland 375,405,3178,844,602,512! 2,566,545,970 613,987,560 •2,527,814,747 312,541,880 1,858,615,400 17,119,573,586 [iro, maire, hinau. + Beech. 1 Yellow and silver pine, kawaka, and rata. 8 Miro, silver-pine, &c.