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V

COMMISSION.

Liverpool, Governor. To all to whom these presents shall come, and to Henry Douglas Morpeth Haszard, Esq., F.E.G.S., Commissioner of Crown Lands and Chief Surveyor for the Westland Land District; Thomas William Adams, Esq., farmer, of Greendale, Canterbury; Samuel Isaac Clarke, Esq., builder, of Ponsonby, Auckland; Leonard Cockayne, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., Ph.D., of Christchurch; Frank Yates Lethbridge, Esq., farmer, Makino Road West, Feilding; and Charles Primrose Murdoch, Esq., woodware-manufacturer, of Auckland : Greeting. Whereas it is desirable to ascertain in what manner the areas of land within the Dominion of New Zealand now under standing forest should be dealt with, and to what extent the existing afforestation operations of the Government of New Zealand are sufficient to satisfy the future demand for timber within the said Dominion, and how far such operations should be extended : Now know ye that, in exercise of the powers conferred by the Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908, and of all other powers and authorities enabling me in this behalf, I, Arthur William de Brito Savile, Earl of Liverpool, Governor 'of the Dominion of New Zealand, acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council thereof, do hereby appoint you, the said Henry Douglas Morpeth Haszard, Thomas William Adams, Samuel Isaac Clarke, Leonard Cockayne, Frank Yates Lethbridge, and Charles Primrose Murdoch to be a Commission for the purpose of inquiring by all lawful means into the condition of forestry in New Zealand, and for that purpose to inspect the forest lands of the said Dominion and the State nurseries and plantations, and to report — (1.) Which of the existing forest lands it is desirable to permanently retain under forest covering for the purposes of soil-protection and prevention of denudation, water-conservation, prevention of floods, climatic, scenic, or any other national benefit. (2.) Which of the forest-areas are n-ot required for any of the purposes mentioned in (1), but are suitable for settlement,sawmilling, or other commercial purposes, indicating whether such areas should be utilized forthwith or rendered available at some future period. (3.) The best method of dealing with the indigenous forests in the public interests generally. (4.) Whether or not, in view of the large and increasing demand for whitepine timber in connection with the butter industry, the exportation thereof should be wholly or partially prohibited. And with regard to afforestation operations— (5.) The probable future demand for timber for commercial purposes within the Dominion of New Zealand. (6.) The nature and kinds of timber likely to be so required. (7.) How far the operations of existing State nurseries and plantation* meet the probable demand.