45 





of government, seems to result in u tooling tlie great 

 majority of the people all the time," The small minority 



thai is not always fooled has never sufficient power ac 

 the ballot boxes to make itself really heard. I hope 



Sir Alexander Peacock was not right when he addressed 

 a (Verniers' Conference at which forestry was a subject 

 of discussion — he said "The trouble about forestry is 

 that trees have no votes." 



Young democracies have, on the one hand, come to 



regard forests as mines of riches to exploit as fast as 

 possible, and all and sundry have been encouraged to 

 erect sawmills and cut down timber, or to regard them 

 as hindrances to land settlement, excrescences to be 

 destroyed to make room for agriculture; "We wan 

 men, not trees," i,« a telling electioneering cry. The 

 conception of foresic as permanent sources of wealth, of 

 forestry as farming on a long rotation, seems hard 

 for the people to realize. So, from the furthest forests 

 of Northern Canada to the kauri stands of New 



Zealand, saw-mills have gutted the forests, and land 

 companies or land settlement Ministers have destroyed 

 what remained. 



If I have referred to the usual democratic practice 

 regarding forests and forestry in other lands, it is to 

 make the comparison all the clearer with Papua. The 

 Government of Papua is not democratic. The forests 

 of Papua that are easily accessible are not such as to 

 tempt the large sawmilling company. The labour 

 supply of Papua is not likely to prove sufficient to 

 enable large, new areas of plantations of coco-nuts, 



rubber, or other tropical crops to be established. It 

 is not a white man's country, but is the home and 

 property of the Papuan native, whose interests are 

 being carefully and wisely safeguarded, while he is 

 gradually being elevated from the stone age to that of 

 petrol and wireless. 



Papua has, therefore, a chance, even in this demo- 

 cratic age, of establishing a forest policy which will be 





Vet 



This Ordinance, among other things, provides:- 



For the purchase by the Lieutenant-Governor, 

 from the native owners, of timber lands, and the 

 vesting of such lands in the Crown. They become 

 timber reserves for the cutting of timber on native- 

 owned land and on Crown land. 



For the granting of permits to cut timber, £10 

 a year. 



For the protection of an area of timber from 

 cutting. 



For the protection of a certain species of timber 



from cutting. 



That a native requires no permit to cut. 



That a royalty on all timber exported is paid 



(up to 7s. 6d. per 1,000 superficial feet). 



For the declaration of timber reserves on any 

 Crown land, except within 5 miles of a mine shaft. 



For the granting of licences to cut timber in 

 the timber reserves for which a rent of 10s. per 

 year for every 100 acres is paid, and which have 

 a currency of from one to 25 years. 



For the 



granting 



of leases, agricultural and 



the Lands Ordinance within 



ground 



pastoral, under Tlie i.ands uramance witnin a 

 timber reserve, and within a timber licence already 

 granted. 



For the cutting of sandalwood and collecting of 

 rubber; a girth of 18 inches at 1 foot from the 



is the minimum girth for sandalwood 



trees. Below this they may not be cut. Sandal 



must be stacked. The slumps and bole must be 

 branded. 



That a licence is necessary to cut sandalwood or 

 collect rubber, or to purchase them from a native. 



For the making of regulations by the Lieutenant- 

 Governor. 



Such a legislative enactment as I have briefly sum- 

 marized above is an excellent example of the kind 



of laws a young democracy passes to ensure the destruc- 

 tion of her natural timber resources as quickly as 



appreciated by the people when they have reached the possible. Queensland has long since abandoned it, and 



has on her statute-books an Act which differs wholly 



stage of civilization which is expected of them. At 

 present, the timber requirements of Papua are negli- 

 gible; the native requires no sawn wood, using, as he 

 does, round poles and split timber for his houses. The 



from the old one, and provides for forest management 

 as well as forest utilization. 



That the forest resources of Papua, under this very 



white population, it is true, uses a little timber, but encouraging Ordinance, have not ceased to exist, is for 



the reason 1 have already stated: they are not suffi- 

 ciently valuable to tempt the exploiter. While this 



Ordinance has caused no harm in Papua, and I see no 

 immediate need to alter it, it is possible (with the con- 



one small mill could supply all the present needs of 



public and private buildings and works. For some 



time to come, therefore, the forest policy of Papua 



wall feel no great and insistent call from a people 



wanting cheap w T ood. The Territory has ample time tinuously rising price of timber, the exhaustion of the 



to put its forest house in order, and it is exceptionally American and Canadian supplies to the point where 



well situated from a forestry stand-point, and so should exporting of timber ceases and the demand of Australia 



have no serious difficulty in effecting this object. for her continuallv irrowinor reouirements in soft 



for her continually growing requirement 



. ,. , , ~ wood), that the mid-mountain forests of Papua may 



It will be said that there is really little need for a be AVOrko(]? aml s0 j set out heTe$ as brieflv M possible, 



forest policy m Papua since the people are not likely ^ main . fa requiml in a legislative enactment 



to want timber except as rough pole woods. ^ That is so, 

 but Papua is an integral part of the British Empire, 

 and is a colony of the Commonwealth of Australia. 



Were there no other reasons to advance but that of 



designed to enable the management of the forests on 

 such lines that, not onlv is the volume increment — and 

 only the volume increment converted — into sawn 

 wood but the regeneration of the forest and the future 



mere commercial aggrandisement the importance of a ]y of thnl)( * for ^ 1mie ^ aSSU1 , 1(| 



forest policy, in a country like Papua, with its rela- 

 tively cheap labour and its splendid growing conditions, Outline of a Forest Ordinance. 



X^ft*!^ 8 T° k / nV ^ fr0n 5 ^^SftiSlf* lmv ^7 } Constitution of a Forest Authority and Machinery to 

 £4,447,945 worth of soft wood m 1924-1025, would be Administer the Ordinance and Cam, Out the 



sufficient But it is obvious to any who have visited Uegulatiom Made Under it. 



Papua that there are very large areas producing ■' ■ 



-------- J he ±orest Authority should he tlie rorest Depart- 



ment with a Conservator of Forests at its head, who is 

 qualified, both by his forestry education and by his 



nothing, and which, as part of the Empire, should be 

 producing their quota of food or raw materials. 



Up to the present, the only policy has been to en- experience, for the position. The Forest Authority 



should have exclusive control and management of all 



courage sawmilling, and the laws relating thereto are 



included in The Timber Ordinance (Consolidated) 



1900, which, except for the provision which deals with 



native rights, is an adaptation of the old Queensland 



matters of forest policy, and the administration of the 

 Ordinance. The Conservator should have all power 



of appointing, promoting, and dismissing his staff. 



