RAILWAYS AND HOME TIMBER. 1 97 



Scots pine suitable for sleepers, and that with increased prices 

 increased supplies would be available, which would exercise a 

 steadying influence on the price of the Baltic sleeper. It was in 

 the interests of the railway companies that encouragement in the 

 form of increased prices should be given to the planting of 

 extensive forests both by private and public enterprise, because 

 such planting would do good to the country as a whole, and 

 the railway companies would be bound to benefit by the 

 increased prosperity of the country and the increased traffic 

 which must follow it. He maintained that, quality for quality, 

 the home producer should be put on an equal footing with 

 the foreigner. He appreciated what had been said by Mr 

 M'Cosh with regard to deliveries, and something might be done 

 to meet this difficulty. With regard to the place where delivery 

 should be given, he thought it would be good policy for the 

 railway companies to take deliveries on any part of their 

 system rather than at one point, as they would thereby gtt 

 larger quantities, and that at any rate railway companies 

 should carry the sleepers to their central depots at cost price. 

 When considering the relative prices of the home and imported 

 sleeper the question of freight had to be considered, but the 

 difference in price did not correspond with the cost of carriage. 

 What the Societies wanted was encouragement by increase in 

 price, so that ultimately a large annual supply of home sleepers 

 could be given. The railway companies must appreciate the 

 business point of view of such a proposition, and he hoped 

 that as a result of the views put forward by the deputation, 

 the timber producers and suppliers would in future receive better 

 prices, which would do good both to them and to the railway 

 companies. 



Mr Chrystal, in replying to the whole points raised by the 

 deputation, said he noticed there was a distinct difference in 

 the position taken up by the merchants and growers, and that 

 it was the work of the timber merchant to collect the supplies. 

 His company sent out their specification and asked for offers, 

 and the price was fixed by the merchants, not by the company. 

 Mr Frank Scott took exception to the statement that the 

 company did not fix the price, and Mr Chrystal, while recog- 

 nising the reasonableness of Mr Scott's intervention, considered 

 that he (Mr Chrystal) was entitled to make the statement he 

 had made on this point. They took as many sleepers as they 



