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mature timber, these reserves (as has been stated) will 

 in time be more than self-supporting, without in the 

 Leasl injuring them for those purposes for which they 

 were established. The objects to be obtained in this 

 matter are of so great importance to the colony, that 

 Government cannot trust the carrying out of them to 

 jirivate persons, who will study their own interests 

 rather than the welfare of the commonwealth. The 

 vital importance of the subject is my only excuse for 

 dwelling so long upon it. Of course results commen- 

 surate to the foregoing ideas will not be realised in a 

 year, nor perhaps for some time to come ; but if the 

 object to be attained is kept steadily in view by the 

 Government, and intelligently worked up to, there is 

 not much fear of ultimately attaining a satisfactory 

 result. It may be added that the future success of 

 the matter depends very much on steps being taken 

 at once to lay a solid foundation upon which the 

 structure is to be built. 



Reference has already been made to the unwooding 

 of the leeward districts by the system of cultivation 

 practised by the Fijians, and destructive fires which 

 annually sweep over these districts in the dry season. 

 The mischief caused by the former of these in all 

 parts of the group lias been alluded to, and I would 

 now call attention to the latter. These fires originate 

 in several ways, either when burning the scrub and 

 grass in clearing land for a new plantation and care- 

 sly allowing the fire to spread into the surrounding 

 dry herbage; (2) by sparks from torches carried by 

 the natives when travelling after nightfall to show 

 the paths and fords of rivers; (3) or by lighting 

 fires to cook food and dry their smoking tobacco when 

 on a journey, as is the custom of the Fijians, and 



