C.— 3

It was. also possible to secure ex Canadian mills sufficient pure kraft for the manufacture of 300,000 " Saranac " type boxes, but results have not been as good as in the case of the Whakatane board. A trial shipment of 25,000 dump-type corrugated fibre-board boxes that is, boxes without wooden ends —made in Auckland from imported pure kraft liner reached Great Britain in satisfactory condition. While inferior to the imported American packages of the same type, London has made representations that moie of these boxes be used if local manufacture is possible. The outlook for the ensuing season may be viewed with reasonable confidence. , For the export cheese-crate pool, which covers both Islands, 1,182,264 cheese-crates (1,401,565) were manufactured. The supply position in the South Island was quite satisfactory, but deliveries of timber to North Island cratemakers equalled only 9,203,000 board feet (15,295,000), witli the result that stocks were seriously depleted. It was necessary to secure some cheese-crates for North Island dairy companies from South Island crate-manufacturers. . A further acute demand for case timber will prevail m the North Island during the coming pool year, and in consequence it has been deemed necessary to make forward arrangements' with South Island crate-manufacturers for the supply of approximately 100,000 crates to northern dairy companies during the j^ar. CHAPTER XII.—TIMBER CONTROL 100. Timber Production Advisory Committee. —The Timber Production Advisory Committee was created by the Minister of Supply and Munitions by notice -issued under the Supply Control Emergency Regulations 1939 in November, 1943. _ The personnel of the Committee is: Commissioner of State Forests (Chairman), Messrs. W. C. Ward (Vice-Chairman), (State Forest Service), 11. Parsonage (National Service Department), N. Burnett (Ministry of Works), (1. H. Chapman _ (Dominion Federated Sawmillers' Association (Incorporated)), W. Seator and F Craig (New Zealand Timber-workers' Industrial Union of Workers), and D. G. O'Toole (New Zealand Timbermerchants' Association). The Committee was set up to advise the Minister of Supply and Munitions on any measures likely to result in the more efficient working of the industry in relation to the wartime production of timber. . ~, ... The first meeting was held on the 11th November, 1943, and altogether the Committee met on three occasions before the 31st March. , . . , . With shortage of man-power as one of the major problems facing the industry, the Committee gave much of its attention to finding a solution to the difficulties being experienced by millers. As a result of the Committee's work the release of volunteers from the Army in' the Pacific area was arranged, and although the releases did not become effective before the end of the year under review it is anticipated that production of timber during the current year will benefit materially. _ , 101. Declaration of Timber Industry as Essential. —Declarations of essentiality affecting the timber industry issued during the year in pursuance of the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations 1944 (Serial number 1944/8) (formerly the Industrial Man-power Emergency Regulations 1942) are as follows:- —• (a) Declaration of Essential Industry No. 7 (the industry of sawmillmg) : Amendment dated 14th May, 1943 (Gazette, 1943, page 606), includes the production of power and telegraph poles, railway sleepers, fencing-materials, and firewood: (b) Declaration of Essential Undertaking No. 99 (Gazette, 1943, page 433) applies to the maintenance and protection of exotic forests owned by twenty-one local bodies and afforestation companies: An amendment dated sth May, 1943, and published in Gazette, 1 .-Ho, page 607, corrects the name of an afforestation company included in the declaration: . An amendment dated 22nd June, 1943, and published in Gazette, U)4o, page 730, deletes an afforestation company wrongly included m the declaration: onn (c) Declaration of Essential Undertakings No. 71 (Gazette, 1942, page /^4) applies to certain specified undertakings in respect only of their timberyards, joinery-factories, and planing-mills: Undertakings included during the year: Dated 30th September, 1943, and published in Gazette, 1943, page 1197. 102 Industrial Man-power.—During the early part of the year the shortage ot manpower became more acute, but later this deterioration was balanced by the release ot men from the Armed Forces which exceeded losses caused by withdrawal for military service and normal wastage due to old age, sickness, &c. The difficulty of obtaining skilled bushmen is still the controlling factor in production, the numbers being insufficient to supply logs to all mills for forty-eight hours' operation. Unfortunately, very few key logging operatives have been found among the Armed Services' personnel in this country, but continual

4—C. 3

25