SECOND READING. (Hansard, 9 July 1884)

§ DR. LYONS

, in moving that the Bill be now read a second time, remarked that the measure to the principle of which the House had just assented would be a useful addition to the long list of measures that had been at various times passed with a view of promoting the more extensive planting of trees in Ireland. He could not, however, look back on the long legislative records of the past without feeling a considerable degree of apprehension that the Trees Planting Bill would practically share the fate of the many measures which had preceded it. That Bill related to a part only of a great question; and until that question was faced in an adequate manner he did not believe they would ever see, either in this country or in Ireland, an extensive system of tree planting. Notwithstanding the number of permissive Acts which had been already passed, Ireland was being steadily disafforested. There was an extraordinary devastation of woods and forests in Ireland two centuries ago.

§ DR. LYONS

, continuing, said, that John Evelyn, in his Silva, bore testimony to the abundance of the timber, especially of oak timber, in Ireland that was available in his time; and he showed that England herself derived her best supplies of oak from Ireland. Afterwards, it was looked upon as a matter of State policy that the timber in that 647 country should be cut down, and by the end of the 17th century Ireland was reduced to an almost treeless condition. Only about 328,703 acres out of the 20,328,753 acres of land in Ireland were occupied with woods and plantations at the present day, being 45,779 acres less than in the year 1841. The question of the proper timbering of countries was one of the greatest importance. This fact was now very fully recognized; and it was generally conceded that from one-fourth to one-third of the area of any country should be covered with woods for the protection and the proper cultivation of the rest. This was a question which in the most direct manner affected these countries. This Empire annually consumed 290,000,000 cubic feet of timber, only a comparatively small portion of which could be drawn from home sources, although, no doubt, England still rejoiced in the possession of oaks of which she might justly be proud. The imports of forest products amounted to £20,000,000 sterling per annum, and the importance of this branch of commerce was thus fully attested. What was the prospect that they would be able to draw in the future from the same sources that they had been hitherto depending upon? They had been in the habit of looking to the wood supply of North America as inexhaustible; but recent figures issued by the Agricultural Department of the United States showed that the area of timber there was practically reduced to 381,000,000 acres. The quantity of timber existing in Europe was represented as 661,000,000 acres, and of that more than two-thirds was to be found in the large area of Russia. In no single country—with, perhaps, the exception of Sweden and Norway—was it admitted that there was more timber than was necessary for its own domestic uses. Russia itself was at that moment suffering from a recognized and an increasing want of timber for its own internal supplies and the carrying on of its industries, and, besides extensive re-afforesting operations of her once bleak and barren steppes, was importing from countries in her own neighbourhood, which countries were in their turn also importing timber. He acknowledged his great indebtedness to the Foreign Office for having collected universal statistics for him upon this subject.