AUCKLAND CHRONICLE. Saturday, May 27, 1843. THE NEW ZEALAND FLAX TRADE.

Auckland Chronicle and New Zealand Colonist, Volume 1, Issue 37, 27 May 1843, Page 2

AUCKLAND CHRONICLE. Saturday, May 27, 1843. THE NEW ZEALAND FLAX TRADE.

ITS PROGRESS and prospects. j Front a very early period, in wlmt maf be called the British history of New Zealand, the Phormium Tenar, or Native Flax, has by common consent been considered as likely to form the staple commodity of the future commence cf this country. . Before New Zea aid had been formally added to the Colonial. dependency s' of Great Britain, and before its Systematic colonization was commenced, considerable quantities of this- Flax, roughly prepared by the ! natives, had found its way into England. | Coarse as it appeared to be, it was found after preparation, and repeated experiments, to be of excellent quality, and suitable to all the purposes to which the Flax and Hemp imported from foreign countries* are commonly applied. As upwards of two- millions hundred weights are anniially imported into Great Britain from Russia, and other countries, at a’ jeost of between four ( . and five millions sterling. Now Zealand being deemed capable of rendering the Mother, country independent of foreign supply, was, when erected into 1 a British colony,, justly deemed a most valuable addition to- her possfes 1 - sions. Up to the pfesfent time, however, little or nothing has been done towards supplying the English market with New Zealand Flax. Some time is; in all cases, necessarily employed by the early settlers in providing themselves with food and shelter. In this, as in other Colonies, some capital has been both locked up and* dissipated in unprofitable land speculation®. Like our neighbour®, we have been led astray by the example of the two American youths, who were so cute as to make five dollar® each bv swapp’ng their coa*s. We have been buving, and Selims’, and exchanging evorv thing, but: really gaining nothing. We seem at lns+ to have made the discovery that we are inferior in evfeness to tliosA men can youths r and that if we wish to he rich, we must create and produce something. From north to sonth n

sudden and simultaneous movement has, at length, been commenced to collect the Phormium Tenar, and to prepare it for the English market, as a substitute for Flax or Hemp. At a station on the const, between Auckland and the Bay of Ts’ands, Flax dressing has been commenced bv a European: solution in co'd water forms a part of the process by which he prepares it. Messrs. Terry and Co are praparing it, on an extensive scale near Auckland, with their improved machinery; with them, steeping is not required. Native dressed Flax from Taiiranga,. has also been brought into town. At Port Nicholson, the attention of several most influential parties is almost exclusively devoted to the encouragement of its production by the natives, who in large numbers may be seen entering the town daily, bearing on their backs bulky burthens of the article, prepared by themselves and their families. In the-Cook’s Straits’ district, i>t is supposed that there are now nearly 2000 natives engaged in preparing it. At Nelson, also, the settlers are quite alive to the importence of the trade ; there, the Flax is by machinery: the experiment is being made with two different sorts- of machinery, in both eases solution? is made use of. We

have recently seen specimen© by these different processes. Some time must elapse before their comparativevahie can be satisfactorily, tested ; this much, however, is. certain, that the business has now been fairly commenced and with a degree of hopefulness and spirit, commensurate with the immense importance of the results anticipated from its successful establishment. Whether these results shall at once be realized or not, depends greathv upon th 6 care and attention that shall be bestowed upon the first shipments. If Flax, the produce of New Zealand, shall make its appearance in the English market of a quality equal to foreign Flax, and which can be sold, at a profit for the same, or at a legs price, then immediately thousands of the unemployed capital of England will, find its way to this country, to be invested in the trade, and in a very few years New Zealand will take rank amongst the. most important British possessions. Besides, too,, the enormous demand cf Great Britain, the markets of France* America, and Belgium itself, will beopen to us. But, let us for want of a liitle attention, send home a coarse*

Unmarketable article, and New ZealaucS Flax will at once get a bad name., subsequent shipments, will scarcely be* looked at; it will fail to find a sale at any price, the shipper wi'l perhaps be ruined and so difficult is it, as we all know, to overcome a prejudice, tf. afe years will probably elapse before the attempt to bring the article into notice* 'can again be made with any chance of success. Not the least important purpose to which Flax and Hemp are applied, is Rope Making. Experiments, as to the fitness of New Zealand Flax for this purpose, were extensively made in the British Navy, about ten years

ago. The results were variously reported ; though favorable on the whole there is reason to believe that in some points New Zealand Flax is inferior to European. As care and attention in its cultivation cs preparation may do much to remedy the defect complained of, we would now, in the very outs ft of the business, direct attention to the

subject. There was brought before the Lords’ Committee on New Zealand,, which sat in 1838* several reports on New Zealand Rope : the result of experiments which had been tried cn board several of Her Majesty’s ships « although in the greater number of instances the report war,. “ that it is excellent rope;” that there was ‘‘‘ai marked superiority in the New Zealand rope ;” that “ for the purposes for which he has used rope, this is far superior to auy rope he has ever met with.” “ that the tarred cordage madeof New Zealand Flax manufactured by Mr. Robertson, and supplied from Chatham yard, viz.* 4 and 5 inches hawser-laid, was still in excellent condition, and i® decidedly superior in every respect to common rope,’” &c. ; yet* in almost every instance it is noticed, “ that it swells more in wet weather than the Russian hemp that “■in -wet weather the running rape swell© so much, it is difficult ta reewe

it through the blocks,” &c.; “that it when it get© it wet it becomes These defect©.appear to he remgtfiable by using absolution of cahuchae. “ The cahuchac,” it is stated in one report, “ make® the rope very pliant, it booome3 round, and runs well.” In some instances the experiment is reportad to have failed, from tyhe New Zea'and Rope having been

“ so badly laid up, that the strands did not bear an equal strain.” For one very important purpose it is highly es,-

teemed ; for whale lines it is preferred to any other description of rope, on account of its strength and pliability. In his evidence before the Select Com mittee in 183 S, it. was stated by Mr. Enderby, “ that it is brought over in a ivery rough state ; it 4s rot generally ntroduced, from its having been imported in a very indifferent state.” This witness also gave it as his opinion, that the New Zealand Flax might be improved by treatment after it was cut; and that it was liable to injury from the way in which i|t is packed ; in doubling it, he says, the part out side if wet gets to it, is destroyed. By another witness, (Capt. Fitzroy. R. N.,) it is suggested, that the quality of the Flax may depend in some measure, on the time of year at which t he plant is cut. Mr. Enderby’s opinion, that the character of New Zealand has been injured in the general estimation, from “its having been imported in a very indifferent state,” suggests the consideration, now, that we are seeking in earnest to establish it as an important article of commerce, whether it is not desirable that it should be subjected to some further cleansing process, before shipment, in order to secure for it a favorable reception in the English market. Of this we are quite eertain, from the specimens we have seen, that the Flax prepared by machinery will fetch at least £lO a t on more than that roughl prepared by the natives, —and that it is much the more likely to establish for New Zealand Flax a favourable footing in the English market. As to what may be the most profitable method of pre-

paring it, we cannot at present offer any opinion; not knowing at what price it can be prepared by Messrs. Terry and Co.’s or any other machinery. As to the cost of bringing the native dressed fibre into the English market’ the following may be taken, as an approximation to the truth. It may be purchased from the natives on the coast, at say, £lO a ton; at this rate, a man,

or woman, or even a child, can earn Bs. or 10s. a week. But take the cost of a ton landed at Auckland, say £ls 0 Packing and compressing in bales, .. .. .. 1 5 Warehouse rent, and Shipping charges 1 0 Freight, (say double measurement,) G 0 Insurance, lauding and other expences, 2 15 £26 0 The average price of Russian Hemp may be stated at £4O a ton. To £26 the cost of a ton of native dressed New Zealand Flux, must be added the expense to be bestowed on it in England to render it equal in cleanness * and appearance to Russian Hemp - Whether as we all earnestly hope, an extensive and profitable trade will shortly be established in one of the natural productions of this Colony, we know not, but this much may with safety be stated, that Flax to the value of £50,000 will be exported from this Colony in the ensuing year, and tha t if the experiment shall turn out profitable, some hundred thousands of English capital will at once be invested in the trade. , i