The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1883. A Failure, and its Lessons.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 852, 26 January 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prevalebit. FRIDAY, JANUARY 26, 1883. A Failure, and its Lessons.

The story of the rise and fall of the New Zealand Pottery Company, which has just come to a decision to wind up its affairs, carries with it a lesson that all who are ambitious to establish new local industries would do well to consider. The Company in question certainly had to contend with difficulties which could scarcely have been foreseen, but it is a matter for regret that an industry which at its inception promised to be successful should have enjoyed so short a life. The immediate cause of winding up appears to have been the disastrous fire which occurred at the Milton works some little time back, but a strike on the part of the mert who were brought out from Home had not a little share in bringing about the failure of the enterprise. This latter difficulty, however, was in a fair way of being surmounted, and had not the machinery been destroyed the business would have gone on, and no doubt in time would have prospered. Still, the balance-sheet which was presented

at the meeting of directors on Friday last shows that after taking into account assets which are valued at Bs, there has been a loss of £3,642 16s Bd. When it is seen, however, that the greater part of the assets is represented by machinery and plant, which will probably not realise anything like the sum they are valued at, the loss to the shareholders must be put down at a considerably higher figure. The reasons for this failure to establish what appeared to be a necessary and profitable industry are alleged by the directors to have been the difficulty of obtaining skilled labor from England, on account of the opposition of manufacturers at Home, and the great loss sustained by the fire. But we think that the principal cause is to be found in the fact that the Company started the works without sufficient capital. It cannot be argued that this

industry was not called for, or that any difficulties stood in the way of its successful prosecution that could not have been overcome, had money been forthcoming to meet the first losses, which were inevitable. There was clay in abundance, skilled workmen were on the ground, and the wares that had been produced were fully equal to those imported. As to the wages question, that would have righted itself very soon. We notice that the Btuce Herald recommends that the business should not be allowed to die out, but that an effort should be made to form an association to continue it on a co-operative basis. This is, to our thinking, scarcely wise counsel, as such associations are very seldom successful, and in this instance failure is well-nigh inevitable. But the lesson to be obtained from the history of this unfortunate Company should not be thrown away. We are continually seeing new industries springing up, and it needs but small gift of prophesy to foretell disaster unless there is enough capital to fall back upon to meet those early losses that are ununavoidable in the case of fresh enterprises. Figures can always be given which appear to prove that profits will result immediately after the materials are manufactured. That man, however, is not wise who puts his faith in statistics, and the fate of the Milton Pottery should serve as a warning to those who fancy that only enough capital is required to support a new industry as will suffice to meet immediate expenses.