OUR FINE WOOLS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1017, 5 January 1911, Page 8

OUR FINE WOOLS.

: FRANCE AS A BUYER. ; N.Z. AND THE ROUBAIX EXHIBITION. "With the object of ascertaining what- * ®vej\ ihformaYiort concerning New Zealand ; os'.was available respecting thc/Roufcaix I- - Exhibition; -'a. Dominion reporter mterI viewed. M. Lucien' Nopenaire,- wlio is- the* I ■ official representative of the-exhibitiqn for ! .Australasia: , ' "The movement w*ill interest New Zea- | . landers'," said iir.- Nopenaire,'■'.'when they i' know, that Roubaix is the*big .wool -centre I of- France. ' "W'c claim' that it; is tire wool centre of the! Continent; Quite closej 1 to ttoubaix* isvTurcoin'e,- another great j • centro -of woollen manufactures. Kou- j "baix. is France's parallel" of England s ■ Bradford.-" ' ' ' . t V , f The exhibition-was being heid,-he sßicl, i to 'coramcmbrate the prqgre&s of the'texj tile . industry ; in \<he . North of Iranco: ThatMvas the main point of* the -exliibii' ' tioii.-The-New. Zeahnd;.Government, lie; i . poinfed out; had• voted «£22oo'to be sponc | !" bv tbe- countrv in cxhibiting.at.'Rotibavx, } . .-and of that amount. jß2oowa> t^no>v^variable. ■ on account, -and Australia was-'Spending .£ISOO. • Canada/was- .exhibiting; but he ; • - did* not "know, to what extent, arid Argen-1 ! ' tina iwas going to spend ciOOOO- on- the j i ' affair. Then, of course, all-the European ?• and other* countries were-showing. / The Roubaix Exhibition is to be opened on May. 1.- and to be continued, till November. M. - Nopenaire expects .that i the . New'•Zealand' court at Shepherd s- . Bush will be transferred to the Roubaix i Exhibition. a "I''should say," continued Nopen-: aire, '-that one-third of the New Zealand clip goes to France. Not all of that • quantitvis bought-in New Zealand, but I include* the New Zealand-wool which is procured in London. .V\ hy, a few years • the only French buyer at the New. r Zealand; sales, ( and now we are . . fivel? .' .1 Ausweririg a question as „to tne class f. of?trade France did, 11. Nopenaire said: 5 • "Practically • all the fine half aiid three- • quarter-bred wool, and all the lambs' i wool is'bought by' the French buyers. We pay the biggest.price for lambs' wool. • X- topped.the market myself (at the ra- . cent • sale); with for" lambs' wool; All that goes to Roubaix:" . , \ •• '• <r \Ve # buy the finer wools," he con-! • , tiriued, "tecause'.wo haye tho machinery [ I to-work them, while Bradford has the imachinery for the coarser .wools. Still, i.;. when-I'-want, a piece of fine suiting ma- ! . terial J have to';go\ tp L.oadon_ :.for it. ; | . Though it' is: made in' Franco- it'.cannot j- be- obtained there, as it is manufactured' ! to the order's of.London | • " M.'Nopenaire is decidedly of the opinr ipn .that New Zcftlftnd will • benefit by 1 exhibiting at .Roubaix. . He thinks iy \ ' ; woiild .be very bad-business' to miss, the I ; thence-of making'a striking exhibit.