INDUSTRIES COMMISSION

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 172, 15 April 1919, Page 8

INDUSTRIES COMMISSION

IRONSAND, OIL, AND LEATHER. I!y Teleirrauli—TVc? /, asociation. New Plymouth, April H. " The Industries Commission opened its sittings, here to-day, and was welcomed by the Mayor and the chaiftian of the Chamber of Commerce. The first • matter introduced was iron ore and the ironsand industry. Evidence was given by the chairman of the New Zealand Iron' Ore Smelting Co., Mr. "Penn, who related what had been done, by the company. He alluded to the difficulty in regarded to the price, the supply of labour and capital, and also to the ;iee<l of a reliable expert opinion. Ho said there was a reasonable prospect, of the project developing into a payable concern. Tests showed the iron to be far I above the Government standard of re- ( quirements. The company was liandi- I enpued bv 111? want of coking apparatus. Ho hoped that the Government would get a. report on the prospects, and method ot I working. lie thought the company was entitled to some assistance from the Government. Tho m'aiii desire was to obtain the opinion of a satisfactory expert. Mr. J. G. Smith, on behalf,of another syndicate for producing pig iron, asked for Government aid, and suggested that tlie Government should taße over Jiis patents. Mr. C. T). Lightband gave evidence rc- ! garding the industry of manufacturing j fancy leather from the paunchfs of sheep j and cattle. He had produced from 15 to ! 20 feet of leather from one cattle paunch, The difficulty was in regard to dyeing and finishing. He desired to secure this industry for the Dominion, and pointed our. that it was a good policy to utilise the waste material. 11c asked for an expert's assistance, l.arge supnlies of glue and glycerine could also be extracted from the residue now going into manures. Giving evidence regarding the''oil industry, Mr. R. Griffiths, chairman of tho Blenheim Oil Co., stated that the veil was now 511(10 feet deep. The plant was capable of drilling to GOOO feet. Ho believed the company was approaching the main source of supply. The company "hart spent .£20,000. and had received a. .£Goofl loan from the Government out of .E9OM) authorised. There were no foreign shareholders. The manager gave lengthy evidence as to the methods of working. He was confident there were good prospects of getting oil in good quantities. Mr. Carter, managing director, thought the Government should take the matter "Vliving evidence regarding the hydroelectric" development.. Mr. Hartley, borough electrical engineer, detailed the. borough proposals for developing GOOO to SOOO horse-power. •Miout half the power would be '.e----n uired for the borough, and the remainder would be available for the district. The scheme was a standard one, and could be linked with the Governmsnt scheme. No other source ill Taranaki could be developed as economically as the Waiwakaiho.

Eor Children's Hacking Cough, WnmlV Great Peppermint Cure.*