THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1872.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1333, 6 November 1872, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1872.

Parliament and Provincial Councils have on several occasions essayed to patronise colonial industries by proposing bonuses to the promoters of particular undertakings, instead of resorting, as other countries have done, to the imposition of protective duties. Committees have frequently sat and seriously considered the subject of promoting such industries, but, as a rule, the quantity of beneficial result achieved has been in inverse ratio to the number of sittings and to the expenditure of talk and wisdom upon the subjects discussed. There have been exceptions to tho rule, as there are exceptions to all rules, but in the main the results achieved have scarcely been a sufficient reward for the trouble taken or for the amount of public money that has been expended. During the last session of Parliament a joint committee of both Houses of Assembly was appointed to consider what steps the producing and manufacturing resources of the Colony, and the report its members made is among the latest and most interesting papers which we have received from the Government printing office. Interesting as it is, it partakes, however, very much of the character ■of tho majority of the reports which previous committees have presented. It treats of a number of subjects in small space, but treats of them in an off-hand, easy-going manner which is scarcely just to the subjects themselves or to the closeness of the inquiries which the committee must have made. Thi3 easy way of dealing with subjects of large importance is particularly displayed in tho report upon the matter which the committee first considered — the development of the coal fields of the Colony. They propose, for instanco, that "further exploration" should bo made as to the quantity and qualily of tho Brnnner Coal Field, implying thereby that there is insufficient knowledge upon a subject regarding which scientific and practical men have made much, if not exhausting, inquiry for the past seven years. This is what the Committee found themselves competent to say on tlie subject of coal fields : —

"Your Committee have taken a large amount of evidence on the present condition and prospects of tho various known coal fields of the Colony, more particularly the Kawa Kawa, the Brunner, the Mount Rochfort, and Ngakawau, and the Waikato Coal Fields. They find, with reference to the Kawa Kawa mine, that the working of this mine has been suspended for two reasons — the occurrence of a fault and the flooding of the present workings, . and the fact that the construction of the proposed railway has been suspended till it is ascertained reliably that the profitable production can be continued on a large scale over a number of yeara. The Committee recommend that a moderate amount of assistance should be afforded in the shape of a money grant to procure practical ovideuce on the subject above alluded to by boring. As to the Brunner mine, your Committee find that until the railway is made to the port of shipment this mine must continue in the unsatisfactory state it is now in, and they recommend that the earliest steps should be taken to construct the proposed railway, and also that further exploration should be raado to ascertain the amount of coal that is likely can be carried over this railway at a profit. Mount Ptochfort and Ngakawau Mine. — Your Committee have satisfactory evidence that the coal in the district is fully equal in quality to that of the Brunner. They recommend that in this case also fuather explorations be made before any considerable expendituro is incurred in improving means of shipment, as it appears at present doubtful whether it would i beexpedient to adopt Westport or the Ngakawau River as the place of export. With regard to other coal fields, your Coramittea recommend generally that wherever there is reason to believe that good coal seams exist, practical exploration as to the value and extent of these eeams should be made as soon as the Government find it possible. The evidence taken by your Committee on this subject

leads them to the belief that New Zealand ought, in a very short time, to supply its own wants and also become an exporter of coal." According to the report, the Committee received sufficient evidence to convince them that payable iron stone and ore exists in various parts of the Colony ; and in view of the great increase of price of manufactured iron in Europe, and the prospect of high prices, together with a constantly increasing demand continuing, they consider that they are fully justified in recommending that a bonus be offered of £5000 on the production of 1000 tons of pig-iron of marketable quality, in quantities of not less than 100 tons, and under such regulations as may appear necessary o the Government to insure the permanent establishment of the industry. The Committee also recommend that the bonus which the Committee of last year proposed of £1000 for the production of the first 100 tons of steel from the Taranald iron- sand should be continued. The Committee, while recognising the valuable efforts maie by Mr Krull, the Consul of the German Empire, towards the establishment of a company to manufacture beetroot sugar in the Colony, regret to find that there is no probability of such a company being established at an early date ; but they repeat the recommendation of the Joint Committee of last year, that a bonus of L2OOO be offered for .the production of the first 250 tons of sugar produced from beetroot manufactured within the Colony. In compliance with the recommendation of the Committee of last year, a quantity of seed of the best varieties of sugar beet has been procured from Germany, through Mr Krull, and has been distributed in different districts of the Colony, with a view if testing the capability of those districts to grow beetroot of a quality sufficiently good to enable- the production of sugar from this root to be profitably carried on. The Committee had their attention drawn to the several samples of manufactured woollen goods from the manufactory recen+ly established at Mossgiel, Otago, by Messrs Burns and Company, and they consider it a source of much congratulation to the Colony that this industry is now thoroughly established. They think it right to draw attention to the fact that, in the case of Otago, this success is in a measure owing to the judicious application of the system of bonuses by the Provincial authorities.