THE KAURI GUM INDUSTRY.

Jubilee : Te Tiupiri, Volume 1, Issue 2, 11 January 1898, Page 4

THE KAURI GUM INDUSTRY.

WE deplore the persisent inactivity of persons in authority to, in some way, prevent the Kauri Gum being dug and sold by Austrians, who are still flooding the Northern gumfields, which comprise an area of one and a half million acres and provides employment for eight or ten thousand workers all the. year round. The yearly export of kauri gum is set down at one and a quarter millions and is only excelled in value by our out-put of Gold. It exceeds in value by one and a quarter the export of wheat and grain of every kind.

The same remarks may apply to butter and cheese' so although very much despised, the gum industry has proved itself to be one of our most important exports and deserves fostering. There is no questioning the faft that for many years past the gumfields have greatly relieved our charitable aid institutions and have continued to be a source of the greatest comfort to the Northern Settlers and Maoris, both old and young. This will cease to be. if an army of about 2000 Austrians and othe r foreigners are allowed year after year a free hand to drain our young country of its life's blood, without return. Kauri gum is a commodity, which, when once taken out of theground can never be replenished, consequently this great industry which employs thousands of men, women, and children, will be wiped clean out of existence in a very short space of time if not at once conserved. We know for a faft, on most of the gumfields where a year or two back settlers could make certain of digging from 28 to 40 lbs per day, equal to ten or fifteen shillings, they cannot now by sheer hard work average more than 7to 14 lbs, equal to four or five shillings; this is owing to the influx of the foreigner and his systematic manner of digging for gum. They for instance, open up a face on a hillside or flat as the casemaybe.andsweep everythingbefore them, justas though they were digging up a large garden, taking great care not to leave the least speck of gum behind. If a strange bona fide gumdigger asks the advice of a friend about certain fields the reply invariably is, " Well, Bill, its no use going on ; clean worked out; the d— foreigners have been there." Now th» gum industry justly demands protection, and claims the immediate attention of our Northern legislators, among whom we especially mention the names of Messrs Cadman, McGowan, Massey.Monk, R. Thompson, Housten, Kaihau, Pere, and last but not least, Heke, all of whom were more or less returned to Parliament as representatives of the gumdigging community. We commend Mr Housten for the firm stand he has always taken in trying to relieve the gumfields of their burden. Hitherto, unfortunately for the country, he has been allowed by his colleagues to play a lone hand. We think it is quite time the Government faced this question of such vital importance to New Zealand, and so prevent a great calamity befalling the settlers and Maoris of the North. By acting at oricethey will confer a lasting boon on the workers of this young Colony, and no doubt will prevent the flooding of our charitable aid institutions, which inevitably must follow if nothing else is done except talk.