Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1880. THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 21, 12 November 1880, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1880. THE FLAX INDUSTRY.

The" repent calling of tenders in /thw $strfct for, the supply of greer iaxfor ahi^menC to Melbourne brings to mind the importance of this industry. At .one time the flax trade gave promise^OT betfopii^g^ 'a most import ant Wrarolrdf employment, but ii decayed as fast as it rose. Six oj seven years ago, wheu the write] first visited the Foxton district, tw< mills were, in active operation, anc

circulated a large amount pi nidney. We have been looking into^ihe biue^ | books for figures relating tothe flax! ;■ trjid^anjjlitpvi A^as regqjffifits rise, '-> grin£a;|ttd #ff% the : M?eMfaT&! ■■-, a^ytningfpjSit peering}, they will l>e -j.-sad wit&ifrterest. ' to 1871 , tl^e^e is ifo Record of the value of the flst r expprfced. ■ The following table in^sh^Wthfr. value of the flax ex- • ported since the trade began : — Value of flix

We have no means at baud of ascertaining the value of this export in 1879, but the above figures show the rapid growth of the trade and its equally rapid decay. Referring to the value of the flax exported in 1878, it may be noted that of the £10,660 worth of flax sent out of the colony in that year, £5,249. worth, or nearly one-half, was sent to -the neighbouring Colony of Victoria, i ! 3,G39 worth went to New South Wales, and £1,503 worth went to the (Tnited Kingdom, the remaining £275 worth being about equally divided between South Australia and the United States. It will be seen that in the year under review £8,888 worth of this material, in which New Zealand is so marvellously rich, was sent to the neighbouring colonies of Victoria and New South Wales. What do they do with it there ? and cannot New Zealand use. it in the same way ? Those are the questions we would like to see answered, but which, unfortunately, we are unable to answer ourselves. To find an answer to them, we have searched carefully through the evidence and report of the Colonial Industries , Commission, which reported to the Governor last July. It is most surprising to find that Commission does not appear to have considered the flax industry at all. Dozens of other industries that could be created if certain plants were acclimatised are referred to by the Commission, and j " voluminous evidence in connection ; with them printed, but how to utilise ! ; tho raw material Nature has so bountifully scattered over this colony — how to follow even in the waive of other countries that obtain the green flax from us and then work it up,— s is not even referred to. In this instance, we cannot but think the ;' Commission neglected a most import- ,, ant part of their duty, which was, i, "To inquire whether any industries r or manufactures that are or hereafter ' may be prosecuted or carried on in d the colony should be in any manner 8 promoted or aided by the Govern- * ment, and to examine into the best ' t means of so aiding or promotuig any such local industries or manufactures, ♦ having due regard to the circustances of the colony." It is understood that the flax now being sent to Victoria is used chiefly in the manufacture of paper, but though several broad hints were given ) to the Colonial Industries Commisl sion to enquire into the question of t paper making, they kept very shy of 3 it. The Chairman of the Local Industries Commission at luvercargill named amongst the articles which in the opinion of that Society the colony would be benefitted by producing instead of depending on importation, " " Proper machinery for the lnanu- ' facture of white paper for newspapers." The Auckland Workingmen's Political Association "ret quested that the attention of the commission be directed to the encouraging cf paper manufactories in thia colony." The Clyde County Council suggested, "That a bonus should be offered for the production of paper." The matter was therefore prominently brought under notice of the Commission, but they have passed it over without reference in • their report. We are able, however, to glean from the evidence attached to the Co- - lonial Industries Commission certain • facts relating to the flax industry, which will be interesting. Upon the matter of haivest-bind-ing twine, Messrs Mason and Struthers, the well-known ironmongers of Chxistchurch, gave evidence. They said: — We hare sent flax to America to hare it worked up by machinery there, with the intention of importing the machinery and . supplying it to a Canterbury twine maker. If the machinery succeeds in making the twine, without any duty, it will compete successfully with the imported twine. The great advantage of the string binder ie that it will utilise the native flax. We ez- '• peot to import 75 tons of twine for next m season, and will sell it at Is 3d to la 3d per - pound. The maker of the colonial twine said he lost money by selling it at Is per pound, but he estimates that if he liad the machinery he couH supply it at 7d ; but * that is problematical. He is patenting a process for cleaning the flax. He does sot 5 make paper pulp. There was also examined a witness named Alfred Oldhain, of Auckland, - who for the last six years has been constantly engaged in the various industries connected with the flax n trade. For the last two years he has n been engaged making floor matting ;s from flax. He claims to be able to »• produce a cheaper and more durable c article than cocoa-matting. He says k- he can produce for 2s ltd per yard, it from fla^t, a better article than the •r Government us* m- the Supreme >r Court in Auckland, and which cost o the colony 8s 9d per yard. He d asserts the Railway Department have

and found It su||erior to-'coir matting, but that whorfr %|kfppHed for the privilege of supply^ |4g^them, notwithstanding,^ §tfyjng hi 6d per yard would /^vePieen effected, he was told that " alk the store contracts are let to one-man for a particular class of goods (in '■which matting in included),- and he is an •importer." He adds :— " The fibre prepared for my special use is of a different finish to that required for ropemaking ; and the effect of a thorough establishment of my trade would be'to steady r the flasaressing industry, and enable the flaxdresser to get better profit by beings able to sort his fibre.-" -i Evidence was also given by Mr De Beer, agent of the Dunedin Bopeworks, a branch of an establishment at Geelong. He stated that hemp costs them £30 per ton landed in Dunedin, and that their rope finds a ready sale at £48 per ton, the cost of production being £44, so that the profit upon each ton was £4. They employ six hands, and turn out 4 tons per week. The capital invested in lauds, buildings, machinery, &c., is £7000. The works are capable of turning out 15 tons per week. Mr Beer added : — The Dunedin works do not make much flax ropo ; they arc undersold by small makers, and the public do not sufficiently understand the difference in value between hand laid and steam-laid rope. The works produce rope, clothes lines, any kind of small rope (except twine), and plough lines. We use very little New Zealat.d flux. Most of our material is imported from Manilla to Mcl bout ue. A few figures as to the amount of money sent out of this country for articles which might be woiked up from or supplauted by flax will be interesting to our readers. We therefore publish the value of the following articles imported into this colony during the year 1878 : —

I The Government would act wisely if they would appoint a Commission consisting of a couple of practical men to hunt up evidence of the various uses to which flax can be put, and circulate broadcast the information so obtained. The developing of the industries of the country, and of the flax iniustvy in particular, would confer infinitely greater benefit upon tiie colony than the expenditure of borrowed millions. The Public Works policy of the future must be teaching the public to work for themselves.

Year. exported. 1871 £90,611 1872 ... ... ... 99,405 1873 ... ... ... 143,799 1874 37,090 1875 11,742 1876 ... ... ... 18,285 1877 ... ... ... 15.826 1878 ... ... ... 10,ti66

\ ahie imports Article. 1878. Canvas .. .. £23,567 Cordage .. .. 21,502 Hemp „ .. 1,025 Mala aucl rugs. . . . 8,245 Matting, china . . . . 5,888 „ coir .. .. 5,023 Paper— Bags .. .. 9,913 Wrappings .. 6,428 Other . . . . 562 Printing . . G0.68'2 Scrim .. .. 9,10:} Stationery (for Govern' meut and schools) .. 28.091 Stationery (private) . . 73,432 Tents and tarpaulins . . 2,122 Twin© . . . . 12,015 Total .. J5270.498