Manamatu Herald FRIDAY FEBRUARY 14, 1890. The Flax Trade.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, 14 February 1890, Page 2

Manamatu Herald FRIDAY FEBRUARY 14, 1890. The Flax Trade.

Some liavd thought that our last >r,ticl§ on. t^. flax trade_w%e^no^ cqrfect, a»4. 1^ at ?y? I% t^v?.!. °C the want of enterprise on the part of the merchants wA» nol fair. AVe. are sorry to liaye to di-fter with these, dbjectora. as ' the position <>f the miller seems,.; in- this struggle, -forweaM, -*« -have *»cert- Weriooked. No ouo will, dispute that the conversion of greon flax, a waste product, into marketable fibre has been of inxmeus • service to New Zealand, uot oflly in bringing a very large sum of foreign money into the country, but also f r.om its btfing the means of employing a very large amount of labour, and also in advertising the resources of this- lnud. The merchant, tho storekeeper, the farmer, the landowner, thrt engineers, and all the ofc'ior tradr-s connected with the feeding aud distribution of tho wauts of a huge population have all mud :no ujy by this trade, but the only peopl", cijrioualy enough, who at present have reaped none of thu profits, ;ire the hempmillers ! Some say tli~t tliey should have done, and if now they (iud they cannot carry on pooan.se the merchants and •'bankers will iiOfc advance sufficient to cover the cost of pre paring the fibre, it is their own fault, as they should not have started without sufficient capital, 'f his is what we call most base ingratitude, for if the hemp millers had not exhibited the speculative spirit they did, how many mills would now be working this day ? 'Ihe public have uo r'ght to reap the profits of recklessness, if they ao deem it, and then, when trade is d^ill, accuse the promoters . of trade of being improvident. It w s with ■ i'hese views iv our mind tkat we*;' wrote as we did last issue Wo ; have frequently urged the Govern- ; meut to display some iut' : r-st on behalf of those who had embarked their all in this business, who, from having so put their al l , were unable ! to help themselves but with a : supinoss that is to the last degcee ; mowt discreditable, the Government thought that the few communications from their Agent General were sufficient, and only lately, may be too late to save many a mi lor, have they , Gent men home to find out. what their highly paid officer, has been .. incapable of doing. 'J he fa' l in flax may be veal, or it may not, but the | majority of the millers are unable to say, and a ring can easily cor Per ; them. Though prices for the j divssed fibre have been good, it j must be remembered that the sellers of machinery aud the owners « f the flax have been urging their " pound of flesh " whilst the labourers have been living in a fool's paradise, and the enterprising, or say speculative, if to somo it is more pleasing, miller, has had little opportunity of doing more than pay for the plant, royalties wages and food. Thf gratitude that the country shows to *heso men is, to leave them witllout assistance of any kind, a prey to the capitalist, who thus can turn their necessities to his profit. We say, not only has the Government no right to permit this to be so, but it will surely rue the days that it remains so, as the exports will be decreased, and tho full advantage of the value of Phorrnium teuax' will be lost in the Home markets. Bonuses are the pana3ea of any rotten industry that wants upholding, and has been urged upon the Government for all kinds of objects, and adapted to flax, should be resorted to, if prices are likely to be, as millers are being impressed they will be. The Government could not spend money in a safer or on a better pioject for the colony, than to step in, and guarantee the banks the advances they may make to millers on the dressed fibre, on the actual cost of production, not calculating owners wages, or interest on plant, subject to the passing of such fibre by a duly qualified inspector. Such a plan would be better far than a bonus, it would secure the busiriess being run without the recipient being able to clear a profit from the adrance, and would enable the miller to secure the full price in the London market* It would also save the Government any expenditure of money for lnany months, and tho sum, taking the worse vie^v into consideration, that would have to be found would not amount to any thing serious, and in keeping the industry going, and hands employed that would be otherwise a drain on the Charitable relief, would in reality be a saving on the whole. If the Government Had ai9pl»jre?l tmythiDif t'k» * dtt»

ap^reoia^ioii of . this industry when T-equest^a . $.- id so, '■ this pos^ioff jrdlUd have nb'vev liad td r/pi'^onMderfeu. For Qiir own part We do riot; believe, thai there i* anything iv tlie rumours afloat, as from previous in' elligori.ee made public, it seems impossible. We .should u.ot.,liave taken. up'sd.xkiuiih time lit discussing the probability qf what we deem improbable, wjhere it hog that certain millers may find themselvos ruined, during the period the battTe"Tyetw"een 'cafnTot and labour is being fought. We triist sincerely that \h.f edttfflj^te will •deiiianci right quickly some . consideration : 'being sjhown to those who have done si 'much for tii'em,