Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, DEC. 10, 1891. We Will Hope.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue III, 10 December 1891, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, DEC. 10, 1891. We Will Hope.

Yes, we will hope. We, and others, have so often pointed out what a valuable industry the flax trade is for using up the surplus and unskilled labour of the colony, that it is passing strange that the Government has so persistently turned a deaf ear to those who have urged them to take some steps to assist the miller. The previous Government did a little, as they formed a Com- j mission and secured evidence as to ! what is needed, but the present Go- ' vernment, which never tires of boasting it is representative of the I working man, has done nothing. In our last issue we published a letter . from our member, Mr J. G. Wiison, to the Premier, in which he asks

that he will " review the offer of a bonus for a process by which fibre might be produced at a cheaper rate," and to " send Home some agent in the production of fibre here, to make exhaustive enquiries into everything in connection with the trade in Great Britain, and the various pro- ! cesses by which other fibres are pro- | duced." The last two months has seen the trade brought nearly to a standstill owing to the low prices in the London market. The paying price, and the lowest at which a miller can fairly turn the article out at, is £16 in Foxton. The cost to send Home varies between £6 and £7, so that ordinary fair hemp must realise frm £22 to J>23 in London. The rates up to yesterday have been cabled at £19 10s, and therefore buyers in the colony have been chary of giving orders, and millers have been unable to accept at representative rates here. As Mr Wilson points out, the French Government got a perfect machine for dressing jute by offering a bonus of £2000, and it appears reasonable to suppose some considerable improvement might be obtained in dressing flax, if a sufficiently fair bonus was promised. The Committee which enquired into the question was in favour of some bonus being given for improved machinery, but the Government quietly ignored their representations. We have no hesitation in saying that the offer of a subtantial bonus would be of permanent good to the trade, even if the total advantages aimed at, were not secured. It would spur the inventive minds of mechanics, and therefore lead to some alteration. The Government, by offering a bonus, have nothing to lose, and everything to gain, as if the inventions do not come up to the required standard, they pay nothing, and if they do, they reap all the advantages of labour being profitably employed. We could never understand the reason that any government hesitated at all in the matter, and cannot yet. The flax industry is a most important one, and a little timely help will save it. We do not like any industry being subsidised, but if ever there was warrant to do so, there is in this case. We have said that the miller must have £16 a ton here, the present buyers are only offering £14 10s, and it would appear cheaper for the government to pay the miller the balance, than that the output should oease, and hundreds of hands turned away to swell the crowd of the unemployed. The government will have to pay all that is needed to subsidise the flax trade, to keep them in work, without securing the industry being Icept afloat. The flax trade is uncertain, as we know it has been quoted for some time at £19 10s, the cablegrams yesterday quote the best at £23 to £25. It appears as though a period of rises had set in. If this is so, the Govern-* ment would be relieved from any expense and would thus have found employment at a very cheap cost. Now if every mill had closed, before the prices had begun to rise, all the hands would have been dispersed, and as the government send men free to where work is to be obtained, they would have been, at least, put to this expense. We hold to the opinion that the flax trade is safe, but shifty in values, being ruled by the price of manila. One important point has however to be kept in view, and that is, that N.Z. Hemp has not this year fallen so much in price, in proportion, as manila has, thus showing that for certain purposes our hemp is preferred to manila, at a price. "We have been assured before now that if we could place our flax on the London market at £22 a ton, we could command a sale for ail we could supply. We have, on an average of the sales, almost reached the point, and a reduction in the cost of preparing the leaf, and in the cost of the freight, the miller could see his way to continually carry on his trade. Bather than see the whole of this future spoilt, surely it is worth the while of the government to act on Mr Wilson's suggestions. We will hope.