Manamatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1893 The Government and Flax.

Manawatu Herald, 13 July 1893, Page 2

Manamatu Herald. THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1893 The Government and Flax.

AVitii all tho tsillf about desiring to secure labour to the unemployed, jyluch the ■ preseut Government so h hera lly pours forth to any. public meting by a member of the Ministry, H is astonishing how they persist* ent'y ignore ihe fis* Industry. When representatives of an im portant sect-lon of the flax industry waited on the Government last week and desired the appointment of a grader, they were met with a refusal, as the millers were not unanimous. The Government must be aware that it would be marvellous were the millers unanimous, as they would be j the only section of the community that could be so described, if they I were. Unanimity is . not to be expected and dpes not even govern the carrying of measures proposed by the Government themselves, as the majority rules. Under these circumstances, asking the millers to attain the impossible is only another way of refusing to assist. It is well known that the flax industry has been the means of absorbing very large . numbers of unskilled labourers, there being, as shown by the Department, 1262 males and 7 females in receipt of wages from the induscrv. Of this nnmber 812 were adults and 457 under 20 years of age. It would be a serious thing for the colony if these persons were thrown upon the Labour Bureau, yet it some con sideration is nofc shown to fche flaxmilling business it is quite possible thafc fchey may be, and, on fche other hand, were the industry fostered, a larger number of fche unemployed might be found remunerative employment. The millers asked but a very small favour from the Government. The appointment by the Government of a grader was sought merely to let the buyers outside the colony know that the grade, flax was said to be, was the unbiassed opinion of an officer wholly unconnected with the millers. That and nothing more. The Government were nofc asked to pay the grader anything, as the millers were prepared to" pay so much a bale, for classification. We cannot understand why the Government ignores so important an industry or why they suggested that the executive of the new Association that Waited upon them was not entitled to consideration. By the return we publish elsewhere ifc will be seen that the number of all the hands engaged in the colony is 1269. and that the Wellington Provincial Distiict employs 500. This proves without doubfc fchat this distriot is the important centre of flax-milling, and therefore Foxton becomes the centre of the trade, so that a deputation from this town has some right to speak authoritatively on the industry. In the same" way as the representative millers have been treated, so has our member been treated, and, we think, improperly and unsympathetically, not only from a business, but a philanthropic, point of view. As Parliament is sitting we hold thafc the Question is of sufficient importance to bring before the House, and then Ministers might understand it is not simply a question affecting a few persons, of perhaps a "wrong colour" but as affecting 1269 poor persons, and an industry which brings in a revenue from beyond the colony of £214,542.