Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 1893. A Flax Grader.

Manawatu Herald, 26 August 1893, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 1893. A Flax Grader.

• TnE Government informed a member the other day that they did not intend to show any interest, in. the flax industry or to pay any attention to the wishes of the millers, even though they employed a large number of hands. In other words they refused to appoint a Grader. Can it possibly be because the request comes chiefly from Foxton and the Wairarapa, which are not strongholds of sham Liberalism, the reason such request is ignored ? We should hope not, for the - sufferers from the Government's neglect are the ••' working-men '" the class that the Government continually pretend are their chief consideration. These men cannot control the action of the majority of country settlers, and should not be held answerable for the shortsightedness, if it is so, of them. The flax-hands now in this district are, fortunately, a far better class of men than those who were here three years ago, they are more sober and. more careful and more thoughtful, and will there^ fore easily discern the great dif" ference there exists between, tii" | precepts and practice of Ministers 6 j This will probably be shown very, effectually at the election. All that tto tfM--tn!lUw asked km, thi

Government; was simply the guarantee that the (trader selected by them was a trustworthy mm, nothing more, ai the milleis were j^'ep&red to secure his salaVy by a charge per Imle for inspection. It appears unaccountable why the Government should refuse this request. Three Wellington merchants thought fit Co wait Upon' the Manufactures nml Industries Committee to on press then- opinion that the appointment of a Grade r. was "absolutely unnecessary." We can quite understand that being their opinion, and if they had added " inconvenient "it would have made the matter plainer. Every miller will assert that time after time contracts have be^n entered into with Wellington firms for tho pur- i chase of flax, which have run on without a word of complaint about the quality sent, as long as the prices in the foreign markets kept high, but immediately prices there tell, then millers were continually being told that the flax was not up to the standard quality and it would be rejected,. subsequently to be purchased at. a lower figure. The j millers assert that the flax has been of one even quality all through. To make the matter still more complicated it has become known that the grader who has rejected flax has also been a purchaser under contract, and also a purchaser of condemned lots. In order to save further entanglements the millers fairly ask that some wholly disinterested person should fix the quality, which he would uphold whatever the state of market might be* depressed or buoyant. Why should the purchasers force their opinion that such an appointment was " absolutely unnecessary ?" if tho Grader was an uninterested person surely, in straight dealings, his decision as to the quality should be most satisfactory, and it is not to be supposed the buyers desire otherwise. If the present system is satisfactory to the buyers it admits that it is possible that a Grader can easily determine the quality, but it is pleasanter to them that that should be done by the buyers or their agent. It is shown that flax can be graded, and therefore a Grader, outside of any influence, is necessary. The merchants have helped to prove the case of the millers. Still the Government refuse. The merchants who have gone out of their way to obstruct the. wishes of tho producers, have shown that they object very strongly to the millers forming an Association to take care of themselves. Millers sing'e handed were at the buyers mercy, they were priced and bought, condemned and rejected and divided up amongst the buyers, in fact played with in every way to the advancement of the buyer and the despoiling of the miller. The millers have made an attempt to alter all that, and the buyers have made an attempt to baulk them. That it is necessary for millers to have a little more regard for the management of their business, the following fact related by one of them will prove. Mr A a buyer of flax, and also a miller, some time ago received an offer of a contract for 500 ton3, ha found ho could only get 200 tons within the time stipulated and took that quan tity at £17 10.* a ton in Wellington. The outside firm then entered into communications with Wellington men and placed the other 800 tons in their hands. Mr A- — — meanwhile had parted with the greater part of his 200 tons to other millers at £17, thus only allowing himself ten shillings a ton profit. The Wellington men unaware that Mr A knew all about the contract wrote offering to buy from him at £15 a ton, and actually got a good many millers to supply at the price. Any unprejudiced person will perceive from this that it is not " absolutely unnecessary " for the millers to do something to prevent such a large proportion of their labour going into the hands of the middle-men, and it is not unnatural to find the middle-men thinking such action on. their part " totally unnecessary.."^ Still, the Government refuse assistance.