LORD—COLEY.

Manawatu Herald, 27 September 1900, Page 2

LORD— COLEY.

Yesterday afternoon the town was quite animated with the interest shown in the marriage of Miss Coley, the eldest daughter of Mr George Coley, to Mr Richard T. Lord, late of Gippsland. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Hugh Leach in All Saints' Church, at 1.30 p.m., and the building was simple packed. The church was decorated with flowers and the bridal party were played into church with a bridal march, Mr Kearsley acting as organist. The bride was given away by her uncle, Mr Edward Coley, and was attended by two young girls, Charlotte Coley, sister to the bride, and Ellen King, as bridesmaids. At the conclusion of the ceremony the happy pair left the church during the strains of the wedding march, and were driven rapidly to the residence of the bride's parents, where a substantial and tasteful breakfast was partaken of by many friends. During the breakfast the health of the bride and bridegroom was proposed by Mr Thynne, to which the bridegroom suitably responded ; and the health of the parents was proposed by Mr J. Walsh. Our lady friends will be pleased to know that the bride looked exceedingly well, and was attired in a steelsilk lustre, trimmed with white silk, with the customary veil and wreath. She carried a pretty bouquet of lillies of the valley and stock. The bridesmaids were dressed in cream cashmere trimmed with sage green, and had bouquets of camelias. Mr Thomas East officiated as best man. The steamer Queen of the South was at the wharf and was gaily decorated with bunting. The gifts were numerous, pretty, and useful. A very pleasing one was a handsome marble clock which Mr

Pennington and the mill employees gave Miss Coley. On it is a plate setting forth that it was " Presented to Rebecca Coley by the employees of the Star Hemp Mill on her wedding day, 26th Sept., 1900." Mr Harris also sent up a present of a set of cutlery from Wellington. The many presents prove the kind feeling existing for the happiness of the family. In the evening a dance was held in the new grain stores of Mr Coley, at which a very large number were present.

I have been afflicted with rheumatism for fourteen years and nothing seemed to give any relief. I was able to be around a'l the time, but constantly suffering. I had tried everything I could hear of and at !ast was told to try Chamberlain's Pain Balm, which I did, and was immediately re'ieved and in a short time cured. I am happy to say that it has not since returned. — Josh. Edoar, Germantown, Cal. For sale by W. Hamer, Chemist, Foxton* Wade's Worm Figs, the wonderful Worm Worriers, never fail for adults or children. Price, Is.

Report Furnished by Mr H. Austin to the Government and Flaxmillers. (Continued.) The following Report from information gained by a personal visit to the Philippine Islands in July last, by Mr H. Austin, has been handed to us for publication : — TO -THE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE NEW ZEALAND FLAXMILLERS' ASSOCIATION. HOW IT IS PREPARED. The hemp fibre is extracted from the petioles which, when cut down, are separated into strips five or six inches wide, and drawn under a knife attached at one end by a hinge to a block of wood, whilst the other end is suspended to the extremity of a flexible stick. The bow raises the knife, and a cord, attached to the same end of the knife and a treadle, is so arranged that by a movement of the foot, the operator can bring the knife to work on the hemp petiole with the pressure he chooses. The bast is drawn through between the knife and the block, the operator twisting the fibre, at each pull, around a stick of wood on his arm, whilst the pulp remains on the other side of the knife. There is no use for the pulp. The fibre is then spread out to dry, and afterwards tightly packed in bales with iron or rattan hoops for shipment. A finer fibre than the ordinary hemp • is sometimes obtained in small quantities from the specially selected edges of the petiole, and this material is used by the natives for weaving. The quantity procurable is limited, and the : difficulty in obtaining it consists in the ' frequent breakage of the fibre whilst being drawn, due to its comparative fragility. Its commercial value is about double that of ordinary firstclass cordage hemp. Many attempts have been made to draw the hemp fibre by machinery, but in spite of all strenuous efforts no one has hitherto succeeded in introducing a satisfactory mechanical apparatus. Machines with cylinder have been constructed, the lesult being admirable so far as the extraction' of the fibre is concerned, but the cylinder upon which the fibre coiled, as it came from under the knife always discoloured the material. A trial was made with a glass cylinder, but the same inconvenience and difficulty was experienced. On another occasion the cylinder was dispensed with, and a reciprocating motion clutch drew the blast, running to and fro the whole length of the fibre frame, the fibre being gripped by a pair of steel parallel bars on its passage in one or two places, as might be necessary, to lessen the tension. These bars, however, always left a ' transversal black line on the filament, and of course diminished its commercial value. It is imperatively necessary to draw the fibre immediately the petiole is cut, otherwise the fibre is discoloured. Also if the fibre is allowed to get wet before it has properly dried, discolouration takes place. It requires no bleaching or scutching. The Spanish Government offered a special bonus of $80,000 dollars for machinery that would strip the petiole without injuring the fibre, this offer was allowed to 6tand for years but no satisfactory machine was ever produced. The average weight of dry fibre extracted from one plant equals ten ounces, or say two per cent, of the total weight of the stem and petioles, but as in practice there is a certain loss of petioles by cutting out of maturity, whilst others are allowed to rot through negligence, the average output from a carefully managed estate does not exceed 3.60 cwt. per acre. The average length of the fibre is about eight to ten feetThe weight of moisture in wet fibre, immediately it is drawn from the bast averages 56 % . To thoroughly sun-dry, an exposure of five hours is necessary. Due to the inefficient method of fibre drawing, or rather the want of mechanical appliances to effect the same, the waste of fibre probably amounts to as much as 30% of the whole contained in the bast. In order to secure uniformity in the weight of bales, all fibre is weighed before being pressed. Of course there are many different qualities of fibre to be met with in the Philippines but these are narrowed down to about five standard grades, viz., Superior current, good current, fair current, good brown, and fair brown. These standard qualities vary but very little from the fact that all hemp is thoroughly graded before being pressed. The qualities generally used for \ cordage are good and fair current. i The dealers in treating with the ' small native collectors, or their own ! work people, take delivery of hemp ; under two classes only, viz., good ; current and good brown. : Manila export firms usually admit up to five per cent, of low quality

hemp in a parcel of first-class, and if the amount of low quality does not exceed 2% in a lot so supplied, a premium is paid for this superior proportion of first-class hemp. Owing to the fact that there is no proper standard wi wages in the Philippine Islands, and that most of the hemp is produced by men who do all their own work, using no machinery, it is impossible to give any satisfactory estimate as to the cost of production. It may bdTstated, however, that owing to the increase in freights, harbour and other charges, also an increase in the price of all classes of labour, the cost of production has increased fully aos per ton. As to what the future supplies of hemp in Manila are likely io be, or in fact what form or position the industry is likely to assume now that the American Government has control of the Pbiliijpines, it would be difficult to say, but from the fact that a large number of the Philippinos who were previously employed in growing hemp migrated to Hong Kong and other places, also that the Americans are now employing a great number of them in the Police and other departments of the Government service. This together with the increase in the cost of production, would seem to point in the direction of a decrease in the total dntfput. Certainly there are no indications of an increase in the supply or any improvement in the mode ot production. The industry most likely to increase is that of tobacco growing ; the price of cigars has already advanced 50%, and all the factories are working in full swing. Several of the Manila merchants assured me that they do not expect to be able to buy hemp in the immediate future for less than three or four pounds a ton more than prices before the war. Therefore from the facts quoted above I feel confident that the Flaxmillers of New Zealaud hays nothing to fear, and can confidently anticipate a fairly good market for their hemp for years to come, providing the manufacturers can rely on obtaining an even quality of Hemp.

(To be Continued.)

Rev. R. Edwards, pastor of the English Baptist Church at Minersville, Pa., when suffering with rheumatism, was advised to try Chamber'ain's Pain Balm. He says : " A few app ications of this liniment proved of great pervice to me. It subdued the inflammation and relieved the pain. Should any sufferer profit by giving Pain Balm a trialit will please me." For aale by W. Hamer, Chemist, Foxton.