THE HEMP INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 3777, 19 November 1907, Page 3

THE HEMP INDUSTRY.

Opening Seiferts Mill at Makerua. The Seifert Co.’s new mills at Makerua were opened with great eclat last Saturday. Among those present were : —The Hon. R. McNab, Minister for Lands, Hon. T. Y. Duncan, Messrs Field, Hogg, Greenslade, Lawry, Graham, Hekc, and Hogan, M’s.H.R., and amongst the guests were Messrs H. Beauchamp, chairman of Bank of New Zealand, Professor Kirk, Mr Clifton (Agricultural Department,) Mr Ferris (hemp grader) flaxraillers, representatives of the Wellington and Palmerston North Chambers of Commerce, the Mayors of Palmerston and Devin, members of local bodies and representatives of the principal mercantile houses of Palmerston and Wellington. Mr G. T. Booth, of Messrs Booth and Macdonald, journeyed from Christchurch to be present at the opening ceremony. Mr Albert Seifert, Managing Director ot the company, met the visitors, who were shown the sights.

The stripping shed, covering an area of 205 x 70 feet, contains seven strippers, in the midst of which is the power-house, containing two huge suction-gas engines by Tangye, of Birmingham. These engines have horse-power respectively of 115 and 120, and the gigantic fly wheels are started by a smaller engine. The raw material is stacked in front of the building, which are floored with planks tied down to concrete pillars to prevent lifting in time of abnormal flood.

The scutching house stands a little way from the stripping sheds, on a rise, and is surrounded by large paddocks, where the fibre is left to bleach, after being treated by the strippers. The grounds surrounding the mill cover 300 acres, and were brought to their present green and cultivated condition in the short space of 18 months. The water supply is obtained from two dams, served by a mountain stream, the larger of which has a capacity of three-quarters of a million gallons. Artesian water has also been tapped. A sewerage system, septic tank, and electric lighting are projected. One of the most important features of the concern is the light railway system, which connects the swamp with the mill and extends 2>yi miles. Four sets of rails lead to the stripping sheds, each of which supplies two machines. The flax is brought in from the swamp in specially constructed cars attached to a locomotive, and stored in the yards, whence it is taken to the strippers as required. The men’s quarters consist of bedrooms, dining room, reading room, billiard room, etc. A firstrate billiard room, adjoins a cosylooking reading room. The caterer not only boards and beds the men for the modest sum of 15s 6d, but will supply them with anything from a needle to an anchor.

The visitors, who numbered about 150, were entertained at luncheon by the A. and L. Seifert Company, in the men’s dining room.

Mr Hope Gibbons, Chairman pf Directors, presided. The chairman, extended a vvd)come to the visitors. He took the opportunity of paying a compliment to Mr A. Seifert, Managing Director, who had been the brains of the enterprise. The chairman read a telegram from the Premier expressing his regret at being unable to be present. The toast of “ Parliament” was proposed bj’ Mr G. Booth in a humorous speech.

The Hon. T. Y. Duncan, in responding, said the company was directing its energies in the right direction. The flax industry was a mine of wealth, and its benefits would be felt by all. He did not believe the industry would go down, if a high standard in quality was maintained.

Mr Field apologised for the absence of the Hon. J. Millar, Minister of Labour, Mr Stevens, member for the district, Mr Wood, M.H.R., and Mr L. Abraham. He was pleased to see capital and labour working harmoniously together as was the case with Miranui. Referring to the award of the Arbitration Court in the flaxmilling industry, he said that he had been talking to the Minister for Labour, and pointed out that the award had been made when flax was at a high price. Mr Millar had promised, to introduce legislation making it possible for either side to ask for a change in the award, to meet the circumstances when prices were low. The Hon, R. McNab proposed the toast of the flaxmilling industry. In a very interesting, lucid speech, the Minister glanced the history of the industry over and recalled some historic facts not generally known. Since the days of Captain Cook, when the trade had first started, machinery had evolved. His predecessors in office,

Sir John McKenzie and the Hon. T. Y. Duncan had placed the industry on a permanent basis, and the grading system introduced by them had been the means of fixng the standard of quality and the permanence of the price. He referred to the cultivation of the flaxplant. which in futu-e would be necessary as a source of supply. This would result in an impetus to the indusry. So long as the millers turned out a good article they need x not fear competition. The better the article produced the less the price would fluctuate. Mr Hogg M.H.R., in a eulogistic speech, proposed the A. and D. Siefert Company. He referred to the immense amount of work achieved during the past iS months, and to the excellent provision made for the use and for the comfort of the men. Messrs Siefert could compare favourably with the cream of British manufactures that had made Britain what it was. Mr A. Siefert responding, touched on the initial difficulties of the ventures, since he first became connected with the swamp three years ago. The original companv that took over the property spent some thousands in drainage. He managed to interest a few of his friends and they floated a company. They were careful only to get men who had faith in the ultimate success of the enterprise. They had 4,200 acres of swamp land, and subsequent!}’ bought a farm as a site for the mill and for paddocks. Referring to the machinery used in the industry, Mr Siefert said it was practically identical with that in use to-day, though improvements had been made. He thought there was too much waste at present, and looked forward to the time when it would be possible to get one ton ot fibre from 6 >-2 tons of the green leaf. In regard to the grading of flax, he said that every flaxmiller would like to see a firstclass article go out of the Colony. But the grading system was capable of improvement. The graders did the best they could, but the system was at .fault. The remedy lay in having standard bales of flax at each port, which would insure uniformity in place of the present variation on the standard. The question of utilising the waste products of the flax was one lor the chemist and not for the miller. In the evening a smoke concert was held in the dining room, presided over by Mr Cohen, and a very enjoyable time was spent.