THE HEMP MARKET.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 396, 31 March 1908, Page 3

THE HEMP MARKET.

A Former Slump

Agent General’s Report. The High Commissioner cabled yesterday afternoon : —Hemp market quiet, but rather steadier; heavy shipment expected from Manila ; on spot good fair, ,£24105; fair, ,£22 ; fair current Manila ,£24 xos; April-Juue shipments, good fair, .£23 10s; fair, .£2l xos; fair current Manila, ,£23 xos.

A leading flaxmiller (says a Dominion correspondent) reports that it costs ,£l9 xos per ton to mill flax at present, inclusive of the royalty. Under the award he pays 28s for scutching any quality. Previously he paid 30s for ‘ ‘ good fair,” and 25s lor “fair,” and the results were then more satisfactory both for the miller and the men.

One of the oldest flaxrailling hands, ol 20 years’ standing in the Manawatu, now a manager, interviewd by a press representative, stated that the conditions in the old days were better for mill hands than they are at the present time. The hours were longer, namely, 10 hours daily, but the men were more satisfied. Flax cost them ,£lB per ton on trucks at Wellington, and the millers were doing well. When the slump of seven years ago came,, and flax was reduced to ,£lO per ton, the men continued to work. Shortly after the mills had closed, flax rose to about ,£ls, and went up steadily to ,£35 per ton for “ good fair.” He does not know of two millers in Manawatu who got the benefit of the ,£35. He believes the merchants were the chief beneficiaries. Twenty years ago the wages were better, and about half the amount went through. There were more mills then, and within a radius of 5 miles in Manawatu it was possible to find nearly twenty mills. Flax was then plentiful, and the owners, sooner than grub up the flax, were content to receive a royalty of is 6d per ton, and find paddock accommodation for drying purposes. In the year of the Melbourne Exhibition, flax stood at from ,£lB to ,£24 per ton, and the millers did exceptionally well. Men then were congregated in Manawatu from one end of New Zealand to the other, and there were few complaints of rough behaviour. Boys who were then under him are now successful business men in Palmerston. He believes the slump will cause a great difference in the cash trade of Palmerston.