THE HEMP INDUSTRY.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 450, 9 February 1909, Page 3

THE HEMP INDUSTRY.

In an article published in our Palmerston morning contemporary on Saturday, dealing with labour and wages in relation to the flax industry, Mr Alfred Seifert, a well-known flax miller, deals with the whole present situation, and the deputation to the Minister for Labour, He says that the extra cost of production is frequently passed on to the consumer, but industries that are in competition with outside markets cannot pass the increased cost on. Therefore, they must go to the wall unless some change is effected. The flax industry is in exactly this position, and the situation will have to be faced alike by employers and employees. The tendency to increase wages, limit piece-work, apprentices, and hours in industries for Home consumption or local demand must be seriously considered. It means one highly favoured body of workers exploiting those less happily situated. There are two remedies: one a return to natural conditions, the other by a system of hours equal to the increased cost of production caused by the said artificial conditions. That is to say, that workers as a whole would be called upon to subsidise the industry to an amount equal to the increase in wages due to such conditions. With regard to royalties, the taxation levied upon flax lands and industry to-day equals, if it does not exceed, the royalty charged to millers when flax-milling is alleged to have paid at griper ton. In connection with the statement that flax was made to pay at per ton, Mr Seifert quotes figures to show that very little flax was sold at that price. He also shows by figures the steady rise in the cost of production during the past few years. The matter should be treated not as a local, but as a national, question, so that one of our most valuable primary industries may be preserved. .