A State iron industry.

Maoriland Worker, Volume 2, Issue 2, 8 December 1911, Page 4

A State iron industry.

During the v.lfts.t'., month, Mr... Joseph "Taylor, mining engineer, has given two important lectures, at the Olympic Rink, Nelson to the advisability of starting. /State iron works in this Dominion. Both of the lectures have been illustrated by striking . diagrams and by samples/pf iron and steel manufactured from rParapara- iron ore; and fchey have been,specially interesting owing to their high scientific character. Mr. T. Pettit presided-at the first lecture, on the.. 2nd tilt:, which dwelt with the question, "Ought New Zealand to start Ironworks?'' At the second lecture on Thursday, the 9th ult., presided over by,, Mr. F. W. Fairey, the subject was "'A State Iron Industry. 1 ' Both chairmeri. spoke in the warmest • terms of Mr ."'•Taylor's well-known nationalising' proposals. The first lecture desalt with the quan tity and quality of iron ore at Parapara, with the/; volume of our present iron and steel "trade, with the low rate of wages in New Zealand as compared, with that of ironworks in other countries, and with* the Iron and Steel Industry Bill recently brought before Parliament. It was shown that during the last 15 years this Dominion had spent £36,281,686 in the purchase of iron and steel( and that last year alone our total imports cost £3,353,567. Twothird's of these, imports could easily be . obviated each year. The quality of the iron at Parapara and of the ironsand at Taranaki, he said, is superior: to that of many of the"worlds-most flourishing iron fields. It averages considerably over 50 per cent, of metallic iron, some tests yielding over 90 per" cent. And, as to the quantity, : it*ispractically unlimited: enough.to last a hundred years at. the rate of• two million tons a year. The new Iron Steel Bill was severely criticised as'perpetuating and aggravating the conditions which had kept the iron leases-locked up hitherto, and as 'highly detrimental to the industrial interests of -the whole district of Nelson. But as : this lecture has been extensively reported already, I shall confine my attention at present to an outline of lecture No. 2. 1 " Mr. Taylor'said in substance: Carnegie has said "The nation that makes the cheapest steel has the other nations at its feet." If this.be true, and it is, then New Zealand ought to he the leading-nation in the Southern Hemisphere, as her facilities for cheap production are unrivalled in the whole world, not excepting America, where it is said "steel lias-made a thousand millionaires." •"-; ■;•... , ' k This is so, whether we consider her j B possibilities of manufacturing by the WLidd methods of lising blast furnaces and or whether wo think of elec;,,as all that is necessary purposes occurs close to the on' the : seaboard, and water ./..near neighbourhood for

Facts and Figures of Snstruciiveness,

generating electricity oan easily be harnessed at tho Boulder ' Lake, aiid would yield both power and lighting sufficient for the whole district. Electric smelting should be adopted in this country, as by this method steel can be produced direc'fc from the ore, thus saving the cost of coal. The water power is in the hands of the Government, and the State, therefore, should run. the iron industry in connecfcian with their important hydro-electric schemer "But how to finance it*—that is the question, and I will answer it," said the lecturer. The enterprise could be.financed in several ways without going outside for capital; either out of money already borrowed or by taking up a fresh loan; or, better still, by issuing shares to all the people of New Zealand, in the form of an ordinary company. Everybody would gladly take up shares, if the State guarantee were at the back of the concern. If private enterprise can run companies with success, why should not the Government, as in other departments of successful State enterprise, as in connection with banks, coal mines., railways, life insurance, etc. ? The ideal of course, would be to run ironworks as a national! concern, and it could be financed out of the annually recurring surpluses, the .-surplus this year being announced 'in the Premier's* Budget at £1,468,483. It seems that the Ward Government "is actually contemplating the matter of starting a State enterprise. As an alternative, it is provided for by the new Bill called the Iron and Steel Industry Act, 1911. But private enterprise is here given the first chance. This should not Tbe any longer allowed, as the possible annual profits amount to millions. The holding of the iron leases should not be rewarded by double bonuses, but their holders should be heavily fined for keeping the leases locked up so long. Private ownership of our. valuable iron deposits should never be thought of in this democratic country, and if it is allowed, it will mean a repetition" of the monopolies, strikes, and labor troubles which have •recently afflicted New South Wales and America. In New Zealand we have this advantage that there is time to save the situation, and we ought to profit by the experience of other countries. During the last 17 years he (Mr. Taylor) had frequently warned the. Government of the threatening danger, and if they, after all, fell into the trap it. would be with their eyes open. Industrially this is the most critical moment in the whole history of the country. Our future as a manufacturing nation depends xipon whether we start ironworks, and that forthwith and as a national concern.

National defence demands that"we. V should be independent of foreign supplies of iron and steel, and it is necessary for the construction of our own ships aiid roads and< railways, as well as for the development of collateral I local industries, many of which would I immediately spring" up, especially the' building .of our own warships. A\istralia, Canada, ■ and Americahave realised this, but only after.private monopolists have farmed their best mineral assets to take the,: profits out of the country, in the pockets of i menacing monopolists—-millionaires and multi-millionaires of the Carnegie and Pierpont Morgan type. America and New South Wales are actually fighting the Steel Trusts, and Australia talks of starting Federal i ironworks, in order to be able to build i her own Dreadnoughts, and construct \ her transcontinental railways. ' ."] The present position of our New Zealand. Government is highly inconsistent with regard to this one supreme qucsr tion, and entirely unworthy of being called either democratic or liberal! Talk of Tammanyism! It is difficult to believe there is not some occult--motive behind the whole business. And.the. day is not far distant when a. genuine Labor Government will come into supreme power in New Zealand. '••' Yet, if) they would decide on starting.---a State iron indutry, and were again returned to power, they could, with their present schemes for utilising water power and for reorganising tlie country's finances, very soon place Now Zealand, as a manufacturing country at the head of the Southern Hemisphere. An iron industry at Parapara would send up "the value of all land and property in the district; it would __"■ mean, the.'industrial, regeneration of Nelson. and this city of Nelson would become a place of residence for wealthy and re.tired mere})ants. ■..-..-■■• Mr. Taylor was frequently applauded, and concluded by saying: "If New; Zealand's iron and steel trade is got hold of by any private syndicate, it viill certainly fall into the hands of the American Steel Trust, whose avowed intention.is to dominate, the steel trade of tho whole world. In this case the industry will be exploited to suit the exigencies of American and other outside markets; and the cost of iron and steel structural materials, instead of being reduced in price to the consumers in this country in proportion to the ever-cheapening cost of production and transport, would even go up beyond its present ruinous standard. I find it very hard to believe that the Iron and Steel Industry Act, 1911, was ever seriously intended. It seems to have been "framed for the special purpose of testing the; gullibility of - tho people, and in order, to put the screw even more tightly mi , the silent slaves to one political party. Anyhow, it is dead against the best interests of the nation, and entirely plays into tlie hands of the capitalists and company-mongers, at the expense of the general taxpayer. And, unless we are content to be silent slaves and traitors to our country, it is our duty to protest against its provisions while

there is 3;et time to prevent,them from becoming law. We should press the [matter at once upon the attention of the> Government and _upon, all candi-. dates in connection Avifhthe forthcom-' ing land, as always in the case of metallurgy j "we,'.' should."strike while tlie "iron is hot." . ' . '. '■ '■'■ '"'A/State itronjindustry, is not. 'by anymeans\ a ' matter/ of., indifference, hut of * immediate,., urgent, .vital and paramount importance in regard to the future : prosperity of this district and : Dominion."