Original Correspondence.

New Zealander, Volume 2, Issue 91, 27 February 1847, Page 2

Original Correspondence.

New Songs to Old Tunes. Caft. Fitzßoy's Compliment explained. A Melting Subject introduced at Tauranga. Delusive Expectations not excited. every llttle helps. a slight Touch at Stearine, and a Faint Smell op Sulphur.

To the Editor of the New-Zealaiuter. Sir, — In my last letter I endeavoured to raise my Toice in "goodly company" with a strong chorus of 500 old women, to the tune of " Oh merry scrape New Zealand Flax, and merrily scrape it clean !',' with a few high flown variations, in the performance of which, perhaps, some discordant tones may have escaped, wttchgrated harshly on the ear, giving a distaste for anJfe.petition of similar inflictions ; however, he that jw it may, I shall proceed with the programme of another concert, and my hearers, readers 1 should say, must just " sing out" when they are tired* and, taking up the note themselves, prolong or change the tune'as they list ; for myself, I intend to strike up the old Scotch song "Sows tail to Geordy.*' Our late Governor, Captain Fitzßoy, in a self-vindi-cating pamphlet, which he published on liis arrival home, very courteously informs us, we do not " cherish virtuous and honorable conduct," and that the "tone of our colonial society is very low." Under the great chii* grin which he laboured, we could hardly expect him toraise At* voice to any other tune, and it is possible thaf a lengthened residence in a barbarous country may, to a certain extent, tinge the outward habit of the man, *nd make him a little rough and uncouth ; and one might tven come to the conclusion that Captain FitzUpy bjnv

•elf had, by his residence here, lost somewhat of his Urbanity, or he would not have indulged in such remarks as above ; but we will make allowance for his three years residence in this Land of Pork, which may have inoculated him, and, as far as we are concerned, wind up with the old proverb, " what can we expect from a hog but a grunt I" — Now my readers may suppose these digressing remarks have nothing to do with the matter 1 have on hand — but there they arc quite out, for by introducing them I mean, on their account, to deny Captain Fitzltoy's " soft impeachment," but, at the same time, to confess that wo are given to certain " swinish propensities," and, in fact, that we arc not given to them hnlf enough, and the object of my present letter is to induce the indulgence in them to a much greater extent, and to this point I will endeavour to address a few " melting words," and inter-lard my remaining observations with as few superfluities as possible. As to the capabilities of this Colony for the rearing and breeding of Pigs, no one will raise a dissentient voice ; the cry in the early days of this settlement was, "pigs will become scarce 1" <( the prico of pork will rise !" but it so happens that pork is cheaper now than it was in 1811, with five times a larger consumption in the article, in fact, the more we consume, the greater quantity aro bred by the Natives, and I believe if the demand Was increased tenfold, so would be the supply. Now suppose a Boiling Down Station (I will talk of fc v Pork Salting Station some oilier time) was established at Tauranga, I fix upon that spot as being of easy access to the large body of Natives in the Malta Matta district, who, without any great difficulty or length of journey, could drive their pigs there for sale. Let us see whether •uch an establishment would .pay. A couple of hundred pounds would cover all expenses in first outlay in purchase of try pots, building sheds, &c, interest on which amount would be chargeable against profits realised, and if sufficient business could be done, principal itself could very soon be repaid j however, as my calculation must be but a very rough one, probably the best way to put it down will be on a small scale, and evciy one may multiply it according to the extent he thinks he could carry on the operations. Calculating the price of live pigs (one-fifth ofT for offal) at Id. per II)., at which piicc they can be purchased on the coast, and that no expense is incurred in feeding them, but that they are consigned to the try pot with all convenient dispatch, the following items would, I think, cover the debtor side making returns from London.

' Now behold the modesty of my calculations j observe how I have swelled out the Dr. side and curtailed the lair proportions of the Cr. I always like to err on the safe side, and dislike to hold out delusive prospects of gain, but if any one starts operations on the above data, verily he will not be disappointed, and he is just the settler to my liking, and will have his reward, for success must follow the enterprise of any man who is willing to convert hogs into lard, with a profit of only 3s. ttd. per head staring him in the face, to which small sum I perceive my calculations have reduced it. But even 3. 9d. per head is not to bo despised, if heads sufficient could be "used up," as Jonathan says— and so they would in duo course of time, and it must not be forgotten that though 3s. od. is a mighty small item ■poken by itself, it nevertheless, when 1000 of them are added together, comes to the decent little sum of £187 10s., and the value of every 1000 pigs so "used up" as above, is to the Colony an item in its exports to the extent of £'500. 'Ere many years are past, however, I shall expect to see the more portable ai tide of Stearine manufactured, and that we sluill supply the Sydney market with candles made from that substance, (did we have here sulphur in abundance from which to make the suphuric acid, a icquisite ingredient in its manufacture, thus calling into use another product of our colony. So much for one branch of the pig trade jon another occasion I may "take the sow by the other car," and deal with the subject in another form, meanwhile I think it full time to draw present remarks to a conclusion, which should have been done somewhat sooner, hut the subject has proved to be one which has found mo in so "melting a mood," that I have dilated on it until every one must be tired listening to THE VOICE OF A SETTLER. Auckland, February 19, 1817.

Cr. lUturn in Lard, CO per cent, allowed for loss in weight, giving 3500 lbs., of which— Fine Lard in bladder 4 cwt, at CBs. . £13 12 0 Common Lard in cask, 1 ton 7 c. 2 qr. 8 lbs., at 425. . . . 57 18 0 100 Hog Skins (value 2s. 6d., less 6d. freight), at 2s 10 0 0 100 Pigs' Tongues, say \ cwt., at 445. Oil 0 13onei and -refuse of boiling for Manure, nil 0 0 0 £82 1 0

Profit on each 100 Pigs, ,£lB 17s.

Dr. 100 Pigs, average 70 lbs. each, at Id. per 1b £29 3 4 Expense in boiling down, firewood, labour, &c, say Id. per II). on amount of Lard returned 3500 lbs. . . 14 11 8 Casks (empty porter bbds. or the like) l£ tons, at 60s. per ton . . 315 0 Freight to Auckland from the coast on l\ tons, at 20s 1 10 0 Freight from Auckland to London on ]| tons, at 80s 6 0 0 Insurance 2 per cent., brokerage 2\ per cent , other expenses, say 5\ p. cent. =10 per cent, on JCB2 Is. . . 8 4 0 £63 4 0