THE MANUFACTURE OF PHORMIUM.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4181, 14 August 1874, Page 3

THE MANUFACTURE OF PHORMIUM.

«, . TO TUB EDITOR. Sin, —" Sufferer'* " letter, published to-day, truly pourtrays the unhappy position of those who have speculated in this industry, and which I can corroborate from letters received from all parts of the Colony. Amongst them the Hon. Secretary to the Christchurch Flax Association writes me to this effect :—" I am in receipt 'of your favor of 15th inst., covering samples of phormium dressed by your . machine, with which I am very much pleased. I am glad to hear that you appreciate the few remarks I made in the Lyttelton Times respecting your fibre. I should be very glad indeed if something could be done to make a fresh start, but there has been so much money and time lost already, that I fear it is quite hopeless to attempt to induce people here to think favorably of the industry again. Its importance to this Colony is in my opinion one that should command the attention of the Government, and a few thousands spent in its further development would bo money well laid out. A large population is being created in New Zealand, and something beyond the mere growing of cereals and wool must be found for their profitable employment. The present low price of phormium is very discouraging, and unless steps are taken at once to revive the industry, it will die a natural death and be consigned to the limbo of oblivion. The Government must be blind to their own interests if they fail to foster it to the utmost extent of their power, and the apathy they display quite astounds me." "Sufferer" appeals to the head of the Government for assistance, and is fairly, in these prosperous times, entitled to do so. Ho should have included the members of both Houses of the Assembly, who, in the interests of the country, and their constituents, may justly be called upon to aid the cause. There are no difficulties or oxpensive trials to be contended witli; the matter lies in a nutshell. I choose to assert it is verified by the best judges in the London market; and,

moreover, endorsed by an official letter to me from the Agent-General, that the phormium cleaned by my scraping machinery, is, from its superior gloss, color, and strength, more valuable than Manilla hemp, and is valued accordingly £2 per ton in advance of that fibre. The practical proof of this I am prepared to submit to the most rigid investigation. It follows that if I am not an impostor, this industry can be at once resuscitated, and I have a right to expect after my long labor, that proof should be given either placing me under that category, or accepting the truth of my assertions. The flax industry is'paralysed. Capitalists, in the face of past events, refuse to have anything more to do with it. How, then, is confidence to be restored without special aid ? India offers a premium of £SOOO and a Royalty of 5 per cent, on the cost of machines for machinery to clean her rhea grass ; why does New Zealand desert her phormium ? It remains only for the Government to give it the coup de grace —by their neglect to consign it irrecoverably to that limbo of oblivion so graphically described by the hon. secretary. It is a matter that admits of no procrastination. The phormium will be destroyed as useless through the country, and men's minds turned to other pursuits. I, for one, will certainly trouble myself no further in the matter, for if New Zealand thus refuses to take advantage of the brains of her artisans, elsewhere spero meliora. —l am, &c, CHAS. J. POWNAIA. P.S.—The finished machines that produce this fibre can be inspected at Hurley's, opposite Government Buildings. Wellington, 11th August.