THE INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 304, 10 December 1862, Page 3

THE INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION.

(From the Oiago-Witmess.) As the time for the holding of the Industrial Exhibition which is to take place in connexion with the forthcoming Church of England Bazaar approached, we • feel it our duty to urge upon our reader of all clasfes, whether farmers, stockowners, goldmraers, or tradesmen, the importance of putting' forth every exertion, not only to make the exhibition a success, but to enable this province to put in an appearance wortny of itself and of its standing among the Provinces of New Zealand. The Exhibition now about to be held will be the first attempt at anything of the kind in the colony, and it is fitting that the wealthiest and must go-a-hcad Province, should have been the one to originate it; but it is useless to disguise the fact that if ~a considerable effort Ist not at once made by the residents of Otago, this Province; will be beaten upon its own'ground by others, which, although possessing less* resources^ have taken up the subject' more earnestly." In other Provinces/the, proposition for the holding "of an ' Exhibition has been most favorably received, and notwithstanding the shortness of the notice ? we' have reason to* .believe that some of** them "will be exceedingly well represented. In Auckland in particular the idea liasy been hailed with delight, and the-Ztei^ Southern Cross has devoted a leading article to the subject, in which it /most earnestly 'urges J upon? the people of Auckland th&,necessity of that ,Province-b eing as.■'■well 'represented\as, fc the' shortness of the, time^wiff jutmit^ pointing 4 out that the opportunity now offers for' Auckland to place its resources in competition with those.of other Provinces, and that it^is *)fr importance to the material wealth as well as' to the credit' of that Province thaHfjsnould* !>e fittrly represented^ -in other JPrgyiu<je» i

,!??!!">■ feeling has teen manifested, and already a variety 6f^incyst:jriteresii% specimens ot minetals, woods, and other natural productions have come to hand, while there is good cause to.expect".a large number of contributions to arrive within the period that has yet to e lapse before the Exhibition will open. From Auckland we may expect to receive, besides samples of the beautiful woods for which-that Province is so justly lamous.-and specimens of Coromandel quartz and gold, a variety of valuable- minerals, in addition to these there will most probably be examples of the producing powers of the Province in the shape of wool, leather, flax kauri gum, &c, and the manufacturing industry will be represented by ropes, cords, machine r mstde chairs and buckets, cabinet work, and other articles. Nelson will doubtless send samples of coal from the Grey River, chrome from the Dun Mountain, plumbago, gold and other mineral products with which that Province is so richly endowed; Each of the. other Provinces, -will find something hi which it specially excels, and all may be expected to forward samples of the great staple commodity wool. ■ _ It is of particular importance that each Province should, as far as possible, be fairly represented, so as to make the Exhibition what the promoters desire, and what it should be to be of any real use—a comparative ex- ! position of the resources of the Provinces of New Zealand. Tor this purpose it is advisable that every staple production of each should.^be represented, and that in certain articles in which there may be great varieties of quality, those Varieties: should be as extensively represented as possible, and that with each sample there should be a brief account or description, specifying the con- ! ditions under which it was produced or obtained. For instance, let us take the article of wool—which, in spite of the gold discoveries, must still be regarded as the staple of the colony,—and of wiiich it is to be presumed that there will be very many samples from different localities. To render the exhibition of these as serviceable as it should be to the, wool-growing interest, it is very important that the fullest information should be available respecting the different exhibits, that it should be distinctly specified not only where each was grown, but what the character of the pasture, whether upland or lowland, sheltered or exposed, besides the breed of sheep, the age-of the animal, the weight of the fleece, and other particulars likely to be of service. From looking over a large collection of wools, all described in this manner, and regularly classified, an intelligent and experienced man would be able to learn many important particulars respecting the quality and quantity of^ wool to be expected under certain conditions, and doubtless many valuable hints might be gathered for the improvement of the method of treating sheep, •r of preparing wool for market. We have instanced wool as being the most familiar, example, but almost any other article of ordinary production .would have done as ;\vell for the purpose of illustrating our argument, and doubtless the practical farmer might learn as much about wheat or oats, supposing the same-course to be taken with the samples and. their classification. It would be interesting for instance to know what yield per acre had been obtained iv places differently situated with regard to soil, elevation, or climate, and under different conditions of. cultivation. . : But, beside such ordinary productions as wool and cereals, it is to be expected that there will be exhibited many interesting articles peculiar to New Zealand, and which may one day become as great staples of export as sugar is in the West Indies, or cotton was to South America, or as coffee is to Ceylon, or tea to China. The luxuriant vegetable growth of this favored land is as yet but little understood, but it is certain that the materials tor textile fabrics abound on every side, and that in them the colony possesses ariek, but almost unexplored mine of wealth. In addition to the familiar native flax there are many other plants which under proper manipulation would no doubt yield most valuable fibres,—and now that, owing to the failure of the American cotton supply, the market for fibrous materials is in so unsettled a state, a splendid opening offers for the introduction of an entirely new article as a. partial substitute. It is well known that there are many vegetable Bubstances besides flax and cotton which will answer admirably for weaving purposes. In the Indian court of the Great Exhibition, for example, there were specimens of exceedingly fine cloth made from the fibre of the stinging nettle, and it is only reasonable to suppose that many other plants that could be procured or in the greatest abundance, would be found equally useful. As an example of how the least likely looking substances may turn out to be the most valuable, it is only necessary to point to the recent discovery in England, that in the common, sea-wrack (zostera marina) which strews the sea shore of Great Britain hi almost boundless profusion, exists a perfect substitute for cotton fibre. It is not necessary that fibre should be fine to be valuable, for it has been proved that by a chemical process, coarse fibre may be plit to almost any degree of fineness, sup posing it; to have the necessary strength. Connected with the demand for fibre for weaving purposes, is the demand for materials for paper making, a demand continually on the increase. Here again, we are naturally led to refer to the phormium ten,az or native flax. Some time ago aa ingenious person, after trying m»ny experiments for the purpose of freeing the flax fibre from the gum which at present prevents its employment for weaving purposes, was led to see what sort of pulp for paper-making could be obtainedfrom it. He. found it answer admirably, but/as .there were at the time -no facilities for - paper-making in New Zealand, he made a quantity of the pulp into blocks, dried it, and sent it to England. The speculation was a failure, for. under the then existing tariff .materials, .prepared for papermaking '; were subject- to the same duty as paper itself, and the pulp • could; not, therefore, be soldin England ata price that would pay for its production. V2?W, 'however,' the case is different—the duty has .been taken ofly and if flax-pulp.for.paper^making wore to be sent home it would most probably sell well and pay for a profiit. • •" • ;; ..,, One good example'is as^opd as a hundred. We have no occasion' to .multiply instances. It must .be.r evident -to . every thinking man that in a newly settled and only partially explored country like New Zealand, there must be hundreds of indigenous plants, .which, like the flax,"only require to be properly treated to become immensely valuable, either for. their fibres, or as articles of food, or for their chemical and medicinal properties. In like manner, with mineral productions, of which Comparatively little is as yet known, x beyond .the fact that almost eyery metal or mineral is to be found in one or another^ part of the- islands. What is required is >an exact knowledge of our resources,'aud of the best'means of applying them, to profit:' and it is to be hoped that this Exhibition will be of great service in increasing and disseminating such information. But ' we must again repeat that, to make it success- • ilil, there must be' a , cordial co-operation of all classes, —each person sending woat hejcMt^f' to swell the general stock. And here yssfisßt i*\a word of advice may not 1* xrat -of place^W ? is not always the most-beautiful or the most ratrinsicalljr rvaluable. i«rtfclesOhat are the,- -mosk «welcome j contributi^w to an exhibition of this ktod; ,and we woujd : urge upon all ourreaders in town and countrVV £ in this Province or el^h^not^^ftafflfes^ T o send apparently triviar wnjwKas^i^fijiy^D " - no means^poaaible thatthe l^tcoSSi^ \%, article.raay, in an Exhibition; of SSrmS^&^