A DEAL IN FLAX.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 172, 20 February 1914, Page 4

A DEAL IN FLAX.

from Page -.

Cross-examined, witness said llax under any conditions would rot be millable under three years of age. Some of the stunted flax grew better after a cutting; other flax in very swampy ground was killed out by one cutting. Max wculd not flourish where the blackbairies weie permitted to grow. Re-examined: Hill's was a fairly drv summer swamp. The blackberries would nut stop witness from getting S(H) tons from plaintiff's place. Charles Pope, farmer, of Maungatawhiri, once a flix-mider, paid that Hill's »aim had been under his obscr vat ion fur fully 4u years. He regarded flax as millable and mature when three to four years old. In some swamps flax might be matured but not millable because of being too short. Had cut pLnty of flax four feet long. Counsel for plaintiff objected that as witness had been out of the business for 25 years he could rot give evidence as to the length if flax used now.

Resuming, witn c .83 said that three or four years ago ho cut flax, from 4 to 7 feet ii length, which Had been accepted by Mr Dean. Hill's flax was quite as good as that which witness rent to Dean. If tlax were not cut when matured there was a loss on it every year. Cross-examined, witness said that if blackberries were in the flax they would rot improve the crop. Re-examined: Had a dispute with Dean because Dean complained of witness selling his flax. But witness had waited over three vears for Dean to take it away. In October last he sold 700 to 800 tons of this ilax and had no difficulty in selling it; this flax was very similar to Hill's flax.

James McGill, flax-millsr, residing in Maungatawhiri Valley, de posed that he had teen a flax miller lor three years and had been in the flax business all bis life. Witness reckoned there would be anything up to 1500 tors of. miture flax en the property, of which GOO tons wuold be millable (that is ever 4 feet in length). There would be 600 tons there twelve months ago. Flax was fully matured at from three to four years rid. The flax on Hill'd place was quite old and was at a standstill now for the need tf cuttirg or something. Since the flax was not cut last year the growth of a year had baen lost. For flax 4, 5 and 6 feet long he very seldom got a grade lower than 30. The S.M.: Talking about being "properly and fully matured'': "WouLi you consider that a man who stopped growing at three feet high wss properly and fully matured?"

Witness: Yes, when he stopped growing. He estimated that 300 tonß of Hill's flax would be ov?r 6 feet long. Ccntinuirg, he said: " When going to see J:Lill to estimate the quantity of Ilax I told, Dean that I would give him the bene lit of any doubt. Dean replied that he had a clause which would hold Hill for -'•} years and that 1 could not hurt him (Dean). I did say that Dean had no agreement with Pope. - ' If Ibbertson and witness differed in estimating Hill's flax they would give Dean the benefit every time. Eeginald Albeit Loo, manufacfacturei's representative, said he was working for Hill in 11)11. Dean said he could do what ho liked, cut where he liked and when he liked an 1 it didn't matter a d n who said anything about it. This completed the evidence for the plaintiff.

EVIDENCE FOE DEFENCE. John Dean, defendant, deposed that he had several times talked to Hill about Vinson's lease. Said he couid arrange tor Hill to buy land in return for giving defendant the llax-cutting rights over the whole propeity. Did not tell Hill that he would pay royalty on only i'ls pei ton ; he paid on the price he actually obtained. He tried half-a-dozen contractors, several of whom tunic 1 Hill's tlax down on the ground that it was not worth cutting. He had been forced into cutting llax that was not reasonably tit f< r cutting. He brought llax from Hill's and Robertson's laud and had to rely upon Robertson's statement as to which was which. It was customary for the owner to accept the cutter's e-timate. Had credited Hill with royalty on 17 I m on the strength of Robertson's statement. Some youths were cutting and complaiued that Evison did not cart promptly enough. The fresher the rlax wa the better it dressed. Hill's swamp would deceive a casual observer: from the road there appeared to l>e a fair quantity of flax. There was a rim of flax which made the swamp look like a continuous lace of tlax He had cut iu a workmanlike manner all the fully and properly matured tlax there -was on Hill's place—and more. He had had to cut isolated bunches. There was not a reasonable quantity of cuttable, millable llax in Hill's swamp. The cutters complained about the blaekberries. McGill several times said defendant had no flf.x agreement and ho would beat him (Dean) for, it. What defendant •-aid to Evison i about the carting was that he did not know I>ul had been told there was 500 tons of llax at Hill'-. He never took from Tope any llax simi- ' lav to Hill's. There were leaves in | all tlax plants of only ! feet in length, but these were in in small j quantities and got dropped in the catcher or scutcher. The Maunga-' tawhiii creek had risen higher; the Rivei Hoard report said the creek had been lowered 1H iuchos. flax would no! grow in stagnant witer. Ho would say that 550 tons of llax was never in the swamp. Since the spring the llax had grown ; sntue of it grew ■> feet iu two months. To be graded, llax must average l> feet in a bundle. It was untrue that llax railed to him averaged I l'"et. lie considered that the cutter's complaints about Hill's llax were well founded as the only niatuie llax was in tic blackberries. There would not be more than a ton of millable flax in the odd bunches that were there. When the creek was cleared out the llax would improve considerably. He was not " hanging up " the llax. II" denied ill. I) nth ..I (he -lateiieut mad' |.\ 1.,.,.. |;<>l.i il • .ii,.. statcmeiil that he ' systematically left llax out to dry was untrue

Cros-s-examined : He had an ac- j lion against Pope aud was claiming over £OOO for l'ope having -old the flax which he (defendant; had previously bought. Allan Douglas, who had fifteen years' experience as a llax-cutter, eight years continuously, said he I went to inspnt Hill's tlax with a view to cutting it for Dean. So far as he could sec there was no unliable j flax there. The .">oU tons claimed for could not possibly have been on Hill's place. He suggested that drainage and not cutting was the way to make this flax grow. On j the face the llax was cattle-chewed, j Had not been all over the swamp but in the part he travelled through he could see no llax that could be cut out in a workmanlike manner. Cross-examined: Had not been over the swamp for 1* months : 'would not swear that there was no no millable tlax there now, but could not see how there could be. Considered that Max he would like to cut should be •"> feet to 10 feet long. Had never cut a bundle of 4 llax for a miller to mill. Had never cut a swamp averaging less than 10 tons to 20 tons to tiro aero. Had never seen a swamp cut that I yielded only 2, .'! or 1 tons to the ' acre; a very good swamp would I yield .'3O to 40 tons. Albeit Hcniy Lapwood, Tuakau. of the firm of Lapwood Bros, wellknown llax-millers, who had inspected Hill's swamp, said he would not care " to take it on " for milling purposes. The claim was that in January, 1913, there were then ready for cutting 000 tons of millable ilax, but giving this season in he could not see any signs of this •joO tons of millable tlax. Most decidedly he did not consider the stunted ilax on Hill's place was millable. If the llax were cut it would improve if the swamp were drained. Flax should be 7, 8 or 0 feet long; he would not accept llax 1 feet long. Any miller who did so would be in the bankruptcy court in no time. The short lengths must be in very small proportion as they were of no use to millers. It was not possible that a year ago there was 550 tons of llax in the swamp: did not think there was lj tons there. Most of the llax there now was of no ute at all for milling. It was a well-known fact that they could nut get the flax cut amongst the blackberries. Had in various places noticed evidences of cattle having chewed the flux on Hill's, which spoilt the leaf for milling.

Cross-examined : Ila J cut his own swauip yielding only 5 tons an acre; some millers might cut 2, '■) or I tons to the acre swamp if they owned the swamp and had to pay no royalty. Sydney W. Smith, llaxmill manager, formerly in the employ of defendant, was at one time interested in the swamp, and went over it all in July, 191 2. '1 lie average height <>f a bundle of flax would ho six or seven feet: in the bundle there might he blades of Ift. liin. but mivthing below Ift. liiu. was not millable. Ho reckoned the average height of the flax on Hill's place was oft. liin. Had never scon defendant milling 4ft. Ilax. Under cross-examination, witness said ho would not mill ilax averaging iff! to ,3ft. even if ho got it without paying royalty. William A. ISmeed, ilaxtniller.now working f OP defendant, said that since he had been with Dean no flax lft. long had been milled. When the lot came from Hill's swamp witness remarked that the cutters must have boen on the wrong flax as there was a lot of short Stuff amongst it which fell through the machine and went out with the waste.

Patrick Henry, flax-miller, of Ohinewai, with some 12 years' experience of tlax, said he would not entertain the idea of doing business with Hill's swamp. If cutters could hi' got and they " chased *' the tlax they might got 20 tons of properly matured and unliable tlax: from theplae3: he would not be surprised if they only got 10 tons. There was absolutely no foundation for the suggestion that there were 550 tons of tlax there. A miller knowing his business would not mill tlax under 5 feet; Hill's flax would only average 3ft. Gins. long. Claude L. Barnes, tlax-cutter, formerly employed by defendant, said he honestly endeavoured to take the Magistrate's party of inspection through those parts of Hill's swamp where the best llax was grown. In November last he endeavoured to cut all the unliable tlax there was on the swamp: he cut absolutely the best.

Cross-examined: He regularly cut tlax of five feet and over. Did not cut four feet tlax.

Alfred J. Bregmen, a llax-cutter, tlax-miller aud swamp owner, said there could not have been 550 tons of millable tlax on Hill's swamp 12 months ago. Made an honest endeavour to find what millable llax there was and estimated it at 10 or 12 tons; the rest was all stunted.

At this stage the Court adjourned to Auckland where the evidence of the Government grader and souio other witnesses is to be taken.