Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News AND UPPER THAMES ADVOCATE. 'This above all—to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day Thou canst not then be false to any man.' Shakespeare. WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1889.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 366, 8 May 1889, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News AND UPPER THAMES ADVOCATE. 'This above all— to thine own self be true, And it must follow as the night the day Thou canst not then be false to any man.' Shakespeare. WEDNESDAY, MAY 8, 1889.

In another column wp publish some particulars respecting the flax industry,, fn m which it -will l>e seen that at an early date a W<je number of hands are likely to find steady and profitable employment in the vicinity of Te A roh a, in connection with the preparation of the Native flax plant (Pliormiam tenax) for the market. There id £Ood reason to believe the great value of the fibre obtained from New Zealand flax is only jnst beginning to be fully appre-' ciated, -ami without doubt there is wide, scope for remunerative employment for both capital and labour in the industry. Already within theshorb space of a couple of years the trade has assumed a mo^t impoiiint position amongst those ot t ie Colony. Indeed by some it lias been estimated that probably something like half a million will be received for flax -exported from New Zealand during the current year. The supply of the raw material is practical^ inexhaustible, and so long as anything approaching to present prices are obtainable, there is no doubt good flax bearing land in the vuirrily of a mill, will prove of far more value in Us liftUve elate, on account of its flux crop, thar if cleared and cultivat«l- fjash speculation, however, in

this industry .•>? in every other, shonll lie rarefully ovoi led Over twenty years ( aoo there was a gre»t ho<>rn in tie flax milling' businesss, and the demand for tliG fibre was so gr at and prices so uood , thai, hi Jin v mslioii into the business of erecting mills, etc., in a vcv precipitate manner within a short space ol' time. Many thousands of poun Is were ihen speedily and irretrievably lost to unwise an I hasty investors thron {li thestendy decline in the price obtainable for the fibie, which gradually sank to po low a point, as to make it no lontr-T remunerative to ship it Homo, unless in some few in stances v\heie it w is produced at much less than ordinary oo*t, owing to specially advantageous circumstances, or exceptionally 4>ood management in its production. Flax milling is a persnit which requires good practical experience, in order that it may be a success financially, even with the piesenthigh i rices prevailing- ; and the result that may reasonably lie anticipated from numbers entering on the business who know little or nothing df it. will be. that luge quantities of imperfectly dressed fibre will be produced, which it will be difficult to find a market for at any price. It behoves therefore all those embarking in theenterpiise for the first time to engage the services of a competent and experienced manager, acquainted with all the dctiils of the business. There can be no doubt the great value of this pro luct, and the many uses to which it can be turned, i* attracting a large amount of attmtion latterly. The fibre as it comes fiom the scutcher and is baled for export, is merely in its first crude stage of preparation. But it appears this ropy looking material is capable of almost infinite sub- livision, can be 'vorked up until almost as fine as silk, and fitted for numerous purposes in high class mnmfactures. We may here remark that there appears to be event need for co-operation on the part of flax mill proprietors, with respect to placing their £>oo Is to the best advantage on the English market. It will be seen by our cablegrams to-day that New Zealand hemp is quoted at L 36 15s to LB7 in London ; andyd y« i t by reference to another column it will be seen that it is being sold at £18 delivered on Foxton wharf. There seems to be an enoimous and unreasonable difference in price here, even after m.ikinsr all possible allowances for freight, commission*/** tc , etc ; and it looks very much as if the middleman is having by far the largest share of the profits, and ?u' jeeting the producers to a very severe 'sweating,' indeed ;in a mo^t barefaced manner. It is to be hoped this state o p affairs will not be allowe I to continue, but th >t the producers will see the benefit of co-opera-ting, and come to a mutual undeistanding as to the best way of of reaping the fullest possible reward for their enterprise and industry ; and not allow the middlemen to strip them. Mr .1. E. Coney, chief postmaster for Thames distiict, ai rived nt To Aiolm by yesterday's tiain, on a few days visit, We have been requested to announce tliat a meeting of the Te Aioha Band of Hope will be held in the Wesley an Church, on Thursday evening, May lGth, commencing at half-past seven. We understand Mr John Biame, from the Thames Office, ■svUl succeed Mr Lovell as postmaster at Waiorongomai. The following will repiesent the ohin3muri Football Club in anmtch with a local team, to be played at W.'iiorongomai on Saturday next ; — Messrs McConnell (Captain). Hiitton, Shaw, Grant, Morgan, Debuts, Coutts, Stewart, Kelly. Quinn, Bern \2), Hampton, Clark, Ridings, McWilliams. Emergencies ; Qashen, Kel* leher, Quinn. At the Auckland Crown Lands Board on Thuisday last, Mr Meikle applied tor permission to remove flax from Crown lands on the banks of the. Whenuakite River, near Mercury Bay. It waaagieed to offer by auction in three lots the right to cut flax on the block referred to for a period of five years at an upset rental, to he fixed by the Commissioner after inquiries. Messrs Walker and Edgar, owners of the Lord Nelson Licensed Holding, Tui, have just sent away a number of small parcels of quartz from several reefs in their gionnd, to be assayed. Messrs Walker and Edgar have now decided not to let the contract foi diiving and sinking (tenders for which were invited by advertisement in our last issue), until they have received the assay returns from their quartz. Mr W. Kelly, M.H.R. for Taurnncjn, arrived at Te Aroha by Saturday's train and left again tor Auckland by train yesterday morning. Mr Kelly informs us he was greatly surprised -md pleased to find such veiy extensive reduction works erected by the Te Arolr Silver and Gold Mining Oomjany at Waiorongomai since his ptevioiiB visit to Te Aroha. During his stay Mr Kelly met a great many of his supporters in an informal way and discussed vaiimis matters o£ local interest. In an interview with Mr Geo. Lipsey, the matter -of enabling local residents, so de<<iring,to obtain leases in perpetuity at existing rentals was full}' gone into, and we understand the ie is a prospect of some satisfactory airangement being arrived at ere long with respect to this question; and Mr Kelly will do all he possibly can in the matter. Mr Kelly informed us it wns his intention to return to Te Aroha in the course of two or . thi'i'ts weeks to deliver a post-sessional address. The Ranyitikei Advocate says that it is estimated b}' trustwoilhy authorities Unit there will be sent Home from the Wellington prmiiiGiul distiict lono during the cir tent ye. ir at least 12, OG tons of fl ix, which at £20 per ton wot. ld represent nearly aqu.irtei uf a mill n sterling. The New Zealand Trade Revn w I. as collected from official pources a vetni n o£ the expoits of (lax from the whole colony fi'i the three years ending with 1888. For the ,\etir 1886 the value of this exoort was only £15,000. Next year it took a leap of £10,000, and in 1888 the recoid of 1887 was trebled, the amount being £75,000, Now we find, as indicated above, that from one provincial district alone the expoitin 1899 will be £240,000.

The follow hit,' teMd<T« were ree<>ivpd on IVondav l«4 at Camb H»e by the Pinko County o'>im<-i! '"or ab mt mx miles of foiming, etc.. Liohli.-M-Te Arolm ro,u\ : — Keuhen P.trr, 4s per chain ; <'m bv Bios., 3s lid ; Owon and Oimtvhes, 3s 9.1 ; ftcoigc Walk "r, junior (ace pt:>il), 3a Id chain. Owing; to pome leakage undergiound tho drinking: fountain at the Octagon, in the ITotSpiin»s Domain, h.m »nno dry. No doubt theßoaid will adopt prompt measures to have the defect rectified, but as it has oeeiured app.irontly at a considerable depth it may not piove an easy mutter, It is stated tlmt there- are now 30 fl.ix mills in operation in the 'listrict about Foxton, and a number of merchants h-ive undertaken to buy the whole output of these mills, ranging fiom 120 to 150 tons per week, at £18 per ton delivered on the Foxton wharf, the agreement to have a currency of five mo >ths. Taking the lowest estimate of production — name]}', 120 tons per week — this means, at the price fixed upon, £2203 per week. The amount of employment given by the fl.ix industry rnav be calculated from the fact that inch of the 30 mills in the district mentioned employs on an average 15 men and five boys, or in all 600 hand". There is a Jari?e property between 'Bulls and Scott's Feriy whose owner valued it at £3 10s an acre bofoio the boom s^t in. lie has now sold the flax growing on it at ill per acre, and has the land atill to the good. At the ordinary nionthh* mooting? of tlu* Waikato Hospital and Cluuitabie Aid Board held at Hamilton on Wednd'«lay la<4. Mr W. McG. Hay, solicitor of the Board, forwaided a cony of a telegram from the bailiff in possession of tho piopeity of M. O'Dono^lme, Waitoi, notify— inf> tliat tho Official Assignee cl.iimed the piop^rty. — The Chairman suid he stippos :d the Bo. ud would now have to tike iis chance aloniv with the other credilord. Serycant Emerson, of To Aroba, wrote, applying- for i dmission into the ilospital of James Hobbs, who was sick and destitute, or, if the Hospital was full, for relief. The Secretary repoited he had leplied stating that the Ilospital was full, but that relief to the extent of 5s per week would bo granted till the meeting of thp Boaid. A Utter was read from the Thames Hospital Board, with reference to the claim of £G8 ss, due by the B ard for the maintenance of William-.' childien, agreeing to remit one-third of tho daini on condit'on that it be paid fotthwith. — The Chairman stated the Financial Committee had sent a cheque for the amouut, viz., £45 10s.