The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1882. LINSEED INDUSTRY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1006, 19 September 1882, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 1882. LINSEED INDUSTRY.

The Butter, Cheese, and Bafjon-curing Factory is now a strong, healthy, promising infant, and may henceforth bo safely left to the care of the happy and very capable nurses who have been selected to take it in charge. We watched over its earlust days assiduously ; we left no means untried to help it through the three pence per gallon malady, which was so near strangling it in its birth, and it is therefore with no small degree of satisfaction that we look upon it now in its present position. It needs our assistance no longer, and so wc leave its care to its chosen guardians, while henceforth we devote all our attention to the younger offspring of the enterprise of Te aiuka—the Linseed Industry. That certainly has had a very promising commencement, and unless its progress is marred by some unforseen circumstances it is bound to be a great success. The two cardinal points in the discussion on this subject wore : Will it pay farmers to grow linlinsecd ? and will it pay a company to manufacture the straw into twine ? There were some very practical fanners present at the last meeting, ami they entered very minutely into these questions. After looking at things from the worst point of view they came to the conclusion that flax would he twice as profitable a crop as wheat, and so far that was considered, as it well might be, satisfactory. We think that, no questions need be asked on that head. Hitherto flax has been grown profitably in this district for the seed alone. Since that is the case there can be no doubt that it will pay when from £1 to £5 per acre is received from the sale of the straw to the factory. Mr Murphy (Secretary to the Company which has been started in Christchurch) has written a few pamphlets on the subject, and he asserts that a net profit of £8 10s per acre will be obtained by farmers for every acre of flax they sow, and if that is the case it is three times as profitable as wheat growing. . As regards the profits to be obtained from the factory, they must be characterised as simply enormous. In our report of the recent meeting wc published the full details of the whole affair, as they were elicited from practical men, and consequently it is not necessary to go over the same ground again. We may, however, point out a few facts. The capital that is required to start the thing fairly is £OOOO,- the local consumption of twine is 80 tons per annum, and the profit of manufacturing these 80 tons alone would give the Company 25 per cent interest on their capital of £000). To put the matter in a nutshell, it would pay the Company handsomely even if they never did any more than supply South Canterbury with twine, hut it is nonsense to suppose that the operations of the factory will be limited to supplying only this district. It has all the markets of the world open to it, and there is. no reason why it should not be able to compete with any ether establishment of the same kind. It will have an advantage OA r er a great many of them, for while they will have to employ steam as a motive power the never failing streams in this district will do the same work free of cost. This is a great advantage, because the cost of production will be much less, and our local Company will consequently be able to undersell those who will have to resort to the more expensive process of having the machinery driven by steam. And the industry is not limited to the manufacture of twine either. lor that commodity the reapers and binders bayc

i , s v created a market that can hardly be satisfied, and yet the demand.for oil is : : even greater, . Houses in the Australian Colonies are principally built of wood, which require much painting, and as oil is extensively used, the quantity of it tliat is consumed annually cannot be realised. Then the refrigerating process is bound to increase the demand for meat,, and .willprobably render.the.-manufacture of oil cake a very profitable industry. There is also no reason why all salts of coarse cloths for bags, etc., and even linen itself, should not eventually be manufactured here, while ' the refuse, which could not be otherwise used, .might be manufactured into paper. The fact is the linseed industry is capable of so much extension, that no one can form the slightest idea of what it may come to eventually. And one thing is certain, that for a safe and luciative investment for spare cash it has no equal in anything tliat has come under our notice.

There is scarcely any danger of it failing to float. At the time the Dairy, Factory was first proposed, the people* owing to previous failures, seemed to be possessed by a superstitious belief that ( nothing would float in Temuka. But lately they seem to have awakened to new life ; they appear to think that the decree of fate, which so nearly ruined Temuka, may yet be averted by persistent effort, and they are right. There is no doubt that this town and district will come to something, because its people are taking the proper steps for the development of its resources. A great deal of interest is being taken in the linseed industry, and consequently we have no fear whatsoever but that a Company with a capital of £GOOO can be floated twice over. There are two little matters, however, which we would urge upon the Provisional Directors. We have heard that there are some people in favor of insisting upon a guarantee being obtained from farmers, that they will grow sufficient flax to keep the factory going. This is sheer nonsense. The law of supply and demand will regulate that. If farmers can see that it is to their advantage to grow flax they will grow it, and tliere will be no necessity to exact a guarantee from them. The last, but not the least, matter we wish to urge upon the attention of the Provisional Directors is the immediate appointment of an energetic canvasser. Some people think that to do so is to go to unnecessary expense, as the Provisional Directors will be able to dispose of the shares themselves. The desire of the Provisional Directors to be useful, and to start the thing as cheaply as possible by ' disposing of the shares themselves is very commendable, and shows they feel a deep interest in the matter. But we would respectfully remind them of the old adage that “ What is everybody’s business is nobody’s business.” They will make a mistake if they go to work in that way. The Provisional Directors hare their own cares, troubles and anxieties to contend with ; they have not time to canvass for shares, and they will not do so. Shares are not things that people will run after to buy, in fact they nnust be worked the other , way, and unless they arc they won’t go. Besides, it is necessary to have brokers to float the Company. The expense will not be great. About £SO will float the Com pany, and we certainly say that it is better to spend that sum than let it linger for a long time, and probably make a failure of it. The more expeditiously things are worked the greater is the chance of making it a success, and, therefore, we would urge upon the Committee the necessity of adopting our suggestions, THE LAW’S DELAY. Owing to Mr Be.-wick having been culled away to attend an inquest the Court had to be adjourned yesterday until next Monday, When Mr Beswick was relieved of the Waimate district wo expected that these vexatious delays would not be again beard of, hut it appears now that we looked for luxuries which wo axv not destined to enjoy., Tim taking off of the Waimate district does not relieve Mr Beswick of much. What the Government ought to have done was to take Ashburton off the district. and leave South Canterbury in tact. So much time would not then be lost in travelling as there is at present, and Mr Beswick would be in the centre of lus district instead of being, as he is now, in the corner of it. At any rate groat hardship is being inflicted on the people, not alone in this district, but throughout the whole of South Canterbury. There were several people in at- | tendance yesterday with their lawyers j from Tlmaru, and.Gera’dinc, and it ip i

- j ~ r—certainly very hard on them to' hare To bear, the expenses of coming again next Monday. Saving effected by the Government in not giving another Resident to the district results in making law a very dear luxury. It is bad enough to get it at first cost, but when the expenses are thus .increased enormously it is simply iniquitous./ The best thing the • people - can the Minister of Justice on the subject.