GUMFIELDS' COMMISSION.

Wairoa Bell, 16 June 1893, Page 7

GUMFIELDS' COMMISSION.

HON. E. MITCHELSON GIVES EVIDENCE The Hon. Mitchelaon, of the firms of Mitchelson and Co. Auckland, and Mitchelaon and Brothers, Dargaville, kauri gum and vamißh merchants, stated that his firm produced about one-eigth of the total supply of the colony, actually handling from 1,000 to 1,800 tons per annum. During the last two years, consequent upon the high prices ruling in Auckland, his firm had not exported any of the articles, although prior to this time they had exported largely to London and New York. The whole of the gum which they themselves produced was got from the ICaipara district, where they held large tracts of land under lease. Besides this quantity produced by them they bought gum from other places. In all they had under lease in round numbers between sixty or seventy thousand acres; 44,000 acres of this was the property of Mr .Tames Newall, of Glasgow, who purchased the land from the Kaihu Fibre Company. Witness’s firm held the lease for ten years from July 1891. The rent paid for this was £1,200 for the first year, with a reduction of 10 per cent.

per year. The owner of this property had offered to sell the estate for £12,000. The total number of men at the present time upon all their leases was 550, made up by Austrians, 250; British and others (including Germtns and French), 170; Maoris, 130. He did not believe that there were the number of people employed in digging gum popularly believed to be. The conditions under which permission was granted to men to dig for gum on the land of his firm were as follows :1. All kauri gum dug or obtained in any way from the said blocks shall continue the property of Messrs Mitohelson Bros., and shall he delivered by the person digging the same to them at either of their stores on Kaihu No. 1 block, and until so delivered shall be held by the person digging the same as bailee for thorn. 2. No rent being charged for the right to dig gum above mentioned, it is hereby agreed in lien thereof that on delivery as aforesaid of any such gum. Mess - Mitohelson Bros, (whose decision as to quality or description of gum shall be final and binding upon the person delivering the same) shall have the right to fix, and will thereupon pay the fair and reasonable value thereof to the person delivering the same, whose receipt shall he a sufficient discharge. 3. Any person being upon the said land shall leave and vacate the same within forty-eight hours after receiving notice, either verbal or in writing, requiring him or her so to do. No compulsion was used to induce men to sign this. They could either sign or leave the digging alone. He could not say exactly when the last hatch of Austrians arrived on the property, but he thought probably about three weeks ago. There were on the Wairoa river, approximately about 600 of the countrymen engaged in digging. Ten or twelve years ago, the number of Austrians on the field was not verygreat. but of late they have come on the compqund principles, larger and larger numbers edch year. He wished to state most distinctly that his firm had no more to do with bringing the Austrians to New Zealand than the Chairman of the Commission had. He believed the whole secret of the invasion of the Austrians layin the fact that some years ago ten of the gumdiggers on the fields of Messrs Mitohelson Bros, bought ten tickets in an Australian sweep, with the result that one of these secured a £IO,OOO prize. This was mostly sent home to Austria, and he believed was the main cause of the whole thing. In fact, he knew in one case this was so, as one of the participators in the sweep sent a draft through a bank in Auckland Witness had not seen much personally of die Austrians, hut the storekeeper and others who had come in contact with them spoke in terms of highest praise of their industry and law-abiding habits. His brothers stated that the average cost of living for the Austrians was 9s to 12s each man. lie had been informed that upon their arrival in the colony they were not very flash of money, and—being strongly adverse to getting into debt —they lived very frugally until such time as they sold their first quantity of gum, after which they lived just as well as any Britisher. They were not as good customers, however, to the hotel-keepers. Witness’s own impression of the Austrians was that they were not a desirable class, inasmuch that they came without their wives and families, this being an evidence supporting the theory that they did not come to settle permanently. Notwithstanding the influx of the last six months the rate of production of gum had not increased. He would here like to make a statement with regard to an erroneous impression that had got abroad with reference to him being the main instrument in bringing the Austrians to New Zealand. A paper published in Auckland had quoted advertisements which had appeared in certain Sydney papers offering inducements to Austrians to dig gum in !New Zealand This Auckland paper had so arranged these advertisements over an article with the concludidg query . * Who is the M.H. R. ?’ that they made out witness t-- be t.h ■ person referred to. He now desired to stutc that 1;-;. had cochin..vestisemenrs. In order to clear himself, he instructed his Sydney agents ro enquire in'o the matter, and after good deal of expense and trouble it was discovered that they had been inserted by a couple of swindlers. The detectives, after miking thir enquiries, found that the advertisements inserted iu the Sydney papers wore put there by a couple of swindlers, who netted £1 4s 6d profit out of every one they seat. They had gone from Auckland with a letter of introduction from a person there, and opened a ‘ New Zealand Labour Agency.’ They held out that they had a block of land near Dargaville, and that they had authority to seud over men. They showed the place on a map, and had a man there who said ho knew the place well, and had made £6 to £l2 a week i here before, and meant going back. They suddenly close' the agency, sold their books for a trifle, and left Sydney in debt. Witness said he knew nothing of a truck system being iu vogue on his firm’s estate. The men were paid cash for their gum and they paid cash for their stores. There was money to bo made out of the gum diggings for the men if they liked to save their earnings. His brother had told him that the earnings of the digger* ranged from £1 to £5 per week. He himself knew of two diggers who had a bank balance of over £3,000. He was not in favour of an export duty, but believed that a gumdigging license would be of benefit to the country in which the gum was found In reply to another question, he said that ihe export duty would first fall on the digger, but ultimately on the consumer. Although there had been a rise in the price of gum, and an increase of population on the gumfields during the last six months, the supply coming to hand had not increased. Contrary to the opinion expressed by previous witnesses, Mr Mitohelson believed that the London rates were determined by the prices in Auckland. With regard to licenses, he thought that if it was considered advisable to introduce them they should be required of all diggers on leasehold or Crown land. Ten shillings a year might be charged for the right to dig on leasehold, and £ J for Crown lands.