Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 1892. RIVALS TO FLAX.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4141, 17 June 1892, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878]

FRIDAY, JUNE 17, 1892. RIVALS TO FLAX.

Being the extended t 'title of the Waieakapa Daily, with whioh it is IDENTIOAL . v, •

We hasten to acknowledge the important services which Mr W. B. Perceval, our is rendering to the Colony, by stepping outside the grooveof purely official duties in which the majority of his predecessors have been content to walk. Several in« stances of the courageous originality of the Agent-General. for. New. Zealand 'have been brought'before the notice of his fellow colonists during tbe last few months. It would appear that Mr Percevaladministered on one occasion a lesson in manners to soine of tbe subordinate officials in Downing StrVet ; '.that, another, time, , he effected a saving of about £I,OOO a year to the Colony, byi insisting : on a re-adjustment of tbe Bank of England's method of doing our business, These things men have read in the telegrams and chuckled over; but they are not really- more illustrative of Mr Perceval's readi< ncss to advanoe our interests than the information that our Agent" General " has forwarded to his Government a report on manilla and i sisal production," The apparently ! commonplace character of this an ' nouncement my prevent some people from seeing itß significance, ' But, as a matter of fact, it exhibits Mr Perceval as a man with a thorough grasp of his colony's position and needs, as a man wbo lets nothing escape him which bears upon ; the prosperity of the people whom he represents, as a man with his eyes and ears wide open in London, Let us explain ourselves. Ever since the first serious attempt to colonise and settle this country, flax has been an important factor in tlia work, At first it was a foe to be reckoned with ; and immense sums of monoy must have been paid away by settlers to get their land oleared of the obnoxious growth. Flax land was regarded as good wheat land; but tbe flax had to - go first. A few years, however, brought" a remarkable change in the position of flax; the settler who formerly had to pay for being rid of it, became himself the recipient of considerable revenues from men who competed for the privilege of taking his flax. For the, market value of our phamium tendx bad at length -been realised by colists. True, that market value had undergone tbe most terrible fluctuations, at one time reaching a level which looked like making many rapid fortunes, then dropping suddenly to a price which .brought absolute ruin to men who had put all their eggs into tbe fax basket, Nevertheless, time has taught us tbp approximate value wjiioh our flax represents to us, and very great that value is, as everyone knows in New Zealand. Put-there aw certain conditions which affect the progress of every industry, and one ofthese is, obviously, competition, New Zealand has some very formidable rivals 'for the custom of,the world— to wit, tbe manilla and sisal oonoerning tho production of which our has .been ; far sigh ted enough to make careful enquiries. Manilla hemp has for along time :been a staple product of tbe Phillipine Islands in the Malay Atohip pelago, and at the present time eyery , : ehh js} ;b t eing guide jp"stimulate "its ''productfi,' i/j • ! Britieli talis; 1 ' jffm'ia jto sisal. It js a product of the fibfe of the American aloe, and until recently its manufacture ™ more or less limited , to the neighbourhood of the Gulf of, Jlexico, Of late, however, attempts ] have been vory successfully made to i produce sisal in the Bahpas. i It will-be seen, then, that our pwn 1 flax is far from having a n)on»ply of ' the world's market, oreven-asyetr !

|ij secure position.' Manilla hemp is ijrecognised B9 avery good article indeed ;.and ; the value 'of tliß' twine known Nn sisal is - becoming: better known every day." Nothing, therefore, can bo more opportune than an enquiry into the conditions surrounding the production of the rawraatorial in eaoh of thege cases ; nothing can' be more useful" to us than a knowledge of the methods of manufacture which, give, these products their high position. The man who sets himself to study these things in the interest of ilax-produoirig New Zealand s a friend to the Colony, valuable in proportion to hie business sagacity and promptitude, commend., able in any case for his thougbtfulness. It is a pleasure tp'USito, find that, the gentleman'selected by the Government to represent; New Zealand ; at Home iB displaying just siicb siigaoity arid promptitude and thougbtfulness a? this. We shall look forward, with interest to the publication of Mr Perceval's report. . In the meantime, so important is the'general subject in our eyes that we purpose to devote an article to some further aspects of the question in the course of a day or two.

The Masterton Rifle Volunteers held their weekly parade in the' Drill Hall last (Thursday) evening, about' thirtyfive answering to the roll-call. The men ware inspected by Captain Pownall, arid were afterwards put through physical andotlier exercises by Sergeant-Major Finn, Mr George Daysh, who is weil<known on the roads, notifies that he is prepared to deliver goods to any part of the district at a reasonable oharge, Orders left with Mr 0. E, Darnell will receive prompt attention. ; In another column we publish the business announcement of Messrs Fawley Evana and Co., Limited, of Birmingham, England,' the well-known manufacturers and exporters of iron, steel, metal; tinplate and general hardware. * ' A general meeting of members of the Masterton Agricultural and Pastoral Association' will, be held in the Club Hotel to-morrow (Saturday) afternoon. The business is to, receive- the balance sheet, .arrange a programme, and' fix a dato for the neit show.

Mr'E. \V. Porritt, Who has been temporarily filling the position of AssistantClerk of the 11, M.. Court at Wellington, has been transferred to the Justice Department. Mr J. M. Hickson, who has boeu acting as Eelieving-Clerk at Masterton, returns to. Wellington. ,

Very heavy mortality ib said to be experienced m sheep in the Maaawatu district this season. One settler lost half of a flock;of a thousand hoggets. Constable Smith has been appointed Clerk to the Featherston Town and District Licensing Committees.'

A man named Coleman, of Alfred ton, was charged at Pahiatua on Tuesday on the information of Jose; h. lorna with false pretences- He was remanded. The tug-of-war will be continued in the Masterton Theatre Royal tormorrow (Saturday) evening. •• > Tin next quarterly communication of the Masonic ; Grand Lodge of flew Zealand is to be held at Wellington on Friday, 29th July,,

A Dunedin confectioner has been fined SiOs and costs for employing a lad on Saturday afternoon. . A most successful ball in connection with the Carterton Social Club was held on Wednesday evening, About forty couples were present.

The Minister of Justice is to be asked to appoint Constable Darby clerk to the Carterton Borough and District Licensing Commissioners. ■ The winter vacation at the Masterton school commences, in the: first.week in July, Messrs Jno, Graham and Co announce the arrival of a consignment of Fiji tea to be sold at Is lOd per lb, its true value being 2s 4d. Mr C. H. Williams, of Hobart, has been appointed from fifty-nine applicants to the Inspectorship of works in the Southland County. Over three thundred cowa have been guaranteed for the creamery at Makakahi.

Good table-potatoes were quoted last week in the Waikato at 9s per ton, One thousand tons have been sent away from | Mapier. within the last fortnight. The Pahiatua Star says" A ,I;P. at Jiketahuna will be defendant shortly in an action for damages for £2OO, in whjch the plaintiff, a young woman employed in' one of the hotels in that township, claims £2OO damages for alleged slander, The' Case is now in the hands ol Messrs Bell, Gully, and Izard, and the funds are being Bubsoribed freely by the people of Eketabuna to enable the plaintiff to proceed with her action."

The case ib which E. A. Haggeii, of tbo Woodville Examiner, waß charged by Aelxandor Black, of the Pahiatua Star, with criminal libel, was called on at Pahiatua on Tuesday, but as an apology had been made by the defendant no evidence was tendered. Alexander Gillies, arrested at Timaru on Tuesday on a charge of horse-stealing, arrived at Mastertoii last night in the custody of a Wellington constable, lie will be brought before Colonel Roberts, 8.M., on Monday next. At a sitting of tho K,M. Court at Pahiatua on Tuesday last, George Whitcombo was charged with being drunk and disorderly on bunday, 15th May. Tho case was dismissed by Mr A. Reese, J,P, A further charge against tho same individual of disturbing a Salvation Army meeting was also dismissed, The Rev, Mr Christiansen, of Mauriceville,deliverod a lecturo in tho Morrison's Bush church the other evening, bis subject being the thirty years war in Romany, with a short sketch of tho life of Gustavus Adolphus, the religious and heroic King of Sweden. An " extra," containing the vordict of the £ketahuna murder case, was issued from the office ot the Wairabipa Daily Times a few minutes after nine o'clock this morning. The .result was not unexpected, -'as- the' g'eiieral opinion prevailed that the prisoners would be acquitted.

At the special request of a largo number of patrons of tho Theatre i itoyal iu Masterton] the Dobson-Kennedy Dramatic and Comedy Company haa determined to remain for another night and ! produce the great Irish drama "Arrah-na-Pogue," In this pifece Mr j; J, Kenn* edy is afforded a better opportunity of displaying his Irish wit and drollery them in any piece yet put on, and is supported by a' strops- company. Wo expeof to' sef a ' crowded audionce to-nighfi'fo give the talented company a jood send-off, "

One of the finest buildings in Welling' ton is undoubtedly that of Messrs SeouJlar and Chisholm,' furniture'manufao turers, upholsterers, art oabinetmakers, and piano importers, Their splended establishment is'replete with every description of modern furniture, from the artistic and costly drawing room suite, to the humble kitchen dresser, and, what i'b more to the point, all tastes and purses can be equally suited, High and low, rich and poor, will find that they are studying their best interests by paying the establishment a visit. To country customers, Messrs Scouilar and Chisholm at all times extend a hearty welcome, and 'are always pleased to' show vlsitosr over thejr spacious showrooms, Iu fact, a yery pleisant and A instructive 'half hour may bjjL spent ■ in' viewing thejr establishraejC which is one pf thp' moat ' interestjwg busmen i features of-'the Empire City. T ; o our 'readers who are contemplating the 'purchase of furniture or pianos, we commend the firm's advertisement iii another column, and would remind those interested that the time fixed for the drawing for the handsome seventy .which'isto be: given away is clusi' at hand. The drawing takes place on the 21et August next,