TUESDAY, OCT. 14, 1884.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1915, 14 October 1884, Page 2

TUES DAY, OCT. 14, 1884.

<ft The pamphlet from the pen of Mr W. A. Graham on beetroot sugar manufacture, the adaptability of the plant to New Zealand soil and climate, as shown by practical experiments carried out in Waikato, together with a variety of information relating to Silesian beet culture and sugar manufacture, gathered from authentic sources in Balgium and other parts of the continent of Europe, is now before us. Its careful perusal we commend to capitalist and pettier alike, to every one who has the welfare and advancement of the colony at heart, and especially to the settlers of this district, which for physical reasons clearly shown, enjoys a special adaptability for the growth of the plant for sugar purposes. Mr Graham has left for Wellington, where lie will bring the claims of sugar boot manufacture for Stnte assistance in its first establishment in the colony prominently before the Government and the Legislature. If successful tli ore, ho will then be prepared to visit Belgium for the purpose of floating a company in conjunction with Auckland and Waikato capitalists, and procuring the necessary machinery and skilled labour to carry on the undertaking" in home part of the Waikato. That Mr Graham will be successful in his mission to Wellington thoro is good reason to hope. The Government fully recognises the value of the industry. This is shown by the remarks in special reference to sugar-beet manufacture made by Sir Julius Vogel in his Financial Statement, and to the notice of motion which he has since nude in the House. And really the question of sugar-beet manufacture is one quite as much of colonial as of individual concern. The yearly sugar bill of the colony, money sent out of it to purchase this one article of consumption, amounts to a sum of little less than £800,000, or onehalf the interest on our public debt. The latter drain upon the resources of the colonists is one which is being continually brought to our notice as the cause of stagnation in business, of bad times, and as a renson why we should hesitate to enter on now loans oven for the improvement of the public estate. The old proverb, "Look after the shillings and pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves," is peculiarly applicable to this matter. While political economists in New Zealand are sedulously anxious to prevent the expenditure of the pounds they overlook altogether the reckless squandering of the shillings and pence, which, in the shape of money sent out of the country for goods that could and ought to be produced here, is far the greater drain of the two upon thn national pocket. In the front rank of these is our yearly sugar bill. Sugar-beet manufacture would gradually convert this expenditure into a source of national income and wealth. Let us see (quoting authentic statistics furnished to both Houses of Parliament by Sir Julius Yogel in 187G) what the German Government gained by fostering and developing this industry, which only obtained a fair foothold in 18 tO. In that year the gross rrceipts of tax obtained by that Government from beetroot sugar was .£G,O-37 4s. In 18 30-51 the amount received was ,£220,894 13s. In 1800-G1 the receipts rose to £1,100,776 -Is, and in 1873-7-4 the revenue from this source was £2,82.3,011 2-.. Then, as regards the German production, importation and export of raw sugar, these statistics show what the value of the industry grew to be as a source of national wealth, and a saving of money retained in the country. In 1841 Germany produced 303,016 cwts, imported 1,016,490 cwts, and exported 59,281 cwts of sugar. In 1874 the sugar manufacturing industry had grown to such proportions that while she imported only 594,203 cwts, against which she exported 456,932 cwts, her actual production of sugar was 5,820,813 cwts. To go a step further into detail, and show how it fared with the actual producers of the sugar, the companies which worked the several factories, we could quote from a list compiled to the order of the German Chancellor Bismarck for the year 1877-78, which shows the year of establishment of each factory in the country, its capital cost, annual working expenses, percentage of sugar obtained and gross receipts. In all these factories the profits are lar^e and very uniform, but to show more clearly, perhaps, the value as a commercial speculation of sugarbeet manufacture, we cannot do better than quote from the pamphlet of Mr Graham the result of eight years working of one of: these factories, " The North German Sugar Company," as extracted from their books by Mr George S. Graham, a brother of the writer of the pawphlct now before us, when on a visit to tfwt country. Over that period of eight y«srs the quantity of beetroot treated annually in this factory ranged from 0434 tons to 17,881 tons; the percentage of sugar f rani 9 per cent to 1 1 per eeqt (under 10 per cent in six out of eigltf years), and the dividends payable to shareholders from 24 per cent in the lowest to 32 per pent in the highest year, as good an investment as New Zealand Bank shares were to the original shareholders some three and twenty years ago. And yet a step, further. Let us see how individual settlers will benefit by

tho industry. Wheat has ceased to he an attractive crop at prespnt prices in the face of the supplies coining from the Indian and American markets. AYe need not tell our Waikato settlers what meat has come to. For cheese, even, and butter, the market, unless easier freights and charges can be secured, is limited, but beetroot sugar manufacture would open up an unlimited market at our very doors for an article of farm produce which Waikato could grow in almost any quantity, and of a quality superior to that produced in any part of the world. For sugar there is a world-wide market, for which, owing to the limited area of the world's surface on which sugar producing plants can be profitably crown, the supply has never been equal to the demand, and the consumption of which would be immensely increased on a merely fractional reduction in its cost. As a rule, sugar-beet factories even when they combine the growth of the plant with the manufacture of sugar, do not grow a sufficient supply to keep their mills going, but have to depend upon neighbouring 1 farms to a considerable extent for a supply of roots. Now there is no crop will pay the farmer better for cultivation than the beet if he can only secure a ready sale for all he can grow. True, some will say they could grow sixteen or eighteen tons of carrots to the acre, and that these are worth £2 and £2 10s per ton, and so they may be for the limited markeo there is to supply — that they can sell their mangolds at higher prices per ton for cow feed than they would get at the factory for sugar-beet. These persons well know, however, or would do so if they reflected, that for one ton so sold they have two left on hand at the close of the season, or would have if they did not use them on their farms for purposes which do not bring one-tenth of the return as when a sale can be effected. This would not be the case with sugarbeet. The supply, large as it might be, is but too likely to fall short of the demand. Mr Graham has calculated the cost of producing an acre of sugar-beet as follows, and we think that practical men will pronounce the estimate a fair one. A<min, it must be considered that this, like other statements of cost in the pamphlet, is based on practical experience. The operations are those in vogue in the sugar-beet countries of Europe, the cost being assimilated to our own rates of wages here. Briefly, then, Mr Graham quotes it as follows :—: — £ s (1. Two plouqhings 0 16 0 Si k hat rowings, at 9d ... 4 6 Drilling 2 6 Scai ify ing 5 0 H.uid- hoeing ... ..100 Raising ami carting on an average crop of 13 acres 19 0 Seed 8 0 Manure 1 15 0 Rent 12 0 Or. per acre .. 6 12 0 A crop of 15 tons at 16s per ton will realise £12, yielding a profit of £5 8a per acre, purely this should satisfy tho farmer. Does he come within cooey cf such a profit per acre on anything he grows at the present time? yet 15 tons to the acre is not by any means too large a crop to expecb from fair average land that has been already cultivated, and every additional ton per acre he grows is an additional 16s of profit, less the extra cost of raising and carting sucli additional ton. But to form some idea of what a crop of sugar-beet should be let us bear in mind that the roots to be kept down to the proper size are planted closely. The drills aro only 18 inches apart and the plants nine inches in the row. There are thus 36,000 plants on an acre of ground, and if these reached the maximum size which a sugar-beet should reach, 21bs, would yield a crop of 32 tons per acre. It is but fair however, to state that in Austria the average yield per English acre was 1 0 tons, in Bohemia 10 tons, and in Prance 12 ton?. In North France, however, a hectaire (2-\- acres) often produces 50 tons, and it is on record, Mr Graham states, that 38 tons have been produced on an English aero of land, which German and French authorities concur in stating may in time be equalled on all sides. With our peculiar season and tho special adaptability of Waikato soil and climate for tho production of root crops we may safely count upon largely exceeding the average results of sugarbeetroot cultivation in Europe So much then, at present, for sugarbeetroot cultivation as it concerns State, capitalists, and settlers in New Zealand. We will now refer to Mr Graham's mission to Wellington. He asks first, to exempt N#w Zealand beetroot sugar from excise duty fpr a fixed period, say ten years. Secondly- To grant a fixed, bonus for the first SQQ ton 6 of sugar manufactured in the Jf Qrth and the same for the South island, either from beet, sorghum, cpne or other plant. Thirdly. To lend upon the debentures of any company formed for the manufacturing such sugar, a blank sum proportionate to the paid up capita], and Fourthly. To grant assisted emigration to families from the sugar.-bpet districts of Europe, haviug the necessary knowledge to commence with the cultivation of the beet and the manufacture of the sugar, so as to enablo our own settlers and others to benefit by their experience in the futher carrying out and developing the industry. Jiow" W"- cn °f these concessions may be desiyabltf, or Ijq w much possible to obtain, we sfoaH n.ot enter upon, on the present occasion. Of one thing we are certain that some considerable aid must be afforded by the legislature and the Government if the sugar-beet industry is to be implanted in New Zealand. It becomes, therefore, our duty as settlers to strengthen the hands of Mv Graham in the.

effort he is now making with the Government to induce them to recognise the claim this industry has upon the colony. But what we do must be clone quickly if it if it is to bo of use, and we therefovo suggest that a public meeting of the settlers of Waikato should be called, say for Tuesday next at furthest, after the cattle sale at Ohaupo, to urge upon the Government the necessity for action in the matter dui'ing tho present session,. in the direction indicated by Mr Graham. The result of such meeting telegraphed to Wellington would greatly strengthen the promotion of such a movemont with the Government and with the Parliament now sitting.