1.—12.

208

C, D. LIGHTBAND

as New Zealand; yet we are only using them to a very limited extent. When I was at Home I had tests in connection with tanning made with some of our New Zealand barks. We have almost inexhaustible supplies of birch-barks —brown and black —more especially the brown-birch. It is very prolific in the South Island and right through the West Coast, in Queen Charlotte Sound, and in south Otago; and there are considerable quantities in the North Island. The brown-birch bark carries about 12| per cent, of tanning-material. Tutu also carries about I2J per cent, of tanning-material. There are also numbers of other New Zealand trees the bark of which carries quantities of tanning-material. In the Nelson District there are very large quantities of chrome-ore, which ore is largely used in connection with the manufacture of tannic acid. At present a large quantity of fat is wasted here, If the household waste were stopped and the fat collected and treated it could be utilized for glycerine and soap-making. Glycerine is one of the most important- items in connection with the manufacture of explosives. We should manufacture our own explosives instead of importing them; explosives used for commercial purposes should be manufactured here; and there should be no difficulty in manufacturing them if we produced our own glycerine. There is another disgraceful waste going on connected with our flax, or Phormium tenax. We have in this country a fibre that is second to none in any part of the world. Great improvements could be made in the selection of the most suitable kinds of plants and cultivating those kinds; also, great improvements could be made in the treatment of the flat. We are behindhand in many of these respects in this country; more industrial research is required. To the Chairman: I did have patent rights in connection with the paunch-leather manufacture, but they have been affected by subsequent processes. I am holding my processes secret, The industry would be open to the general public if 1 got a reasonable reward ; 1 am prepared to disclose the secret on any reasonable terms. E. Griffiths, Managing Director of the Blenheim Oil Compiain-, examined. The company's works are situated at Moturoa. We started the well about six years ago with a plant capable, of putting a bore down to 6,000 ft., and with a view to working in an up-to-date fashion we engaged Mr. Fedorowicz, who has had experience of several deep wells in Europe. The well is now down to 5,320 ft, We are passing through a sandstone formation, and recently we encountered the strongest pressure of gas we have had since we started, which leads Mr. Fedorowicz to believe that the oil should be close now. To the Chairman: The Government are helping us. We have spent about £25,000 of our own capital in drilling the well, and the Government are assisting us with money. We have been delayed considerably during the war through lack of materials, otherwise we would probably have been two years ago where we now are. We have received approximately £5,000 from the Government. To Mr. Sidey: The Government are now giving us £350 monthly, which amount pays the wages, coal, and sundries. I am not making any suggestions. We only desire to impress on the Committee the certainty that we will now get oil. To the Chairman: When we were at 2,200 ft, we got the oil that all the wells have got at that depth. At one time we were getting up to fifty barrels a day. We have had nothing by way of bonus or grant. To Mr. Hornsby: The £5,000 from the Government is a loan, on which we are paying interest. To the Chairman: In the event of winning no oil we repay the Government the loan. The Government, are not- shareholders, but merely the lenders of the money. We have an expert in the work, and do not require assistance of that kind from Hie Government, To Mr. Sidey: Our capital is New Zealand capital, largely from the Marlborough District, and hence the name of " Blenheim." The capital of the company is £50,000, of which nearly £30,000 is paid up. There have been no dividends. The companies working about Taranaki are entirely separate. J. Fedorowicz, Engineer and Oil Expert, Blenheim Oil Company, examined. Oil already obtained from the company's bore gives 20 per cent, of benzene, over 150° centigrade of temperature, and about 40 per cent, of kerosene product. I consider that the future of the bore is beyond question. The war delayed our work, as it, was difficult to get wire rope and casing. We also had financial difficulties, owing to which the work was stopped for several lengthy periods. We are now in a very hopeful position as regards development, and alt-hough we are boring slowly we have promising indications, because the gas we have encountered is undoubtedly oil-gas. It has the smell that is peculiar to oil-gases, and the colour when burning is orange-yellow, which is the particular colour of oil-gases in burning. To Dr. A. K. Newman: In the last 200 ft. drilled we have come across a certain amount of bituminous matter which is related to oil. To Mr. Sidey: There might be several oilfields in the district. I have been here six years. I have had experience in Europe, chiefly in Galicia, and I saw there, previous to striking oil, conditions similar to those which now obtain here. From my experience in Europe I think there is a good prospect of oil being discovered soon. To Mr. Poland: I have been in Dannevirke and Gisborne and examined the oil-wells there. The drills in Dannevirke have not given any great hope of success. I have not been to Kaikoura, At Ashburton there is a bore in progress, but I have not seen it, No surface indications exist, and it is only pure luck if they strike oil. It is not impossible that oil may exist in a stratum underlying the shingle on the Canterbury Plains. To the Chairman : We propose to drill to 6,000 ft. The cost is about £6 per foot. We can hardly go deeper than 6,000 ft. with our machinery.