The Flax Trade Meeting.

The; meeting of flaxinillers and those interested was held last night at the Masonic Hall. There was a good attendance, and Mr T. P. Williams occupied the chair. The chairman said that the meets ing was called to discuss matters in reference to the flax industry, and whether it was advisable to ask the Government to assist the industry by granting ft bonus. There was, he Baid, an impression among some of the millers that the bonus would only benefit, the middleman; that, he thought, was wrong, as the merchant was as anxious as the miller for the industry to revive, and they knew that it could only be done by getting the producer the best possible price. The merchants), as a rule, only acted as agents, and got their commission for buying— 'they were not speculators. ,Ji the flaxinillers approached the Government re bonus, he thongt the industry would be second to none in showing good returns. The number of hands emplbytd in the year 1890 were 216tf men and 1029 boys, and the total number of hands employed was B,l9Bj;>the amount of wages paid was £116,168, and bringing into the Colony the sum of £284,266 per annum, with an expenditure of only £6066 for machinery, etc. The flax industry has paid away one pound per ton in wages for every ton of green flax* brought to the miller The collieries of New Zealand only employed 1,655 hands, and paid in wages £173,588 with a value of #4279,777, bub very little of this was Yoreign capital. He quoted numerous other industries but contended that none coaw^ed- with the flax. He would nqggm'to get an expression from the«Wp|S'on the subject. Ml* W^wn said that the Government should bd asked to preserve tho flax and not allow it to be destroyed in the -way it was in this district, especially on the Motoa Estate and on Messrs Barber's run. He did not know bow to approach the Government in respect to the bonus, ' but he was quite in favoui of it. The ObtlfffiSW'Said that the Go veroraeni ihomld be asktcl to pre- 1 serve th* flax on that portion of the Motoa Efcffte not fit for settlement, | and tht remainder cut up in 100 acre blocks antt thrown open for selection. Mr Bdrctor said that it appeared to him that the flax millers did not want assistance, and wanted to maintairi their m^ependence, aa they did not peem* to take the interest they shou)^ in 'the matter. If they wanted the assistance of the business people, the millers must take the lead. . - The following were proposed as a Committee 1 !© consider all details in oonnection with the scheme, and re* port at ? another meeting :— Messrs TennantVjfinlson, Austin, Walden, Symons* Xgirdon, Border, Oaborne, Westwood and Rhodes, with power to add to their number, and that the CommitlMß «&fccfr £*i Mr Border's Hotel on Wednesday evening next, »atßo'oloclf. ; *- .... ' The meetiag4hen adjourned with a vote of tfefoliEe to the chair.