A NEW INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 652, 1 November 1909, Page 10

A NEW INDUSTRY.

SUGAR BEET FOR NEW ZEALAND. I " j* STATE AID PROBABLE. , In Mpfy to a question put" in' Air. - JPoble, member for West,; the Primo Minister suggested that Government bo - givon towards ; tho ■ estab« lishment;, of tho .boat sugar industry in Ne~,v Zealand; Eitperimenhs ■ with - sugar ■ beet ■ erow- ; ing;hay® been.mado in various parts of-tH, Waikato; ■ including the Gonernmont Experiment Station at Ruakura for some jearu with encouraging j success;' _• - : ; , A..,Parh(Jalars,: as ;to ,the promoters of a. pio- • nosed cqmpany, of which something hasi been ; heard, .notT-yet, available,'!b'ut MK.'J,sreen* sfade, merolx!r for the-Waikato, who has been interesting-himselfi-m {he> matter, has" sup- < irfied details as may at present be wade public..*,He states: that tho people of New Zealand ivconsutno about 55,000 tons of sugar OTCry joar,.,ilF.nd«r the,.present system, how„ever,i; very- little is jitonded -in' tho way ofi , ompkmoeirt m the Ilomimon, but it is estimated ..that,; if,•tho industry is established in tins, Waikato, work will bo tonnd in the course of a short timo for about a thousand persons— thot a small town will be created by ; the now-..departur«...«.'<" ,tv-.;i ~ -- ■: ■'■tfpenwmberj".Mr. Greenslade stated, "that those who have devoted attentioii -to .the. ques-'; . tion aro. of opinion that in order to produce' sufficient beetroot to provide for present consumptiqn, about»-115,0f10-.:aore&-.0f,-land~sull..be.. reqwred; . Tho 'teats" already made "at~E&aP"' kura,.'show that the second-class land in the Waikato. is, well- adapted for the production : of high-ctasa sugar K . beets.'To produce ;55,000 .tons of-; sugar, planfxr? 0000 toos a day would be required, at a cost of about X 1,200,000, which, together with the (SaSit : of.Hhe .'.neoessary . land and the working capital, Tfiqjild,iiavol^p;,iv,/totaL^onWaj f about-two millions sterling." ' •; jit uTnot, howowr, -proposed to start the mdtißtry on such -a large scale, "but to" produce" for - tho first two or three-, years suiEcient sugar, to meet about one-fotirth ol the demand, this -tajntal'^o—Btm' with«ofvabout-i-lialf-'a.-irLillron' vatatea t-itKbi; Jikely, ,that this - money -, can 'bo obtained :in ■ the .p%;Country without difficulty, provided that, Reasonable ,;,QaYOjrnme^t ; assistance is ob- ;. ;,Th4>, :yalue of j/i'theiiipioposed . industry, Mr. «&r&nMade . • will extend beyotfd i^iits,, - in regard / itself. The beetroot/pulp, when nuxed chopped straw of. any kind, is an winter feed for - stock/ especially da.try«jtowj3, and this feed is qmto independent (.of tops left on tho,ficld&:,for iced; ing cattle. . It is estimated that ;i slitr tion of,'say,, 10,0001 tons' of ■ beet,sugar, would lequßce ■, sjimo. 90,000 i tons of beet, about one-half-pfvjvlnch would bo :pnlp, which at sevon shillnifsva ton; would'y.iefd^aiprofit of .¥El?y7so-. Furflfonooro, it, is .that the mdu6tiy ißOfald-bring into use thousands of acres of h, poor , for. anything else--The -,fhi« products'" rcqWrcd' fir .1M -nfanufac-turojof-beetroot sugar, viz., -icesl and limostone, easily procurable m the Waikato. , It s lir.ghp stated that toSts" haVe showil tliit • the waters of tho Waikato and Waipa .Rivers are-suitable for the: special purposetof BOgar'manufacture. , r , t ~ : It la?iconsidered that,' in' order to 'establish the .iwluatry,, a - Government bonus. would..bo , reqmsd;at tho -rate, of for'the first: thousand' tons /of, sugar produced from beetroot -for loach of three factories, or .£50,000-for the-fixstisfloo tons produced'by 'one- factory.* ; It: s is : also - considered: that :■ there should; be no excise on beet sugar and its byrpvoducts, and jihaij all jinachinory lequired to be iiuportedftfor the industry during-tho'first five yearS, BMnld be admitted;,free, of :duty; : t v : . Minister states that he is de- ' cidedly. in favour: of the sugar beet industry.beinf in New Zealand, and that ;he-' is.*>Hspafcd to- introduce legislation calculated; to place: the industry on a fair foot-lug._J?lt-rseams (he continues) that the desire .of Kirljoinentfj,when it r duty- on effect", to. jWhiJe it is natural'to .wish tojai^y, as the Colonial Sugar Company: {tttfte.:is ■no reason -why we should not estaWjsh';- within the - Bomimon an industry wllicTi/'v,-£ll"Arouse competiboti. • There are (ho .. -W(iikato.-'well : i>for t the Ho:'uHderstailtls, ■: that Aa ailiotnt t'of; •■English .icsfpital - ib . ready to bo invested in the industry. There is no: Teasou why the proposed legislation should rot.be iqtroduced, this sessjon,, ' , . t