LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 961, 31 October 1910, Page 4

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

i PETROLEUM IN NEW ZEALAND. ITS POSSIBILITIES. i Sir, —Tho Government:;have shipped • ' this week 25 barrels ' of. .-.jjotroloum,. i ■ 'taken from tho Taranaki ..Petroleum; Company's • oil wells, at JloiurOa, which, they are fonvardiiig ; to- Sir William Hall-Jones, our High .Commissioner in ■ London, with a request/that same are ' •to be handed to tho.-iiaval authorities • at Home for experimental purposes, : - Concerning this petroleum, A. F. Craig; and Co., of Paislcy;iScotland (tho -ivcll-' ?, . known refinery people), say. tha't- it is ! 7 the' most superior. oil they., havo ever examined. The analysis shows .very , ■ high percentage \ oft motor,spirit. As; !the' Admiralty aro.ilarge: consumers ofpetrol, it will be'interesting: to, 'havo| their opinion of .this particular' shipment. '. i i Now.that tho navies ; of ,tlio:world.are considering the advisability- .• of. ,Using . this valuable and 'eeonoinic fuel, it beLoves' us in Now Zealand to mako 'a

.. bid for thoir requirements. ::Wej,;.in; • Taranaki,, hope in,'tlio near futuro to :. liave an.,oil-fuel base 'at New Plymouth; We have flowing 1 wells, and .before" long large'supplies will bo available-(judging ' , - from:'the production'of out;present', ; wells).. The Admiralty;are taking : keen interest in this .field, and they are keeping themselves in touch with what going on hero, and they have in-' structcd their ' expert, :. Lieutenant-En-, ■ gineor Sydenham,'.to visit our'field,and,, ■v. report fully to them. : .From most re-' liablo privat-o information wo havo hoen , told 'that our Government have ,seut to the Homo authorities a favourable - xeporV'on our field,: and ■ also as J t(> the . suitability of Now .' Plymouth as <,<>>ll • oik " iuel baSo. .Sir Joseph Ward baq;:.com- '.' jniinicated ' with tlio naval:■: authorities! .'witlfta. view: to assisting industry in oitr Dominion.' Tlie reply •lie l received from them was that, in y the .event- of, a good supply of .Oil-.being obtained here, they ■ .(the ■ Admiralty) •. would -tako a largo amount of - their . supplies from New. Zealand. ■.> - we, in Taranaki, would be willing to. soil our oil to : the Navy,, and, if they purchased, suitable oil-storage tanks could be built to the eaid • • oil; the. oil-tanks boing in close vicinity to the breakwater and wharf, :'which;aro only a fewhundred <yards away from the oil wells. The Government have,'alongside tlio .wells, a : prison reserve, jvhich woWd make. a suitable .site for the .erection' of ]these . . tanks, and from here /gravitation would allow of !• tho -oil-'being, piped t0...th0-wharf, -wharf, wliero tho warships would, take in this oil fuel. :Tho. cash: the oil ...companies would, receive from tlio Admiralty for thevSiile . of .their':' oil •. could-be well spent-in further develop-, -- ing our oilfield. The New-: Plymouth Harbour Board are to bo congratulated "on tho ' way they are. talrfng v.m : '.jharid' .': • liarboiir matters generally. They intend before .the''.now.','year to our harbour sufficiently dredged to allow of ■' 'oocan boats : coming alongside the -wharf. This board havo lately imported . v from. Messrs. .Fleming :and Ferguson, ■ of Paisley, Scotland, ono of: their most up-to-date dredges, which .' cost some i£'30.000..' This dredgo is doing e'xcellentwork. a'nd initho.very-near-future our > : liarbour - will be dredged;sufficiently/ 'to .allow of vessels drawing'from 30 /to 40 :. <feet entering bur. port.- . 'i; 1 ■ '

We, in this Dominipri, 'welcome;-the cablo -news that the naval authorities aro ahead of tho two-Power standard. .-If ■ takes r,plaoe..; in ,the• East, '..th'&'loil-fuel from : this Dominion; will- be 'of vtho; greatest assistance .to;'our' fleet. :Sh|ps fronf «the Hbrae,.;squadron-going, either to Cliina or : Japan via tho Panama Canal could:Vtake~; 'oil-fuel ■supplies at Trinidad, which".' would .can? •them to New Zealand, ; where , fresh supplies would be awaiting them p.t New ■ Plymouth/'which _• would carry - thim on to. tho China station. There they would find oil which Burma and Borneo had supplied. . If these men-of-war-came out / via jAfrica,• oil-fuel. would.-.be!':available, at tho iriaval. base at. Simons Town," and New; Zealand could 1 send on supplies to ' for' 'the' .ships ; 'oil arrival . there,. A third available route -is; via; the; Suez, where plenty, of petroleum is now being recovered. 'England, who a few; years ago only " had Burma ' to supply her, demands; ..has; now, with the; . assistanoe,of herj.colonies,' placed herself .in -.the proud position of - owning; some of' 'the most. valuable 'oilfields "in tho ,'. world,-which,, are.rsituated; in.'the;, most, favourable locatioa's'.from-a', naval ppirit of view .*! '.There is eyer.y possibility .''of' our'Gov- _ ernment ohtaininfi':the ;;services -.of 'ono '.of Ensajjd's\bes_tkn^ visit.,and Teport on the oilfields of the Dominion. :;.-Thia[ exptert' is: : himself;; in;-tho 'colonial ; -'<Melds!7 He ; Btates^fet/British' jcipitel; is : wanted :'tc( .rassist in the doyclppjrient- -of - same,'; or! , "that'Erigland;.6an;-iayp -'oil *!from > withiii ,i ~ tho ..Empire, for- heivvnavy -and -mercan-. ■ -v+ilo' is -!i\ -ia^ strong advocate of .oil- fuel, and- has '- subject, 1 find has. done much.to brmg before tho naval:.-authorities, at Home the; -;, many, advantages of * oil : fuel.: It is a ; sad ;. 6tate.of; affairs, to find !that .only 8 per cent, of : EnolaM's. 'requiTements I '::{are., supplying most of this, that England has,adopted oiLfuel for her navy,, wo find that Japan, Italy, Russia, America,..etc!, .are following, in her ; footsteps; America ' is.-, building- oil-fuel ;• storage tanks on both',her coasts. Japan ■ is. buying, largo quantities of oil fuel : (presumably to place in tanks, so as to nave on hand supplies in case of emergency)/ ' ■' All experts agree,' that oil -fuel'' will be universally used; by- ; the/navies of tho" world," on- account of its , valuable

' steam-raising and motor-driving power, ,^_as ; . it' is so economical- and- I .' .easy'. -to "'handle. Our best-known naval authori- ::. ties, state that, the naval .Power, that: -.' can. command, supplies'-of this ftiel,will bo tho most 'powerful Vand 1 : most feared, owing; to tho .wide;'field tions it will give their'. squadrons. England of .all nations oilfields more than any '.other;''-owing! to ~ her . scattered possessions'; and her lttrgo mercantile marine, which supplies' her .. with, foodstuff,, necessitating tlio keep- ■': ing open, of her ocean trade routes. • • In 1912: New Zealand, will have hor . • own cruisers, and so will Australia, and : , it ! behoves', .every . colonial - Government, to use its best endeavours to "assist our. : oilfield, development. .We do i not .want , to_ go. to ;a foreign : country for . • sup- .'. plies or- oven to our sister - colonies, when-wo have at our,door flowing wells - oiily;.'>waiting, for capital to 'bring. 'in more'producing wells-to make this in- ■'! dustrv ono .'of the Dominion's most valuablo' assets.

' Onei 'favour our should grant' to this industry (which requires every assistance in, its initial stago), and- that.is protection. 'Tho.duty obtained should be' sot aside to completo geological surveys of the Dominion oilfields and help companies in tho samo way as is done for the goldniining industry. , Tho opening lip of a big oilfield would mean much to New Zealand. Not only could our railways save money,'by using oil fuel (which is universally used), but it would havo the clfect of bringing capitalists here, and where capital is it brings in its train industries and population. Tho lastmontioned is much needed in a young country such as ours. AVo havo been personally told by Mr.' I. D. Henry •'(the export previously referred to) that Trinidad and Newfoundland havo very rich oilfields, where, millions of British • capital have been invested of late. Ho ■ also recently stated: "There is nothing in the oilfields of Trinidad and Newfoundland that cannot be duplicated in New Zealand," and he also states that "In. Now Zealand there aro larger, if

not more important, oilfields," referring to tlio countries just mentioned. ... By to-day\s mail wo havo received Eilglish letters in reply to oui:s regarding favourable oil propositions in New Zealand. One expert, who is technical adviser for several large financial syndicates, who handle oil propositions, writes:—"Jly pcoplo arc ahvays ready to consider any proposition' that I recolriin<nid. to them." Further 011,.. tho samo writer, says : ,"1 ( .can assure, you that British capitalists would rather see their money placed in a British possession than diverted to foreign oilfields." ,lt believes -every person' iii New Zea■land..t<) give financial assistance in the opening up of the Dominion oilfields. No ' prpduct or precious metals havo brought- such prosperity and wealth. to :tho-Americans as petroleum. It can do •the;, Same for New Zealand! -

;'*;lt;'is'interesting . refer to statistics compiled by i>r. Day (director of the •U:fM .'Geological. Survey-). j : .Ho'. states: '.'•'.That.: lie . estimates • that by 1935,• all tlio-oil that by\roasonilblo conjecture' Jcp.uld Jje' assumed to Uxis.t'. in'the)'United States-of America would be exhausted." of this: statement; of. cannot be overestimated.:. It jrieans that in 25: years the entire sup-ply-.'of pstroleuiiviin •America, "will:' -be gonei:' The production there has, fallen .off; :J7'sper cent.-, within the last': few years, rand tile, demand,, is ever inpreasing'.'/.;Toiday we shouldrnot have; flying machines, And mot-or-cais, etc., had. it not, been- for petroleum. The ' many uses jJii's. mineral 16il' Can be put: to will have .the,',effect of enriching countries where oil is.'to'bfe found. , '-'j

v >'K,New : .'Plymouth is to be a.naval'oil.ftel:'baso';we'think -that it would be wiw.-to <>rect a?.wireless, statlpii; here. •Taranajci iis,! geographically, well:'situated' for lilbis 'purpose. ; We: have.' a ■ suitatloLsito in, a; rock called vParitutu, : whicliis over. GOO feet high, at the'foot of our breakwater. The clcctrical.power to ' work this station: could. be supplied. ,by "the' Town '' Council. ; Tliis" body: has 'electricity.-', generated . by, waterr-power available;;,, We 'are of,. opinion',;.that -Mouilt - Egmont, .which is . over 8000 tot .&height; would.prove.'a' more suit'■ablosite." The rangeof waves from, this lofty summit would naturally have a far wider circuit.

We have referred to some of tho-by-products of petroleum, and at a . later date we will follow up this correspondence,.should you think it worthy of insertion, in your' columns.-r-I am,- : etc.j A. E. W r ATKINS (Watkins and Fox). , New, Plymouth, October 25.