THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR THE WORSTED DISTRICT.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVII, Issue 1436, 17 September 1861, Page 3

THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE FOR THE WORSTED DISTRICT.

Biaclfoul, Yoikshue, Febiuary 21, 1861. Addiess of the Wool Supply Association of the Biadfoid and Ilahfav Chamber of Commeiceto all paities mteiested m the giowth of Colonial and other Foieign Wools. The inoieasc in the Worsted Tiade of Gieat Britain has been veiy consideiable dining the last few yeara ; and its fuithei development has been checked only by the difficulty of meeting with an adequate supply of long wool To meet this condition of things, and in oidei if possible to mciease the supply, the Wool Association is desiious of disseminating mfoimation in the wool giowing distucts. The mcicase in the imports ol! foieign wool duung the same penod has been veiy laige ; but those supplies weie almost exclusively of anatuie to adapt them to the woollen lathei than to the woisted manufactuie, Those mteiested in the latter branch of industiy aie an\ious to stimulate the giowth of wools suitable foi then wants. The qualities they inquire give to the wool a higher marketable \ alue for all purposes of manrfactuie, and aie, theiefoie, -\\oll deseiving the attention of gioweis, collector, and sluppeis of wool The wool (the mciease of which they d ■■sue to piomote) bliould biea staple fiom fom to seven inches long, according, to its fineness, and should, as fat as possible, be uniform in quality tlnoughout its whole length, blight and lustious m appeal ance, or soft and kind to the touch, of good spinning piopertie-, fioo fiom bmr» 01 other vegetable fibie. It should also be well wabhed befoic it is clipped, 01 wheio tins is not pi icticable, cue should be taken that it be not cotted or felted m dicing Tt is iuos.t desnable to letam the whole natmal length of the staple by oidy clipping the lambs or slu-op once duimg the season's giowth, unless loc.il causes lendei it absolutely necessaiy to do so oftenei. It is aKo veiy desuable that a proper classification of v 00l should be made m packing, and that the packing should bo thoioughly tmstworthy and fair. An impiovomont is already manifested m tho wool of some countuos, and the association believe that it might be made geneuil if pioper care weie taken in the selection of bi ceding sheep, paiticulaily of the lams, and, wheie neoessaiy, by the intiodiiction of new blood. The flocks should, as much as possible, be pastured upon succulent jrasse-,, similar to those giown in Gieat, Bntun. The destmctivp effects of diought 01 cold, or othci climatic exuoes, which check the giowth of tl'G g\ >s->c% bv (lcpnving ihe sheep of their nowsiii'j <ii[p!y of iond, and lenclei the btaplc tendoi, oughu to le pio\<*nted by n const mt sunplj of food thioiiL.l'tjft tl.o \\liolo ye u The oupplv Vsso"i ition will bo lu.pjiv to ans\/cr ,v\y mqiMics, and qivo xn) intjim ,- tion that foiciqn coiiisspondcnts niiy lujuiio ji their effoit3 to mcieabi tho supply and improv e the quality

Casing fid to^VgXS to India by to afflo--New Z^land -Large supply the 00^ long 60^.woi reqmied, from « s v j, woo l s . '• Australia.— purposes are exceeding J*™™* _w"e copy the folto the ™fc~ me 7i n O o for discovery of efficient the amount of J*> fl m & o^ er fibrous plants means for rendering k of export, TO- ;— of New Zealand, available - g^g process of his £2,000 to the person who shall, ._ -J>wffl!li»l> tcwv, own invention, first produce from the ± '~*d, fojty or other fibrous plant indigenous to New Zeai.. "" « tons of merchandize. £1,000 to any person, other thau the person entitled to the first reward, who shall, by some process of his own invention, next pioduce from the jdiormium Unav, or other fibious plant indigenous to New Zealand, forty tons of merchandize. £1,000, viz :— £2oo to any person, not exceeding five in all, other than those entitled to the first and second rewards, who shall, by any process, whether of his own invention or not produce from the phormium Unax, or other fibrous plant indigenous to New Zealand twenty tons of merchandize" — Then follow the conditions of inspection, with the intimation that " every claim for the above rewards must be preferred before the Ist January, 1864." The ingenious have thus had two and a quarter years placed at their disposal by the government, for the preparation of a few tons of flax ; and we confess the sum set apart for their leward is most liberal, considering the state of our finances, and the incieasing drain on our colonial resources. Were this proposed expenditure wise, we should not object to it ; were it even neeessaiy to show that New Zealand possessed valuable fibrous indigenous plants," susceptible of being largely used in manufactures, there might be an excuse for Mr. Fox advising his excellency to offer a reward of £4,000 for that purpose. But these conditions aie wanting It is not wise, because the produce of 40 tons, or 400 tons of flax fibre from pJiormium tenac, in two and a quarter years, proves nothing as legaids the availability of the plant for commercial purposes. It must be largely available — almost exliaustless of supply, and cheap of production, before it can ever become a manufacturing staple Now, what are the facts ' Is it all but exhaustless of supply . have government ascertained that fact J If so, let the data be published " for general information " in the next Gazette, for we have never been able to a&certain anything definite on that point. We do happen to know that a gemleman engaged in the preparation of native fia\, on being asked if he had ever calculated the produce of the plant per acre, and how much per day his mill would prepare, replied that he had never gone into any calculation of the sort, but took it for granted that there was plenty in the country • We know the native flax grows in swampy districts, and swamps are not unknown in New Zealand. It would also giow, we beheve, in damp land generally, of which we have an abundance in the country. But the lea\es (from which the fibre is had) can only be cut fioin the same plant tnennially ; and this would necessitate an immense bieadth of culture, should the yield of fibre be as much as one in four of the leaf, provided the flax should go into general consumption. These are points v\e wish solved befoie £4,000 be abstracted from the revenues of the colony for the purposes named Then, if it be shown that pkorinium tenaa. can be cultivated, as cotton or hemp, producing a laige annual supply like these plants, without interfering with tbe agricultural and pastoial development of tliis country, we submit that is all that is necessary, and the government will have accomplished their purposes without any expenditure worth naming. Private enterpiise will do the rest The value of the fibre is known and acknowledged ; and an outlay of £4,000 by the government is not requisite to bring it into notoriety. But if it be unavailable to the extent we have named, the government will commit a grave error, at this juncture, by lending themselves to the pursuit of a phantom while substantial wealth lies at their feet in the minerals of the " soils of the province of Auckland ," and in the extensive forests of timber, locked up from private enterprise and commercial speculation by the operation of the Land Purchase Ordnance. The present is an eventful crisis in our history, and we hope the responsible government will be equal to the emergency. New Zealand flax is, no doubt, a valuable commodity, but capitalists will require more specific information than they 3et possess before they embark in its manufacture. An ingenious machine foi the preparation of an article proves nothing as to ■ lpply ; no more thata the hundreds of machines constructed foi that purpose have solved the problem of the perpetual motion. The double motion of the earth is the result of fixed laws. Manufacturing and commercial enterprise are governed also by fixed laws — supply and demand, and the construction of a piece of machinery will in no wise affect the question where either of these are wanting.