LIME INDUSTRY.

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 May 1929, Page 9

LIME INDUSTRY.

(To the< Editor.)

Sir,—There appeared in your colinmns last Wednesday a report of the ;Greymouth Harbour Board, in wlhich ia- member stressed the need for the Board-' to retain the right to quarry, iburn, and sell lime as given in the Lands Act; 1916. There is no need to .'be alarmed- as the Government analysis of Grey limestone varies from 74.8 tto 82.9, and if’ the Board care to write ito the Minister of Agriculture who now ipays-tlie railage on lime for 100 miles ;from Ross, I am satisfied that his reply will be that as long as Ross lime is available (being of a much higher calcium content-) the retention by the Grey Board of the right to quarry, jburn and sell lime is unnecessary. As’the amount of lime in sight at Ross will last for the next 500 years, why worry ? r Mr Clayton referred to the heavy expenditure at Ross owing to our lorry having to negotiate a road with a grade of 1 in 5.57 (that means that a load,of three tons of coal rises one foot in ’every SJ? feet). The Public Works Department have surveyed a new road nearly twice as long chains) but with an easy grade, which we hope to 'see made before the year is out. As the Lime Company this year had to jpay £42 heavy traffic fees we feel that Ave are entitled to have a road made dor the lorry to run on. Mr Clayton .'adds that farmers were feeling th e jpinch of the present high cost of lime as West Coast land needed cheap lime very badly. The latter is perfectly true and when farmers wake up to this fact it will be beter. for the whole country. Farmers tell me they cannot a'fford to lime their land, but I contend that they cannot make it profit without it. As to the high cost of Ros lime I would like to ask Mr Clayton what proof he has for this assertion? Here is the report of a certain lime works : “We had good working men employed on the works, but the results were disappointing as compared with the estimates. The cost of production was estimated at 15/- per ton, but the cost varied between 17/- and 20/- per ton, and the cost of quarrying and mapping added 10/- per ton of lime produced. ' Wages were 10/- per day, but to-day we pay from 15/- to 20/- a day to our men, and if anyone thinks they are overpaid come down and have a day with our 141 b hammer. If the cost of lime was high you would naturally expect the Company to be making huge profits, but what'is the position? Just this : that the Company is struggling under a burden of debt contracted at the inception of operations. Another factor against progress is the small output of lime owing to the small area to be served as well as want of capital possessed by our farmer friends. Take the Mount Somers Lime works. Their price-list says: “Fine crushed burnt lime 40/- ton, rough crushed burnt lime 37/6 ton, carbonate 22/6 ton.’’ Ross lime at the works is, burnt 40/- ton, carbonate 20/- ton, delivered at railway station 5/- ton extra. Shareholders get 10 per cent discount if they pay their accounts inside 30 days from the date of delivery. These facts speak for themselves, but of course you cannot please everybody, especially when men of this type say “We want the wages to go up and the cost of living to come down. ’ ’

Ross lime benefits the Grey Valley more than any lime at Greymouth can do, and what benefits the country reflects on the business of the town. Westland is endowed richly and only awaits the development, by men of vision, of its latent wealth. When capital is available fllie works at Ross are capable of starting another industry which will add to the wealth and prosperity of the Coast. —Yours, etc., JOHN MURDOCH. Ross, May 14.