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Lyttelton Times, Volume XLI, Issue 4070, 10 February 1874, Page 2

Those who still have the courage, ,and the means, to persevere in what is called the flax industry, could hardly fail to be cheered by the long accounts oiPhormium exhibits at Dundee which we republished in a recent issue. Heading these carefully, as they no doubt did, and comparing the expressions of opinion now with the expressions of opinion—say two years ago they must have been struck with the change which has come over the tone of home manufacturers. And, following up this train of thought to its legitimate conclusion, they must have said to themselves that there is yet good ground for hope. It would perhaps be going too far to say that the burden and heat of the day have been borne past the goal, and that those who have persevered are about to enter upon the enjoyment of the rewards they will have so well deserved, but it can be said that the accounts from the Dundee exhibition give substantial encouragement.

The colony, even more than private speculators, is greatly indebted to Mr C. Thorne, of London, for the exertions he* h a s persistently made to develop the flax industry. In season and out of season, till be was called a bore, a nuisance, and even a madman, Mr Thorne has pushed his inquiries, gone on with his experiments, and used every available means to bring the fibre under notice wherever there was a chance of its being utilised. It may be, and no doubt will be, replied that he has done all this from purely selfish motives, from a conviction that money was ultimately to be made out of New Zealand hemp. Even so, Mir Thorne deserves well of the colony for his indomitable perseverance, and we trust that his services will yet be suitably recognised by the Colonial Government. In considering this question, we have no right to ask what a man’s motives may have been or are—whether his actions have been dictated by pure enthusiasm or by the selfish feeling that wealth and fame might be achieved. It is results that we must look at, and also their relation to his actions. If we are convinced, after this inquiry, that he was the main cause of certain effects, it is our duty and ought to be considered our privilege, to make due acknowledgment. In a letter dated November 27, 1873, and addressed to the Colonial Secretary, Mr Thorne says“ Those “ who within the two years declared “ this fibre could never be brought “ into use by manufacturers are now “ firm in their belief that if the supply “ can only be regularly depended upon, “ it will take a very important place “ amongst the fibres used in the manu- “ facture of the finer class of fabrics, “ and when thoroughly introduced will “ realise such prices as amply to repay “ the colonists for its production, “ provided they will send forward a “ well cleaned and softened fibre only.” Again, he tells us that Mr Forbes, of Arbroath, and Mr Lockhart, of Kircaldy, “ are still persevering in their “ efforts in pointing out the usefulness “ of the Fhormium, and it is mainly to “ their exertions that so much progress “ has been effected. The former, in “ writing to me regarding the Dundee “ case, under date November 15, “ says : —‘ The case is getting a deal of “ attention; on Tuesday, when I was “ there, we had quite a bevy of “ manufacturers round it, inspecting “ the fabrics very closely, and some of “ them very anxious for a parcel of the “ flax.’ Me Lockhart under same date, “ November 15, wrote tome of thegreat “ interest which seemed to be excited “by the case, and further said, —‘ Mr “ Warren, who has written two large “ volumes on the flax industries, visited “ the case last week. He remarked " that * New Zealand flax had now “ made so much progress that it could “ not now be stopped.’ ” All this, as we have remarked, is very encouraging to producers of the fibre, and we hope to learn that abandoned work has been resumed.

In, looking through the list of exhibits at Dundee—collected, arranged, and forwarded by Mr Thorne—we cannot help being surprised at their extent and variety, First of all we have the coarse leaves, “imported as dunnage in the Blue Jacket from Canterbury;” then parts of leaves stripped by the Natives; fibre extracted from the above; Native-dressed fibre; and so on through the first stages till we reach cloth for cornsacks, woolpacks, sail-canvas, towelling, sheeting, &c., &c., up to “damask tablecloths” and “ dinner napkins.” The kst-named, it should be mentioned, had a linen warp the weft being of native-dressed Phormiurrif and the cloth was woven at Gavray in France. The mention of this fact suggests another, which is, that Mr Thorne has somehow contrived to enlist the sympathies and services of manufacturers in England, Scotland,

Ireland, France, and elsewhere. He has, in short, been laboriously active and enterprising, for he has even induced an Irish land proprietor to attempt the cultivation of the Phormium plant on a considerable scale. After referring to the fact that the New Zealand flax exhibits were placed alongside a case filled with jute manufactures, on which too much praise could not be bestowed, the Dundee Advertiser points out that, with this means at hand of comparing the products from Phormium with “ splendid “ samples of linen and jute goods” the former, all things considered, showed “ very favourably indeed.” Our contemporary then goes on to give what 'we may conveniently call an outline history of the flax industry, drawing particular attention to the difficulties met with in the preparation of the fibre. Following on this we have the subjoined remarks: —“ The contents of the case show that “ the difficulties are at least in a fair “ way of being overcome, if, indeed, “ they have not been entirely removed. a * * * Jt is the preparation that “ is of most interest to home manu- “ facturers, and if it can be shown “ that raw material capable of pro- “ during a class of goods equal to those “ exhibited can be supplied at less cost “ than real flax, there is little doubt “ of a ready market being obtained for “ all that the colonists can send home.” And further, we obtain this opinion and these facts from the Dundee Advertiser: —“ It is pretty evident that the “ Phormium is quite suitable for the “ purposes to which the real flax is “ applied. The question remains, can “ it be supplied at a price that will “ make it worth the while of any one “ adapting their machinery—for we “ presume some alteration may be “ necessary to manufacture it on a " large scale ?****“ The “ samples exhibited have been manu- “ factored by firms in all parts of the “ country, and from all we can learn “ those who have experimented with “the fibre think highly of it. We “ understand that Mr Lockhart, “ although doubtful at one time as to “ the practical working of the fibre, “is now quite sanguine as to its “ future. It is not to be supposed that “ the Phormium will ever rival jute for “ cheapness, but it may come to be “ extensively used for many .articles “ which at present are made exclusively “ from flax.” Mr Thorne concludes a letter to the Dundee Advertiser on his favourite subject by remarking that, the practicable adaptability of the Phormium to textile manufactures having been proved beyond a doubt, it is hoped the colonists of New Zealand will be stimulated to proceed with the careful preparation of the fibre; and thus, whilst benefiting themselves, materially assist the' manufacturers of the United Kingdom by supplying a strong and useful product at a low cost. He may feel certain that the colonists will go on with the industry if they find it reasonably profitable.