THE FLAX SITUATION.

Manawatu Times, Volume LXV, Issue 656, 4 March 1909, Page 5

THE FLAX SITUATION.

SOMETHING ABOUT ROYALTIBS. We have received from flaxmillers and owners communications whioh contest the statements made by Mr Robinson and other delegates of the Workers' Union to the Minister for Labour at Wellington on several poiuts, but especially as regards royalties. They olaim that regarding tho latter the statements made were quite misleading. Regarding Mr Akora' case one millet puts it: "In common justico to Mr Abers it has to be remembered that for 20 years he kept up his faith and kept the flax on the land when it would have paid him better to burn it off. To the first mill there lie let the right at £6 per week whioh included a mill building, right to out flax, right to mill site, firewood, grazing for horses, eto. Flax ran from £lB to £26, the average being £l7 to £lB, and millers did exceedingly well. "Next he gave similar privileges for.a 10 per cent, royalty, on the price the bemp sold at in Wellington. The price then ruled very high and the millers did exceedingly well. "When that term was up he gave the rights as above for 20 per cent, on the price of hemp in Wellington, with a five years' lease—no oharge for the mill site, firewood, eto. Under all these the millers were able to get into a strong position, and now having given them the fat years 1)0 is asked to oorne down further. Looking back on it now he would have done better to have oharged higher when flax was high and to have been able to corno lower now. "Moutoa Estate has a sliding scale. It has been getting 22s 6d, but is now getting 7s fid. "Makerua is praotioally out of the flax supply bnsiness now and sells very little. , • "The trustees cf tho Hon. Walter Johnston supply mills with flax, and I believe they are getting 10s per ton royalty." . A miller writes on another phase. "Theie are two questions to consider. It takes a number of years to develop a crop of flax. You can't I sow it in the spring and reap it in ' the autumn. Then the first ontting is always very light. Also, we have ! no absolute proof yet that flax is | going to bo a permanent crop. Ground gets siok of growing any par- , tionlar crop, and tho result of steady, cutting over the Bame lands has yet to reveal itself. Perhaps we may yet get, as Mr MoNab believes, flax grown as a orop by ordinary farmers, some sort of flax that matures quiokly and permits the outting of outside > leaves. Bnt all that is in the ' future."

It is olaimed that apart from the rights and wrongs of the royalty question these figures show a different position to that placed before the Minister. "A Flax Owner" writes:—"l would like to ask Mr Robinson and his colleagues among the flax workers what they are going to do if they get the Government to cut down the royalties and then we flax owners out down the flax and turn the land to dairying? No doubt these men who he says are not willing to go to the Arbitration Oourt with the owners and get the award mado reasonable, will be quite happy then to get jobs with the oow-spankers on a 12hour day at thirty bob a week. It will bo _up to Mr Robinson then to 'deal with' the dairy farmers, and ask Mr Hogg to get the lation of of skim milk Inoreased, and the hours reduced to 10%,"