The New Zealand Herald. AUCKLAND, THURSDAY, SEPT. 5, 1867.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IV, Issue 1189, 5 September 1867, Page 3

The New Zealand Herald.

AUCKLAND, THURSDAY, SEPT. 5, 1867.

SI'KCTJSMUK AGENDO. " Give every man thino ear, but few tliy voice: - . ; Take each man's oansure, but reserve tliy judgment. This above all,—To tlilne own self be trne And it must follow, aa tho'night tliQ'day.. TLon oamt uot tli«n ie faUe to any man."

No more important social and commercial movement has been set on foot amongst us for some time past, than that of the 3?lax Hackling Societies. It is something more than a mere temporary means of affording relief to so many men who may in the present depressed state of the colony, bo out of employment. Out of it will grow a new and productive industry, which carried on fromone end of the province to the other, will become a material agency in effecting the reclamation and cultivation of our waste lands. The first settlers in newly-opened districts have needed, more especially of late, some employment to fall back upon from whence they could replenish exhausted funds and find the means of enabling themselves again to turn to and contend with the difficulties and cost of • cultivation, or to wait until their cattle grew into a source of profit. Some years ago, before saw mills became scattered up and down the Province, and while as yet the land occupied by the settler, lay chiefly in the immediate neighbourhood of water carriage, the cutting and carting of building materials afforded such assistance to hundreds, and enabled them to weather out the first few years of settlement, until the farm itself became self-supporting. This resort, however, no longer exists. The land nowbeing occupied, oven if there were a remtinerative sale for building material, lies too far back from water carriage to enable the settler to turn his attention to lumbering as an auxiliary to the cultivation of his farm. It is just this want that the preparing of the ■pliormium tenax, or New Zealand flax, steps in to supply. In most neighbourhoods the flax is growing indigenously in more or less quantities. In all districts it may bo cultivated at no great expense ordelay—andwhenafield ofitis once planted the work is done, tho growth is' perennial. A simple contrivance for Bteaming the leaves, an inexpensive hackling machine, a rough shed, and the outlay is over. - The settler has then means of turning every wet day to account, of turning the sparo time of his elder children into that which he so much needs, ready-cash, to purchase that which his farm will not grow, or to purchase tho bonedust and guano without which, he cannot cultivate his land to advantago In fine, ho has the means, within himself and upon his own farm, of earning as much money during one porton of the year as will enable Mm to devote the remainder of the year to the reclamation of his land. We shall hear of no more settlers being driven off their land, of no more failures in settlement, when once the use of the hackle becomes widely known and appreciated throughout the country districts.

Already the movement, commenced with tho object of affording temporary relief to tho working men out of employment in Auckland, is taking hold of the attention of the more needy country settlers who are seeking to make it an auxiliary to their own regular occupation. There are hundreds, of families on bush farms whose prospects of progress are, far from cheering, if they themselves can find no extraneous source from whence they can obtain the means to elce out the cost of living, and of Avorkingtheir land. Of these, some struggling slotfly on may ultimately succeed, others again will be forced to succumb and leave their lands to run back again into a state of nature or to be occupied by others. To all such the opportunity of earning upon their farms a weekly sum of even ten or fifteen shillings, means, not only the certainty of successful settlement, but of more speedy prosperity, and of less hardship and privation in its attainment.

On Saturday next, we believe, a public meeting will bo held at Waiuku, by the settlers, when it is expected that a branch society to that now existing in Auckland will be established for the purpose of supplying tho families at the immigrant settlements Kohi Kohi, Wheri Wheri, and other places in the neighbourhood, with hackles and boilers, on terms similar to those on which they are lent by the Auckland Society. We heartily trust that the movement will receive every , support at the hands of tho wealthier settlors, not only of Waiuku, but of the surrounding country, even as far down as Papalcura and Otahuhu; and, we have no doubt that the Auckland Society will see their way to afford some little teiniporary assistance toward this very commendable effort on the part of the Waiuku settlers to. assist the immigrant five-acre holders in the Kohi Kohi and dthdr settlements.

There is not work for a twentieth part of . these men within.a day's tvalk of their homes,or we dare say beyond that distance, and the greater number of them are perfectly destitute. To what straits they have been driven may be judged from the simple fact, that they are living now on the potatoes they had saved ' for seed. These immigrant settlements are part of the legacy left us by the Weld Ministry, and represent a portion of that profit which this Province is sometimes stated by Southern men to have gained by tho war. Still we cannot the less feel for their necessities, and but for the restricted state of its treasury the Flax Hackle Benevolent*. Society would doubtless at once extend its operations to each one of these unfortunate settlements. As it is, wo hope that the society may see its way clear to. assist the settlers of Waiuku in setting a comof ten or twelve of these men at work in Kolii Kolii, which we are. informed is the most destitute settlement of them all, and that tho public will the more readily enable them to do so by a continuous support of the movement. Two companies of nineteen men have already been.fitted out.from Auckland and two more, ive believe, will be started in the course of a few davs. These men, it was intended, should have been sent to Waiuku. We trust, however, that the Auckland society -will see the advisability of finding for them some other field for their labours. Why send them to Waiuku, when the flai: there will be required by the destitute of the immigrant settlements in that neighbourhood.. By leaving the Waiuku flax fields tothose menwe shall enable them to find work without leaving their small farms. If we send men from Auckland to work up their flax fields, the Waiuku men will bye and bye be compelled to leave their own district in search of flax. This would be an injustice. Equally available fields in another direction will, we have no doubt, be easily found for the Auckland companies, and that at least four moro companies will be sent out during the present month. Increased funds, however, are required to provide hackles for the numerous applicants, there being at the present .time moro applicants by three-fourths than the society, with the funds at present at its disposal, is able to supply. We believe, however, that this fact only requires to be generally known to cause a ready response on the part of the public.

We are glad to say that the system of steaming the flax, by wliicli the article when dressed, becomes really a valuable and marketable commodity, Las been so far simplified that it has been decided upon supplying every company of nine men sent out, with a boiler, steaming boxes, &c. This saves the expense of three hackles out of nine, ! and costs considerably less, the apparatus, boiler, pipes, aud boxes, not costing more than a couple of pounds. Not only, too, is the quality of the flax when dressed, considerably improved by the steaming, but the work is inuchligliter upouthe haekler. Amau can dress a far larger quantity of the steamed flax, than he can of the other in a given time. Wo were shown the whole process in operation, yesterday, in Wakefield-street. An excellent sample of dressed flax was produced, soft in texture, and which, when washed and bleached, would we were assured be also of excellent colour. The hackle used was that made by Mr. Masefield. It seems to us that a still finer and more marketable article could be produced by usiug hackles of different texture, for every company of men, nine in number, say two hackles similar to those now used, by which the flax could bo first broken down, and four hackles with finer teeth and more closcly set on which the broken down leaves could be dressed to a very fine state. Ifc might, too, possibly be found that the'work would be lightened and the fibre more easily separated if the teeth were made triangular, instead of round, the base of the triangle being towards the operator, the apex being sufficiently blunt not to cut tho fibre.