THE IRON BONUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2062, 31 August 1893, Page 35

THE IRON BONUS.

EXPERIMENTS AT ONEHUNGA. (From Ooa Special Coeeespondent.) WELLINGTON, August 25. Some recent experiments at the Onehunga Ironworks gave rise this afternoon to an interesting and at times amusing discussion. Mr Earnshaw asked the Government to explain what results the colony had received for the £300 of the £500 bonus placed upon the Estimates in regard to the iron industry, and if the lines of the proclamation had been carried out by the persons who had received the £300 ; also would the Government state who had received the money. ■ The Premier replied that the officer of the Public Works department, who had superintended the operations of the Onehunga Iron Works Company, reported that in round numbers about 350 tons of marketable iron had been produced. As, however, some scrap and cast iron had been used, the bonus was paid on 300 tons only. The money had been received by Mr H. Kent, managing director of the Onehunga Ironworks Company. The bonus had been offered for the best 500 tons of iron made from New Zealand titanic ore. The member for the Peninsula said £300 had beeu paid for a tin-pot experiment. The giving of bonuses was a pernicious system. They should only be awarded when a deliberate attempt was made to develop an industry on commercial lines. The Onehunga works to a large extent simply existed for the development of the scrap iron of the colony. This roused the ire of the enthusiastic member for New Plymouth, who convulsed the House with his description of the operations. So confident had he been of the skill of the workmen, that, to use his own words, "I was able to superintend them in my white westkifc and belltopper, sir." With the works at One--hunga he said all the iron required for railway works could be made at 25 per cent, less than that for which they could be imported. The trials and troubles of greab inventors eank into insignificance compared with his in pioneering the great iron industry of New Zealand. Mr Dutbie said he had offered to take £500 worth of iron that could be made at Onehunga and pay the invoice price for the same kind .of goods and the duty. Mr Allen said it was apparent the iron had not been made entirely from New Zealand ores. Mr Bruce maintained that if there was a prospect of a payable industry ib would flow in the direction of Taranaki iron sand. Mr O'Conor considered the money had been well spent inasmuch as the experiments had shown New Zealand iron ore could be utilised for commercial purposes. Mr E. M. Smith rose to high rhetorical altitudeo in reply to Mr Bruce's words. Mr Earnshaw, he said, knew nothing about it if he called the experiments pettifogging. The result of the experiments had been sent to the Imperial Institute aud had attracted so much attention tbafc Sir Juli us Vogel had succeeded in raising £10,000 for the purpose of utilising the colony's mineral resources, and an expert had just arrived in the colony to investigate and report upon them. It had been said that Mr Allen (who had studied metallurgy) and Mr Earnshaw had pronounced against the experiments; but said Mr Smith, referring to the latter, "Am I, who have been through the chief shops in England, to come into this House, sir, to bo compared to a brass-cock filer? There is enough in New Zealand iron ore to pay the national debt, in spite of what the colony may say." The House literally held its sides with laughter, and even the Premier, who at first was deeply chagrined at the interruption of regular business, was tickled into good humour at the sally. Mr Merrick, the expert referred to, was m the House during the discussion. He has seen Mr Jaokson Palmer about the Barrier silver wine,