The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1907. NEW INDUSTRIES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13315, 18 June 1907, Page 4

The Timaru Herald TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1907. NEW INDUSTRIES.

The committee • of the Chamber of Commerce at. tiieir meeting onFriday evening added to the directions in which they have already done useful. work, by commencing a consideration of the possibility of establishing new industries in South Canterbury. In the abstract report supplied to us of the proceedings of the committee, a few industries—-soap and candle making, biscuit making, sausage jskins, quaker oats, rope and twine, and "starch—were mentinned. We 'are informed that sanitary pipe. hialcing' wjis also brought up ones member, with the. suggestion that the demand for pipes for Timaru's underground drainage system' would -be a goocU start for this industry. 'The-* coihmiit'ee came to a wisis chhciusioji in deciding to try and get ihforjnation regarding the coat: of the plant ans buildings required for- various industries. The action bf ' flie' "co'mmitiee in taking up the question of &bending ojjr local industri'es is entirely 'commendable, and it is rather a pity that, when the Chamber of Commerce was formed, the possibility of adding this line of ness was jiot fully recognised and indicated in the title of ji "Chaihber of ..Commerce and Industries.'' However, if the otgani- . sation does tilie work, the name signifies litjKe We believe thai* there is a considerable amount of money in the district awaiting profitable investmentand. it would -be betts'r" employed in establishing new industries than in erecthig palatial commercial' premises. The opportunities for profitable s investments of 'that kind, appear to be limited on ilie one hand' by the sanallness of variety in raw materials available, and' on the other by the smallness of the local market. Consideration should be given, of course, to industries for the carrying on of which South Canterbury possesses some special advantages, if such can be pointed out. It would le inadvisable, for instance,. to establish factories for the production of commodities already being manufactured in the colony under conditions as favourable as they would be -here.' The limitations of the. market would make the venture a risky one. Of the industries mentioned by the, committee of the Chamber, soap and' candle making, and rope and twine making, appear to be thrown into the doubtful list' by this consideration. Sausage skins are now beng made at the freezing works. Biscuit making and the preparation of " quaker oats," on the other hand, would seem to be natural addenda to our extensive flour-milling trade. Biscuit making, especially, should offer an opening, when Timaru flour is sent to Auckland and brought back in the shape of biscuits. The successful manufacture of sanitary pipes depends upon a number of favourable circumstances, of which the principal are suitable and easily accessible raw material, cheap fuel, and a minimum of transport cost. There are many varieties of clays in South Canterbury, and . the Chamber would be doing a valuable work if it caused some practical tests to be made of the quality of clays that are to l>e found in easily accessible situations, and obtained information regarding the practice of mixing ingredients for the manufacture of pipes. We would, suggest that inquiry might usefully be made whether or hot suitable materials for the manufacture of hydraulic cement exist in this district. Finally, the conversion of lignite into a more valuable, fuel by "lniquetting" may be found worthy of consideration. We have before us an article which shows that lignite is being profitably converted in Germany, and with a supply of raw material at hand and a market at present supplied by importations, tlif'e woidd seem to lie an opening for this

industry in South Canterbury. Tn making suggestions of this sort, however, we are to ;i. large exliiil, treading in it lie dark, for w have lioiio of the expert knowledge which is represented on the committee of tlm Chamber of ('i)nuvxMYc. We feel that the object, which tin* mem hers have at heart would ho more likely to be advanced if they rec|Uistvd the newspapers lo report thfir meetings at which » discussions take place, as in that way public interest would be M iinula-ted by information of jm authoritative character.