THE Wellington Independent. Tuesday, December 10,1861. SOMETHING FOR NOTHING.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVI, Issue 1692, 10 December 1861, Page 2

THE Wellington Independent. Tuesday, December 10, 1861. SOMETHING FOR NOTHING.

" T&sfr whatever tha.t^ something . "^isi, (wefaiioy^e h,ear our resets payiiig),^© ate surVit ia''not'wor^K-vtivi|ig.; l -V''iT^e^. 81*6 wrong, however, "for the Colony ,'ijatft" lately had " sott*e'thitig "of very .great value presented to, it *' for nothing," as they will presently, most readily admit. It is not often we get ''something for noihing," and it is very rarely indeed that anything: worth having is made a* present to the publio; but we have now very much pleasure in laying before our readers an account of the important and truly valuable gift which .Mr. Whytlaw of Auckland has, in a most unselfish and patriotic spirit recently made a present to his fellow settlers throughout the Colony, Some of our readers may -have lately seen a small blue covered pamphlet entitled " New Zealand Flax: its culture and preparation for the purposes of manufacture/ of which some half dozen copies have been sent down from Auckland ; but very few of them have probably had the curiosity to. read it. They have possibly read pamphlets on Flax, until the subject- ia one which they have come to regard with very little immediate interest, so that the title of the pamphlet before us is, perhaps, one of the least taking that could be suggested. In this instance, however, they will do well to , peruse it most attentively, as it is one of the most plain, straight-forward, and important brochures yet written on this subject, und possesses the additional attraction of explaining the truly simple method of preparation pursued by Mr. Whytlaw for some years, By this process Mr. Whytlaw has prepared for some time past large quantities, of flax at a cost of less than £10 per (on, which have met with a ready sale in jAuokland at £22 10s., and £23, and in Melbourne at £30 per ton. Circumstances now induce him to retire froo* the pursuit, and with a view to prevent any 'single individual from patenting the process for 1 bis own advantage, be has published it \ for general information. Thisis '" Something" whioh has been given to us "for nothing," and when we state that a 1 machine can be made by an ordinary mechanic for a few pounds, we think our readers will agree with us that Mr. Whytlaw 's gift is a most valuable one— a gift whioh will hand down, that gentleman's name as one of the greatest benefuctors this colony as yet bad. As we purpose publishing the whole of . this important pamphlet in our next, we shall only to day give a sketch of its contents. •■•■';,. Mr. Whytlaw first visited Auckland in 1842-3, at a time when everbody was trying chemical experiments to cleanse V the flax from its gummy properties. Bis own attention was turned to the subject, on a return to Auckland in 1847, His plan then was to purchase the native dressed flax at from £15 to £20 per ton, and, by a chemical prooess of his ofon, ' prepare it for the Home market where it realised from £50 to £60 per ton. The' difficulty of getting flax from the natives obliged him to abandon that process. An account of a public trial of the process is given, which unfortunately failed through the carelessness of the workmen. It consisted of steeping the flax, in a solution of caustio potash or soda, which,, at a beat of 160° to 200° F.areuheit, effectually dissolves the gummy matter and renders the flax sou and pliable without injuring its strength; but if the temperature is raised above that point or the water allowed to boil/ the fibre is instantly destroyed. In the trial* above mentioned, the 4 or 5 owts,, , subjected to experiment was. thus oare\ „ lessly treated, aud' his partners brute, up the concern apparently in disgust. Sometime afterwards a sudden thought produced the idea of mechanically cleaning the flax across the leaf instead of along it. The thought was immediately put into praotice and— " Eureka"— the secret was discovered. A working model was confidentially worked before three gentlemen with the most satisfactory result. The principle of the machine is that of a common parallel ruler; if one part of it is held fixed and the other allowed to work on a flax leaf inserted between the two, the motion of Mr. Whytlaw's machine is produced. A minute description of the machine is given, and with such clearness, that an ordinary mechanic will be able to make one. Its size is only about 2 feet long, 1 foot high, and 14 inches wide, and when worked by the aid of a boy (who inserts: the leaves and removes the dressed flax)' will produce about 100 lbs. in a day. Th© machines can be worked by hand, or if

21,090 ounces of gold, of which 15.402 came from Tuapeka, and 5,688 ounces fom Waitahuna. • After the books olo^d, more gold was offered at the receiving office in Waitahuua, and next waek it is anticipated the quantity from thenoe will be at least double. A few miles from Waitahuna, Inspector Cad ell, discovering an imperfection in one of ' the wheels of the waggon, though it prudent to transfer the gold dray, Which he procured through the courtesy of Mr. Mills, agent for Messrs. Cole and Company, the coach proprietors. The escort had to walk to Tokomairiro, at which place it arrived at one o'clock in the morning. At daylight -'" the waggon under repair, and at eleven o'clock the Escort started frop Tokomairiro, reaching Dunedin at six o'clock,— an hour earlier than fast week. Mnoh credit is due to Mr. Cardell for the promptness with which he arrived in Dunedin, To watch the arrival (if the escort is the r only relaxation which the busy folks of the town permit^emselve ; a considerable crowd always; alb enables as soon as they desory the corfl&gscoming over the hills in the distance. Certainly tjbe ' arrangements are very satisfactory, and the esbbrt is composed of a finelooking disciplined body of men. Dunedin has secured tbe pick of the Victorian .constabulary force. The news from Gabriel's Gully speaks of continued success among the miners. Large finds are still being made; one instance has been cited to us of three miners who have only been three weeks J in the colony, having already realised a considerable amount of gold in a claim they were fortunate enough to secure. At VVaitahuna, the miners are also doing very well. Great inconveuience is experienced here through there being no Magistrate. Captain Baldwin's appointment by the general Government has not yet arrived— another instance of the'inconvenience of being so long a distance from the seat of Government. In respect to^the Blue Mountain rush, nothing further is knowi^j the general impression is that there is something in it. Perkins, who led away several hundred men from Waitahuna, is stated to have , declared that if he did not bring . them to the rush he would consent to their killing his bullocks, burning his dray, and doing what they liked with him • self. The locality is variously surmised ; some flay ibe Mataura; others, between McKenzieand Mcßab's stations; others, the land slip on the Pomahaka. A most ludicrous affair has occurred at Waitahuna with tbe new bank of New Zealand. The manager or inspector de i termined not to remain idle whilst his premises were being completed in Dunedin, went to the diggings and (i purchased "~ £10,000 worth of gold, after which he took his departure, probably very well satisfied with bis labours. Unfortunately the note's of his own bajik, which he issued in payment, were dated in advance, the Ist December, and as this day falls on a Sunday, they are in a legal aspect worthless, except in a Court of Equity. The other banks, with extreme narrow mindednes taking advantage of the error, refused to aocept then), and then suoh a row ensued as has seldom occurred before. The miners thought they had been duped, and one storekeeper, who had issued a great number of the notes in purchase of gold, was arrested for gold on false pretences. He was ohained to a bed post, aud in the morning marched to Tuapeka, with other prisoners. Of course the case was dismissed. Other storekeepers had to find cash to t&ke up the notes they had purchased gold with, and the storekeeper with whom the manager stayed, was threatened with having his premises pulled down. It is difficult to say which was the more culpable, the stupidness of the mistake or the iliiberality of the other banks in taking advantage of it. — Witness. We understand that at tbe New Zealand Bank premises in Raltray-street, sovereign? are being paid for the postdated, notes so unfortunately issued.—Ibid, Nov. 26. <»■ — —