INDUSTRIES AND MANUFACTURES IN VICTORIA.

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D.—No. 23.

Enclosure 1 in No. 2. Regulations for expending the Sum of JPive Thousand Pounds, voted hy Parliament in the Year 1864 for the promotion of New Manufactures and Industries. 1. The Governor in Council shall appoint a Board, to whom shall be referred the consideration of all claims for premiums or rewards under the above grant. 2. Such sums as may be recommended by the said Board shall (subject to the approval of the Governor in Council) be paid to the persons or company who shall first successfully establish in Victoria any new manufacture or production. 8. Precedence of claim will be given to the following items, and the reward measured by the excellence and extent of the manufacture or article produced: — Woollen Goods. —Blankets, rugs, flannels, cloth, or other woollen fabrics of general use. Papbe.—Wrapping, printing, or writing. Glass. —Sheet or plate glass, tumblers, wine glasses, or bottles. Ceockeey.—China, porcelain, or any of the finer classes of earthenware. Leathee. —For excellence in the manufacture of leather for other and higher purposes than the sole and kip leather now produced. Olive Oil. , —The produce of trees grown in Victoria (the quantity not being less than 100 gallons). Flax. —Not less than one ton, properly prepared for manufacturing purposes. Flax (oe Linseed) Oil.—Not less than 100 gallons, properly prepared for manufacturing purposes. Hemp.—Not less than one ton, properly prepared for manufacturing purposes. Cottohv —Not less than one ton, properly prepared for manufacturing purposes. Hops.—Not less than one ton, properly prepared. Silk. —Not less than one cwt., the produce of silkworms bred in Victoria. 4. It shall be competent for the Board to receive, and, if approved of, to recommend rewards for other articles of local manufacture or production, or to offer and publish such special rewards or premiums as it may think fit; and also to refuse reward or premium to any new article of growth or manufacture, if it is not considered to be of merit and usefulness sufficient to entitle it to favourable consideration.

Enclosure 2 in No. 2. Department of Trade and Customs, Melbourne, 30th December, 1864. The Board appointed by His Excellency the Governor in Council, to consider claims for rewards or premiums out of the vote of £5,000 granted for the promotion of new manufactures and industries in accordance with the [Regulations submitted to Parliament on the Ist June last, have the honor to submit the following Eeport :■ — The Board held their preliminary meeting on the 7th July last, when Mr. Francis, the Commissioner of Trade and Customs, was elected Chairman, and Mr. Greville, Secretary. It was resolved that a notice should be published in the Government Gazette requesting persons, deeming themselves entitled to rewards or premiums under the Eegulations, to forward their claims to the Secretary, and directing particular attention to the 4th clause of the Eegulations. In accordance with that decision, a notice, accompanied by a copy of the Eegulations, was duly published in the Gazette, and copies were also forwarded to the Mayors of all the boroughs in the Colony for exhibition in their respective Town Halls. On the Ist November the Board held another meeting, at which it was resolved that further public notice should be given through the newspapers; that, with the view of enabling all persons desirous of making application for rewards or premiums under this vote to prefer their claims, applications would be entertained up to the 30th November (after which date none would be received), and that a meeting of the Board should be held on the Ist December to consider all claims previously lodged. It was further resolved that the consideration of all applications should be postponed to the date specified. In conformity with the above resolutions, the Board met again on the Ist December, when all applications previously received, fifty-eight in number, were considered. The Board resolved that the application of the vote of £5,000 must, under its terms, be limited to new manufactures and industries which had been or might be initiated or perfected since the vote received the sanction of Parliament. In arriving at this decision the Board were actuated by what, it is understood, was the intention of the Legislature in passing the vote, and by the 2nd clause of the Eegulations, which provides that " such sums as may be recommended by the said Board shall (subject to the approval of the Governor in Council) be paid to the persons or company who shall first successfully establish in Victoria any new manufacture or production." The Board then decided that thirty-five of the applications were prohibited under the resolution above referred to, or for other reasons which were carefully considered in each individual application, as not coming within the intention of the vote ; that the remaining applications should be reconsidered ; and that the applicants should be requested to furnish more detailed information as to the date of commencement, the quantities manufactured, the prices wholesale and retail, the number of persons engaged in the manufacture, and the periods during which they had been or were to be employed. On the 15th December the reserved applications, twenty-three in number, were reconsidered, and it was decided that eight of the number were prohibited for similar reasons to those given with respect to the claims disallowed on the Ist instant. It was also resolved that Mr. Thomas Kenny's claim, with respect to the manufacture of paper, could not be acceded to, as, although extensive preparations in plant and machinery are in progress, the actual production of paper has not yet been accomplished.

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