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H.—22

The pottery works at Paparoa are closed, owing to the same (roads and freights). The owners of the brick and tile yards at Paparoa have gone to considerable expense in machinery; their bricks, &c, are the best in the Auckland Province: and yet they will be obliged to close the yards and move their machinery elsewhere, owing to bad roads and heavy freights. "We grow wool and send it to England to be manufactured into cloth, &c, and then import back again. We have a gentleman here in Ihe county who, if he saw the slightest chance of success, would commence a woollen factory, he having the requisite knowledge of the work, and means of doing it. No roads and the cost of freights bar this industry. We have a steam flour-mill on the river. We do not grow wheat, because wo cannot get it to the waterside, and wheat for the mill must come from Sydney or Adelaide. Every settler must use a sledge or nothing, as we have no roads for wheeled vehicles. There is a two-wheeled dray about five miles from here on the road ; it has been there to my knowledge for the last six months, and cannot find a purchaser, and the owner leaves it there to rot, not being able to use it. We have some of the finest land in the colony in this county, and could grow all kinds of fruits in abundance ; and if we had roads to a market could supply the whole colony with jams and canned fruits, for which we now pay large sums annually to Tasmania and the United States. Grapes we could grow in any quantity, and we now grow more than we can consume ; and it pays to grow them if we had a market, as we get 20s. per 100 lb. for them here; but we cannot get them to Auckland, though it would pay at that price. Help us to get roads, and the despised North will show you what it can do in the way of local industries. 1 have, &c, W. Whitakee Ariell, Chairman.

No. 9. The Chairman, Rodney County Council, to the Chairman of the Local Industries Commission. Sir,— Warkwortb, 16th April, 1880. I have to acknowledge receipt of your circular requesting information regarding the local industries and manufactures in this district. In reply, I have the honor to inform you that, although no county in New Zealand offers greater inducements for the establishment of manufactories, owing to its unrivalled water-communication and the number of places where water-power is available, the want of capital among the settlers has prevented their embarking in such undertakings to any considerable extent; and the same cause has also retarded the development of the mineral wealth of the county. A number of settlers have for some years devoted considerable attention to vine-growing and winema.king, an industry to which this part of the colony seems peculiarly adapted. They produce a good, 1 palatable wine. Owing to their limited capital, however, their production is small, and they are unable to compete with the imported Australian wines in the Auckland market. If, however, existing restrictions were removed, so that they might be enabled to dispose of their wine in quantities of not less than two gallons, they would be able to sell in their respective localities more than they can produce. I have been requested to call the attention of the Commission to this matter, hoping they will be enabled to make such a recommendation as may tend materially to assist in developing what is likely to become a most important industry in the district north of Auckland. As the Commission must be well aware, coal and many other minerals have been found in different parts of the county, but no payable coal scam has yet been discovered. An attempt was made some years since to open a coal mine at Mangawai, but for want of capital was unsuccessful. A recent discovery at the head, of the Mahurangi Eiver promises better results, and boring is likely to be commenced forthwith. The production and grinding of hydraulic lime, which is reputed to be quite equal to cement for many purposes, is the only other industry to which I think it requisite to draw your attention. I have, &c, Heney Palmer, Chairman.

No. 10. The Joist Committee of the Borough and County Councils of the Thames to the Chairman of the Local Industries Commission. Thames, 22nd April, 1880. Report. A circular letter was received from the Chairman of the Eoyal Commission on Local Industries, appointed by Parliament during the session of 1879, asking for suggestions regarding local industries and manufactures of the district. On receipt of such circular the Borough and County Councils appointed a joint committee to obtain information, and invited, by advertisements, persons to meet them engaged in manufacturing articles, the which manufactures were affected by the tariff now in force in the colony. As the result of that meeting, and of other letters sent to them, find, — 1, That manufacturers of sauces and condiments ask that glass bottles suitable for holding such manufactures should be free, and that the present duties on sugar, vinegar, and spices should be reduced by drawback or rebate, on proof being given that such articles have been used in such manufactures; or, failing this, an increased duty be imposed on imported sauces and condiments, to cover the duty the local manufacturer here has to pay on the articles he uses in their manufacture. 2. That the local industry of fruit growing and preserving, either as whole or tinned fruits, or as jams, should be protected and fostered by an increased duty on the same articles imported. In Melbourne the duty on tinned fruits is 2d. per pound ; in America, and also Tasmania, a heavy duty is imposed, yet in these countries labour is much cheaper than in New Zealand —both that of the labourer working