THE Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17, 1880. A DIFFICULTY OBVIATED.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 90, 17 November 1880, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17, 1880. A DIFFICULTY OBVIATED.

" '\Y*iiU ;.re thiu^i, aud a drop at ink f.'.llia;; like ricv upon a tl.P'.T^lit, protlucos th>;k which makes thousands, perhaps millions think."

Whenever a difficulty crops up with our Yankee brethren at tbe other side of the Pacific, very little time is lost until some ingenious inventor or scientiest setsihiniselE to ove/come it, Some little time ago the grain growers m the Far We«t labored under exactly the same disadvantage as is now pressing so heavil} 7 upon our fellow colonists m the South Island — and not af< w in this Island also— the exliorbitant and ruinous rates charged for the transit of the merchandise to market. With oats at ont> shilling a bushel, as they have been during the past season m Canterbury, and other cereals of almost worthless value, hundreds of thousands of pounds have been lost to the farmer and the country, while if the rates of can-in ge to the sea rere lessened and the oommodity exported, treble tluit amount could be easily obtained m the English market. Unfortunately, however, for a consummation so devoutly to be wished, an important factor m the arrangement has to be considered, and the ques'.ion arises could the freight be reduced by the Railway Department to such a figure as will effect the desired end, and still not cause a loss to the State by the aot'.on. The good old motto '' The greatest good to the greatest number " will have a very strong bearing upon the question, and we confess our own opinion is that m a new country, such as ours is, it is the very narrowest policy for the State to weigh, pounds shillings and pence ag tinst eneouragempp.t to the farmer and the settlor, and the development of the country. This is essentially tho case wilh regard to the working of railways. Were the lines under the control of, and a speculation belonging to, private companies, we could well understand a rigid adherence to the policy of making them pay ; and even as they are at resent, we are fully alive to the necessity of taking all legitimate steps to make them remunerative and reproductive. J3nt there is this difference between the railways m the hands of the Governmenl, and the same industry m charge of a private company : In the one ea<e. even though the granting r.f certain concessions may entail a loss to the department, still the advantage this gives may be looked upon as so many bonuses given_ for the development of new industries, a return for which is sure to flow into the coffers of the State four fold. There are various ways m which loss will be recouped.- By the assistance thus given the struggling settler he will be encouraged to improve his land, and with the knowledge thaifacilities are placed at hi* command to convey the fruits of his la'ior to a remunerative market, he will be anred with an incentive to develop his industry, no matter whether it be the raising of stock, the supplying of timber, or the production of cereals. As, we have before said the Grain growers of the Par West of the American Continent had to contend with the same difficulties that are agifating the agricultural mind m this colony ; but wiitii the agitation of the American mind there followed thinkimr nnd that was followed by working, and eh* result of the three has been that the, difficulty has been obviated, and a perfect revolution has been created m the carriage of grain. It will be remembered that that commodity when m transit is not only heavy but a dead weight, and consequently the powev of traction for its haulage such considerable jom-nies as are made m the States, .needed not. only to be very powerful, but proved very expensive. An enterprising and ingenious Yankee, nam.-vl Pbosskh, pnt his wits to work, and the result has been that he has invented and patented a grain car by which a given weight of grain can be moved wilh one-tenth less power than by the present method. It is also stated that the wear, tenr, and cost of handling, are also reduced, the rolling action of the nylinders m which the grain is. euclosed. having a beneficial effect upon it, inasmuch as m subjecting it to the rubbing process it removes impurities and makes subsequent complete purification a comparatively easy task. In order to give our readers \ some definite idea ofathe principle upon which the patentee has constructed Ins invention, we quote the extract from the Scientific American : — • Tho cjt, as ab present coinVrncfcefl, is s.iir.yv four huge, cylinders a lif le ov»' si\- feet i-i rjiamoter, inp.de of boiler iron. Tliese nre hold m place by si suitable frame, -wl aye roofed over ho Hiat the train men can bare i'ro& p if ,n,ro. ovsv t:)ic car, but; this is by no means an ;ol'itolv r ii-!<?e-'.sai -v. The cylinders are the wliee's, ind-Mie srrain is put, (Vveeily m them and rolled over a.nd over to warlcot. The effect upon : hv sv.iti by •")' : nr-i-an«emo;it is boneliui, .1, not injnrio-is, us many foarorl it' wonlil be before i l \ra-i -\nt frito p.chiai use, the question of a'tarit: m ha-.-; \ > ! teen c-e fully considered and fully met. All railvorid men who have vodo upou it, wi-l c -raf-^'v -"Virvxl Us nation, unqualifiedly endorse it, nurl His claimed that the trreat pvoblam of t.i ■; -irnsovi' 'lav '-.as ■ 'en solved by the invention of tlm Proper car. I>, hn.e made it possible for our rn ! 'i- vul-: to 't!m>s:i irt the in : ' lions of bushels of h.;iin i:o-.v i,i fcJio lois'---1112: criba .a:id elevators m the Western S : :>. es (o the starving millions of IT roim at a coqt ro low that the water lines cannot compete — made it possible to carry ten bushels of grain for what it now costs to curry one. By the new invention millions of acres which hitherto, hays boon looked upon as utterly, valueless, not on aconinf of the unfruitfiilness of the soil, hut the utter impossibility of eretH-iif its produce to market at a remunerative price, has now gone up to ftbulous rates, w<{

tue new invention has also proved a new era to the agriculturists of the Western wilds. The principleupon which Pnosseb has worked out his scheme is so plain that, even without the aid of the excellent illustration which graces our scientific conteinporaiy, it must bo quite comprehensible to the most unscientific mind. The dead-weight of the grain is entirely done away w\"th, and as" each monster cylinder revolves, its contents roll over aud is an aidto its locomotion. With the introduction eff this true Friend to the farmer, the Government would not only be enabled to reduce tli3 freight to a tenth of its present rate, but as has been shown would effect a very large saving m weai*, teai*, and cost of handling. It may be urged, however, that the outlay for the supply of the stock would be considerable. Well, granted ; but even supposing the rate of carriage were only reduced to a fifth of its present figure, and the other fifth were put by as a siuking fund to pay the cost of the rolling stock, the boon would prove the saving of the farmer, aui of so m port ant a matter as the agricultural interest must be admitted Io be. We are by no means advocates for the importation into this colony of foreign machinery, but when the step is fraught with such beneficial results, wothhilr all minor conViderations should be set asii.lp, and the-policy of the Government should bo%fce conservation of the most importa^Mfcijh'rest m the colony, and const'qmMiuy, the bestowal of the greatest good upou the greatest number.