FLAX COMMISSIONERS.

77

G.—No. 4.

I certainly do not see from the present sample that the complaint has any ground whatever, as the yarns appear sound and good. I, however, merely hand over to you the complaint as I received it. No doubt strands in rope like No. 2 are ruined for rope-making, and would have to be sold for making paper, for which purpose they might probably bring an equal price, to refuse Manilla, namely, £10 a ton. I was shown some samples of fibre in which the leaves had merely been split down by hand hackling, after straining. So far from being injured (as we were led to believe would be the case) by contact with the intersticial matter during the voyage to England, these samples were stronger than any other I saw; whilst those most thoroughly whitened were the most liable to fraying, as in sample No. 2. This fraying can be prevented by tarring ; " but, then," the rope makers say, " you may as well send us a coarser article at a lower price ;" but it seemed to me that the extra price obtainable for the better dressed fibre, was more than sufficient to compensate for the additional labour necessary to bring it up to the required condition. No. 4, is a sample 1 received (while still in England) from a Mr. Anstey, a large land-owner in Canterbury Province. These leaves were cut near Christchurch in 1866. They lay " kicking about" for two years, no one being willing to strip them ; till they were used as dunnage between the cargo of a vessel going to London. They were, there (in about September, 1868), withdrawn from sale for £7 a ton, and subjected to a process of steeping in a solvent, and then cleaning by patent machinery. The result, of which No. sis a sample, was sold in a parcel of some tons, for £22 a ton. The transaction, I am told, was not a profitable one ; in fact, it left a decided loss, though the yield of fibre was 55 per cent, in weight of the dry leaves. Nos. 6 and 7 are samples of flax as it was received for treatment in Brazier's softening machine; No. 6 was found almost, if not quite, intractable ; but No. 7 was softened to the condition of sample No. 8. The machine consists of a number of corrugated rollers, working in a peculiar manner into each other, by which the fibre is bent to and fro. No. 9is a piece of sacking, woven in Dundee. The makers of it assured me they would never take the trouble to work it again; they had the same complaints as every other spinners I met who had tried the flax—■" That it would not twist, that it was too harsh, and not regularly cleaned;" but an inspection of sample No. 10 will surely satisfy any one that an article useful for many purposes is capable of being made from our fibre. This sample is from the identical parcel with No. 9 ; the difference being that No. 10 has been subjected to the immense pressure between iron rollers, which is the finishing operation through which all sack material is put. No. 11 is a clipping of cloth made some years ago in England, and was given to me before I started on my voyage. I believe the piece from which it was cut was used by a settler near Matakana to make a pair of trousers of, and he never could wear them out! I have also to show you two towels made of New Zealand flax, of the texture called, I believe, " huckaback." I have been unable to ascertain where they were woven, the nearest information being that they were made by a hand-weaver in a little country village in England. They bear a mark, 1863, and they are part of a set, the other part of which have been in use, as " kitchen and bedroom" towels, ever since that date. The fact of these present towels never having been used, is pretty conclusive evidence that those in use must have worn well! Samples 12 and 13 are merely those of Irish flax, in the raw and cleaned state, before, and after passing through the Brazier softening machine ; and I bring them forward, together with the samples of Manilla numbered 14, and of Dutch and Swiss flax, numbered 15 and 16, simply to show the relative position New Zealand flax may take in the list of fibres with which it has been compared. I regret that I omitted to obtain a sample of Bombay jute, which is the fibre New Zealand flax is supposed most likely to supplement in the sack manufacture. Jute is very much softer than any sample of New Zealand flax I have ever seen, though of course not so strong. The difference of fineness between New Zealand flax and jute will be understood from the fact that enormous quantities of jute are prepared in Glasgow to supply the London market with materials for false hair and chignons, a purpose flax is hardly delicate enough for! Jute sells for £30 a ton ; Manilla for about £45; and it was impressed upon me that New Zealand Flax would always, if well cleaned, bring the same price as Bombay jute; but, to command a high price the cleanest article must be sent forward, and oven then only the best samples would be chosen in the presence of the large quantities expected. The conclusions I draw from my examination of the matter, and which I wish to offer, are, that a genuine article must be 'produced ; that the bales sent home must resemble each other in general outward appearance, in size and in form ; and the marks put on the bales must be a guarantee that the quality is uniform, and can be depended upon. And if—when we have done all we can to recommend our flax, by careful manufacture and honest sampling—it is still rejected through prejudice, the only thing that is left for us is to manufacture it for our own use, on our own soil, with our own capital and skill, and for our own profit. When the world sees that jit serves our purposes well, they will be ready enough to share it with us.

[Extract from the Southern Cross, 25th April, 1871.] Mr. J. C. White's Patent Flax Machine. The process which forms the subject of this notice is one which commends itself to the favourable notic6 of flax dressers. It is a great improvement on many of the old machines, but whether in the right direction or not it is hard to say, as it is impossible to decide what the right principle of flax cleaning will yet prove to be ; but it is certain that it will prove as efficacious as simple when once discovered. Some time ago we briefly referred to the existence of Mr. White's machine, but, the invention being then unsecured, no description of it was published. By the last mail from the South Mr. AVhite received the necessary documents to secure his right, and longer secrecy need not therefore be maintained. Yesterday it was set in motion, driven by a belt from the engine in Mr. 20