April i, 1904.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



233 



THE INDIA-RUBBER TRADE IN GREAT BRITAIN. 



By Our Regular Correspondent. 



THE interesting paper on asphalt read by Mr. Sutherland 

 before the Faraday Society and made accessible to the 

 rubber trade in a contemporary forms a welcome con- 

 tribution to the literature of the subject. The compo- 

 sition of certain mixtures or compounds well known in the in- 

 sulated cable trade is only hinted at darkly, and 



MINERAL . . -.,... , 



caoutchouc ,r 1S possible that the author did not care to let 

 the public too closely into his confidence. With 

 regard to Callender's Cable Co., it has been generally supposed 

 that they have a monopoly of the the product of the Trinidad 

 pitch lake, from which their "Bitite" is made; on the other 

 hand, it is stated in recent work on the chemistry of India-rub- 

 ber that the Callender compound is made of stearine pitch, 

 quite a different body. But dealing with the question of mo- 

 nopoly alone, it must be remembered that within quite recent 

 times considerable deposits of bitumen resembling that of 

 Trinidad have been discovered in the northwest of Venezuela, 

 and I understand that they have been conceded to an Amer- 

 ican company. Pitch occurs in Great Britain only in small 

 quantities, and nowhere else I believe than in the mineral 

 vein of Derbyshire. In mineralogical works this substance 

 is referred to as mineral caoutchouc, a name it hardly deserves, 

 though its elasticity or rather plasticity is by no means incon- 

 siderable. I don't think that it has ever received any practical 

 application, the amount being too small in any one locality to 

 make its collection worth while. There is good reason to sup- 

 pose that it may have something to do with the occasional out- 

 bursts of fire damp in Derbyshire lead mines, but this is a mat- 

 ter which need not be discussed in this place. Besides Derby- 

 shire, this mineral caoutchouc has been found in France and 

 at Woodbury in Connecticut, but it cannot be considered as 

 of more than scientific interest and need not detain us further. 

 Mr. Sutherland thinks that a huge fortune awaits the discov- 

 erer of the perfect insulating material ; from what I hear of a 

 body known as Rupertite it would seem as if the discovery had 

 been made. This body, the composition of which is known 

 only to three persons, is made and used in one of our cable 

 works as the ideal rubber substitute, not the first time by a long 

 way that such a claim has been put forward. 



Generally speaking things are not at all brisk, owing 

 largely to the high price of rubber. The uncertainty of the 



market induces a Fabian policy on the part of 



THE buyers, who are disinclined to go beyond their im- 



of trade, mediate requirements. This is the slack season for 



the proofing trade, of which it is difficult to hear 

 optimistic prognostications. Certainly Mandleberg's have de- 

 clared a 20 per cent, dividend, but then the rainproof depart- 

 ment is responsible for this. As regards the legitimate macin- 

 tosh there does not seem to be anything to chronicle in the way 

 of novelty or development. " With cheap rubber we might go 

 ahead ; as it is we can only jog along " is the answer to in- 

 quiries after progress. Then follows a series of uncomplimen- 

 tary remarks on the iniquities of rubber merchants, who are 

 considered primarily responsible for the present unsatis- 

 factory position. As regards the mechanical rubber trade, 

 in the north the continued depression in the cotton industry 

 has undoubtedly proved a setback to business. However, those 

 manufacturers who rely largely on the export trade say that 

 they have nothing to complain of. Activity in naval circles 



occasioned by the war in the Far East will doubtless mean in- 

 creased admiralty orders. 



Quite a jubilant note was struck by Mr. C. T. Kingzett at 

 the recent meeting of the Improved Golf Ball Co., Limited. 

 This ball, which is of the rubber cored variety, 

 naturally appeals to a large class because of its 



THE ELASTINE 

 GOLF BALL. 



low price, being retailed at 1 shilling. Judging 

 from what I hear in various districts, Mr. Kingzett's remarks 

 were quite justified, and though of course the price may have 

 a good deal to do with its general use, yet this factor alone can- 

 not be held answerable altogether for the chorus of approval. 



It being quite a long time since I had heard anything of Li- 



berian rubber as an investment, I was interested to see the 



other day that the name of the company previously 



liberian k nown as the West African Gold Concessions has 



RUBBER. 



now been changed to that of the Liberian Develop- 

 ment Co., Chartered and Limited. While the main object of 

 the company is the exploitation of the mineral wealth said to 

 exist in the country, it has been thought that rubber offered a 

 more immediate return, so a subsidiary company called the 

 Monrovian Rubber Co. has been formed to purchase and work 

 the Liberian Rubber Syndicate which has the right of collect- 

 ing and exporting rubber for 20 years. In this subsidiary com- 

 pany the Dunlop company provide the working capital and the 

 profits are to be divided equally between them and the Liberian 

 Development Co. Sir Harry Johnston is managing director of 

 the latter, and has formed favorable opinions of its prospects. 

 He has despatched rubber experts chosen for their knowledge 

 of mineralogy to the scene of action, and rubber is expected at 

 the port of shipment by the middle of May. It is to be hoped 

 that the double barrelled experts will acquit themselves credit- 

 ably. I am afraid that a knowledge of mineralogy would not 

 prove much of a testimonial for a managerial position in a British 

 rubber works. It is stated that the chartered company is rec- 

 ognized by the Foreign and Colonial offices, though I doubt if 

 such recognition will amount to much in the case of border 

 raids on the company's preserves. It is now about 18 years 

 since Mr. C. W. Meiter, of London, got a Liberian rubber con- 

 cession, which I understand was never really worked. All I 

 know about the Liberian Rubber Syndicate brought out by the 

 new company is the exhibit of rubber shown at the stand of the 

 Liberian republic in the late Paris exhibition. The samples of 

 raw rubber were said to be odorless and prepared in a scientific 

 manner by the syndicate's special process, which may or may 

 not prove all that is claimed for it. 



This show, the first of its kind devoted entirely to the motor 



car industry, was opened at the St. James Hall on March 7, 



by the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, who is 



Manchester c ] ose i y connected with the trade in his position 



MOTOR SHOW. \ K 



as chairman of the Shrewsbury &(_ha!liner Tyre 

 Co., Ltd., of Ardwick Green, Manchester. Lord Shrewsbury spoke 

 hopefully of the future of the British motor industry, saying 

 that England owing to her laws had been greatly handicapped 

 in the past compared with her continental competitors. Though 

 he was not an advocate of racing for the future, he thought 

 that the sport had been most useful in producing cars as light 

 as possible with the best workmanship. Although most of the 

 British and foreign makes of tires were to be met with up and 

 down the hall on different machines, the only rubber manufac- 



