16 



B. — Some Stj#istics of Exports of Paper, Linen, and Cordage to British Possessions in 1885. 







Value in £ sterling. 







Paper. 



Linen. 



Cordage. 

 ... 



Bombay 



83,514 



25,888 



Madras 



25,381 



... 



... 



Bengal 



49,444 



45,219 



... 



Straits Settlements 



... 



10,197 



... 



Ceylon 



13,254 



1,347 



... 



Hong Kong 



... 



13,271 



... 



West Australia 



3,572 



3,501 



... 



South Australia 



67,414 



35,575 



11,015 



Victoria 



251,966 



160,532 



26,196 



JNew fcoutn Wales 





171,394 



27,400 



Queensland 



60,904 



53,327 





Tasmania 



16,117 



4,907 



3,107 



New Zealand ... 



121,013 



60,379 



14,272 



Natal 



13,244 



9,609 



4,302 



Cape of Good Hope 



38,887 



17,673 





Mauritius 



4,323 



2,4*2 





West Indies 



13,077 



31,758 



11,419 



British Guiana 



4,760 



8,774 



4,998 



Canada 



71,010 



124,401 



8,179 



Newfoundland and Labrador 



5,024 



5,594 



6,493 



There is no possibility of foreseeing, with the aid of science, the changes and developments of the 

 first order ; we can only anticipate the general tendency of progress in the Colonies from the one-sided 

 commerce of early days, when trade is based on raw materials exported and manufactured goods im- 

 ported, to the all-round activity of later days, which is influenced as much by the more complicated 

 laws of general exchange, as by the special local features which exclusively moulded the earlier com- 

 merce. 



How this progresive movement will affect the reciprocal relations of Colonies and Mother-Country 

 in regard to this particular trade, I leave to others to determine. 



The causes included under (2) are easier of measurement. I have endeavoured to illustrate, as the 

 particular occasion arose, the application of a purely laboratory method to the valuation of a new fibre, 

 this valuation resting upon the ultimate constitution of the fibre as revealed by investigation, on the 

 one hand ; a^id the comparison of this on the other hand, with standards taken from parallel investiga- 

 tion of the fibres which now rule the market. On the basis of this comparison I have shown, for 

 instance, that the " native hemp" trom Natal will compete in the flax class ; Sida will compete with 

 jute ; the West Indian " Gru-Grru," as an exceptionally fine monocotyledonous fibre, is capable of 

 applications of a higher order than is usual with fibres of this class, for which it may even come into 

 competition with hemp. Phormium fibre, I have shown is susceptible of " refinement," by selection 

 and chemical treatment, and when so modified may compete with the dicotyledonous fibres in certain 

 applications. In the paper-making class I have shown the value of certain bast tissues and residues of 

 monocotyledonous plants as raw materials. 



In all those cases I have necessarily ignored the first commercial condition, i.e., cost of production 

 having no data at hand upon which it could be estimated. For these we must look to future investiga- 

 tion in the several localities where the raw materials in question have been, and. on a favourable estimate 

 are to be produced. 



GivtD this, and the results of a full laboratory examination of a specimen in a fair condition, and 

 it is not difficult to forecast the probable future of the fibre. It may be objected to this statement that 

 many predictions of commercial success, also based upon methodical investigation, have been falsified by 

 results. The only reply to this is that the method upon which this report is founded is the outcome of 

 recent investigations and a critical examination of antecedent publications on the subject from which 

 whatever appeared valuable has been selected and retained. Like all others, it must be judged by its 

 fruits. If it is to justify itself, it must condemn the unprofitable as it must assign a place in commerce 

 to the useful. 



In conclusion, I have the pleasure to acknowledge the substantial help of those who have been as- 

 sociated with me in the work of investigation : my partner Mr. E. J. Bevan ; Mr. C. M. King who has 

 done the whole of the microscopic preparations ; and Mr. C.Beadle (of Messrs. Joynsonj, who has 

 done the greater yart of the chemical analyses. This report is, in fact, the product of our joint labours. 



I have also to thank Dr. Watt of the Indian Section, Mr. McCarthy of the West Indian Section, 

 and Mr. P. L. Simmonds of the New Zealand Section, in addition to those gentlemen whose names 

 have been previously mentioned for many suggestions and much kind assistance. 



