Chap. XU. PHOKMIUM TENAX, OR FLAX. 283 
CHAPTER XII. 
Phormium letiax, or flax — Details of its manufacture — Flax-trade 
hitherto unsuccessful — The reasons — Flax agitation — Otaki — 
The Rev. Octavius Hadfield — His energy and disinterestedness — 
His wise benevolence — Results of commerce on the natives — In- 
ducements to engage in trade with them — Opposition of Raupe- 
raha and Rangihaeata — Good class of emigration — " Puffers," 
" grumblers," and " good colonists" — Advantages of an exclu- 
sive club — Mr. Charles BuUer's description of " the gentlemen" 
colonists — Disgrace of Mr. Murphy — The Police Magistrates 
governing Cook's Strait — Fire of Wellington — Good results — 
Shipping — Death of Warepori — Sketch of the causes of his illness 
and death — Captain Smith's expedition to the South — Colonel 
Wakefield's visit to Auckland — Its harbour and the neighbouring 
country — Its society — Parkhurst boys — Picnics and balls at 
Wellington — Exports — Dye-bark — Titoki oil — Mr. Swainson's 
troubles with Rauperaha^s annoying emissaries — His vain appeal 
to the authorities — RauperahoHs, slaves continue to encroach — 
Christmas sports at Wellington — Horticultural productions. 
At this period I began to pay some attention to the 
preparation of the phormium tenaoc by the natives ; and 
determined to endeavour to resuscitate the trade which 
had once been carried on in that article, as prepared 
by them, from Sydney. Numerous experiments by 
White people for separating the fibre from the pulpy 
portion of the leaf had failed. Whether by boiling 
with soap, retting and beating like the European flax, 
passing between fluted rollers, or other processes which 
the foolish inventors made it a point to keep secret, the 
expense of producing was too great, and the material 
produced was generally harsh and inferior in quality 
to the produce of the native manufacture. It struck 
me that this arose from the starting on a wrong prin- 
ciple. I have already described, in the account of my 
