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respects and reporting upon the validity of any claim.

Every claim for reward must be preferred in writing before the 1st January, 1861, to the principal officer of Customs at the port of entry nearest to the place where it is desired that the examination of the merchandise shall take place, who will at once proceed to ascertain whether the full quantity in respect of which the reward is claimed, is ready for examination, and if such quantity is ready, he will give a certificate to that effect, dated on the day on which he shall have ascertained the fact, and such day shall be deemed to be the day on which the merchandise was produced.

Whenever any officer of Customs is required to go more than three miles from his residence, his travelling expenses must be paid beforehand by the person requiring his attendance, and he cannot be required to attend a second time if the quantity was found deficient on the first occasion.

One-half of any reward will be paid at once to any person whom a Commission shall report and the Governor shall have determined to be entitled to the same—after which no other claim to the same reward will be entertained—and the other half upon satisfactory proof being given to the Governor of the bonâ fide sale of the merchandise in Europe, at an advance of not less than 20 per cent. upon the bonâ fide actual cost of the article landed in Europe.

By His Excellency’s command,

HENRY JOHN TANCRED.

Superintendent’s Office, Auckland,
April 2nd, 1859.

THE following Communication is published for general information.

J. WILLIAMSON,
Superintendent.

Auckland, March 28, 1859.

Sir,—Accepting the renewed publication of the Governor’s offer of reward of December 20th, 1856, (as intimated in the letter from the Honourable the Colonial Secretary, dated 18th instant, of which your Honor has forwarded me a copy,) as a pledge that the persons by whose discoveries certain desired ends shall be attained shall become entitled to the said rewards, I have the honor to submit to your Honor such information as will enable you to determine whether I was justified in stating that “three hundred persons thus employed would load all the ships which seek return cargoes from this port.”

I have not attempted to improve upon my Mill process, for it answered perfectly. The Mill was taken from me, and I have produced a substitute. The only addition required by the Mill flax was passage through a water process, time having proved that I was right in supposing that the vegetable matter still remaining might produce a certain degree of must, all fear of which is completely removed by the present mode of preparation.

The Mill process required an establishment—the Instrument now used weighs three or four pounds, and can be employed anywhere. The flax thus made is of a light straw colour, perfectly gumless, and free from all that may have a tendency to must. It is fit for exportation to any part of the world, but, like European hemp and flax, it requires time to cure.

The following is the mode of production:—
I employ a splitter of particular make, combining strength and efficiency, by means of which water reaches the fibres.

The reduced flax is laid in still water (small ponds or dams across small gullies, to save the cost of tanks). Here it is allowed to ret. In five or six weeks it is perfectly cured. It is then submitted to a brake to rid the flax from impurities; after which it is well shaken by handfuls, in clean water, and dried upon the ground or upon sticks or lines. In fine weather it dries in half a day; if bad weather comes, it suffers no injury, and may be left in the rain on the spot till the return of a fine day.

A willing hand can split 8 cwt. of leaves per day, which will make 2 cwt. of flax, ergo—

10 men can make 1 ton,
100 men 10 tons,
800 men 80 tons per day, equal to
180 tons per week, or 720 tons per month.

720 tons of flax at 1¼ ton measurement per ton weight would require storage equal to 1080 tons per month.

The production of these 720 tons of flax would cost under £5000. The producers would receive £8640, and the shipping interest would benefit to the amount of upwards of £8000 per month; calculating the expenses on a ton of flax sent home at £12.

I propose giving—labourers 9d. per cwt. for splitting, equal to 6s. per day;
a girl or boy to attend each splitter 2s. per day;
£1 per converted ton to the owner of the flax field; and 6d. per cwt., equal to 4s. or 5s. per day, to natives for cutting.

With hired labour the expenses will be for 1 ton:—

10 men ............................... £3
10 girls or boys ..................... 1
Flax .................................. 1
Incidentals .......................... 1
2 hands for steeping, at 5s. per day .. 0 10 0

£6 10 0

Any number of men, working for themselves amidst their own flax, may, if assisted by their children, earn 18s. to 24s. per day, without other outlay than 15s. to 20s. for a splitter and brake.

The entire time consumed, in what may be termed the preparation of the crop, is at most 6 weeks; the harvest is then gathered daily; but whilst the crop is preparing the quantity goes on accumulating, and the man who renders 2 cwt. per day will find, at the end of 36