THE USUAL STATEMENT.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1043, 4 February 1911, Page 8

THE USUAL STATEMENT.

•" FATUITY OF ; MjSiSTJBRIAL v New Zealand* -deserves ito. be congratulated on -the fact that'even .though, the other .wool-growing countries, have suffered a fall in price?, New Zealand has •experienced-a rise in woo]. This infor'niafion is new, but better late than never: it was delivered to'the public by the Hon. G. Fowlds, Minister for Education,.at levin- Qn .Wedjicsday. :No doubt 'the good' news- came as 'a surprise to amost of thosc'iyho heard- it,'.as they had led Hft f ' J bellev£f through brokers' advices, cheques, and reports, -that wool was down' in price. The' Minister had been, speaking of , wool-classing'., classes, and went on to sa.v.that ;he believed thatthe Dominion. had got-a result "in the increased price of the wool clip,"-which more than repaid the money which had been spent on viool-classing. While the statement was nq: doubt. cheering to tho fatniers and'other members.of.tho community!' it" possibly!-.. liad% a reverse on the Minister, for Mr. Fowlds is the man who said that a rise .in the price of wool would not benefit New Zealand.

Yesterday. was-Vmail day" > with the brokers, and if the Minister had called in to. a certain wool office -he .might have found that th 6 outward mail was to convey regrets that wool was averaging a fall of twopelVco' per pound.

There seems to be a more serious side .to this . matter. One broker expressed annoyance that' such a statement had be°n made. His reason-was that it was liable to create a false impression of the stato , of. tlie . mavket. and to result .in sellers too high reserve on their- elii). For instance, "ho «aid, perhaps eightpence oonld. have been got here was a man's wool, but as he had put the reserve above that there was no ?a)e. The 'man might ship and got a return of povenpenoe. In* that w.av farmers might bo affected by such a silly statement.