YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 186, 26 April 1918, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER

JANUARY WOOL ARRIVALS ANALYSED (From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, February a. The market is featureless, and ono tan expect nothing different bo long M conditions obtain such as we see to-day, There is less agitation among the trade than for months. lmok, and meeting on 'Change has become a farce. Opinion is unanimous that if the w<ol textile industry of Great Britain iB to be killed then nil that is wanted is a continuance of tho present paralysing t tate control after tho war, because initiative is not being en couraged. All nilllowneis have to do is to send in a return of what they want to keep their machinery running, at least part of it, and it is uiurely in the hands of the Rationing Committee to decide how much wool will be meted out to them. Of course, the making of standard things, all of one order, tnd with no licenses -being obtainable., simply means that everybody is in one groove, and there is uu thing more obnoxious to the average citizen than to be on the treadmill, the dead mo.uotony of life being the killing element which everyone drcadß. i • January Arrivals. Since liist writing, the Board of Trade returns have been published: They ni&ko very interesting reading. Tlie'readei taust clearly understand: that this Js the only source of information regarding tho imports and exports of wool, and the returns are always made in pounds weight,. Tho quantity glteri has to bo divided by the average weight of a colonial bale, and in that way we are able to form a fairly reliable idea of the actual state ol our import and export trade in raw materials. All things considered, the arrivais for January are creditable. Of course, 1 everybody expected that tho January imports would show a considerable decrease compared with the corresponding mouth of 1917, and in this respect expectations have been fulfilled. If wo take Datgety's estimate of tho avorago weight of a colonial bale at 3301b., the quantity of fortrign and colonial wool imported last moflth was 118,842 hales. This is a very ni«o quantity, but shows a defiSfiaso of 134,1168 bales compared with the figures lor tfae same month of last year. January, IpW, (however, was a very heavy month jfideed, so far as arrivals are concerned. As H matter of fact, the January arrivals a year ago would bo tho lirst purchases «£ Importing topmakcrt" and merchants and also free wools from the earl} shearing of tho Australian 1916 clip, January Jo Juno always seeing a very oig weight of new clip wools imported and rushed to London and to Bradford for roaliaatlon. Of course, shipping to-day Is a. very dillcrcnt problem from what U. was twelve to'fifteen months ago, ani\ with the whole colonial clip being Government owned, wool is simply shipped according to tho wish of the authorities <ind liot to any private owner. This makes a, big difference, as everybody knows. The falling-off in supplies—l34,46B bales—appears on the surface very omfnous, but on® must take a wider view of things to arrive at a proper conclusion. As 6 matlter of fact, of the total quantity Imported in 1917, nearly two-thirds camo to hand in the first six months, t&us Hipportjng the view already expressed. Prom the: end of last June thore wa,s a big decline ffa the weight ot wgol arriving, and therefore one must compare January imports witih the figures for the previous six months.) Taking last months imports and comparing them on the basis outlined, a very different view is presented, lor instance, the average monthly quantity imported .'in the period July to December was ,102,621) bales, hence tile reader will seo that the .January arrivals were .actually 16,208 boles above tho average of the preceding six months. Then again, if we look at the re-exports. T "y marked tifccreaße, all of which helps to show up tlte January imports in their true light, threat Britain is re-exporting less and loss/ wool monthly, ana tlie weight sent out in January acgregates 6748 bales. Of course, wool sent out of the country goes .entirely to our Allies, and,they must be'kept going. The following will bo lound/ to tie a very usetul table showing .the imports, reexports. and tho quantity of foreign a,nd colonial wool retailed in this eountry in the first, inonty compared with the hrst month of the pirevious flvo years. 4501b. being taken as the equivalent of an Australasian bale:—

Imports. Ke\Mcportß Retained. January. Mee. 3!aleV Bales 1918 : 118342 '6,745 -112 097 "" ..- 258.310 (9,104 244 206 1916 ......... 193,506 ;34,074 • 159,432 1915 315,226 ; 4,784 310 442 : 1914 304,505 . .130,036 174 769 1913 '352,620 ' 70.95J '-. 281,627 ; Wo take the January Imports to be very reaesuring. It is al?o Jmown tuat there is at sea a very nice Quantity of raw material, and ae a leading member of tflo trade said to tlie irriter only yeeterday, wo can now do very well with importing lesß wool and using" the freight for something for the moudh. With that state-

ment no one can <Yisagree. Witli a new .British, clip well ty eight,-there appears to be enough raw material available to ■ satisfy the reauirements of this country for many nionthe to come, and if no wool is brought from- Australia' for three or four lnoiftths nobody will take any harm. This policy bids fair to be carried out, and m> ono ne«L bo surprised if it is. I , . The Cape Clip Fiasco. Headers will already have been advised by cablegram of the fiasco -which hae happened to the South. African dip, the Imperial Government giving Gape farm- 1 ere, who offered their clip on the' same terms as they bought tie 'Australasian blip, the option to back out if they felt eo disposed. Woolgrowurs -whoso clips in all amounted to ' 34,000 bales, seized the opportunity, and hw> Paid, "No, thank you" to the oiler of the Imperial Government. It is not the .writer's'purpose to say one derogxtory vrord or even to question the patriotism of South Afrioan' woolgrowers, notwithstanding their action in many cases has not l>een In line with that of growers in Australia and New Zealand. The trouble has arisen through there being a partially free market, irape wools being sold at very handsome prices to American and Japanese buyers. Unable bo operate in Australia ;|vnd New Zealand, these buyers transferred their attention to South Afrfca, vherff they have acquired the cream ol Uio Oapo clip, paying anywhere from ffld. to 30d. lot e r easo combing wools. Ho long as lrei.pjit was available *for Japan and America, all went well,, but in a weei wncn they boon Ueld off, prieea slumped- Id to 6u. per lb., and directly ono set of buyera dropped out of the market, values became very shaky. Headers will see that the Bxitish Government hold'the trump card by having commandeered all freight, that really being the crux of the- wiwle question. Thero are still about 135,051) bales remaining in the hands of the Union Government to be appraised and shipped to England, and what British freight is available Iβ certain to be employed in bringing home Governmentowned wool However -we think that the whole inoiiJent -will end happily, although it is .bound to give rise to certain considerations in regard to the purchase of the next Australaeian clip, and this fact is already receiving dttention In important Gov</rnment circles in Bradford and London.