YORKSHIRE LETTER

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 119, 13 February 1919, Page 8

YORKSHIRE LETTER

SOUTH AFRICAN AND AUSTRALIAN WOOLS COMPARED. _ i (From Our Special Correspondent.) .-Bradford,''December 12, 1918. There is something uncanny about tho ' -position of South African wools some- ! thine the trade rather resents, those in close touch with, the South African wool i industry know tho bitter opposition on i-the part of,a certain, section of growers to the action of tho Imperial Government in offering to purchase the entire. South African, clip on, the same .terms as those of Australia and New ■ Zealand. The British Government undoubtedly did the right thing, but there is ir Blither strong minority scattered throughout tho .:.Union'-which is very much opposed to 'anything British, and the tpartially free market last season, enabling growers of 1 decent .clips to. sell at -pence per lb. "'more than the Imperial Government ot•fer, made .them somewhat rebellious 'about accepting tho offer of the Imper- ' ial' Government regarding the present ' new clip. This is the point the writer wishes to emphasise. After many ■months' agitation, farmers holding meet- ' ings at almost every growing 'centro ■ throughout the Union, a big'wool grow- ' ers'. conference was called at Pretoria on 'October 16. At the close a-Beuter's cablegram was sent to England, which ran as follows:—"To favour the preservation'of i " an open 1 market, the-Union Government ■endeavouring to ensure 'the necessary ; transport facilities. To favour approaching the' Imperial Government with a view to the purchase of such portion of the clip as is registered by a given date ' on a similar basis to that of last sea- .'■ son, but asking for a further advance of 20 per cent, in price owing to the .' improved quality of tho clip, instead of sharing- the profits with the . Imperial .' Government. That the number of grades /under which wool is sold shall bo'in-■ : creased, thereby enabling the fixing of .lesser variations in price than hitherto. Tire point to .emphasise is that since ,'the dispatch of that cable, the British .wool trade has not been' advised, of a -single thing which happened. The im- , pressiori' prevails in. the best informed .circles in Bradford that all wool cables . have been purposely suppressed, and al- - though two months have elapsed since .: that conference, no more information ', can be gleaned of what is actually trans- ' . piring. This is most unusual and sug- .' gests that all lias not gone well with the r proposed' purchase of the South African ■ clip. ;;:.