REPORTS OF A SLUMP

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 53, 26 November 1920, Page 8

REPORTS OF A SLUMP

DENOUNCED AS INACCURATE

TRADE COMMISSIONER'S VIEWS Reports of a slump in the Old Country were strenuously denied by tho British Trade Commissioner (Mr. I{, Dallon), in a speech which he delivered at the Chambers of Commerce Conference yctlcrday afternoon. The discussion upon the reports aroso when the following Wellington remit was moved:— "That the Executive 'be requested to confer with the United Press Association legarding the publication of unreliable sensational cablegrams relating to commercial matters." Mr. W. J. (laudin (Wellington! sain that the conference should see whether there was not some means by which seusationl reports regarding trado could be properly examined before they were puolished. It was thought, ho informed the conference, that some scheme could be devised whereby cablegrams that were, sensational and wero not reliable, and which would do harm both to particular' trades and to trade in general, might bo modified. Mr. T. Somerville (Dunedin) seconded the remit. The Trade Commissioner said he con. sidered that the remit was one of the most important that had conic before the conference. He had had the subjoct under consideration for some months, and he had found it exceeediugly difficult to know what steps to take in the best interests of both the British and New Zealand trading communities. He had written to tho Press on the matter only on the previous day. Some time ago the newspapers had stated that a slump had set in in tho United Kingdom. At the, moment, lie had not been sure whether the reports were correct. When tho mails arrived from Homo some time later, he received a letter from a Wellington trader who, after perusing a New Zealand paper containing the reports referred to, made very serious complaints about them. Ho informed tho Department that he had found no indications of a slump, but rather of a riso in prices. The Department took the trouble to see from what source trS cablegrams emanated, and found that from the two important services to this country, no cablegrams of the kind had been sent to New Zealand. During the present week, the speaker had decided to express his private opinion that tne cablegrams ha« done n great deal of harm in New Zealand bv encouraging a slump which hntt probably not even begun. The position in New Zealand was a very serious one. This country had been importing very large quantities of goods during the last nine months, and anything in the way of a slump in the United Kingdom was very grave, not only to the importers, but to the exporters also; and if it was not true that a slump had occurred iu the United Kingdom a great deal of harm had unnecessarily been done iu New Zealand. He based his conclusion that a slump had not taken place largely on the fact that in England during tho last, 6ix months prices had shown a tendency to rise instead of a tendency to fall. Tho "Manchester Guardian," after investigating conditions in the drapery trade, which was" supposed to have shown tho greatest '•nd-w.v '(' s-ln --i». had found that the prices of 47 out of 71 articles connected with tho trade had advanced, that the prices of 14 had shown a slight reduction, and that the remainder were stable. The articles the prices of which hnd fallen were the leust important in the trado. The next consideration that hud influenced him was that in England it had always been trfto that tho first indication of an iniportnnt slump was given by the iron and steel industry. In that industry ho found no tendency at all to slump. Moreover, he .found no indication that British manufacturers wore fevorishly looking for 'business in Now Zealand. If there were any indication of a slump, manufacturers would certainly be looking with feverish anxiety for business. Such information as he hnd been able to get here showed that inquiries from this side to England were received on a firm basis, or at slightly advanced prices, and that it was more than likely that within the,next fow months prices would go still higher. • There was no fear whatever nt the present moment of a rapid and serious decline in prices. The cablegrams of which he had been speaking had given riso to the feeling among traders in this country that a slump had occurred, and they were iucorrect. Mr. W. C. Whitlock (Hastings), as a newspaper man, assured the conference that it was the desire of tho Press of New Zealand to get accurate information. When the charge was made that inaccurate news was being published, it should be fully investigated, so that the question whether the news was really iunccurato might bo settled. The motion was carried.