TWO CHRISTMASES

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 75, 21 December 1921, Page 5

TWO CHRISTMASES

COST OF LIVING GOING DOWN. (By “Givis.”) There is no doubt whatever that the cost of living is-very much on (he down, grade 5n Wellington. There are, of course, some lines that are still up in the air, but there are others which have come down with a run, and the net result is that living to everybody is cheaper to-day im Wellington than it has been for four or five years at least. Meat has been reduced to ns low a figure as it h'as been for over ten years, and there are indications that there is still a margin for a further reduction, based upon what tho unfortunate farmer is getting for his stock on the hoof. It is now possible to buy forequarters of lamb fur 2s. 3d. and 2s. fid. retail, and 'hindquarters of lamb have been sold during the last week at 4»s. Beef and mutton are down proportionately, and even hams may be purchased at. Is. per lb., as against Is. Ifid. per lb. at this time last year. Sugar is sensibly cheaper than it was last Christmas, and the prices for all tho ingredients of the annual Christmas cakes and puddings, including the dried fruits, are lower than they were last December. Vegetables—well, probably there never was such a bountiful season for vegetables in Wellington! The glut of spring cabbages, cauliflowers, and lettuces was remarkable. For example, prices available to people who attended at the markets on Saturday'were very low for excellent vegetables of really good quality. Lettuces were being offered at 3d. per double fruit case, peas foils. a sack (sack Bd. extra, which, could be redeemed), and cabbages at Is. a sack. As a rule, within a week of Christmas the tendency is for prices to harden. Tho above prices were also quoted on Friday, so that it appears they were no mere flash in the pan. Fruit is naturally dear. Eating apples now being offered are from California, and at 225. per case the writer was assured that a loss was being made. The same thing applied to oranges and lemons from California. Strawberries from Auckland were purchaseable on Saturday at Is. fid. and Is. Del. per punnetvery good quality, too; probably cheaper than has been the case for many years past. Tho prices of small goods in pastry and cakes have been reduced, thanks to the fall in butter and the plenitude of eggs, and the Christmas cake is a third less in price than the same article was last year. Bread is still 7d., but milk is being reduced Id. per quart. Clothes, as far as men are concerned, have shown a slight downward tendency, especially in tho case of factory-made suits. Tailor-made clothes nre still fairly high in price owing to the high wages ruling for skilled hands, but still there is a reduction noticeable on tho prices paid a year ago. Tho price of women’s dress is one of the eternal mysteries. The less material there is in ci dress the more it appears to cost. Lingerie is as beautiful, ns diaphanous, and as costly as ever. There has Been a reduction in men’s footwear, but prices are still high, and ladies’ boots an'd shoos are not very appreciably cheaper than they wore <q year ago, save hero and there in tho case of loss costly lines. Taking tho situation full and by, as one meets it .every day, the cost of living has gone down and is still going down, and bo it said to tho credit of tho Government the actual necessities of life have been interfered with not at. all bv tho new tariff.