The Feilding Star. TUESDAY AUGUST 26, 1884. The State of Trade

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 31, 26 August 1884, Page 2

The Feilding Star. TUESDAY AUGUST 26, 1884. The State of Trade

At the annual meeting of the Dunedm Chamber of Commerce, held a few days ago, the Chairman and President, Mr G. Bbll, , in , his Address made some remarks which are remarkably interesting, besides being very much to the point, on the State of Trade in this Colony. He. said/,: "Nearly twelve months-since I drew your attention 'to the effect on the world's j commerce of the decreasing yield of gold*- This, yon may- remember, I pointed out would necessarily lead to a reduction of prices of property and produce. I need not say that this deduction has been verified by the re-. suit. Much as we have suffered in this Colony, and numerous as the failures have been amongst all classes,

we have thus far, comparatively with some other countries, passed harmlessly through the ord&al which has tested the stability of many of the most wealthy firms in the world.. In France, the United States, and to a less extent Great Britain, commercial ruin has been .widespread. On the last occasion on which I addressed you I endeavored to show you that that the adoption of increased facilities for importation and distribution of goods must of necessity tend to economy of capital, and in the first instance to the reduction in the num- : ber of those engaged in these departments of commerce. You need no illustrations to convince you of the correctness of this conclusion. Fewer hands and less monoy are needed. Of necessity, where more persons are engaged in any trade than the amount of business to be done justifies, competition reduces profits so much that some fail and are driven to seek other employment. This eliminating process, however grievously it may affect individuals, gradually restores trade to a healthy condition. It i*eminds us of Darwin's theory of the " survival of the fittest," with this important difference, that, instead of ceasing to live, those who are forced out of one occupation devote their energies to another, and thus production and commerce are developed through tribulation. I invite your attenion to a very few comparative statistics, a careful consideration of which will help us to understand our industrial position. I have selected the year 1871, as the starting period of borrowing, for comparison with the present year. Taking the official returns of exports of those two years as an index of the productive energy of the Colony, ae they represent the excess of production over consumption, the returns stand thus : — . Exports, 1871. Exports, 1884. Gold ... £2,788,868 £892,446 Wool .., 1,606,144 2,195,110 Grain (wheat) 164,494 1,808,971 £4,659,006 £4,896,526 In 1871 the price of grain was from 5s to 5s 6d per bushel. At the present time I see it quoted from 8s to 8s B<l. A very essential point that must not be lost sight of is, that in 1871 the population was 256,400 in round numbers, and with Maoris nearly 600,000 in 1884. Facilities for production and distribution have increased and added immensely to our available labor, and if quantity instead of money value could be compared, it would be found that production had progressed more than proportionately to our increased numbers. But estimated by value in money we arrive at a very different result. Why is this ? The solution of the problem is that labor has been differently directed. Assuming that the construction of public works, through the facilities given to traffic, has more than counterbalanced the diversion of labor from directly productice pursuits, a glance at our exports reveals to us the fact that, while in 1871 two-thirds of the value of our exports were gold, in 1884 it formed only little more than one-third. It is further self-evident that gold is the only article we produce that retains an unchangeable money value. All the rest have fallen in price. Wheat is worth only three-fifths of the price of 1871, and wool probably about the same proportion ; and the produce of our mines has been barely one-third of that of 1871. It was between 1871 and the present time that the heaviest portion of our colonial debt was contracted. Nominally the premiums paid for our loans were not too high, nor the rates ot interest excessive, had the result of labor continued to bear the same proportion to the population as when they were contracted. But the changed character of our productions, the reduced yield of gold, its enhanced value, and the consequent reduction in the prices of other commodities, render necessary more than twice th# then amount of- labor to pay interest on our loans; and thus, though our population has more than doubled, the value of our exports has scarcely increased. This explains the necessity for the additional taxes that have been levied, and must continue to be paid until increased and cheapened, production enables us to spare a larger proportion of* the. fruits of our labor lor payment of interest on our debts than at present."