The Chronicle LEVIN. MONDAY, JULY 3, 1916. THE COST OF LIVING.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 3 July 1916, Page 2

The Chronicle LEVIN. MONDAY, JULY 3, 1916. THE COST OF LIVING.

J' imil tlie oflk'o of the lit. Hon. the Premier of Xew Zealand", The Olironicle has reccircd a. most interesting report baring on (some aspects of the cost of living. It is the first imterhn report oi Ihe New Ze-a.land Board of Trade,, and in it the Commissioners give some 'informative details (bv way of addenda t.i a ''graph" drawn up by tlieir secretary and' the Government (Statistician's office) to show the relativo prices of wheat, flour, bread, bran and pollard Ironi 1912 to 1916, in ChrLstchurch, New Zealand. The subject is of such importance to all communities that wo ie,print, the addenda for information oi our renders. Tlio Commissioners state tlia.t in order to show in one graph, the price quotations a't the beginning of tlie period which are stated in different units- e.g., per ton, per bu.sliof—have been oquitttted to 100, and the later prices equator to 100 and the later prices equated in proportion thereto. The inter divergencies are' by tins method more rcfldilr understood and the effect of the war period more i asily seen than if they had been equated* at the end of the period or in any other way. The diagram shows tlio relative price-movements of all the commodities, the prices being equated as follows:—

Wheat per bushel 0 9 (3 equals 100 Flour per ton 8 10 0 equals 100 Broad per 21b loaf 0 0 3 equals 100 I -liran per ton 4 10 0 equals 100 l'ollard per ton 6 0 0 equals 100 1 he actual figures have thus been plotted and show relatively to on another. | The diagram reveals the steadiness of tlnse particular prices over the. period 15)12-13. Bran only seonis to have fallen in September, 1913, from CI 10s to Ci, at which figure it remained till August, 1914. Flour 6liow.s a rifie in January. 1913, from £8 10s to £9, retraining stationary at this- price until early in tlie following year, when n rapid rise commenced. The main feature of the diagram, however, is its indication of tlie rerv considerable rise of prices which set in the middle of August. 1911. synchronizing with the ouithreak of the war, and which reached its height in the finst six months of 1915. after which all prices fell till the end of the year, followed by a temporary rise during the firs-t three months of 1916. Tlie fluctuations in every cas > are very irregular, though n genera] trend is observable, and the fact that the price-movements of the several commodities vary together in

direction is being brought about. Regarding the stability of the price-move-ments, wheat, a.s would bo expected, seems to be more influenced by market conditions. Oil the whole it shows more considerable rise than any of tho others, relatively, during the war per. iod. though it is very closely followed by flour. Broad appears to be mure stable in price, relatively, owing to tho influence of custom and competition ; while pollard and bran do not rise so high in proportion to wheat, pollard being the more 6table in price.