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Hokitika Guardian, 16 September 1921, Page 2

t ntii. about ten years ago the collieries furnished liritain with the cheapest form of power which had I teen developed in any of the world's leading countries, says a writer in the •‘Statist." I'his cheap coal contributed powerfully to her predominant position as the world's common carriers. It contributed, also, in enabling; her to manufacture textiles and other products so cheaply that they could lie sold in competition in the international markets of the world. “Unless we can obtain power for our ships and : for our manufactures upon an equivalent economic basis it is manifest , that We cannot retain our present popu- J latio'n. whether at the pre-war standard of living, or even at a lower standard We have no monopoly of any commodity which the world cannot do without. We attained the position we held before the war by rendering certain services more economically than our competitors could afford to do. We can only hope to regain that position hy mitering services on the- same vatis

of values. The difficulty of winning

coal in this country seems to be increasing. If this proves to be the case we shall he compelled as a nation to adopt methods whereby we can obtain greater power from the amount of coal wc do raise than we have been accustomd to do in tho past. Practically the consumption of coal in crude form seems doomed. It was always wasteful, and in our large industrial centres it was injurious to health as well as ticing extravagant to a degree. If we can succeed ill increasing the power from coal or any other fuel it may be quite practicable to raise much less coal than in the past and to import an appreciable proportion of our coal or other fuel from abroad, and vet retain our present population, whose services would be more efficient than at present.”

Ai/riioccir so far there lias not been much increase in the output of gold ill New Zealand, says tho “Auckland Star," still the fact that Hie 'market price of this metal is now about L 5 per ounce is expected to result in more activity in this industry in the near future. The “Army and Navy Gazette” of July 25 has a paragraph which opens; “The steady rise in the value of gold cannot fail to have a, very important and far-reaching effect on all gold mining shares. Tin' general advance in prices may be delayed, and the boom may not. come as speedily as many of us desire nr hope for, hut sooner or later a hhom in gold mining shares is inevitable.” In the Auckland district, although there lias not been any move in mining shares on ’Change still a lot of steady work is going on in various mines. The AYaitaia mine at Kuaotiinu has opened up a reef that is looking very well, tile stone showing dabs of gold. The Sylvia mine is now crushing payable ore at Tararn, and at Thames the Evening Star, Pinafore, and St. Hippo mines are all getting stone-carrying gold. At .Coromandel the Mnuraki Company is steadily working on Leggc’s reef and had a crush-