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Hokitika Guardian, 27 December 1924, Page 2

Tx the thought for the times to-day there is the text for a national sermon on tin- Umpire position to-day. The newly-elected Government at Home appears tn have taken the lesson of the times to heart and is endeavouring to do something practical to meet the perils facing Great Britain. Thrive is the step being taken tn encourage trade within the 'Empire by the expenditure of a million a year. It is a handsome subsidy, the benefit of which depends on the wisdom of the outlay. It is of greater value to the F.mpire to retain by practical means all the trade possible within the Imperial dominance. Ample trade and consequent employment "ill live down the natural unrest which arises from the waul of trade and idleness creating a huge army of unemployed. The Baldwin Ministry is going to begin by spending a million in cool storage and other sheds for the leccplinn of oversea commodities. Such an outlay will he of immediate assistance in .solving a material part of the labor question while as the stores materialise they will he of benefit to the Dominions as a reception for various commodities where the same can be stored to meet a payable market. There are details to be worked out in this important scheme which will be settled by the conference gatherings the Government is enliven ing. The effort is an earnest one calculated to impress the public both at Home and abroad, and is. an indication that Mr Hal (lain is bent on redeeming bis election pledges to the satisfaction of those who feel disposed to think imperially. The Government is not likely to find anv difficulty in providing the recovery it is proposed to earmark. It will be an outlay which will remain an ascst in the great structures to lie erected, and the result, "ill lie to steadily recoup the expenditure by the growing trade to be fostered with the oversea Dominions. Founded on proposals from the 1997 Kconoinic Conference, it is therefore a step in the right direction, one calculated to carry much .good in its train, and to go a long way towards reviving useful trade and intercourse wit liiu the llritish Empire.

Tin: high prices being received for farm produce of all descriptions .should assist materially in making the coming year a busier one than that soon to pass away. The jump in wool, and the very fair prite received lor butter, to .-ay nothing in the rates for hides and other side lines from the farm, all mean an inflow of wealth for circulation. Trade in the coming year should show a marked increase, and the bad or dull times shorn! pass. It is a question of how long the markets in the principal commodities will remain at a high figure. It seems impossible to gunge that possibility. Wool jumped up unexpectedly, and despite the glutting of the market, prices are keeping up. Butter in large quantities is on the water for home consumption, yet of late there was an upward tendency. It is. of course, mid-winter al Hi.me, and local and cunt mental supplies are short, ft is com eiv,able that Wembley and the All Blacks conjointly have been advertising New Zealand produce specially of late, and the demand for the commodities most he increasing.' If this lie so, the drop in prices may not come as soon as some of the peopilo expect, lint prices remain more or less satisfactory for some time yet. The outlook to that end is at least very hopeful.