BRITISH TRADE.

Hokitika Guardian, 20 October 1925, Page 4

BRITISH TRADE.

The September figures for British trade are not cheering, for while o.xptirls hate decreased slightly, there has been an increase of Severn I millions in imports (says the Auckland "Star” editorially.!. The margin between exports and.imports, which had been narrowing, is widening again. There is. however, more .satisfactory in.-ws about the con! industry, which ia large factor in ihe deeding of exports. end this mouth's figures may show an improvement. In the mean time, all eminent on the industrial and commercial situation is hy no means gloomy. The ".Monthly Deview." Issued by Barclay's Dank, for example, deprecates "a tendency, both at home mi! abroad, to cone eutralc on ihe adverse factors concerning British trade, rather than to view tieposition as a whole." It thinks that tin- real reason for surprise is that british trade has not .suffered a great i tea I more from world-wide condition., and sees no reason for the assumption ti.n! Britain ha- 'tost its reputation lor quality, or that with it return io normal conditions throughout the world, its manufacturers will not obtain their share of increased trade.. Tii' review points out that coal am! "shipbuilding, two of the most depressed industries in Britain, are aUo la nguishi n in other countries and that it! 1921 Britain built a larger percentage of til.- world's new shipping than before the war. There is evidence of progress in trad:' with id iter countries. Before the war the Argentine bought more goods from Britain than from any other cot tat try. and this uosition. lost, as a result of the war, was regained last year. A more cheering reoori. because it comes Irom an outside source, was made recently to a renresenlative of the " Christian science Monitor" hv Mr .1. J. Davis. Secretary of the American Department of Labour, after a tour ol Britain and Ireland. .Mr Davis was convinced that world-wide depression, and not backwardness of industrial methods. was responsible for British industrial troubles. 11l every, industry lie found keen interest in modern methods and was much impressed with the energy shown in using labour-saving devices. " U.Miecinllv in the ease of the younger generation of factory and indust rv managers did I find an enlightened outlook and I was impressed hv the fact that these men are ennstantlv besieging their boards ol directors lor money with which io improve their production methods." Alter all we ]mvo read of the conservatism of British nta icifaet urers this is very refreshing. Tlmiv i, a great deal of life in the old country yet. 'lhe great pity is that prospects of recovery should he darkened h v industrial quar-

i Tin; i-iiiii tux ms. 1 Messrs V. W. Moore and Co in their 1 review of lie Australasian apple and pear va-iiu in l.nlidoti. sat : "chipng nt- of apples from Australia and New Zealand reached a grand tola! of , 2.9,.".] .bill lmshel eases, which expressed in the form adonted by Customs, give- roughly S:i2,*2lew! : it also ronj slit-ale- lie- highest total in the history of ihe trade. The proportions , shipped h v the apple-exporting Slates ! of ihe ( ommonwea 11 h of A list ra ha were : Tasmania. .V : per cent : Yielorin. ■ j 21 1 rent ; south Australia, just over 1 p"r <eut; Western Australia, 12 per ’ rent: New South Wales, less than .) I per cent: N: w Zealand slightly more titan s: per cent. Compared with the . previous year there is a total increaseof .an !.!."> I cases < 197.91 2cwt ), despite the great decrease in South Australian -hipm.uus c 17t; I eases); altogether exporting countries exceeded the 1921 tig. arcs. JVai's come in such various rciiiiiniier;. that the only practical hut not very useful way to state the total is to it -e the term packages, and we calculate the number of same as loi.iOo. wiiiih. is 17.002 packages less than in 1921. Increases are shown by Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales and New Zealand, decreases hy Tasmania and South Australia. The record for nears still belongs to 1921. Crapes are shipped generally in boxes containing about 2-11 1 uet. and our records show a total oi’ 17,171 boxes, or just about half the total shipped in 1921. The total amount paid in freight on this year's shipments works out to very nearly l' If’t 1.00t.1, a stint which shows the value of Due trade to the -hipping indusiiy."