THE FALL IN WOOL.

Southland Times, Issue 1057, 16 November 1868, Page 2

THE FALL IN WOOL.

The ' Australasian' quotes the price of wool which ruled in England, and proceeds :— " In the face of such statements we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that another wool crisis is upon tis, and a crisis more severe than the present race of sheep-owners have, had before >: ttt struggle through. Although yrij.rniijg notes have been raised now and again, ir& have never heen sufficiently alive to thd consequences which must unavoidably ensue from the competition of South American wools with ours. Indian and Cape wools can only be improved slowly, but the great pampas of South America offer almost an unbounded range of as good pasturage for sheep as tHe inferior plains of Australia, and the work of improving the sheep on them waa commenced many years since. A want of labour has prevented any improvement in the getting up of the wool, but population has been attracted much of late. td the territory of the Argentine Ifcep-blidj and that it will be the next step to enable the sheep-owning republicans to tread more closely on our heels. : They have reduced the profits of our flock-owners materially already, and, as the supply of labour increases, they will be better prepared each year for the competition. It was a maxim with the trade that every reduction of a penny or twopence a pound in the price of the raw maferial.^P^d bring manufactured Wolen goods %t_un the reach of a so much widening circle of consumers that any further reduction must be stayed at once, unless the circumstances under which it occurred were very peculiar ; but consumption seems to have reached its limit 7 just now, and no relief from the pelthora pf manu* facture_. goods is looked for, wmesS^tM trade with North America in these.: could be renewed, and of this there is no chance. Merino sheep are becoming very numerous in the States, and the poHcyoflate years has been to enhance, the Talue.. of these by raising the duties on. such^goods as would come into competition with .their produce, or with the goods, made from their wool. Even such fostering of this interest has not prevented the price of wool from falling greatly, and this branch of trade is depressed there as in England, principally we may suppose because the bulk of tbe people in America cannot afford to buy woollen goods largely at advanced prices. The duties are allowed to be injurous to the country, jbut public feeling on the subject must assert, itself very strongly before they are # removed, and trade with England in this class pf goods becomes possible again. This Cannot be expected to happen for some years to come at least, so this last hope'fo. a relief of the depression in England may be looked upon as" altogether illusive. Thus, taking whatever view we can of the subject, the present and future value of wool must appear in a gloomy light to all but possessors of really first-class sheep. They will stand above the competition that promises to render inferior sheep scarcely worth keeping, and now more than ever qnality instead of quantity should be the settler's object. So overwhelming was the quantity pouring into England, that for twenty years past a London sale has not opened so flatly or with so little animation as the last ; yet we expect, when the returns reach us, to learn that the best fine combing wools fetched nearly their old prices. There will never be a glut of them, or of the goods that can be made of them only.