COST OF LIVING REPORT.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 348, 25 November 1915, Page 4

COST OF LIVING REPORT.

The report of the Cost of Living;, j Coni mission, a rather bulky document, reached us this morning. A casual glance is all that is required to see that Taihape, in comparison with the whole of the Dominion, occupies a most unenviable position so far as the value of the sovereign goes in purchasing the' necessities of life. It seems that Taihape is the worst place in New Zealand to live in so far as the cost of living is concerned, •.but that aspect of the report must be held over for the present. The report is a fairly complete conpendium on information relating to New Zealand, economies. It deals primarily with, retail prices in the Dominion for the, last ,twenty-four years. Fifty-nine of the commonest household necessaries,, ,are - considered, and their prices afe: averaged and tabulated for each of the four main centres, over ehe p'eyiod. covered. These commodities are' divided into four main group*, grocries, dairy produce, meat, fuel, and, light, and all groups are treated both separately and combined. Kent for various classes of houses is tabulated for the four centres. The method, of investigation is the same as that used in the Commonwealth, which permits of a ready and understandable comparison being made With the Australian reports. Commencing in 1914 twenty-five towns were selected as representative of the Dominion’s various interests, and this aspect of the question the report undoubtedly effectively covers. A bhapter of the report is devoted entirely to “War Increases” in the period from July, 1914, to August, 1915! Index numbers accompany each group, and separate tables give the percentage increases. Prices are given at length in three appendices to tiie report, showing prices in the fourcentres from 1891 to 1913 and other details. It is claimed by the Minister that the figures not only give the foundation on which the investigation was built up, but they also provide a valuable source of information for future use.