The Daily News TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13. OUR PROSPERITY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81886, 13 November 1906, Page 2

The Daily News TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13. OUR PROSPERITY.

Mr Ramsay Maoloaald, the British Labor leader, who is visiting tin.- coIt.ny, has in the course of interviews with men in the South, shown I his inabi.ity to undeistand the present prosperity in its relation to prices. Mr Alacdonaid eannot shuthis eves to the fact taat the country is smiling wii'a happiness and contentment, and his impassion is 'hat NewZealand lias not gained by its high wages and high cost of living. Tlie wage earners in particular he has b-en given to understand arc no bet-

ter off than they were 10 years ago, and certain branches of brain workers, as distinct from the manual laborers, arc actually worse off. 1' or ful'.v a decade the cost of living has been increasing by leaps and buunds. Rentals, food and clothing, and the whole of the necessaries of life have gone up in price considerably as compared with the values prevailing in iSy6. Mr Ramsay Mac Donald points out that if the colony be pressed and it should happen that large numbers of people were thrown out of employment the result wou.d be simply appalling on account of the high rents and high prices.

"I TIIINK that a trade depression wi'l come to New Zealand, 15 he said; "i do not see why you should be immune You will bo sure to feel the resu t of over production and under-consump-tion. Of course you have your Governirent roads, railways and other public works, but you cannot go on making them for ever. First of a.l you have 10 face the difficulties of constant borrowing. Your country is finite and an end will come to your roads and railways; you wil. then have to discover a new method of dealing witli the unemployed: and you wil! have as much difficulty in that respect as we have.'' This cheerful prediction is not new to us: we have heard it for many years past. Still the col(inj[ has forged ahead, and this year -sees ii is forging ahead even more than it has ever done. In fact the prices for our produce have never been so high as they are at present. But one would be foolish to believe that there is no end to our present cycle of prosperity.

We are not so sure t.iat a set-back to New Zealand would be so appalling as predicted by Mr MacDunald. 111 some respects we believe the colon, would benefit by a temporary slump. We recall a conversation we. had recently with a member of one of tlvej biggest produce firms in England, lie travels the whole world and lur been in the habit of visiting New Zealand periodically. We put the query to him, W'iiat do you think is the best thing that could happen *0 New Zealand? "The worst two seasons you have ever experienced." He proceeded to explain that this colony does not yet realise what hard, keen business meant, and did not understand the proper use of its lands. The colony was being "nursed" at the present time, he said, by which lie meant that buyers were tumbling over one another in their efforts to secure bu.ter, cheese and other commodities. but iie pointed out that the lifne woulel come, a-ti was coming more quickly than the fjew Zcalanciers imagined, when they would have to send their representatives to the buyers, as was the case with Denmark and other Continental producers. Things were becoming keener everywhere, and so far as produce was con--1 cerned no point was missed by New Zealand's competitors.

Ol'R informant believes that New Ztalanders are nut using the best methods, especially as regards dairying, in winch branch of industry they are, lie says, considerably behind 'he Danes, for instance. The Dalies cultivated every inch of their availab e tand, and teach their farmers the science of their work. Every winter fiom September to January—h vmonths—the young farmers attend a training school, where fiom six in the morning till seven at night they aru taught by able men the practical and scientific side of farming. At the end of the term the students are sufficiently grounded in their knowledge to go back to their farms and understand the why and wherefore of everything pertaining to their operations. The fees are only nominal, and if a person is not in a position to pay tile fees, the country comes to his assistance. By this means all persons on ihe land, between the age? ol fifteen and thirty, arc reached ,\ This is an object lesson to New Zealand.

A BAD season or two woulij teach New Zea anders many things. It would :c;,ch them to go in for scientific fanning, to push their business more than tliey are accustomed to, to go in for fewer luxuries in the spoiling line, to cut down the administrative expenses of their local and general government, to borrow less money, to reduce the present high cost of living, to pay less for rural land, to have the duty on the necessaries of life reduced, to tax luxuries instead, and to lake lify a litt e more seriou-ly. If it remains for adversity to teach us tiiese truths, well.- adversity will be rather a blessing in disguise.