THE DOMINION'S PROSPECTS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 129, 22 May 1908, Page 2

THE DOMINION'S PROSPECTS.

FEARS OF A DEPRESSION. ■EFFECT OF DECREASE IN WOOL AND MEAT PRICES. P«r Press Association. Uisborne, Last Night. During the hearing o£ thu. waterside workers' dispute before the Arbitration Court, Mr. Waxen, representing Nelson Bros.' freezing works, submitted there was no evidence before the Court to justify the demand,) of the workers, and asked the Court to give full consideration to the depression that ivas likely to l>e felt all over the Dominion, owing to the heavy fall in'the value of wool and the unsettled state' of the meat market and general tightness ia the money market restricting financial accommodation, The whole Dominion, he eaid, wast at. present face to face with a. phase of financial depression which will affect the whole community, but move especially those engaged in pastoral and industrial pursuits. "For the past live or six years times had been prosperous," he continued, "and the workers had received material increases in wages and more favorable conditions of labor. At the same time, this present phase oi depression has to be faced, antl it behoves everyone to use more than ordinary care. It is only logical and just that the workers, having participated in the prosperity during the past few years, should store with the employers to some exteut in tlie bad times which arc now imminent."

Speaking at the Mayoral banquet tonight, Mr. A. F. Kennedy said the recent drop in wool had cost the districts surrounding (lisborne fully £220,000. However, lit' was confident tlie district could stand the loss, though n cautious jyolic.v would have to be followed and expenditure curtailed. Land values would obviously be affected, and it would perhaps be a good thing to get. back to values based on average market prices for a serious of years, instead of on the maximum rate, as had been the case latterly.