The Daily News FRIDAY, JULY 15. THE WOOL MARKET.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 145, 16 July 1909, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, JULY 15. THE WOOL MARKET.

The annual review of the Australasian wool markets for the year ended .June 30tli, which has been published vy Messrs. palgety and Co., Ltd., wiu characteristic promptitude, deals in a comprehensive manner with the wool industry. The remarks under the various headings are very interesting, while tiii I statistical matter lias been carefully compiled. It is shown that tile oversea exports show the substantial and unexpected increase of 09,772,153 lb, .but it must be borne in mind that the exports for the year have beeu swollen by the carry over of more wool than usual from the preceding statistical year, and the earlier despatch of many Queensland clips this winter, os regards values, tiiese have advanced beyond the hopes of the most sanguine. Commencing at a level of about 3D pw . cent, below the opening of the previous year prices have continually advanced, until at tlie present time fully 25 per cent, of the decline referred to has ibeen recovered. Much of the clip which was sold before the material advance came, of necessity passed from growers' hands at comparatively low prices; uat those who sold early at least have the satisfaction of knowing that they obtained good competition for their wool, and consequently as high a price as the trade of the world permitted buyers to pay. They must also remember that those who took their previous clip from them at a high range of values had lost tremendously on the year's transactions, whereas during the past twelve months they have done well, and are in good heart for the coming season, anxiouo to buy wool, and prepared to give a remunerative price for it. All things considered, the year now closed has been a far more prosperous one for growers than they could possibly have anticipated. The 1,057,1)06 bales which have been sold in Australasian markets it.

aged £ll Cs ltid per bale, and «. presuming that the portion of the c.. i which has been sent direct to Lonuan for sale, lias only made a like average, | the net gain in wealth to Australasia from wool alone will nave amounted to £(25,950,912, as compared with £26,71)8,952 for the preceding year, and £29,085,740 in 1900-7. As a matter of fact, the monetary return from tlie exportable surplus of Australasian wool for the past year will be considerably greater than the figures quoted, for the simple reason that the proportion marketed in London will net considerably more per bale tluin that sold in Australasia, because market lias been a rising one and also because tlw wools sent forward to London for sale contain a large percentage of scoured, and practically no farmers' wools or odds and ends of station clips. After fully considering the present outlook Messrs. Dalgety and Company say that it seems as difficult as ever to forecast the future of the market. With good supplies ahead, the general run of merino wools may slip back a little, yet looking ba-k over a series of years the outlook is distinctly encouraging. Prices seem fairly safe from any violent fluctuations for | some time yet, though the cold, wH summer now being experienced in Great Britain will have a bad effect on light weight goods made of merino wools, and I at tlie time of going to, press the probability of another big strike in Great Britain is not reassuring. Witli crossi breds cheaper than merinos and standing I at the average price of the past l'i years, a decrease in the next Argentine clip imminent, and the probability of such wools being gradually forced into fashion on account of their relative cheapness to fine wools, the position of the coarse grades of crossbreds seems to be a solid one, and it will be surprising if they do not hold their ground. Any upheaval in finance or trade would, :>f course, be a disastrous calamity to tin wool trade, but it is to bo "hoped that the great nations of the world may continue to enjoy the peace which now prevails. Summing up the position, th »y give it as their opinion that a continuance of high prices during the approaching Australasian selling season will largely depend on how supplies are handled on this side. Any delay in the olVering of heavy supplies, such as mig>t occur through a wet spring or otiwr causes, would greatly help' tlie position. What producers and selling brokers should aim at is to control the ollerings in such a manner as to prevent the possibility of any surfeit in supplies, and this can and should be done.

THE BRITISH h'DOET. Mr. Lloyd-Ueorge has educed the most contradictory opinion from the public writers on the subject of his muchdiscussed Budget. The typical Liberal acclaims it as the crowning triumph of y heaven-sent economist. The typical Unionist condmns it as the desperate outrage of a pollitk-al britrand. Lord Welby voices the former opinion in an article which occupies the first place in the Contemporary Review, lie deplores the lavish expenditure upon which the country has embarked, but claims tint the Chancellor of tire. Exchequer has acted with justice and wisdom in taxing the luxuries? but not the necessaries of the workers, and at the same time by imposing a heavy super-tax on large incomes, by largely increasing the already heavy estate duties and legacy duties and by adding to the taxation on land. Lord Welby sighs for further retrenchment in the public expenditure, but I'.olils that as the money must be found,, it should be found by the whole nation. He charges the Conservatives with wanting to spare the wealthy and tax the l-oor. hi the Nineteenth Century ami After. .Mr. Harold Cox, M.P., trounces the Chancellor of the Exchequer s'oundly. and at the same time gives it hot to LilxM-al.i and Conservatives alike for the extravagance which has made the national hill so heavy. The Conserva-' lives are insistent in their demand for J more mowy for armaments, The Li r o-1 crafs hanker for further expenditure i on social reforms, and (says the contriimtor caustically), "forgetting their old Liberalism in order to dally with a new socialism, appear to welcome taxation ns a means of transferring the-wealth of the rich to the .pockets of the poor.'' Jn the present Jinnm-M ear the British taxpayers are asked to provide .€lOl,102,000. or £10,000,000 more than last year Mr. Cox shows that the Liberal Administration has cut" down the expenditure on naval and military armaments by .Uo,(124.001) as compared with the expenditure during the last year of office of their Conservative predecessors. Vet the Liberals request the taxpayers to provide :C13,314,000 more altogether '■han the total asked for by the Conservatives. Mr. Harold Cox expresses the opinion that ''it is not a public purpose to relieve a. well-to-do working man of the duty of contributing to the cost of the education of his own children, or of providing for his own old age." A majority in Parliament, however, differ from him in this view. Hence the Budget.