TRADE OUTLOOK.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 June 1921, Page 6

TRADE OUTLOOK.

SOME EMPIRE PROBLEMS. CONDITIONS IN TH J DOMINION. IMPORTANCE OF DAIRY INDUSTRY. An interesting review of trade conditions existing to-day, with particular reference to Empire problems and th? trade and finance of New Zealand, was given by Mr. E. P. Webster (president of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce) at the annual meeting of the chamber last night. Mr. Webster said: “As was expected after the war, the greatest the world has ever seen, industrial and commercial matters have been throughout the whole* world disorganised and unsettled. Some few countries have gone back to almost pre-war conditions in the industrial labor world, and these are the countries which are reaping the harvest at the expense of their less fortunate neighbors. England and America are at present m the throes of strikes, the former in the coal industry and the latter in shipping. At the moment there is no immediate prospect of a settlement. What those strikes have cost the employers and employees of the respective countries it is impossible to say. The loss unfortunately is not confined to the countries concerned, but has a far-reaching effect throughout the whole world. Strike weapons seem to be but a poor and clumsy way to endeavor to settle industrial disputes, and in every instance the nation concerned, through the paralysis of trade, is the loser. “There are grave fears that behind the present strike at Home there exists the revolutionary spirit, the leaders being concerned not so much with the welfare of the men as in tearing down the constitution of the British Empire If more moderate ideas are not introduced trade will leave us and g i to the foreign countries whose peoples have settled down to work. For example, English shipping repair work has sincethe end of the war been done largely on thA Continent, the owners finding the work was being done more expeditiously and cheaply. British labor must be up and doing; otherwise they will find their industries gone and their country ruined “Before the war Germany was slowly capturing the world’s markets, their manufacturers using every endeavor to manufacture for the special requirements of the various countries with which she was trading. We all trust that trading within the Empire will become more firmly established and that British manufacturers will do their utmost to supply goods suitable for our needs. The figures for last year’s overseas trading go to show that Great Britain is supplying us with a large proportion of our ijyports. DOMINION’S TRADE. “The total trade of the Dominion has increased very largely during the last few years as the following figures will show: 1914 1920 £ £ Total imports .. 21,856,096 61,595,828 Total exports .. 26,261,447 45,592,294 The figures show a large increase in both imports and exports. Unfortunately the balance of trade was very much against us last year, through various causes, but this year should show better, owing to the restricted imports. The past year has been a stressful one for the Dominion from a commercial standpoint. The tremendous drop in our staple products, wool and frozen meat, with the attendant fall in the price of sheep and cattle, has caused very heavy losses to the farming community. The drop, coming on very high market, was so unexpected and so very severe that for some months the markets were stagnant. One would almost think that the prices reached were below bottom and were panic prices. “It is gratifying to see that 'at the

last wool sales prices improved slightly and it is hoped that within a shor period our clip will again command thsatisfactory prices it was fetching be fore the war. When it is considered tha a, penny per lb means about £1,000,000 it can be seen what the reduced price; for last season’s clip means to the pro ducers anjl the Dominion. Dairy produce prices have fortunate ly been well maintained during the sea son. It is generally anticipated tha: next year’s prices will not be so satis factory; but when one considers thai before the war butter was selling ai roughly Is per lb and cheese at 6d pei lb the recent prices seem too. good tc remain, and must with most other com modities recede in value. Some maj ask: ‘But what of the farmer on highpriced land?’ The solution appears tc be more production, and still more production, and this can be brought about by more intense and scientific cultivation of the land, by manuring, and by the improvement of dairy herds. In this latter connection it is satisfactory tc see the enterprise shown by some oi our leading farmers in introducing new blood into their herds from some of the best studs in other countries. It is only by this means that our herds can be brought to the pitch of perfection necessary to attain the best results. THE PUBLIC DEBT. The indebtedness of the Dominion hag grown considerably since 1914, due, oi course, to a very large extent to’the war. The actual debt on March 31 1920, was £193,913,191, or over £l6: per head of the population. Of this amount about £50,000,000 was raised internally subsequent to the outbreak of war. The debt is no doubt a heavv one for a small Dominion to carry; but when it is considered what a wonderfully fertile country ours is we have sufficient confidence in it to know that all oui obligations- will be met. The public wealth of the Dominion was computed some years ago at £87,000,000. The cost of the railways accounted for £40,000,000, the balance being absorbed in Crown and other publie lands and public works The private wealth was estimated ii 1918 at £527,000.000. . “A ver y gratifying feature is found in the returns of the Dominion’s Sav mgs Bunk for last quarter, where the sum of £42,953,905 is shown to the credit of depositors. .. This shows ar average of about £37 per head of tin population—a splendid average when yoi find in Great Britain it is only £7 an< m Australia £24.