BETTER TIMES AHEAD.

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1922, Page 6

BETTER TIMES AHEAD.

ECONOMIST’S PREDICTION. REVIVAL IN BUSINESS. Christchurch, Sept. 5.

A review of the present economic position was given by Professor J. B. Conclliffe, professor of economics at Canterbury College, in a paper read atthe annual meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce to-day. Professor Condliffe said all the prospects for the coming year pointed to a steady though slow revival of business and prices. There was every reason to expect that the season or 1922-23 would show a substantial rise in the prices of our primary produce, and so give the Dominion time and opportunity to put its house in order. That rise was likely to be greater in the prices of farm products than in manufactures. The recovery which was due should not, however, be interpreted as a return to the pre.-war conditions of ever-rising prices and continuous prosperity. Still less should it be made the occasion of a boom. The warning issued by the economists of Harvard University, when the first signs of the revival became evident in the United States was curious! v applicable to the New Zealand.situation. What had been said in regard to the probability of improved business and higher general commodity prices in 1922-23 must not be interpreted to mean that a business boom was in prospect, because the numerous adverse factors in the situation made such a development highly improbable. A farming community with a low purchasing power, excessive taxes, and the very critical European situation were all obstacles which tended to retard business activity.