THE COST OF LIVING.

Taranaki Daily News, 23 November 1922, Page 8

THE COST OF LIVING.

FORTUNATE NEW ZEALAND. COMPARISON WITH ENGLAND. “The first thing one finds on coming Black to New Zealand,” stated Mr. J. M. Hott, of Wellington, in the course of an interview, “is ihe sense of well-being and prosperity here as compared with the poverty and distress so noticeable in the older countries, America and England. Both those countries have suffered very severely from depression and unemployment, but in both it is now, happily, diminishing. “Another thing that impresses one very much on getting back is the difference in the cost of living. We had a house in London for some four months, and consequently are probably able to form a better idea of the relative costs of living here and at Home than those who stayed in hotels. For instance, wo notice that milk is 5Ad a quart hero, as against Sd when we left London in the autumn. Lamb chops were Is each in London; beef-steak about Is 10d a lb; and a small leg of lamh would cost about 10s as against 3s 6(1 hero. A sirloin of beef in London cost us about. 9s; bacon was 2s 9d a lb, as against Is M here: and eggs about 2s 6d a dozen; and fish is cheaper. Wo camo to the conclusion that, as far as foodstuffs are concerned, it. costs about twice as much to live in London: though, of course, clothing is cheaper there. But the main cost, of living is in the food items, and in them the difference between London and New Zealand is most marked.”