TRADE AT HOME.

Temuka Leader, Issue 228, 24 January 1880, Page 2

TRADE AT HOME.

, The World, in its city article of Nov. _ 5, speaking of the revival which taken place in trade, says : 1 Will it last ?—the reality revival in trade having been placed beyond doubt by the improvements irt nearly all branches of business, the more favorable Clearing-House returns, anil the gradual advance in railway traffic receipts, attention is naturally directed 1 to its character. We are warned that, as the period of depression whjch is fast passing away has lasted so much longer than that which followed the panic of 1866, the process of recovery ts likely to be slower now than it was then. Possibly ; but there is no use exaggerate ' ing. Our recent depression has been exceptionally protracted ; but the contract is not so great as the b.conpmis . says. From the spring of 1866 theret was no permanent change in the of trade till far on in 1870, whereas onr contemporary speaks of it as passing 1 away in the autumn or early winter of 187(8- This is not correct. There were signs of better times at the outset of 1870 ; but their development was checked by the outbreak of the FrancoGerman war, and, if wo leave out of account activity in the trade in war materials, substantial improvement was not established till the following year. There were thus four years and a half of depression in the earlier period, and we have had from five to six years in the later. So far, however, from the long endurance of the time of depression and dull trade supplying reasons against the advent of any ‘ well-sustained activity, it would be more reasonable to conclude precisely the contrary. Prices have fallen so low, that once activity and confidence show themselves (as they have done), - they must bo tempted into all sorts of enterprises. . True, there cannot be revival without capital ; and people have not been making money rapidly in the dull times. But they have been living frugally ; and accumulation of savings—as the savings-bami statistics show—has lieen going on steadily ; the long slow drag widen has been experienced was not due to want of capital but to want of confidence and therefore of credit. Of course too loss from defaulting foreign States and other sorccs told seriously upon the country, but not to anything likejbe extent which croakers predicted, ibo fact is, oven in what are called bad times, a vast amount of business continues to be done capital goes on accumulating, and the working classes g.> on saving, It may be that revival j will n*'t he rapin—perhaps it is not | desirable that it should he ; but we are warranted in believing it is likely to l a continuous. The circumstantes of United States are, no doubt, different* from those of England ; and we can 1 , t aver that we shall follow here in t..e cise course taken by onr cousins. Theiv have been exceptrnaby a: i < ant harvest* in the New W arid. ! i n the Old .hey have been' c.-cce

scanty. Happily, however, we benefit ,a« a community, from the good harvests more than we feel the evil effects of the had ones. Food is not likely to lie dear though it may be dearer than we have recently been accustomed to ; and our working classes, onde fally employed, will in a short time be found spending ns freely as ever. As for dearer money that —as we showed last week—is rather matter for congratulation than regret, so long as it does not get too dear ; and as yet there are no signs of that. A long (time of trial should be followed by along ran of recovery.