The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1888. THE RISE IN PRICES.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1785, 4 September 1888, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1888. THE RISE IN PRICES.

It is a sad state of affairs when _ the people of a portion of the earth rejoice in the misfortunes of people in other parts of it. This is exactly what we do here in New Zealand at present. We rejoice to hear that the harvest in England, and on the Continent, and in India has not been a success, because it gives us a hope that its failure will result in securing to us a better price for grain. We sing “ Rule Britannia ” with a vigor and. a verve that would do credit to the most thoroughgoing John Bull within the United Kingdom j we proclaim our loyalty to our Queen and the Parliament of England with an ostentation so pronounced as to throw doubt on our sincerity; we avow a readiness to buckle on our armour and fight for the integrity of the Empire if need* be, but still we rejoice to hear that the harvest in all parts of that Empire we are so ready to protect is bad, just because we expect to gain another sixpence per bushel in the price of the grain we grow. This we say again is a sad state of affairs, because it denotes that there must be something wrong when such is the case. It shows that owing to increased facilities the earth is producing more food at present than is being,{Consumed, or else the price could not fall below the cost of production. There is no country in the world which has much of an advantage over New Zealand in growing wheat. It is certainly a long distance away from the markets of Europe, but it has counteracting advantages which need nob be enumerated here, and when it does not pay to grow wheat in this colony it certainly cannot pay anywhere else. For several years wheat growing has not been a paying business in this colony, and this year climaxed the long succession of low prices, with half-a-crown a bushel. When we in this colony get only half-a-crown a bushel the prices obtained elsewhere are correspondingly low, so that other people must be just as badly off as we are. It is patent to everyone that at half a-crown a bushel wheat growing will not pay, even if the farmer had no rent to pay for his land, and as the prices in other countries must be correspondingly low, so other countries must be just as badly off in that respect as we are. And yet on the top of low prices we are told the British farmer is to have a bad harvest to add to his distress, and we rejoice because his distress gives us a hope that we shall get better prices next year. To us it is plain that there is something wrong when the food supply of th e world has outgrown the consumption, especially when we know that there are millions upon millions of people starving for want of food. If these people had sufficient to purchase the necessaries of life, the present production would not be equal to the demand, and the prices would then be far higher than they are at present. The fact is that machinery is doing most of the work at present, and that consequently imniense numbers are idle, and unable to purchase the necessaries of life. In Hoyle’s Industrial Economy we find that a 400horse power engine costs only £6BO a year to keep, while if the same work had been done by horses it would cost £25,775; thus showing that the steam engine is 37 times cheaper than horses in either turning a mill or carrying goods. Owing to the invention of machinery, lace which cost in 1809 five guineas per yard, was made and sold in 1860 at sixpence per yard ; to spin a pound of cotton then cost 14s, while it is done now for 2d per lb, and so on. Machinery is doing all the work, the people are not earning money, and consequently have not the means of baying food. Up to the present this was not felt so much, as since the introduction of machinery the world has grown immensely, Fifty years ago New Zealand was all tussock, and very few white men were to be found south of the line. Fifty years ago the vast continent of America was barely touched, most of Canada was still unknown land, and India had not begun to pour its shiploads into the London market. During these 50 years the vast prairies of America, and the wilds of Australasia and Canada, and of many other parts of the earth hare not only been brought under cultivation, but they have been fenced, bridges span the rivers, roads cross them in all directions, and thousands upon thousands of miles of railways have been made. All this gave employment to people, and consequently the competition of steam machinery with human labor has not been so much felt, but now the railways, roads, and bridges have been made, the land has been fenced, the primeval forest has succumbed to the woodman’s axe, and the field of labor is narrowed down to agricultural and other industries.

The opening up of new countries nullified the competition with steam labor, but now that there are very few more new countries to open, it appears to us that we are face to face with a problem that will require all the astuteness of statesmen to solve. To us it is easy enough; ' There is nothing for it but better pay and less work for men. Let those who work 12 and 14 hours a day now work only 6 hours in future, and get the same, i if not better pay for it, aad we shall '

have better prices for everything. Cheapness is a curse, good prices are a blessing, and for this end all ought to work. But it is impossible to treat the whole subject fully in one article. We may possibly refer to the subject again.