THE Wairarapa Age. MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY. MAY 15, 1903. NO CAUSE FOE ALARM.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9090, 15 May 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age. MORNING DAILY. FRIDAY. MAY 15, 1903. NO CAUSE FOE ALARM.

When a man is feeling somewhat unwell and depressed, a good recipe for making him really ill is to tell him in sombre tones that he is looking very bad. It is somewhat the same in connection with trade and commerce. When there is a falling o.'F, however small, in the volume of trade —when some staple commodity falls for a while below the normal, and money begins to be a little tight —a sure way to make things wor»c is to fancy everything is going to the dogs, and that hard times .are about to overtake the country. That is the feeling a section of the press of the dominion is endeavouring to engender just now, and some commercial men are lending their aid in a way calculated to create a scare. There does nut appear to be any real reason for alarm. Th? chief fall in our products is in woo!, which has dropped below normal from various causes, some of which might possibly have been avoided. It has to be remembered, however, that for many seasons past the price of this staple has been considerably above normal, and the wool-grower has had an era of unusual prosperity. Stock has decreased in value, ard butter has proved a source of trouble, because of the unwisdom of making heavy sales in ad-

vanco and the intervention of a record drought. In both vu.--ca a recovery will probably be made before serious consequences ensue. The tightness of money is duo in some measure to the causes mentioned, but; it is also alleged to be due in greater measure to the policy of the Minister of Finance in raising money extensively in the dominion, and so diverting it from it.-? proper business channels. If this is really so, Sir Joseph Ward will have to answer in some degree for the present condition of the New Zealand money market. The Minister's reply to the allegation is that, in the interests oi the State, he w'll borrow where he can get money cheapest; but it may be open to question whether a slight saving in this respect may not under the circumstances create a greater indirect loss. Nevertheless the fact remains that the dominion is, despite the drop in prices, in a nourishing condition, if the figures recently sot before the country by the Treasurer are to be relied upon, and ther3 is every reason t> hope t.uit no serious depression is at hand.