TEE STAFF OF LIFE

West Coast Times, Issue 701, 23 December 1867, Page 2

TEE STAFF OF LIFE

TO THB BDITOB OF THE WEST COAST TIMES ;

Sib, — On Monday the bakers will present the community of Hokitika with a Christmas Gift (?) in the shape .of" rising bread to Is 6d per loaf. The recent rise in the price of flour can only be accounted for by the stock in hand being owned by a monopolist. Admitting that flour is L 25 per ton, the baker makes seventy loaves out of every 200 lbs. weight of flour, which he sells at Is 6d per loaf, now allow him an ample margin of Ll 15s (which sum is far in excess) for making a bag of flour into bread, and forbad debts, he has still the very handsome profit of Ll for an outlay of L 2 10s. If the public will quietly pay an extra fifty per cent, so mucli the better for the bakers. In Turkey they manage bakers and monopolists very differently, as nailing their ears to the door post being not au infrequent mode of punishing those who seek to raise unjustly either the price of bread or reduce its weight. Let the price be Is 3d for a week or so. I am, &c, Anti Monopoly. Pec. 21, 1867. P.S.— Where is Mr Dick that he does not again take the matter up.

The value of the imports at the several ports of New Zealand during the quarter ** ended June 30th, 1867, waß L 1,225,727, compared with L 1,282,485 for the corresponding quarter of 1866. The value of the exports during the first-named period was L 1,263,86 3; during the corresponding quarter of 1866 L 1,185,886.

(For remmmdtr of News tea 4fll Page.)