NEW ZEALAND.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXI, Issue 7914, 30 September 1909, Page 1

NEW ZEALAND.

Sir Joseph Ward contributed the following "article to the Express while he was m London:

For a period extending over twelve months there was a tightness m the New Zealand money market, which, as was to be expected,. had a deterrent effect on many industries, and militated against an otherwise hopeful prospect of a number of people upon our land, who, m carrying out extensive improvements, required money for such purposes. The cause of the dislocation was an abnormal one, brought about by conditions m the financial world that existed far beyond the shores of New* Zealand. *':

It began witli the financial upheaval m the United* States of America. Though our trade with that country is comparatively small, arid we were not directly .affected by the financial disaster, yet 'it ".indirectly, affected us through Hthe 'ji jLonddii;- wool' market, through;"which-- centre'-the 'great proportion of out': wool; 1 frozen ;meat, and flax istregularly.'Seriti-The houses that were operating from.London with New Zealand, directly or "indirectly engaged with trade from London, felt the. reflex of trie American : trouble very quickly; -The result was that a Very heavy .drbjp- j-almost unprecedented—took, place m wool within a short period, anditrnade a'difference to the producers m New Zealand of no less a sum than '£2,000,000.

" v ; WOOL. , The fact that'the wool \produced had gone out/ while .prices were .high naturally, resulted .m large drawings being made, from England upon those who had assessed the value of their wool at the higher level of prices. In a. small community where town trade is closely associated with the country trade, the -prejudicial reaction quickly found its way to the business centres, and -created a,. condition, of caution— perhaps m some respects excessive, but nevertheless, warranted —m the institutions that were carrying on the busii ness of both town and country clients throughout the^/dominion.

The drop m .the value of wool necessarily, affected the value of the carcases of meat for-export, purposes, and, indeed, of the live stock, too. While m New' Zealand-there are upwards of twenty, millions of sheep, it will be at once apparent how widespread such a downward tendency m the value of our staple.product was, and -how it affected us. But-for this cause the smoothness of the financial conditions would doubtless have remained unaffected, and we would not have'had the period of financial tightness to which I have alluded. ■ ■ ■ ,■'..- \: .■■ ■;

Troubles never come singly, as at the same time an extraordinary slump m the flax-market took place. New Zealand was largely-interested, andl consequently the fall added to its difficulties. I am very "glad to say, however, that this condition of affairs did not last long. ■:■. _ EXPORTS.

The value of the exports from New Zealand for the first six months of this year is two millions higher than for the same period of the preceding year, and this at a time when our frozen meat is, unfortunately, realising very low prices m our country. The dominion ■'. has 1 been fortunate enough.to have just had one of the best seasons m its history. The climate conditions required for the production of wool, grain, or dairy produce right throughout the land have been exceptionally good, and the increased value of our exports/is. confirmatory of the improved coiidition. that exists, so that to-day, happily, throughout the country there is a complete change for the better, and a return of the prosperous conditions, both, for our agriculturists, pastoralists, and business,men,.is now assured. ' V.;;.v, r\ '.■-.,1 .' '':j.!'--

For a ,eomparaiiye)y; small xjommuni-tyrr-now dyer a million —the export from New Zealand,, of upwards of eighteen millions sterling chiefly consisting of natural products, is a large one ) and, though, we. must expect from time „to time to have fluctuations m prices, with reasonable care a country producing; and-having such widespread j product^., of the soil must by degrees i forge ahead. ■•'.'.., j In . considering the condition of i affairs m New Zealand, it requires to be remembered, that we have a widely scattered, population. There are no very large centres, ;such as are to be found iji older countries, and the requirements of .the people m the. country call for extended railway transport facilities to enable them to market the products of their labour. We have a country of an, area greater than that of England,- Ireland, and Scotland, with but a fortieth of the'population. Railway facilities,' roadiiig, telegraphs and telephones—all of which are undertaken by the;State —have to be provided through parts of the dominion where the population is small and scattered. MORE PEOPLE. To-day, m many portions of the country, we , can carry a largely increased population, probably five or ten times greater than it is now, without having to incur very much additional' public expenditure to ensure provision for the needs of .the people. We are gradually and;surely progressing; and m the troublous times that have affect- j ed the financial world m many other countries, it.; is something upon which wo have a right to congratulate ourselves, that our consolidated revenue maintained a most satisfactory position during the-last financial year, and was on the right side at its conclusion.

A number of people come now to our country every year from England, Ireland, and Scotland, and settle permanently m the dominion, and a ■comparatively largo number come for the purpose of either.fishing or stalking. On the whole, New Zealand is doing well, and with ordinary care, both upon the part of the private individual and of the public man, there is no reason whatever to fear its future. We can carry a very large population compared with what we have now, but necessarily it must be a gradual increase. The crowding of large numbers of people into the country, within a short period would work, m many cases, disadvantageously to the interests of the individuals concerned;, but obviously with largely increasingjland settlement yearly, and. the ' public and. private expenditure that development necessarily involves,' we must, if we desire to maintain legitimate progress, look forward to' a steady growth of our population, and: this, I am happy to say, we are gradually achieving.