THE DOMINION'S TRADE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIX, Issue 147, 21 June 1918, Page 2

THE DOMINION'S TRADE.

MR BEA

WARNING AGAINST "ARTIFICIAL

PROSPERITY."

In his statement at the annual meeting of the Bank of New Zealand at Wellington to-day, Mr. Harold Beauehamp, chairman of directors, made interesting reference to the prosperity of the Dominion.

IMPERIAL PURCHASES.

The British Government had purchased practically all the principal products of New Zealand, and the figures of the operations of the Imperial Supplies Purchase Department illustrated the extent to which our producers had benefited. The total payments up to May 25 were as follows, the dates in parentheaes showing when purchases commenced:—Meat (3rd March, 1915), £24,029,688; cheese (4th November, 1915), £8,272,951; butter (20th November, 1917), £2,764,303; wool (Ist December, 1916), £24,266.894; elipe wool (31st March, 1917), £1,876,072; sheepskins ! (sth February, 1917), £850,412; hides (19th March, 1917), £695,330; seheelite (20th September, 1915), £101,740; other business, £1,158,534; total, £64,016,424. The banking Teturns of the Dominion showed to come extent the effect of these payments. In the four years covered by tlie war, the deposits increased by £11,475,248, equal to 47.75 per cent.; while the advances and discounts increased by £5,051,145, or not quite 24 per cent. The expansion in the advances occurred during the last two years, and might be attributed almost, if not entirely, to the lack of shipping facilities, which had necessitated the holding of produce for longer periods than usual in the Dominion. Industrial enterprise and development had not been active during the years of war, and ordinary advance.s had probably reduced rather than increased, for, in the absence of fresh undertakings, the incoming proceeds of produce sold at high prices had enabled substantial reductions to be made in liabilities. The mortgage returns of the Dominion apparently emphasised this, for the mortgages registered during the year ended 31st March last were some £2,927,000 lees than for the Tear ended 31st March, 1917. A WARNING. "It ie important that we should guard against being misled by these figures into the belief that all is well for the future, and that the present happy position of financial affairs will continue without interruption. It is well that \vt> should recognise at once that this cannot be. The h-uge sums raised locally by the Government for war purposes are being largely spent within the Dominion, creating an artificial prosperity which cannot be expected to last longer than the expenditure of the borrowed money which is creating it, and when all this money no longer circulates there will almost certainly be a great contraction of business in every direction. Prudent people will therefore anticipate and make provision for this inevitable contraction, recognising that war prosperity must necessarily be temporary."

RISE IN PRICE OF COMMODITIES. A table had been prepared showing fche rise Which had taken place in the prices of the leading merchantable commodities between July, 1914, and April, 1918. It ehowed large increases in practically all lines. Fencing wire had ri3en from £'J 10/ to £55, or 579 per cent., and 'was difficult to import even at the higher rate. Wire nails are 329 per tent, higher, tin plates 268 per cent., linseed oil 279 per cent., currants 146 per cent., fine gait 313 per cent., carbonate of soda 416 per cent., soda crystals 300 per cent., alum 400 per cent., cotton ticking 255 per cent., grey sheeting 250 per cent. "There ie a disposition in some quarters to regard these increases as preventable by locally applied remedies, and to lay the responsibility for the present high prices on the shoulders of the merchants and middlemen. Closer investigation, however, serves to show that this is a delusion, at auy rate as far as imported goods are concerned."