NEW ZEALAND AND ENGLISH PRICES.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 13411, 1 May 1909, Page 7

NEW ZEALAND AND ENGLISH PRICES.

(BY MAfEKFAMIIUS.)

(STECIAIXT WRITTEN' FOR "THE TRESS.") There is so much confusion in the mind of the public on the comparative prices of necessaries in England and New Zealand, that it seems worth while to state the actual facts and leave readers to draw their own conclusions' Like everything eke, tho right is not all on one side, and tlie inexorable law of compensation works even in the price of a pound of butter. Everyone will admit that the most serious item to a housekeeper i-s rent. In a country so divert lice! as England no hard and fast rule can be laid down. In some out-of-the-way places house rent is almost negligible, and in largercciuential towns it depends greatly on locality. If you want to live in the best part you must pay a high rent, but, speaking generally, for tho same accommodation, and taking rates int.> tonsidoration, house rent would be 60 jrer cent, tess than in .New Zealand, liut what is gaineel in the house is lost in the garden and garden produce. Here practically every house has a quarter-acre or at worst an eighth-acre of land, whereas the small town house;, in England have none. The next serious item of expenditure is coal. Though it is a travesty of fact t- represent, as was recently affirmed, that £3 a ton is a fair average price for coal here, yet it is about 35s- a ton as opposed to roughly 20s at Home. It will be argiied that in the colder country more coal is required. Quito true, but alas, the sun will not cook the dinner, ami the largest amount of our coal is consumed in that yawning cavern, tho kitchen grate. Coal being cheaper at Home, it naturally follown that gas is tho .wme; so two absolute necetisities of life show a distinct saving to tk_e English housekeeper's accounts. Tho next necessary is food. Here tho balance probably dips on the other side. Meat is far cheaper here, though the Dominion has done tho Home Country an immense service by enabling the small householder to obtnin meat at a much lower figure than formerly. It must bo owned that tho prejudice against frozen meat was hard to break down. It is fast disappearing, however, with the result that meat cari bo obtained much more cheaply now at Home. Still, for the ordimry "butcher's meat"—which means ■ British— quite double has to bo paid as compared with New Zealand. Vegetables aro hard to" compare, as having tho land, so many in New- Zealand grow their own, but the balance of advantage both as to quantity and price rests with us. Groceries are dearer in tho Dominion, and anything in the shape of luxuries much dearer. But wo aro considering necessaries, and here the influence of one ereat orovidor has revolutionise ' En.lish prices. Hi:> b liter, which is both good and cheap, is Is per lb in summer and Is 3d in" winter. His tea is widely used, and can be obtained at Home at Is 4d. and Is Gd. Bread "is chenper in England, though it is dearer thr-.n it used to .be, but 3sd a 1 af would be considered famine price. Milk is the same in both countries— usually 4d a quart anel 3d if taken by the gallon. Eg<rs are chenpor in Ensland, being ensily obtnined at 1G or 18 a shilling in summer and rarely rising abovo 2s a dozen in winter. Now the roor human animal being housed and fed must be! clothed, and this can bo done much more cheaply, in England, the homo of many of tlie industries which come under this heading, such as linen, cotton, cloth, and lace, and also the home, perhaps/ of too cheap labour, which, turns these things into wearing apparel. One great expense in New Zealand is medicine, for those . unfortunate enough to need it. England has of late years been spoilt in this respect by a huge company, which has brought down chemists' prices with a run. This company hasiarge branch shops in every town and turns its upper rooms into what is called "Th© BookLover's to entice the "unwary into its 'attractive premises. The legitimacy of this form of advertising has been severely criticised, but for the public the fact remains that for 16s a .year you get your library subscription for two volumes and are promised any now book by return of post, and also on your way to choose your book you buy your toothbrush, medicine, sodawater, and a thousand other things for about half the, price that was formerlycharged. Travelling in these days may be considered' a necessity. But the difficulty of comparison is great, as her© all who can afford it, travel first-class, -which is far cheaper than in England', where that class is th/?. luxury-of the rich. But the third-class there answers to the second-class here (ld'-a-'mile), and' is so good that it is quite usual for people who are quit© well off to use it, so much so that tho with its medium farejhas.'been .abolished; on many lines. Free education is granted to the poorer classes in both countries, hut any'education that'-has to be paid for is far cheaper in New Zealand. l When all is said and! done, the basis and) incidence of taxation differs so widely between us that superficial comparisons are apt to be highly misleading, and to create unfortunate misunderstandings. Life in the two'countries is run ou such different lines that th"--question resolves itself often into what the individual prefers to hove or to do without. The New Zealander is content to do without domestic help, which js so expensive as to be in many cases prohibitive. The English woman gives up everything ratlier than this luxury ?u> tno . u S n *t. is no more derogatory there than hero to do your own house-* work, it is not the "custom of tho country." On the other hand, wo regard, telephones, trams, concerts, and theatres as almost absolute necessities, and certainly our standare? of living is very _ mnch higher. . Probably in telling uLm> • yMr > °fl* n *ture, the result find, and we should 7li- f W ,"! England and New /Zealand if much has to he foregone by those with a slender purse, much remains that is within their reach