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Press, Volume LV, Issue 16472, 15 March 1919, Page 8

The abnormal price of potatoes in December, which caused a /violent jerk in tho "cost of living" statistics in the January number of the "Monthly Abstract," has. now fallen considerably. As a result the difference between tho January and December figures is as striking as that between the figures for December and November. Tho "monthly Dominion weighted index numbers" for tho food groups—wo are sorry a loss clumsy term has not been found—show that whereas the level was 1070 in July, 1914, it was as follows in the three months given::— November, 1918 ... 1537 December, 1918 ... 1603 January, 1919 ... 1553 It is clear that Docember was abnormal. But that tliero was a sharp rise in tho cost of living in December is as contrary to fact as that there was a sharp fall in January.

We repeat what we liavo 6aid before, that any system of estimating the actual cost of living which forces the Statistician to record a sharp rise where there was really n~ rise at all, is not one upon which any serious transaction ought to he based. That the prices of articles havo risen steadily and practically continuously since the beginning of the war is a fact of which everyone? is uncomfortably ' aware. But the Statistician's figures aro not the measure of the rise in the cost of living, and his imaginary "weekly household budget" is purely imaginary, since it takes no account of the facts of household economy —of such a fact, for instance, as that the mistress, of the average household would not use potatoes .at fourpence as freely as potatoes at a penny or less. Let the Statistician's index numbers bo preserved, by all means; but it seems to us that his figures would be more scientific as a whole if they were not presented as a true index of the actual incroaso in people's household bills.

It is announced to-day that the Government intend that the Tesult of the referendum next month shall not be made public until all the votes are in and counted. An opinion by the Solicitor-General is mentioned as the Government's authority for this unusual course of action, but tho nature of his opinion and the considerations which have weighed with him are not explained. The Act directs the returning officers to transmit the results to the Minister of Justico as soon as possible, andi the Minister is to gazette the final result as soon as he has received all the returns, including those forwarded by the returning officers for the soldiers in Britain and Europe. But this does not mean, surely, that progress returns must not be printed. In the past the public has been supplied with progress returns in the case of Parliamentary elections, and we are bound to say that wo can see no good reason why unofficial Teturns cannot be made available for the public on the morning after the poll.

The Crown Law Office may have found some legal bar to a common-sense recognition of the public's interest in this matter. If so, it would be "worth while telling us what it is. We may recall that the news of the signing o'f the armistice, which had been transmitted by the Press Association's agent in Sydney, and which was confirmed by a Colonial Office messago to the Government, was unwarrantably withheld by the Government, and'tharb the Prime Minister never expressed any regret for this impudent interference with the rights of the Press and the public. With the memory of that incident still fresh in their minds, people will not be disposed to accept as. final any Ministerial assurance that the immediate publication of the results of the poll must be prohibited. On this occasion there may bo good grounds for keeping the result for some time as the interesting gecrct of a few people in Government offices in Wellington, but the people will not. we think, take the Government's bare word for it.