WOOL PRICES.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16506, 25 April 1919, Page 5

WOOL PRICES.

TO THT3 EDITOB OF "THE PRESS." Sir, —I observe that his Honour Mr Justice Stringer has formulated a scale for increasing the wages of employees to meet further, not only possible, but certain, increases in tho cost of living, most of which have been brought about by previous demands sanctioned by the Arbitration Court, but now flouted by the employees. This increased cost of living, which has been exorcising the mind of his Honour, unfortunately falls upon tho "unjust" producer as we'l as the "just" consumer, and I have been wondering how all these demands upon tho primary producer are to bo met; seeing that tho selling price of his produce is fixed at admittedly low pre-war pricos, and provides tho only fund out of which wages can be paid. "We are reminded, too, to-day in a most gentlemanly manner by advertisement of the Honourable the ActingFinance Minister, that we are not only expected, but'compelled, to contribute what may be considered our just quota to his new War Loan, and all this in addition to many war and other taxes which few townsmen, and only those liable to income tax, know anything about.

As the cost of living increases, our burden is becoming almost unbearable, but it could be materially liglitened > to the' great advantage of the Dominion as well as the producer, if only our Acting-Premier wou'd correct tlmt error in the basic price of greasy wool. The Imperial "\Vcol Commissioner has not only commented upon the low price at which it was obtained, which in his opinion was under its value, but has actually agreed to the correction in the case of slipe wool, which has now been paid for since the beginning of the commandeer on the basis of pre-war London prices, less three-halfpence per lb for freight and other shipping charges, aaainst fonrpence half-penny, or about throe times the amount, lor post-war freight and charges on greasy wool. It has been stated on authority that the price now being paid for greasy wool under the commandeer is approximately* the same, in proportion, ns slipe. but if the shipping charges leried amount, as they do. to .about- 4s'J per 11) for greasy and lid for slipe, I fail to see how they can v be. If they .should, happen to be so, it. only boars out my contention that the price of greasy is far too as there is no lustific.it.ion ' for debiting one class ot wool 3d per lb more than the other tor London charges. Both should bo upon the same footing in regard to basic value.

More of our wools will now be going into general consumption, and if the fabulous prices now being realised at auction should liapnen to continue tiuriiijnr this year .and next, that "unknown balance/*' which we have been told on authority would be "infinitesimal, ' may assume proportions which only a Jubilee Plunger would think of assigning. In some cases the auction prices will give .1 surplus of something approaching 2s per lb, and an unasked--I'or bonus of Is per lb to a fortunate few cannot be regarded as "infin.tesimal." We are now told by Mr Newman, M.P., that the owners of ws million sheep have assigned the balance, and as this represents only about one-foui tii of tho whole, the Acting-Premier daro not take this as an authority to withhold the surplus from those who have not agreed to surrender it. It may happen that the -alanee will he greater in some cases than the original loss of sixpence per lb, but this would only be so in regard to wool suitable lor military purposes, and it is surely, better to insist ujkju the correction of the mistake, which will place all upon the same footing. It is computed that this unfortunate blunder is costing the Dominion about seven and a halt' millions per annum, or, say, from twenty-two to twentythree million pounds sterling for the three yrars during which the wool commandeer has now been in force, and no country under the sun can afford to allow mistakes of this magnitude to remain uncorrected. I commend this to our highly capable Acting-Minister of Finance as something likely to assist him in getting over some of his difficulties. So far as I am concerned, I am willing to abide by the original contracts, which in eve:-y ease have been of far greater benefit to the Imperial Government than to the producer here, but mr-training has given mo a deep-seated ■objection to errors of any description, and I shall not rest until thi.s one is corrected, and the price offered obtained for our greasv von'.— T oii"s. etc., * "WOOL GROWER.

THE ELECTORAL ROLLS. TO TUB EDITOR OV "TWS PRESS." Sir, —Although New Zealand leads in | battlefields (as per correspondents' reports), the 3>ominion suffers siiame 111 the polling jumble at home, as the mutilated returns keen coming ;:i each, morning with a fresh* or corrected result. One naturally wants to know I what is the cause of continuance beI injr up one day and down the next, and ■why all the bubbling in the mercury. To mo it appears that our electoral ; system is shaky, and the condition or 1 tne rolls has something to do with tho results brought out by recounts. If this district is a specimen in regard to the rolls of seventy-seven other districts in New Zealand, it is possible j 150,000 to 180,000 names have been ; printed in the electoral rolls issued in ■ January which ought not to have been. Iu the Kaiapoi district the roil for December, 1914 election totalled .while the full roll for April, 1911*. contained the absurd total of 8048. F"om the 1914 roll the Registrar churned to ©rase 154 nam&fc V»svviM 6798 to oe

brought forward, and on the roll for January Oth 59GS names were brought forward. But in a later roll, issued March «th, 1910. the surprising total of 804? is produced. There is an addenda of 13P3 to be struck off, bringing the roll to almost its normal state with (U-3o voters. . . Whv there should have been such In etc "to "Ot out a roll in January for •i ,v.I 1 in April, and issue a second edition in April, is a point needing explanation. If it was to add to the confusion of polling day, the mystification of canvassers and committeos in making sections of the roll to suit such districts of the electorate, or to give work to the printing offices is not unite clear. As to the latter, the printing of loflS names on the January roll was equal to pages of printing r.t 17s (3d per page." and there wa s the printing of aliout three pages of corrections at the same price. I mention this fact to indicate what a- large cost must have been entailed throughout the colony, and a return for which ought to be asked for wlion Parliament moots. On purchasing a Kaiapoi roll you obtain the facts as stated. The roll is in two parts, each in alphabetical order, and the copies which I saw in the polling booths were, freelv decorated with roil ink rulings througli the lo?3 names struck off. If the 'returning officers could not find the name on the main! ! roll they had to search the supplementary, and their search ,was apparently increased by anxious. irresponsible touts outside the'bortli, who professed to give voters their correct number on the roll. "With tho increased facilities for printing rolls, the correction of the whole roll might have been closed in middle of March, and thereby a more reliable roll could have been issued for tho polling day. I am certain it is time the New_ Zealand Electoral Department was hit by an earthquake and dropped off the planet, as an onlooker remarked to me •who had been left off the roll bccaii.se somebody had found he had moved to a house one number less or more iu liis street. Ho liaa lived in the town and in the same street fourteen years, but, forsooth, some itinerant house-number-ing company had, quite unauthorised by any local authority, put numbers on tho doors of a few who chose to pay for the brass figures. Instead of _ troubling with voters' lists and the existing contrivances of tho Kegistrar-in-Chief, or Registrar-General, would it not answer to declare a close season for six months, in which* no person could enter New Zealand, and at polling time let 'cm all vote, simp'.y branding the polling papers with thumb marks? The papers could at leisure be checked by finger-print experts. Not ono thumb-print in a million million is the same. The rolls system having arrived at the acme of ricliculo and condemnation a change must be sought.—Yours, etc., J.L.W.