GREAT BRITAIN'S RECOVERY

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21247, 20 August 1934, Page 6

GREAT BRITAIN'S RECOVERY

<> PROGRESS IN MANY INDUSTRIES '['HADE COMMISSIONER'S VIEWS Trade conditions generally inGreat Britain have shown a remarKable improvement in the last two and a-half years, stated Mr R. Boulter, his Majesty's Trade Commissioner in New Zealand, who spent the week-end in Christchurch. In an interview with "The Press," Mr Boulter said that he had not been in England for some time, but had kept closely in touch with business and commercial interests. "The unemployment figures are a fairly safe barometer of industrial conditions," remarked Mr Boulter, "and they indicate that industry is once more finding its feet. Thousands of workers are being absorbed in a wide field of industry." Mr Boulter said that the improvement had been most marked in the iron and steel industry, which in Great Britain was flourishing as it had not done for a long time. The building trade, too, had shown a great revival, and the importance of this lay in its power to absorb a great many manufactured products as well as raw materials. The wool industry had also improved a great deal, and while the cotton interests still had difficulties to face, a good deal of the ground lost during the slump had been regained. Throughout the depression, said Mr Boulter, the countries producing raw materials had been faced with an ever-diminishing return from their products. A variety of methods had been adopted in the endeavour to improve prices, and it seemed that they were now beginning to take effect. There had been an appreciable recovery in the prices of rubber, tin, tea, and other raw materials, some of which gave an indication that the measures taken to restrict production had not been without good result. The motor-car industry had made great strides in Great Britain, said Mr Boulter. New Zealand had plenty of evidence of the effective way in which the English manufacturers were meeting world competition in this industry. The progress in the radio industry had been even more striking. Mr Boulter thought that this year's radio exhibition at London would reveal new developments, very possibly along the lines of television. A tremendous amount was being spent on research in the radio industry, and the results were rapidly being put into practice. Mr Boulter preferred not to express any opinion on conditions in New Zealand, because he has seen little of the country in the two months in which he has occupied the position of Trade Commissioner in the Dominion. This is his first official trip away from "Wellington. He will go to Dunedin to-day, and will pay an official visit to Christchurch next month.