PROSPECTS OF THE WOOL SEASON.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 27, 14 January 1875, Page 3

PROSPECTS OF THE WOOL SEASON.

To our great staple — wool — this colony is greatly indebted for its increasing* prosperity. A rise of one penny per pound in its prise in the home markets means hundreds of thousands I of pounds increase to the income of the I wool growers. An opinion appears to be entertained by not a few of our buyers and growers that woolen manufactures are declining in England, and betaking' themselves to the Continent; and further, that the prospects of prices iv Europe are not iiPirly so bright as those of last year. Knowing something of *he subject on which we write, and I studying with some care a series of I p-evious sales, we fully concur with 1 j\l r Samuel Ttevane, of Wellington, I than whom there is not a better judge I in New Zealand, that prices to-* this coming season's clip wdl be well maintained. Mr Hevans tells us that the s ock of wool in England was larger on the first, day of the present year than it was for the same period of the previous ypar. With reference to. the prospect of bad prices for the coming clip, Mr Hevans thinks the relative circumstances of the seasons 1878-74 and 1874-75. do not warrant any such be'ief The last clip was preceeded and attended by bad harvests ; two consecutive bad harvests made the mind apprehensive of a third. The doubt must have, been great, and- the diminished purchasing fiower must have operated to the disadvantage of the price for wool The fear of war was considerable, for rumors were afloat ; whilst this year the united action of England-, Germany. France, and Austria in reference, to. Spain, necessarily augments confidence The.clipofT 87 1-7-5 is preceded by a general good harvest, almost world-wide. A correspondent of the ' Times' estimates the increased purchasing po ver of France alone, this, as compared with last wheat season, at £15,000,000. The price of food in - terfers largely with the price of other necessities — the more funds required fo?* the former, the less for woollen and cotton goods. Money is not dearer, nor does it appear likely to. be. dearer this than last year, looking only at ordinary circumstances, with which alone we can deal Money should be cheaper this than last year. Employment for the people in Europe has not declined —does not appear likely to be less this than last year-; rather otherwise, if buyers coming from foreign, countries to the markets ot these seas, leads to the belief that they contemplate an early re vival of trade in the United States, and that they had better be early than late, as buyers. of the coming wool crop. That the large quantity of wool taken by the continent up to the 31st July was not exepssive, was. proved hy the. larger purchases by foreigners, and to go abroad, of which. b»£ 4.000. bales, were reported for the tfnited States^* The quantity offered for sale, %omj 1 8th, nearly, sevep ttfeeks., " hV bj-/tele-gram, stated to have been 0ver26u,3p.0» of which 120,000/ bajes/'\yere taken abroad, leaving for,, home use, of imporj ted WooL, i4-o,opuy bales./' sale may be taken, as a most important point, bearing on the price of wool for ; . " ■'■ ■> ■'-"" \i '- ,- '-- -" " '"* -*

the coming clip. So much being taken so soon after the very; large supplies the continent had so lately obtained from abroad, may be dwelt upon as justifying no warrantry for bad wool prices during next wool -season. In reference to the future supply, Mr Hevans thinks the late sales in Europe, and the movements of the American buyers, are facts favoring- the belief that buyers do not anticipate any extraordinary increase in supply of next over last year. To the wool producer the question is not who takes the wool, though, as English or British, we like not to hear of any decline at home, or even arrested progress ; but will the market take all we can supply ! Experience says yes. — * New Zealand Herald."