THE ECONOMIC POSITION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 199, 16 May 1908, Page 6

THE ECONOMIC POSITION.

big drop in exports. SOME SIGNIFICANT FIGURES. Tho "Now Zealand Trado Review," issued yesterday, includes a brief review of tho import and export figures for the Dominion for tho quarter ended on March 31. Tho figures representing tho value of exports: are so much be-low fchoso for tho corresponding quarter of 1907 that wo take tho liberty of quoting from tho trade journal as follows: EXPORTS. ! Tho declared valuo of the exports of tho Dominion for tho quarter ending on March 31 last compares as follows with previous corresponding periods:— March Excluding Quarter. Specie. Specie. Total. £ £' • £ 190S ... 6,330,261 1,666 1907 ... 8,531,244 3,470 8,534,714 ' 1906 '... 7,088,535 9,197 : 7,097,732 1905 :.. 6,481,282 2,063 , 0,486,350 Tho total exhibits a falling-off of £2,201,000 from that of the March quarter of 1907. Wool alone. shows a decrease of somo £1,594,000, or nearly 31 por cont. Thero is, however, a shortago equal to fully 13 per cent, in tho, weight of shipments for the quarter, leaving nearly 21 per cent.. to bo accounted for by fall in pnccs. Falling-off is seen also in frozen meat, butter, kauri gum and hemp. A yoar ending with March 31 is. not a good period for purposes of comparison, as it comprises the halves of two seasons, and any measuro of lateness or. easiness in tho gathering and shipping of the season's products militates against a true comparison. Tho 'best year for this purpose is ono closing with September 30, when tho season is completely ovor., Tho exports of wool for tho six months ended on March 31, tho expired portion of tho current season, comparo with tho same period of previous seasons as follows:—Six months. ■ ended Weight. ' ...Valuo. March 31. lbs. £ 1908 ... 119,490,256 ... 4,251,384 1907 ... 125,544,981 ... 5,620,675 1906 ... 113,082,585 ... 4,741.590 1905 ... 115,827,210 ... 4,255,679

Tlio number of shcop in New Zealand has been continuously on tbo inoroaso during these years, but tho exports of the respectivo half-yoare show marked irregularity, for reasons given above. As compare;! with tho first half of the 1906-7 season tho latest six months show a shortage of weight equal to nearly 5 per cent., while (in value tho different is over 24 per cent. Wo do not know of any reason to anticipate a smaller total clip than that of last season, and thereforo look to sco a comparative jincreasa in tho shipments of tho latter half of tho year. IMPORTS. Tho value of the imports of tho Dominion i for tho quarter ended on March 31 last compares as with that of corresponding periods of recent yoars: — March Excluding Quarter. Specio. • Spccie. Total. , £ £ £ 1908 ... 4,573,79.'5 20,600 4,894,395 - .1907 ... 3,940,357 : 40,020 3,986,377 . 1906 ... 3,531,119 - 343.505 3,874,624 1905 ... 3,332,329 175,000 . 3,507,329

The quarter's imports aro extremely heavy, and aro in excess of those of the corresponding poriod of last year, in the valuo exclusive of spccie, by £92.7,000, and above tho same quarter of i9oo by £1,541,000. It certainly, gives tho impression that tho scale of importation has become excessive and stands in need of diminution. It is in tho March quarter that tho autumn-winter season's supplies'of soft goods come in, and it is probable that this branch is , largely responsible for tho expansion. _ The remarks, however, as to inflation made in cur comments on the totals for the year, apply with special force to this quarter.

Tlie year's total shows tho heavy increase of £2,749,000, or about 18 2-3 per cent., in tho twelvemonth, and ' £4,800,000 in two years. Wo have no indication, as to the responsibility for this remarkablo expansion attaching to any particular olass of goods. It appears that to somo extent importers were unable, within the timo provided, to dispose of their duty-paid stocks of goods on which the duty was repealed under tho new tariff, and that, under theso circumstances, such goods wcro exported under rebate and brought back as duty free. This procedure would result in a measure of fictitious infla-

tion of the import totals, tho extent of which •pould apparently bo about £150,000. Another causo of inflation is to be found' in heavy importations of foreign goods on which extra duties wore enacted under the preferential sections of -tho tariff Act. Why the usual course of bringing an increnso of duty into immediate effect was not followed in this case we cajrnot imagine. Tho long delay in bringing the duties into forco gave tho opportunity to lay in largo stocks' in the interval, an' opportunity wh|ch 'has boon largely taken advantage of. '

INTERVIEW WITH MR. D. J. NATHAN. SCARCITY OF LABOUR. When asked a question about New Zealand's economic position, Mr. David Nathan deolared that it would bo absurd to expect a business man to give a. comprehensive opinion on suclr a complex subject when ha was not furnished with full statistics for successive years. Ho was, however, strongly of tho opinion, even in faco of ■ the great decrease in tho value of our exports, that .what the country needed most was population rather than money. Thero was bound to bo a_ diminution of 'the amount of inoney at the disposal of tho public as a whole, but tho offect would bo the less noticeable on account of the fact that but little money had gone into fresh industrial enterprises during tho last twelve months. This was duo to the impossibility of obtaining adequate and sufficient labour and to the various difficulties in the labour world. Even if ono had to pay J per cent, or 1 per cent, more for tho use of capital, that would not matter so much, if only there was enough labour'to go round. Ihe best available means of making tho country advance was to give reasonable encouragement to suitablo immigration of tho domestic, industrial, and farming classes, ihe labour organisations were "mistaken in supposing that increaso of population would Jead to reduction, of wages. Experience ill the United States' and Canada, as well as country, had proved that as the ponu : lation grow the wages became higher. Ho had unbounded faith in tho future of the country, and be thought that it would bo found on investigation that sheep-farmers evon now wore getting a fair return per 1 sheep as comparod with their returns a few 'years ago. Thero had been a fall before, and the country had recovoTed, as it would again. (Jno result of the cheapening of wool would bo that more would bo used, and so tho market would tend to right itself. Again, if the farmers could not make money out of wool, they could turn to dairying, in which thero was unlimited scope, provided tho scarcity of labour could be remedied.