OUTLOOK OF THE YEAR.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2016, 25 March 1914, Page 9

OUTLOOK OF THE YEAR.

BRIGHT PROSPECTS.

NEW ZEALAND'S GOOD NAME. A BUSINESS LETTER, Some of Wellington's, business men havo'agents ..at Home, part of. whoso business is to koop tho firm advised generally as to how things are in Rnanco, on leading- industrial questions, and effects which are likely to ariso out of existing conditions. The following interesting letter of a Home firm to tho Wellington firm that it acts for. is dated February 6, and traces affairs of note almost right up to date:— Plethora of Money. "The opening of tho New Year (says tho letter), has been mado remarkable by a sudden plethora of money in London during the month of January. Tho liult mado iu commercial and industrial extensions, coupled with an absence of ne.y-issues by Governments and municipalities, has loft no opening for tho investment of funds accumulated at tho end of tho year, and tho most striking effect has been the remarkable- appreciation m ■ gilt-edged securities. British -Consuls havo moved up from £71 10s. to £76 10s., and may bo taken as an index-of all trustees' securities. It is calculated that tho aggregate increase in value of these is no less than sixty million pounds sterling.. It is gratifying to see British funds again attaining a respectablo status. The plentiful supply of money has naturally brought I about a. considerable fall in discount rates, and the Bank of England rate, after-standing for many months at the abnormally high figure of 6 por cent., was reduced to 4| per cent, on January 8, to 4 per cent, a week later, and finally to 3 per cent, on January 29, at which figure wo expect it will remain, until in the natural order of things, it again moves . upwards in March or April. .■..-■■ The Government of Now ' Zealand brought out last fleck a well-timed issue' of £4,500,000 4 per cent, ten-year convertible debentures, at the price of £100 10s., convertible into the ordinary stock of tho Dominion. The issue was a complete success, aiid was considerably ever-subscribed in ono and a halfhours, and is selling to-day at 15s. a.p. -Tho reputation of the Dominion as a borrower has been enhanced on the London market during the last two or three .years. A halt haa been called in public expenditure of an ■ unproductive character, and in the instance of the present -loan the. fact was well noted that it was.partly,required for payment «r existing obligations, and largo'ly for directly reproductive operations. The South African Trouble. "Everybody is intensely relieved by tho prompt suppression of tho threatened social disruption "in South Africa. General Botha and his Government deservo universal thanks/for tho prompt acnon whidh has averted calamity.. The declaration'of martial law, and particularlytho deportation, of the men who attempted to paralyse the Government and upset social'order in ; South Africa/ will no doubt meet with a- good deal of donunciatian, but only those with a personal knowledgoof the country can know tfjjat a fearful risk of a calamity exist- <:■'., -whioh wa»'jponjplettf-iudtrncatioii r 'ibr the J most drastic ' measures. ' Fad'the attempt -to 'stop-the railways succeeded oven for. ft few days, numerous comhruniti«is:would'havo been'without food;' and' had' the ; Socialists been able to' show' even tho'ppssibility of a successful'de-' nance of the Government, and- 'conse- , quqnt general .hostility - amongst the white population, thero is no doubt that-tne-'imtive- i population would have the land, with a'result so horrible that even its contemplation makes the mind sick. -Tho ninety or ono hundred thousand nativo labourers employed m the mining industry would certaul(7 have stampeded and overwhelmed tho whito population, and they would have been quickly ■ supported by ' ■ a general rising of Basutos and Zulus. It is not generally realised thafthe entire white population-ffom Cape Town to the Zambesi is less .than one and a quarter' millions, and ;that' once away from , the larger towns of Capo Town, Durban Johannesburg, Pietermaritzburg:" and Bloemfontem the whito population is scattered in very small communities. "Scorned, Cursed, and Contemned.". " We are, "pleased to report/that the Dublin strike is over. Mr. J as . Larkin .has been formally anathematised.and excommunicated - by the Amalgamated Irades Unions, and has sunk into obHvion; scorned, .cursed, and . contemned by his victims; unfortunately, mam- of JhS ? .+T* I i O t. Work to turn to, now' that at last they are anxious to do it under exactly the same conditions as existed before the strike •fl,"+ We n a - r ° to report that, all is well again at Leeds. The municipal authorities'were not overpowered by the Socialists, but kept the city going m spite of all. the Socialists' attempts to force its.surrender to their dictation. .The municipality having maintained its power, and its dignity displayed a wise.magnanimity towards the strikers so soon as they ceased hostilities, and it is very pleasing to record that all the old employees have had work Jound for them. Coal Porters' strike. During tho last ten days London has seen the inception and complete collapse or a coal porters' strike. These men took advantages of a spell of sharp cold weather to spring a sudden demand for pay on tho coal distributing nims. ino. movoment was quite unexpected; many of tho London hospitals wero without stocks, and tho ■ trades union officials refused pension for supplies to be carried even to the hospitals at any price less than the submission of all the masters to their demands. This unkind attitudo completely alienated public sympathy, and it has been demonstrated many times that any movement of this sort cannot bo carried through successfully if public feeling , is against it. . .... _ Several of the hospitals were kept coWβ for some days by. tho students, who turned out and did tho haulers' work. Tho men have returned to-work without any change in their conditions. Unfortunately, howovor,, London is now faced with a. much more serious trouble m the , form of a goneral lock-out and strike combined, of the building trades workmen. For many years London contractors and builders havo been harassed by various sections of workmen dropping their tools on discovery that a non-union man of any sort was at work on the contract; whether such non-unionist was employed by the contractor or not, made no difference. For example: Towards tho finish of a builder's contract a non-unionist electrician might be engaged on telephone work in the buildings, which fact would bo mado the cause of a strike of work by all tho other men on tho job employed by tho, contractor. These unreasonable actions have been carried" to such an extent that contractors have become, afraid to tender for big contracts. To safeguard themselves, they have attempted, what we fear is an impracticable and ineffective safeguard; they have issued a notice that in future every workman must sign an agreement whereby he undertakes not to strike on the ground of. the employment of a noiv union man,'under a penalty of 20s. if he does .so.i The unions are up in arms against what they consider an attempton the liberty of the subject, and the ""■en generally have refused to sign.

Tho masters will .not employ without the agreement, which amounts to a lockout, and there is a prospect at present of tho Building trado being entirely suspended in. London 'and district.. It is estimated that 160,000 men will be affected. . . ■ ' . Home Rule. In politicSj tJio opening of Parliament next week is'looked forward to with considerable interest. The Irish question still dominates the situation. As mentioned in our last letter, the attempt made to draw public attention to' laud law reforms Las proved ineffectual, and • tho later attempt to arrest publio notice over tho Navy Estimates has also failed to turn tho public mind from the overshadowing thought as to what 'is going to happen with Ireland and in Ireland. Wo one doubts now that Sir Edward Carson and his volunteers are veiy sincere in their determination to resist Homo Rule by physical force. Wo doubt that the Government will persevere in their declared intention of passing the Home Rulo Bill into law by the automatio action of tho new Parliament Act, and wo should not be at all surprised to see a general election in May or Juno next. It occurs to us that the Government are now deliberately riding' for a. fall :• they will have no difficulty in providing the opportunity. The definite retirement of tho Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain from political life lias been mado the occasion of m3ny eloquent and , generous tributes of admiration and respect and gratitude by peoplo of all political , shades, and of.all social ranks. .Mr. Chamberlain has had the reraarkablo experience of seeing his owu monument in stone, which was erected many years ago in the centre of Birmingham, and also of reading general eulogistic commentaries on his career, which distinctions -usually are made to tho momory of a mail when, so far as wo know, he is beyond their ken. TUr. Chamberlain over and beyond what lie has done for Birmingham and for Britain, has taken a prominent place as Empire-builder, in company with Macquarie, Grey, Rhodes, Cromer, and Strathcona. The Right Hon. Austin Joseph Chamberlain will follow his father in the representation of West Birmingham.