TRADE IN WELLINGTON.

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 14, 17 July 1905, Page 5

TRADE IN WELLINGTON.

» WHAT THE LABOUR JOURNAL SAYS. A FAVOURABLE VIEW. The Labour Journal issued this month contains the fallowing notes on the state of trade in Wellington: — Business an general is fairly steady in nearly all branches of the xetail trades. The larger shops in >the drapery trade report that business is first-class, while tho smaller shopkeepers say ibhat up to three weeks ago business -was good, but owing to the unsettled state of fche weather it j 'has "been a. bit slack, but not worse than former years for ■Dhe same month ; whilst others again, fiay it ds an, improvement on former years. Booksellers 'feport business to be good for this time of the year, and they caunot .complain as to the amount of business doing. Booksellers in a smaller way state .that trade ds not so good lately and money is less plentiful, but there is .nothing (to complain of. Grocers report Hh&t, taking everything into consideration, tfaere is little to complain of, although money is a little harder to get in and customers do not seem <to go in for s6 many luxuries as formerly; but, taking 'business as a whole, there is very little to complain of, and it is quit© as good as previous years for tho same period. Smaller grocore cay imoney is 'harder to get in than, it was four months ago, and more, credit has to be given, which is a great i drawback to those having small capital. Ironmongers report ■■business to be good, and money not more difficult to 1 get than in former years. No reason to complain. Reports from those carrying on produce .and coal business say there is little to complain of. Money is not more difficult to get, and it is noticeable by those in a small way that economy is studied toy the working-class, and that there m not any great desire to run long accounts. No doubt there are exceptions, -which will always exist in the different branches of business. Some shopkeepers prove 'beyond doubt that business is very good, -while others have in -opposite opinion. ; but nearly all agree tiiat business 'is as good and money as plentiful as it was two years ago. Exception was taken an the press to the retail 'report of last month, although the information was gathered from both large and small shopkeepers. This month the enquiries 'have 'been, if possible, more careful and complete, and the net result . is that those in a large way and those ia a small way agree that trade is as good this winter as in former years; in fact, some e^y a little better. There lias, during -the last few years, been a very large increase in ibhe number of what may ibe .termed small shopkeepers. This increase has, of pours©, the tendency to make competition keener, and thus •distribute the business done among mare people. It iB also curious, when making enquiries, to >havo one man tell you he is doing very well, while a few doors away another an exactly the same line of 'business and wita apparently equal chances will tell you business ia going to th© dogs. .As to the complaint that money is scarcer, that is the usual state of affairs at this time of the year, as tradesmen, unskilled general labourers, wharf labourers, and out-door workers generally have a great d*al of broken time, hence their spending-powe> is greatly curtailed ; and, of course, this w not confined to Wellington, but is general .throughout the colony. The building trade is rather quiet, and a good many carpenters are out of employment owing to th© weather being unsuitable for outdoor work However, tho prospects seem good foi the coming spring. Boot trade is very satisfactory. One factory-owner reports 'that lie is unable to cope with the demand, and .that there are large orders on hand he will be unabla to execute for some time to come, and that igood tradesmen are in demand. Engineering trade is still dull, with no prospects of improvement in view. Clothing factories are rather quiet; but this is what is called between seasons, so .(.hat such a condition, is -usual at this time of the year. In .rsfecrence to the increased number of applicants for -work, many ,'of those seeking employment aro not fitted for strenuous manual labour, \yhile quite a number of those able are unwilling to tackle up-country work, dreading the mud, rain, and general discomfort of up-country life at this time of the year. The number of men out of work this winter, at least judging by the (number of applications, is not a bit more numerous .than last year, and certainly very much less tha-rt former years. Then, a very large number are strangers to the colony and in yery low water financially, thus making it exceedingly difficult to deal with them, as even if they are willing to tackle up-country work they have neither suitable clothing nor blankets, etc., and country storekeepers. have been so often bitten they are very chary of giving credit to strangers. Nowadays bushfelling is not regarded by a large number of workers as being desirable employment; it as said that prices are lower, and what many object to is surveyors' measurement, as they contend by that system they fell more bush than what is paid for. Certainly prices are not as good as they were years ago, bnt, on the other hand, access is better, transport is cheaper, and commodities are also not so dear is in days gone by. The question of whether men are as geod as ithoy twenty years ago is one that cannot be debated ia thi6 Journal. The fact of the Department sending away to work 123 persons from Wellington shows that something us being attempted and don© for the benefit of the workers.