OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

Evening Star, Issue 14635, 3 August 1911, Page 3

OUR SYDNEY LETTER.

MONEY. Financial authorities tel! us that there never was a- gr eater plethora of money seeking investment than there is at the present moment. Of course this doesn’t mean that Dick, Tom. and Harry, who have been engaged in the enterprising speculation of trying to spot the winner, have been made miraculously flush of cash. But, for the most part, it means that th© ncounmlations of ihose who have been saving money, as well as making it, have increased. It also means that tho avenues for productive- investment have been very much narrowed by the weak-kneed attitude of Legislatures iu relation to the eveiincreasing demands of organised labor, and by the consequent attitude of organised labor towards employers. He is a very hold man who will “ take on ” miy proposition, that will place him in tho power of a union or of th© tribunals by whom the demands of th© unions bag interpreted and enforced. Some outlets being \irtuatly dosed, there is a greater rush to enterothers, and it is largely taking tho form of paying very high premiums to enter into established businesses. These, iu order to meet tho demand, lire being converted Kite joint stock companies. Some of them wul doubtless turn out fairly well. But they will not cause so largo on increment in tho divisible wealth of the community as would the bringing of larger areas under cultivation, or the systematic improvement of dairving and pastoral areas. By the scarcity’of labor and tho rapacity of much of the labor that is available, there is cv©rv reason to believe that enterprise ot this' kind is receiving a severe set back. But what has this to do with the plethora of money ? It may account for it to a very great extent- Also, it- may give au indication whether tho plothora aforesaid is likelv to last. In due time the increment that ought to bo forthcoming from tho labor which, is otherwise engaged wul be required, and if it is not lorthcoming I hare will bo a- hiatus where now there is superabundance. It is not fashionable, neither is it always cheering, to look beyond the end of' one's nose. But sometimes it is eminently salutary. BANKING RETURNS.

The banking returns for the quarter just ended show an increase of £1,043.000 in deposits which have been fixed for a- terra at interest, but in deposits at call, which represent the credits available for investment, the increase is only £354,000, or about a third of that noted in the money that has bean fixed. This seems to show that current accounts are no longer piling up> at the rate noted recently, and everything now depends on | the answer to the question whether the season, tho markets, and the industrial conditions will be as favorable in the_ coming spring and summer as they were' in their predecessors’. It Is very easy to impair prosperity bv cxtavaganco and spoliation, hut inunetisely difficult to restore if when tho "rot” has once set in. In this cntmeci ion tho wiki talk of the Minister of Homo Affairs with respect to the establishment of a National Bank is not likely to insjure confidence. If there is any business with which Ministers have less acquaintance i than with any other business, it is bank- ; ing; and if there, is any Minister in whom I the steady-going portion of tho public have less confidence than in any other i Minister, it is the eccentric Minister for I Homo Affairs, who styles himself "1110 Pacemaker King of Australia.” The Caucus mado a very bad bargain when it threw over Hugh Mahon to take on boaid so grotesque a personage. A NEW CUSTOMER. Siam wants 100 nonins. They must ba sound, wind and limb, about 13 hands high, and about five years old._ If the inquiry proves the precursor of a good trade "in horses it will be matter for _ congratulation. Formerly Australia did a gig business with the Indian Government in' horses for cavalry remounts. But somehow or other cur horse-dealers wove out their welcome, and the business has dwindled. Notwithstanding tho popularity of motoring, horses of a good stamp are neither plentiful nor cheap, but a revival of demand might cause greater energy to be bestowed cm tr.e \vorj£ of increasing tho supply. THE NEW HANDMAID. "Tell me. grandpa, tell me. trm’. when pa was a. Jitlle boy like me, was ho ‘ really ’ as good as he. tells rne .1 most be. The youngster’s anxious query is being paralleled by many householders vbo cannot obtain reliable domestic servants. “Is electricity really as able to relieve us of household drudgery as it is represented to be?” The daily jfcrpors tell us that it will cook everything that needs cooking, that it will warm every room fhai needs warming. that it will wash tho clothes and iron them, sweep the rooms, clean and polish the bools, and feed the fowls. It is not quite clear whether it will not also collect the eggs. But. anyhow, that is only a trivial detail. It is represented as being like one of the. friendly genii in the Arabian Nights’ entertainments ready to do anything that may be required without being subject to attacks of freakishness like the genii, such as picking up their employer and dropping him down a few hundred miles away. There js no doubt that, with suitable machinery and equipment, electricity will do some wonderful things. But when one comes to inquire tho cost, it scorns clear that its benefits will not, for a long time to como, be available to those who need them most. The cost of the installation described was £1.500! At 5 per cent, there is £75 a year for interest, a very much larger amount in all probability" for repairs and upkeep, and even then some skilled and careful attendance will be necessary. The £1,500 includes tho cost, of nn engine for generating the electricity, also, apparently, the cost of the storage battery for conserving it when generated; and these big items would be avoided if electricity were supplied by some local authority or company. Bub after making nil due allowance on this score, it appears that electricity, under present conditions, is only prepared to become the handmaid of the wealthy. The paper-bag cookery seems to be more to the purpose for the rank and fiia. July -25.