OUR SYDNEY LETTER

Evening Star, Issue 15072, 2 January 1913, Page 2

OUR SYDNEY LETTER

THE MONETARY SITUATION. * A good many persons are eagexlv scanning the financial horizon just now to see if there is any break in the clouds; to drop metaphor to see if there is any prospect of money becoming cheaper. -The outlook is not encouraging. Even if accumulation were making a little headway against consumption, the determination of the State Government to spend all the money that, they can lay their hands on in the vain hope, of retrieving their waning popularity, would prevent the general public from obtaining any perceptible relief. The Government always have a preference over the private customer. Their bankers supply their wants first, and as their wants are well-nigh insatiable, there is not likely to be much left for anyone else. There has been a very general closing down on overdrafts, except such as are believed to be thoroughly "gilt-edged," and to offer a wide and indisputable margin. Many buildings and other works which were contemplated have consequently to be hung up. The building trades are still fairly busy with the works already in hand, but very shortly they must feel the altered state of affairs. The usual resort of borrowing has been tried. But the Treasurer has only been able to obtain sufficient to meet his actual commitments. There is very little spending money forthcoming from the proceeds of the loans, and, »6 the order of the day is still "Spend, spend, spend," it does not need much prescience to predict the result. Money will become dearer instead of cheaper, and when the activity which attends the Christmas trade has passed away, a striking change in the aspect of industrial affairs may be looked for. The money market and the labor market are very intimately connected, and the .state of the one necessarily reacts on the other. THE SHARE MARKET. It is possible, however, to be too pessimistic, and to regard as menacing indications which are as inevitable as the rise of the thermometer when the temperature rises._ The Stock Exchange, for instance, have just concluded their operations for the year, and it is noted, with some misgiving, that although dividends have been well maintained, there has been a general fall in prices. But, from another point of view, when the possibilities of confiscation which were presented by Mr Carmichael's Gas Bill are taken into account, the prices of securities must be judged to be considerably higher than might be reasonably expected. The price of securities is mainly _ determined by the return which they will yield. When the Government are willing to pay 4 per cent, for as much money as they can gather in over the Treasury counter, their 3 per cent, securities necessarily become less attractive than they were when they were taken up at par. The heavy fall in these obligations was, therefore, to be looked for as a matter of course, and not as any indication of waning confidence in their solvency. The same remark applies to the scrip of divi-dend-paying companies. Judged as investments, it is doubtful if they have suffered even to quite as great an extent as the advance in the ruling rate of interest, would warrant. There is certainly nothing to show that there is any; fear of confiscatory legislation. Which is something to be very thankful for. The position is materially strengthened by the fact that both Parliaments are now in recess for tho Christmas vacation, _ and that no further freaks of the Carmichael stamp need be feared in the immediate future.

THE FEDERAL ARBITRATION CGlniT. The prospect of obtaining settlement of industrial disputes (which crop up almost ■daily), without crushing expense and delay, by means of the Federal Arbitration Court may be gauged by the statement made by Mr Justice Higgins, in making his award in the Brisbane tramway <ase. His Honor had to examine 191 exhibits put in by the claimants, and 397 which were put in by the respondents. There are more than 5,300 pages of transcript from the shorthand notes. The plaint was filed more than 14 months ago. As to the costs, His Honor was silent, but they must have been enormous. And after all the expense and delay of obtaining, these

it is notorious that, as soon a-s the union agitator is able to make out a plausible case against them, they will not be worth, the'paper they are written on. They are very binding against the employed-, who can be readily got at. But, as against the.unions, they have not an atom more validity than the union choose to accord to them. As a triumph of legislation in an enlightened age, compulsory arbitration is simply " prodigious." As to the award itself, it was strongly adverse to the companies. Mr Badger, the manager of the Brisbane Company, who, for reasons ■which, seemed satisfactory to himself, has always endeavored, to have as little as possible to do with, the union?, is Ordered to give prefei«nee to unionists. His Honor declared that the history of Mr Badger's efforts is "painful, even ghastly," in the eyes of those who fancy that there is liberty of association-in Australia. But, from another point of view, those who are smarting under inflictions imposed on them will look with a mote lenient eye on. the manager's futile attempts to avoid this obvious danger. 'J'he object of the Federal Government in bringing forward a second time the alterations of the Constitution, which at their first presentation the electors indignantly rejected, js to bring all industries under the jurisdiction which is responsible for the length, the complexity, the cost, and the award which have characterised the tramway cases. SYMPATHY OR JUSTICE? At a Domain meeting on Sunday the case in favor of the release of Hatton, who was convicted of a wantonly destructive outrage on rh-3 occasion of the riot, was presented by a number" of speakers. Their arguments resolved themselves into this : " From a Labor Government the workers expect sympathy. Strikers should not be regarded as criminals." So if under cover of a strike men choose to burn a. man's motor car, or even his house or the building in which he carries on his work, he must not be regarded as a criminal, but, as Mr Holman once put it in a. different case, he must be treated as a '' mistaken enthusiast," an object for admiration, rather than for punishment! When the "sympathetic" judges who are demanded by this section are appointed, this is obviously the line which they will ]>e expected to take. Meanwhile, there is still a strong predilection in favor of the old Roman maxim -. " Let justice be done, though the heavens fall." It is to the credit of the Government that they have refused to be browbeaten or intimidated in the crucial matter of the conviction of Hatton. There would very soon be " broken heads and flaming houses " if the orators of the Domain, could have their way. . BLAYNEY. The result of the Blayrey by-election is eagerly awaited. The '• selected " Labor candidate seems to lose ground day by day. Air Beeby's personal popularity, on the other hand, is standing him in good stead, and it is said that he will get the whole of the vote which was wont to return the erratic Mr Crick. The. question to be answered at the ballot is whether Liberalism has, or has not, improved its position since the last election in the minds of the good folk of Blayney. It it has, Mr Withington may be regarded as the winner of the scat. If it has not, there will be a remarkably close run between the two, and it is just possible that Mr Beeby may win on the second ballot Mr Watson, Mi Carmichael. and other Labor speakers are doing their utmost to arouse enthusiasm on behalf of the gentleman who has been j \ selected to carry the colors of their party. - But their appeals don't seem to awaken ! the expected response. The truth seems ! to be that Blayney is by no means a j"Labor" constituency in the sense in j which townspeople understand trn term, i They voted last election to "give Labor a ! show," and on the sarro principle they are i very likely to "give a show" to the man I who has broken away from the galling hu j miliation uhicti is involved in the Labor j voke. THE POOD COMMISSION. | Thj reconnundalio.is of the Food Com- I mission don't seem particularly calculated I to iessen the price of meat. Undoubtedly i the transit of stock should be improved, j as they suggest. The conditions under '• which stock are slaughtered also require i alteration. The completion of the abattoirs at Homebush will give an excellent opportunity for inaugurating many of the minor reforms suggested by the Commission. But many of them will entail considerable additional expense, and in the long inn this will to be borne bv the consumer. Whether he will get value for his mon?y. any more than lie is- getting value for the increase in the cost of living which is being forced on him by other "reforms" is another matter. The majority of the Commission strongly condemn the Kubsidy which is paid "by the pastoralists to the Sydney Meat Preserving Company. The function of ihe company is to take off any glut that may be in the market, so as to' prevent a disastrous "slump" in prices. The " liberty of association" so w-amly approved by" Mr Justice Higgins would seem to find"very legitimate scope in this business But the majority report says that it tends to raise the puce or depreciate the rpi.ilir.y of the meat supplied to the local consumer, to hamper the export trade, a;,d to prevent fair competition for stock. Four members of 'he Commission, however, vVijsk.W these objections to- be chimerics!, and maintair that the operations of the company have been beneficial rather than otheiwise. The company do net discriminate against those sellers who do not contribute to the subsidy. They apply themselves to the task of equalising prices, and have built up a very big business without unduly inflating prices on one hand or depressing them on the other. December 2j.