CHRISTMAS PROSPECTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 1 December 1926, Page 2

CHRISTMAS PROSPECTS

’ GREYMOUTH G^OCjiß’S /VIEWS. In December the people’s faitev lightly turns to thoughts majj,. ■' Y' ■ —• • ' Rfeallslhgy 8s he glanbed At the CjaleiWhi’’ this iribrning, and consigned NhVembnT’ I'd the waste-paper basket; Uujt..shristnias Day—and. .Qnristffifts dinner—will be eeloHvathd in .a little 'bver-three. Wdfeks; a “Stqf” ifian decided t® hkake some enquiries, with the Object of ascertaining what the prosJjeCts are for a merry Christmas; 60 far as supplies of seasonable eatables” are concerned-.. fldGi obligingly devoted fi tew moments to answering questions, and, incidental l ly-, expressed some interesting opinions upon the subject of Christmas generally and its observance in New Zealand. . “Practically all OUr UhHstihas. gddiis have arrived?’ said Mr; tJedk; ‘‘There is no scarcity ih any Seasonable line, so far as I know, and, the prices as a whole are about the same as they were 1 about twelve months ago. “Hams are at least twopence pel’ lb. dearer this year than last year, -although I am not aware of any special reason for the increase, beyond ' the fact that hams last year were sold very cheaply, and frothing at all was made oh thent The usual practice is to buy supplies of hams for the Christmas trade six months ’* before they'are required." Referring to tinned fruit-, Mf; fidCk said that Australia Was . i'apidly capturing the market-, htid California was becoming all “also ran.” Practically nil the tinned fruit now coming into. New Zealand was arriving from Australia. The system of grading had now been greatly improved. The fruit was of tip : top quality, and could not be ■■ Compared to that Imported last year. So far as sultanas were concerned, there was nothing in. the world to compare with, the MildUfas.- The Califorhiah SUltafiak were cheapen but could hot touch the Australian product for quality. Figa, prunes and raisins Were this year as good in quality as they had ever been, and the prices of these lines were about the same. Mr. Beck opened a newly-arrived box of figs, and they certainly looked “the goods.” The best quality sockeye salmon, from British Columbia, was at least sixpence per dozen tins dearer this year than it was twelve months ago. It was costing 24/- per dozen to land in New Zealand, and was being retailed at 2/- per tin. The increase in price this year, explained Mr. Beck, was accounted for by the fact that big “runs” of salmon in the British Columbian rivers occurred only once in four years, and the result was that the supply towards the end of the period became less than the demand. Not sb easily accounted for, he continued, was the increase in the price of sheeps’ tongues, the price of which was now 1/7 per small tin, an advance of 3d per tin compared with last year. No one seemed to know why the price had gone up, and, as the tongues were grown in New Zealand and tinned in Christchurch, it really seemed *strange that the price should increase. Perhaps over-ex-port had something to do with it. Another peculiar thing was the rise in the price of sugar, which was at least 2/6 dearer per 701 b. bag than it was last year. The prosperous condition of the Sugar Company . complicated the puzzle. In a country like New Zealand there should be no scarcity of such things as sheeps’ tongues or sugar. Butter and cheese were considerably lower in price now than , they were twelve months ago, and that would probably be hailed with delight by' the patrons of the retailers. It should not be forgotten, however, that low prices for produce would react unfavourably upon the Dominion. High prices for produce means pPosperity for the country, but all the public seemed to care about was to get 1 the stuff cheap. “There is a tremendous lot of English confectionery coming into this cpuntry now,” remarked Mr. Beck. “About two years ago, the New Zealand manufacturers brought theii’ prices down, in an effort to beat the English article; but they have failed. The New Zealand product cannot compare either in quality or ‘get up’ with that of the Home manufacturers. Of course, the latter are absolute experts in every branch of the business, . and many families follow the same occupation' for generations. Boys and girls are trained from the time they leave school. During my visit to England before the war, for instance, I saw one girl packing soap at sixpence per ton, and so expert was she that she made £3 pei* week, a very high wage at that time.” Although the Christmas goods have arrived, however, Mr. Beck pointed out that the Christmas spirit had not so far manifested itself, and the same remark applied to the state of affairs at Christchurch, which he visited last week. “Of course,” he said, “ the period of depression being experienc- , ed throughout the Dominion at present may have something to do with the lack of Christmas preparations, but it seems to me that Christmas, in New Zealand at any rate, is dying out. People do not go in for the big spreads and keep it up like they used s to do. The popularity of the motor i car may be to blame, to some extent, t as many people now go on tour in } theii’ cars at Christmas, and call at J an hotel for Christmas dinner. Others, ' instead of having the big traditional dinner at their homes, go motoring for the day, and have a picnic lunch. In England, the Christmas celebrations will never die It is the middle of winter at Home, and this conduces to the popularity of the fireside. The New Zealand Christmas " arrives in the middle of summer, the ' height of the outdoor season. It is ‘ also noticeable that New Zealanders : are not fond of doing so much extra work on account of Christmas nowadays, and, instead of making Christ- ’ mas cakes and other seasonable ' things themselves, they leave their ’ shopping until the last moment, and buy what they require, ready for use. The result is a last-minute scramble ■ in the shops on Christmas Eve, which • is not exactly popular with the shopkeepers.” a