FRANCE’S TRADE RECOVERY.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIV, Issue 280, 6 November 1924, Page 4

FRANCE’S TRADE RECOVERY.

Figures, revealing the “brilliant economic revival” which had taken place during the past two years in “protectionist” France, were quoted in the “Continental Daily Mail” from a (report recently drawn up bv Mr. J. R. Cahill. Commercial Counsellor at the British Embassy in Paris. According to the report, there was no unemplovmont. and a strong demand fori more labour; the output of the damaged coal mines had increased from 1500 tons in January following the close of the war to 1.260.000 last May. and would soon surpass the pre-war figure: France’s foreign trade, which in 1922 had surpassed pre-war figures, continued to increase; France would this year be raising hv taxation six times the revenue of 1914 and three times that of 1919; France’s expenditure in 1919 was more thair five times her income. last year only one and a half times and‘this year the operation of the Fiscal Reform Act of last March would further ten£ to buckle the State I budget. By the middle of next year reconstruction of the ton departments officially comprised within the war areas would be terminated. Housing was the only important problem remaining. There were more post offices and schools than before the war: 26.450 miles of damaged roads had been repaired out of a. total of 37.900 miles : the majority of bridges rebuilt; and the main railway lines had heen restored in their entiretv. Ninetv-five ner cent, of agricultural land had been brought under the plough, live stock totalled 56 per cent, of pre-war numbers. and the wheat cron had regained |914 output. Industrial reconstruction was practically complete, and the magnitude of this was apparent when it was taken into account that the percentage of the national output that these ten departments contributed before the war was 70 per cent, for coal, 83 for ore, 64 for nig iron, 63 for steel, 78 for sugar, and 93 for linen yarns, and also that they hold about 60 per cent., of the cotton spindles- nearly all the wool combing mills, and a high proportion of other industrial production. It was anticipafecT that capital expenditure for reconstruction proposed would he terminated at the close of 192 G. Great attention was being given throughout France to the linking up of waterways. Railway had recovered pre-war efficiency. France took third nlace among the countries of the world.as regarded water power resources, the power nyaihi’d-*. 2,700 - 000 h.p.. being three times that available prior to the war. The French mercantile marine still held third place among the fleets of the world, ranking after Great Britain and the United States. Efforts to promote trade abroad were receiving generous support -from the State, and during the last few months France had wrested shipbuilding orders from foreign countries.- including Great Britain.