THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVII, Issue 17199, 20 June 1916, Page 3

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.

X UJJ J. JiilXXi' - TO THE EDITOR. Sir, With your permission I should liko to comment on tho above question, especially that, part in which the wapecarners are most interested, vi v. ., tho cost of living. To put it briefly, the Statement on Friday evening by tho Hon Minister of Finance amounts to this—that tho cost of living is too difficult a question to deal with and that, the law of supply and demand must take its course. From this analysis tho wage-earners can extract what, comfort they may, because they are evidently not going to got much help from the National Cabinet. It is a difficult .question, no on© will deny, but .it will never be solved by empty phrases nor' old-fashioned economic '' 1L (' i——— ii—Ml

not attempt something practical? A man's a fool bo prophesy, but it seems to mo this chicken is coming home to roost some day. As regards the hiw of supply and demand, this relio of mid-Victorian days and the "Manchester school of economics " has been relegated to tho dust heap long ago. Tho law of supply and demand does not fix prices. If it did, on tho Government's Statistician's figures, tho consumers of Now Zealand would bo revelling in cheap butter, because he states at the end of April of this year there was more butter in cold storage 'than there had been for years past. Now then if tho law of supply and demand means anything it would moan in this case, seoing there is an. abundant supply and the demand (in Now Zealand) being approximately tho same, that butter would be cheaper than it had been over the years given by the Government Statistician. But is it? On,the contrary, it is dearer. Also, last year 50,000 boxes of New Zealand butter was re-shipped from London to New Zealand (see last session < ; Hansard" reports). Nov.- this butter ivas not actually needed because at tho end of Ao-ril, 1915, Mr Massey, speaking in the North Island, stated that he had the Government report .in his hand regarding the amount of butter held in storage at that dato and he could assure his audience there was enough butter to meet all the requirements of New Zealand until the next season (vide Press reports). It is needless to state that the arrival or tho New Zealand butter did not affect tho riding price. But why raiso a cloud of dust and then complain that you cannot see? As a, matter of fact, to-day New Zealand butter is being sold choaDer in London than the conGumers in New Zealand can buy it at. Abraham. Lincoln made the scatsj ment that " You can fcol soma, of tho peoolo all tho time, and all of tho people some of tho time, but you cannot fool all of the people all the time." —I am, etc., JOHN BARLOW. Addington, June 19.