WORLD REACTION IN TRADE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 12 March 1930, Page 5

WORLD REACTION IN TRADE

MINTSTER’S REPLY

Mr Thomas, replying, admitted that the unemployment figures were bad, but tlie Government was in no way responsible. There was world reaction in trade. Germany had 3,258,000 unemployed ; Italy had 408,000 wholly and 21,000 partly unemployed: in America one Senator spoke of 6,000,000 unemployed and another put the figure at 3,000,000. Based on the same data as our figures Mr Thomas believed the figures would be nearer 6,000,000. The real cause of our abnormal situation was the slump in raw material. For the past six months cotton had been falling, with the result that no manufacturer would take the responsibility of giving orders. Compared with twelve months ago there was an increase in Lancashire alone of 146,000 unemployed. What was the state of cotton was equally true of wool. It was also true of silver. He pointed out the repercussion of the drop in the price of silver on the Lancashire cotton trade, which bought raw material on a gold basis and sold manufactured articles to countries on a silver standard, with resulting depreciation of .£3O in every £IOOO. Repercussions of the recent American slump were also being felt here. We were feeling the effects of the new Australian tariff.

Mr Thomas gave an account of schemes already sanctioned by his department to provide employment. They involved £56,000,000 in developing railways, docks and harbours, water supplies, electricity, and roads. There were factors, however, which gave encouragement. He believed the reduction in the bank rate would be helpful and he pointed to the bptter aspect of the shipbuilding industry, which produced last year 56 per cent, of the world tonnage and showed a decrease of 8000 unemployed for the year.