WOOL INQUIRY,

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20690, 12 April 1929, Page 11

WOOL INQUIRY,

OPPOSITION TO SAFEGUARDING. NO ACCUMULATION. (Prom Oca Own Correspondent.) LONDON, March 8. Important evidence as to the steady and serious decline in Britain’s consumption of wool, parallel with an increase in the world’s production, was given before_ Board of Trade Committee inquiring into the application for the safeguarding of the wool and worsted industry. This- evidence was presented in the last stage of the case for the applicants by Mr Walter Andrews, who has been in the wool trade for 57 years. He was for three years president of the British Wool Federation, and is now a member of the executive of that body. “ There is less wool carried over at the end of each year now than was the case pre-war,” said Mr Andrews, “which proves that there has been no reduction in the world’s demand and the consumption of wool for textile purposes. Wo are so near to the sheep's bade now that there is no accumulation.” Prom 1020 to 1024, he continued, there was considerable decrease in Britain’s consumption. It fell from 842.000. in the five years 1910-M to 690,400,0001 bin the five years 19201924. That decrease had been further accentuated in the last three years for which figures were available, 19251027, the consumption dropping to 060.000. • Further questioned by Mr Macaskie (for the applicants), Mr Andrews said there was more production of wool now than ever in the history of the world, “Thereis, moreover,” he said, “an increase in the world's demand for wool compared with pre-war.” Opening the case for the opposition in a speech lasting nearly four hours before adjournment, Mr Comyns Carr handed in a list of opponents, which included two firms of export merchants, 14 of manufacturers, II of merchants, two of clothing manufacturers, one of » mantle manufacturers, and one of yarn spinners. Concerning foreign competition in the Home market, he said that if they accepted statistics as they stood there could be no doubt that there was no normal importation here at all. What had really happened was that disturbances on the Continent—conditions due iu France directly to the total or partial destruction of machinery during the war, due in Germany to other circumstances arising from post-war events—particularly inflation—prevented France until 1925 and Germany until 1926 from resuming to any substantial extent the position of exporters which they occupied before the-war. To-day neither of them had got hack to that position. Very little attempt had been made by the applicants to link up unemployment with foreign competition. That was the point at which the applicants’ claim on unemployment broke down. To an infinitely greater degree the unemployment in the woollen and worsted in-. dustry was caused by the falling off in export trade than by increase in import trade. When Mr Comyns Carr referred to the non-inclusion of any woman member oh the committee, Sir H. Llewellyn Smith observed, "We did not constitute ourselves.” Mr Comyns Carr: This is a matter iu which the foreign goods serve almost exclusively the needs of the fair sex. Sir Hubert; A woman member would be an interested party.—(Laughter.) Mr Comyns Carr; That might be. I respectfully suggest you should hear in mind that point of view.