THE OUTSIDE WORLD

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22738, 26 November 1935, Page 5

THE OUTSIDE WORLD

WELL-INFORMED COMMENTS. A LONDONER'S LETTER An uncommonly interesting letter, in which the writer gives a lucid, and closely-reasoned analysis of the trade conditions existing in England and America, with special reference to the exchange question as it affects New Zealand s trade with the Home country, has been received bv a local business man from a friend in England. The writer also gives a graphic account of the scenes in London during and after the Royal Jubilee procession' from Buckingham Palace to St. Paul's, and succeeds admirably in recreating something' of the enthusiasm and loyalty which characterised the Jubilee festivities. The writer's first comments were on trade conditions in the United States.. . "Things in America are not means as good as they should be. he states, "they still haven't adjusted themselves as a nation entirely to the altered conditions imposed by the world-wide deterioration since 1929 and'the stock market . collapse that was the spectacular symbol of it. Depression is mental, as well as materia!, and therein lies halt, or nearlv half, the trouble. They do not seem able to fight back with that sense of united effort that lias characterised similar efforts in other countries. » One can almost feel the difference in passing from America to Canada, for example. They both took the knock at about the same time, and while one is. much more developed, than the other, relatively speaking, the effect was .as intense. But in Canada there has been more commonsense adaptation .and.; less " hot'-, rih\" a greater sense.of reality, and therefore a greater: degree of recovery. But it *is a long furrow; to plough, and 'the- plough?ing is souie'times heavy, going. None the less, they are getting along fairly, or at least as fairly as can be expected. Do you remember my '.writing- I —at the time we went off gold in 1931—that we would not go back again until we- could be assured' that • the other, countries would play the gold . game according.,'. to the rules? Well;- they; have had":more head; aches since than we have. \ . : ' .-;:.,.<. ■:,, LONDON'S LOYALTY.;- •- ■ ':.}.

"I wish you could '.have been over here for the Jubilee celebrations. The degree and the naturalness of the affection shown for our King has been most inspiring, and, 1 imagine, to many a revelation. Even sombre old London so far forgot herself as to present a very gala-like appearance; but gradually she is resuming her accustomed calm. 1 wonder if 1 could—perhaps feebly—draw something of a pen picture of that royal procession from- Buckingham Palace to St. Paul's; A morning sun that had more of the glint of gold in it'than of .silver, that gave an added lustre to the festoons of purple and gold suspended from the. armorial columns, that lined all the royal route —festoons that swayed but lightly in the lightest of breezes, rustling, and whispering as though expressing the as vet inarticulate and still pent-up emotions of the seething mass of people down below. Then from those iron gates .that keep the stately home beyond emerges a sovereign's escort of Life Guards, and the people acclaim their King in a deafening burst of joyous cheers, cheers that are taken up and are carried until they become but a distant ripple of sound, cheers that bring a slight jumpinefis to the throat because one realises that they are more than an- expression of affection—that they voice the unspoken acknowledgment, of a life that lias been devoted selflessly to the welfare of his peoples at home and in the Empire beyond the seas: I wonder if you heard them in far-off New Zealand, and if they found an echo there'' •' f 'And then the fun that followed. Can you '■: visualise in- your mind's eye the .spectacle of Piccadilly Circus, gaily decorated, thronged with a crowd that knew no social barriers, and entirely devoid of traffic? Not a vehicle to be seen—neither dus nor taxi, private car nor push bike. Can you imagine a merry crowd at 2 o'clock in the morning turning the statue of Eros into an impromptu "maypole," when even the friendly Loudon "Bobby." joined in—such is the relationship between police and people. .Something; of the- traditional British, phlegm must have deserted us for a while, because truly .we were uot : taking our pleasures so sadly. For a week Piccadilly and Trafalgar Square and their environs were closed to wheeled, traffic at 9.30 at night, so great were the crowds that came to see and.to linger. But perhaps I am wasting your time; you must have read it all from a far abler pen than mine. None the less. I write of what I saw and of what I felt. This old heart of Loudon still throbs with a vigour that belongs to fewer years than its old Roman walls can tell. '• The political horizon is clouded, and as I write this the Cabinet is deliberating the trend of event'-; in the ItalpAbyssinian dispute—grave enough, it ..is true, but not such as to occasion any alarm in the commercial, sense; Nor is there anything in the tendency of market prices to make any unusual investment worth while. .THE EXCHANGE RATE."

"This confounded exchange; problem, which seeiiis to be well stabilised at its present level, still worries me. It'makes a deuc'e of a hole in. prices. And: that is not all; it is the means of our losing some of our New Zealand trade to Australia, while New Zealand is as a consequence .steadily- building up reserves in London to the ultimate disadvantage of her own export trade —because no one can both have their cake and eat it. Much the same thing is goiug- on in Australia, while at the same time claiming a larger share of this market —which from a sentimental point of view would be gladly granted were it not for the unpleasant fact that if a state of disequilibrium becomes in time chronic, then all parties must suffer through forced contraction (i.e., national losses) until a state of balance has been re-created. Indeed, is not this the very problem, on a wider front, that has been the root cause of so much of our trouble since the post-war boom? The trouble generally is that people will recognise these things in the abstract, or as applying to.' the -other fellow,' but seldom to themselves,'