THE COMMERCIAL VIEW. By One of the Sterner Sex.

Otago Witness, Issue 1893, 2 March 1888, Page 33

THE COMMERCIAL VIEW. By One of the Sterner Sex.

The importance of keeping the bright side to the front is greater than might appear at first sight. The following little incident will help to illustrate this fact : — A short time ago I travelled by one of the Union Company's boats from the North in company with a gentleman of means who was desirous of purchasing property in the four cities of New Zealand ; or failing this, to lend his money on New Zealand securities. He succeeded in purchasing some valuable property in the North, and also in placing two sums of money— viz., £7000 and £10,500, at 6 per cent. He was quite satisfied with his investment (as well he might be), for the security was excellent, and the property he bought being well situated will doubtless yield him a handsome profit in years to come. He also paid a visit to Christchurch and Dunedin, intending to repeat his operations in those places. When he got as far as Christchurch, however, he found the tone of the press and the people so despondent that he feared it was not quite safe in doing business there, and so came on to Dunedin. When he got here, however, he found the despondent tone aggravated rather than lessened. It was in vain that I pointed out to him what I believed to be a fact — that now above any other time was just his opportunity for purchasing property, and that a turn of the tide of commercial prosperity would leave him possessed of a valuable estate worth twice or thrice what he had paid for it. I cited cases of this kind with which I was personally familiar in Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney, _ where property was purchased at low rates in dull times and sold again in a few years at an enormous profit. One case in particular (and with which he had some acquaintance) was a property that was sold in Sydney for £600 odd. The purchaser is now receiving £24 10s a week from it without spending a cent. All this and more had no effect, however. My sanguine disposition, he said, outran my better judgment. " Look at the newspapers," he remarked; "listen to what so-and-so told me this morning," relating what he heard, and continuing, "These men have been in Dunedin nearly all their lives, and know better than either you or I what the state of the place is." This was meant as an extinguisher for me ; I was supposed to put my small light under a bushel after that, but having an instinctive dislike to being extinguished I returned to the charge, and with more force that politeness said : " Hang fche newspapers and the merchants, I do not care what either or both of them say about the depression. The greater it is the more reason for you to buy up all the cheap property you can get. Can't jou see that your own argument tells against you 1 If there was no depression property would be dear, and you could not get it at any price. Now is your time to get hold of it and make a haul ; " and again I trotted out my Sydney experience as an illustration of my views. However, my eloquence was wasted on the desert air. My friend had a fit of the blues, and all I could say had no effect. He went back to the place whence he came, saying that he could find a better outlet in Melbourne or Sydney for his money than in Dunedin. As a parting shot I said : " I doubt it. What was true of the large cities of Australia will be true of the cities of New Zealand. It is only a matter of a few years when Dunedin will be like what Melbourne is now, and the other cities of New Zealand will follow suit. We have every factor of wealth in New Zealand that they have in Australia, but in a greater degree. If there be any truth in John Stuart Mill's reasoning, or in 'The Wealth of Nations,' or in Buckle's arguments, surely New Zealand

has a great future before it. Look at its minerals, soil, and climate and tell me if there is a better nation on the face of the earth. Those who have the brains and money to take advantage of the opportunities now within their reach of purchasing property will become in time millionaires, and those who mis3ed their chance will say when too late, 1 Who would have thought it I ' The whole of the cities of Australia had their times of depression the same as we are having now, but it was temporary, the same as ours will prove, and that, too, I predict, very temporary. There is more talk and noise about depression than is justified by the circumstances of the case."

Well, the end of it all was, as the end of such debates almost always is, that each held his own opinion. My friend left for Australia, 1 remained in New Zealand to back my opinion. I have travelled over many countries, but I have never found one so completely to my taste as New Zealand. I may be told that I have bad taste, or bad judgment; that I have not studied sufficiently the surrounding circumstances, or taken into account all the particular causes that make a country prosperous or otherwise ; and that perhaps if I had done so I might not be able to arrive at a correct conclusion. Well, perhaps not. But I reply— this is a free country, and we all have to act for our?elves with the best judgment we possess, and according to my humble opinion a man will travel a long way before he improves on New Zealand. Keeping out the bright side is often the forerunner of success, when the reverse would mean ruin.

A few years ago I met a wealthy retired merchant who in conversation informed me that on one occasion, after being in business for many years, he took stock, valued all his assets and liabilities and found himself woith about 9s in the pound. He was greatly alarmed at the state of things that presented themselves to his view, and was despondent, restless, and ill at ease for some time, not knowing what to do— whether to " file " or disclose the state of his affairs to his creditors. _ (The man was of a proud, resolute, honest disposition). After much serious thought ho decided to do neither. A very careful scrutiny showed him that by discharging as many of his hands as possible and cutting down his expenses to the lowest possible point and doing the work of two men himself a profit would be shown on the right side of the ledger. At any rate he thought he would try it for a year, and if things got better he would perservere but if they got worse it would then be soon enough to wind up his affairs. His creditors knew he was in low water, but his past good character and his own hopefulness inspired them with confidence, and their relations although strained were not broken. As a result, at the end of a year he found himself worth 20s in the pound, and in three years years afterwards he was worth 60s in the pound, and has now retired an undoubtedly wealthy man. So much for keeping the bright side out. If the good people of Dunedin acted more on these lines and kept the bright side out they would not drive capital from their city. I have only been a fortnight in Dunedin myself, and the impression left on my mind at first was that the place was in a state of collapse. I have read the papers attentively, and have talked to both those in and out of business about it. The general ;cry of " Depression ! depression!" was heard on all sides, till at last I got sick of fche word. I then made inquiries as to how far business engagements were met, and so on, and have found that they are being fairly well met. I next had a chat with a property owner in George street, who complained of the price of property and the low rents that pre vailed . I asked him which was his property, and he pointed it out. "Now," I said, "name the lowest cash price you will take for that lot, and if it is cheap I'll buy it." He eyed me curiously for some time, and then said, " I do not wish to sell just now." This from the man who was running down the place ! The moment he got a chance to sell it was shown that he did not wish to sell. To me- this cry , of depression looks more like the cry of a parrot. Force of habit compels people to repeat the same story over and over again, thereby helping to bring about the very thing they complain of. A little more confidence on their part and a little less growling would have a better effect. Washing dirty linen in public never was a desirable practice, and I fail to see how it will improve matters. If things are bad let everyone follow the example of the retired merchant mentioned above, and cut down all possible expenses and do the work of two men and they will soon overcome their difficulties. The Government of this colony is at present acting somewhat on these lines, and if the public will do the same and keep out the bright side this much-talked-of depression will soon be a thing of the past. To those who will look a little below the surface it must be apparent that New Zealand has a grand future before it.