Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1926. SIGNS OF BETTERS TIMES.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LII, Issue 16975, 5 March 1926, Page 6

Poverty Bay Herald. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. GISBORNE, FRIDAY, MARCH 5, 1926. SIGNS OF BETTERS TIMES.

Whilst the notes of caution recently sounded by political and finnncial leaders in this Dominion arc fully justified by the converging movement

of our totals of exports and imports, ami whilst it may bo quite true that we may sec during the winter montbs some little period of stringency, dm: to au unfa\orfible season, to market fluctuations, and perhaps to some hardening in the price of monetary credit, we do not believe there is any real cause for pessimism. On the contrary there are good grounds for hope that Now Zealand, in common with the rest of the Empire, will in the immidiate future experience an era of substantial prosperity. The rise in wool values at the latest New Zealand sales may or may not be taken as an indication of a general revival in British industry, as lms been suggest-' cd, but at any rate it is an encouraging sign to North Island pastoralists who have been hit somewhat hardly by it. prolonged spell of! dry weather. Wool is a fairly good trade barometer, and Bradford's re-entry into the arena j spells stability for a market which brought to New Zealand producers last year close on lti million pounds of ii:.id cash. There are other grounds I;6v confidence, however. Latest mail advices from the Homeland are most cheering. That the basic, conditions of British industry are steadily if slowly improving is the opinion of Mr, Reginald Mckenna, admittedly one of the foremost English economists and not given to expressing anything in the nature- of uninformed optimism regarding business prospects. Commenting" on a statement from abroad to the effect, that Britain is "done," Mr. J.l'clvenna,declared that poFßivnisls do :iot remember that through all these years of trade depression Britain tins still been the greatest exporter of manuracturod goods in the- world, despite adverse conditions. He adds: "I believe the years of depression have been a testing time for us ami a warning to put our house in order. The exceptional depression was largely duo fo temporary financial condition's, and Thrive strong hnpea that these are now coming to an end." Cautions though cheerful optimism is the keynote of utterances by British bankers, whose annual speeches at meetings of shareholders have become a recognised medium for economic education for the masses of the people. They have authority behind them, inasmuch as they are' the views of experts, in command of the latest and most confidential information. Four notable bankers have voiced their belief that the industrial and financial outlook of the Old Country gives hope of better times ahead. Sir Felix Schuster said: "The latest indications show that there is a far more hopeful spirit, and British foreign trade is not only holding its own. , but shows fair promise. of considerable improvement, provided Britain looks her difficulties in the face and relaxes no effort." Mr. Walter Leal' declared that the return to the gold standard did not seem to have produced any of (he disastrous efforts prophesied, and it was followed not by great increase in unemployment as'forecasted, but by a steady and marked decrease. It had .steadied, trade and given confidence. It was necessary to protest against the outcry that "'British trade was doomed. arid to. point out. that the nation was holding its pre-war proportion of world trade, as.well ns the fact that Britain's export trade had fallen oil rather loss in ratio than that of the world as a who!" Another banker. Mr. G. P. Dewlmrst, said: "If there was little satisfaction with the. course of trade last, year, we can, at all events, claim to have laid the foundation for better tilings by assisting the world to get back to normal working conditions." Mr. F. C. Goodonough, chairman of Barclay's Bank, sec* hopeful signs everywhere. "Although we have been passing through a very critical period," he stated, "our position may be regarded as improving, and there is great hope for the future. Our policy is sound, both as regards the return to the, gold standard and the removal of restrictions on external loans, and also as to purely temporary measures. Our savings, though small, have, not been by any means negligible. Our currency and our credit as measured in foreign currencies have improved, and even should higher rates for money become necessary the stabilisation achieved should be of greater value to trade than any temporary disadvantage that might, lie involved. Trade is showing signs of improvement." Mr. Goodenough's assurance on this point is supported by Mr. L B. Beale, one of His Majesty's Trade Commissioners who has been visiting the Homeland, and who comes to New Zealand shortly to take up the position here. Ho quotes figures given by Hie President of the Board of Trade, showing that Britain holds a larger proportion of the world's trade to-day than she did . beforo the war. Outside coal, which is really a serious problem, and not by any means in Britain alone, she has actually increased her exports enormously in the past two years. Hot competitive position is improving steadily, and there is every indication, now that Europe is becoming more stabilised and is settling down to work again, that thai position will continue, to improve. During the eleven months ended last November, the Tinted Kingnom exported £140,000,000 worth of goods which it had imported, but £700,000,000 that it had manufactured in its own establishments.' It is sending out less and less raw material and partly mantifai'turod articles, and more articles worked to the last degree of completeness. Less coal is going out, for instance, ami less iron and steel, '•uv more electrical apparatus, machinery ami motor cars. The value of British-made motor cars exported last, year was moro than 2* times that of IJJ23. Not only is Britain doing more manufacturing along the oil lines, but she is giving evidence of enterprise in embarking upon new industries, artificial silks, for instance, dyostuffs, and rubber goods. After a careful review of the principal industries, this trade ambassador declared that Britain led the world in skill and accuracy, and j to increase her position must, add I quantity. This, he said, was just what i the nation was doing. After visiting j many factories on his trip he could! ! say unhesitatingly that employers and ' ! workmen were fully alive to the need j for every effort that would ensure the Old Country retaining the premier place in the world's trade. "At lid very distant date," he prophesied, "T believe the world will seo mch an expansion of the commerco and industry of the United Kingdom as will cause it no little, surprise. People who believe England's day of commerce has

passed are very much mistaken." It should not. bo necessary to point out .that brighter times for the Homeland will inevitably mean brighter 'lime's for New Zealand, giving greater opportunity for the development of our industries, the peopling of our country, and the fuller enjoyment of our ;gieat heritage in this Britain of the South. LAND SETTLEMENT. -Representatives of ' Chnmbßi'B of Commerce and other public bodies who recently met in Wellington to discuss the important subject of immigration found themselves up against n stone I wall. They listened to nn aide and i.nprcssive address from Sir -undrew Russell, who has recently returned to this country full of eagerness to do something to relieve the overcrowded conditions at Home and at the same time to secure greater development for the Dominion. The delegates present from all parts of New Zealand were unanimous in their opinion that the question is one of urgency and of the utmost importance to New Zealand and the Homeland, but no one seemed able to present any practical plan for achieving the necessary object. The conference, in fact, was thoroughly disconcerted by the Hon. A. D. McLoad's figures' as to the number of land-hungry men already in New land. The Government, it would appear, is on the horns of a dilemma. ; iho Minister for Lands averts that ho has 5000 to fiOOO men waiting to go on the land, but ho has no land,to givo them. His colleagues, members of Parliament, and the constituencies are urging immigration in order that the country's waste spaces may be filed, the dairying industry fostered and the taxes shared by an increasing population. New Zealand is 10,000 square miles larger than Great Britain and has only tho population of a provincial town of the United Kingdom. In Poverty Bay at ienst grass growr, all Iho year round nnd no housing or iceding of stock in winter is needed. .What is wrong? The pledges of the Government at lasj; election and Ihe mandate it received require that some practical measure of statesmanship be taken; that men lie brought to the land and tho land be made available for the men. The matter must be receiving the serious consideration of "Ministers, and we have heard it rumored that the Government, intends to stimulate the subdivision of large estates and to promote land settlement by reviving interest in the Land Settlement and Finance Act of 1909 and its amendment in the Land Laws ( Act of 1919. This amendment permits subdivision into allotments of fiOO acres of a purchase price not greater th:m £6OOO. Under this Act a number of men requiring laud, being not less than five, select an estate they think suitable for subdivision into areas of from f>o to SUO acres ea.-h and arrange terms with the owner. They then apply to the Government, and if the Government approves the terms and. the suitability, it guarantees a loan for purchase, subdivision and reading, umLoaeh selector is allotted his section. Hitherto the process has not been greatly used, but it is said to have urea quite successful in the few cases in which it has been employed, and there is reason to hope that it will be capable of development if taken up and strengthened as a direct line of Government policy.