INTERESTING STATISTICS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16338, 12 May 1927, Page 7

INTERESTING STATISTICS

1 OUR SECONDARY INDUSTRIES £85,000,000 PER TEAR PRODUCED FUTURE FULL OF PROMISE. The rapid growth of the se?ond;u-y industries in New Zealand is rather lost .sight of by the general publjc in the general preoccupation with the state of the overseas markets for the products of the land, and many who listened to the speech of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Hon. R. P. Bollard, at tlie Gaitfison Hal) last night in connection with the opening of the Winter Show, were startled by the figures which he quoted. The Minister was able to inform his audience, on the authority of figures compiled from official sources, that the products of the secondary industries in th> Dominion wee valued at approximately £85,000,000 per annum. The employment ond wage 'statistics were also illuminating, and indicated that NewZealand is blessed with a steady flow of ■money through the wage-earning community. Mr. Bollard had been dealing with the products of the kind, in terms o; figures, and in his further remarks commented that while the progress of the espo.'t trade was giving general cause for satisfactio.ns.it was.ais.o,sa.t:sfactor*- to .record the progress made" in the .semi-primary and secondary', industries. "'This progress," he said, "has been greatly assisted by the accessibility and quality of raw materials available in the Dominion itself,. New,Zealand is indeed fortunate in .possessing such fertile lands, favorable climate, rich mineral deposits, and an abundance of rivers available for the development of hydro-electric power. "Wool is the raw matsral of our woollen establishments, wheal and oats are the raw materials of the miller, fruit from our orchards provide every increasing production for our jam and canning factories, hides for our leather and footwear, linseed for cattlecike and oil, sand and lime for glass works, iron' ore for pig-iron, and clays for paints, bricks and tiles. VALUABLE RESOURCES. "There are innumerable and valuable resources of such raw materials which, with the aid of coal from our mines, or power from the rivers, combined with the skill of employers and workers, are being converted to an ever increasing extent into manufactured articles of everyday use. "The semi-primary and secondary industries of the Dominion are marching hand in hand with the primary industries, and now employ nearly. 80,000 hands annually, paying wages approximating £16,000,000 and producing foods to the value of approximately £85.CC0.000. These are impressive figures when we bear in mind the fact that New Zealand has a comparatively small population of one and a-half million people. Impressive as the figures are, they give promise of even greater expansion. HYDRO-ELECTRIC POWER. "The Government, by its policy of harnessing the rivers for hydro-electric power, is going to provide you with light, heat and power for your farms,' added the Minister, "and we have such valuable assets in hydro-electric power that we will be able .to supply the industrial areas with all their requirements for many years to come. "New Zealand appears to be most favorably endowed in this respe.t. With our wealth of rivers and regular rainfall we have advantages not possessed by other great farming and industrial countries, and it is not too much for me to claim that with our resources in raw materials and in minerals we shall be able to fu'lv deserve the name of 'Britain of the South Pacific.' In the fullness of time there is no reason why this country should not support a population 30 times greater than to-day. "New Zealand's potential future is full of promise, and the duty devolves upon us all to progress upon right lines. W e sha]l over keep\in the forefront the fact that our destiny lies in marketing the products of our* farms, but at the same time we should not forget to give every possible encouragement to industries which convert farm productions into manufactured goods. These industries if they keep in step with the progress made in primary production, and it a proper balance is" preserved between the two, then they will undoubtedly spell prosperity and success for all our citizens."