The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1901.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 11816, 13 November 1901, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1901.

The tnisgivijigß which possess not a Tew tf&Ugmful . people as to the Jfro^&t&t of- a continuance of the ex-^ Iraordinary prosperity - which New Zealand has for^some years been enjdyirig will not be removed, but rather strengthened, by the returns of the trade of the colony for the year ended the 80th September last. This period is taken-.as the- m,ost natural' division of the seasons for the leading staples bf ouF exports. We are indebted to the New Zealand Trade Review for some very useful statistics showing in detail $he exports and in- the aggregate the imports of the' colony for the -'last four years: According to these the colony is increasing its indebtedness; to; foreign creditors to a "degree that is a little disquieting. In the year ended 80th September, 1898, our exports, including re-exj>orts and specie, were valued at £10,497,865, and our imports a/t £8,262,782, leaving a balance of £2,235, 6*83 towards payment of interest oh borrowed, money. In the following-, ye"ar the'* figures were £11,129,408 and £8,526,579 respectively, leaving a balance of £2,602,829. In 1899-1900 exports were £13,661,226, high water mark, and the imports £10,047,332, the balance being £3,613,894. In the year Just ended the exports fell -to £12,754,621, while the imports increased to £11,925,600, leaving only £829,021 for payment of interest on money borrowed outside the colony. What the of the annual charge on v thi» is can, bf course, only be guessed at, ,but probably about £3,000,000" Is 'near the mark ;\ it is near enough, at any rate, for our purpose,. The position then is this : that the colony, which has to pay for everything in .kind, for gold Msonly used to an inappreciable • Extent, in the year 1900-1901 imported over two worth of goods which it did not pay for. What would be the position of a trading concern which carried on its business on the same lines rf In thus adding to its already huge liabilities, all bearing interest, it would simply be preparing a rod for its own back. It may be argued that if the colony is receiving more than it gives it is, getting the best of the bargain, but a little reflection will Show • that , the balance is the effect of large borrowing, either by Government or-> by,, trading,- mining, or other concerns. " Whichever way it is, the fact remains that our indebtedness is being, increased, and that the increase' will carry with it heavier interest charges in the future. ,Were New Zealand a lending country it would.be a healthy sign to see our imports equalling and exceeding "exports, but it is a borrowing country, and it takes -some three millions' worth of the wool, mutton, butter, grain, and other products to pay the annual charge on foreign loans. Take that three millions from last year's exports, and there remains less than ten millions' worth to pay for our imports, which, as stated above, amounted to nearly twelve millions. The balance is entered up against us in our creditors' ledgers, and in future years will adh to our already heavy interest charges. It is still more disquieting to notice tllat the colony's exports during the year just ended showed a falling-off of over £900,000 as compared with the previous year, and this does not ■ probably accurately represent the facts, for there is a strong presumption that the value of wool exported was largely overstated. Thus"up6n<a considerably smaller output— and the results of the current year are not likely to be better, probably worse— we have to bear an • annually increasing charge for interest, leaving a smaller amount to pay for imports. The natural and inevitable result of this must be a reduction in our imports, with a consequent reduction in Cus-, toms revenue, adding to the already serious tightness of the colony's finance. This falling-off in the Customs may not be noticeable at the moment, for such statistics 1 as are available ahow, that ..there was an increase equal to 31 'per cent, in the imports at the port of Wellington, while the Customs receipts -in the same period only increased 6f per cent., this appearing to indicate over-importation or an excessive proportion of duty or low duty goods. To whatever extent the former is the cause, the imports in the immediate goods will show a decline without an equal effect on the Customs revenue. The fact, however, remains that the colony's indebtedness^, to foreign creditors increased largely last year, and as th^ current year is likely to "Show a stiU further falling-off in imports our financial position must necessarily be weakened, and it is weak enough already, when the Government has to I pay over 4 per cent, for its requirements.

The Auckland Clothing Company have a new advertisement in this issue. — Captain Edwin wired aJ 11.32 to day ; —North tj west and south-west gale; glass rise; tides high \ sea heavy.

The annual meeting pf the St Mary's Gleaners Union will b« held on Wednes day next, the 20th inst., at 8 o'clock.

The Hawke's Bay Herald says that Mr Morgan Carkeek and Mr G. F. Richardson are well up in the running for the vacant Survejor-General.

Mr Ell, M.H.B. for Christchurch, will address a meeting on the State Bank question in tho Town Hall to night. Tlk chair will be taken at 8 o'clock.

Ladies in search of some .real good lines cannot do better than read More} and Son's announcement in this issue irwhich they quote four of their un matchable offers for this week.

1 The Auckland Weekly News .states that a well-attended meeting of share holders of the Auckland Co-operative Terminating Building Society was held on October 29 when the folio ing tip propriations were disposed of: — £400, l'.ni group, by sale, at a premium of £83 8s; £800, by sale, third group, at a pre mium of £122 7s; £600, by sale, fourth group, at a premium of £120 6s 6d.

Preparations for to-morrow's sale of work in connection with the Whitelej . Sunday School are in a forward states and given fine weather there should be little doubt of a successful issue. .■ Tho articles to be offered for sale are the work chiefly of the teachers and el^or scholars of the school, and this fact wit!, doubtless tend to create a rapid demand thus repaying them for the self-denying labour of the last few months.

A throbbing head takes all the sweet ness out of life. Stearus' Headache Cure drives the aohe aw<iy and brings tho sweetness back. Costs little, does much. 0

A fancy bazaar will ba held in the Omata Hall on Thursday, November 21at.

Correspondence and gold dredging re • urns are publish 3d on the front page of this issu y.

The number of newspapers^posfced insufficiently piepiid for the United Kingdom is still abnormally large. All such papers are taxed double the deficient postage. Postage on each newspaper for the United Kingdoir. is one penny For the first 4oz, and a half-penny for «ach additional 2oz or fraction thereof.

The A.M.P. Society during its 62 years of existence has distributed about £17.000,00 aucong its policy-holders, their widows, orphans, or representatives, and its £17,000,000 of accumulations are inevitably destined to the sine end. With what just satisfaction do its benefactions come into the hands of the recipients, and with what individual virtues of industry, perseverance, and self-denial have its accumulations been associated! A rather remarkable occurrence was reported at Gisborne from the Motu bush lately. Five busbmen were working at one, contract. On one eventful Saturday the first by a slip 6i the axo cut bis leg, the second his kneecap, the third was i jured by a falling tree, the fourth had a bad Jail from where ho was working, and to complete the quintette the fifth man cut his foot, and was laid .up for some weeks.

A correspondent of the New Zealand Times wants to know whether Mr Courtney was correct in statiug, as he did at Bath on September Oth, that the guava will fruit in New Zealand in winter. The editor adds a footnote t • the effect that possibly th,o lecturer has, by a slip of the tongue, said guava instead of fig -oi lemon. For the information of both the New Zealand Times and its correspondent we "may say that it is not an uncommon thingio 836 guavas bearing in winter in and around New Plymouth.

WritiDg on October 4th the Auckland Star's London correspondent says : — The negotiations of Messrs Cadman and

mith are fast coming to a head, and I'm told that a strong syndicate has "almost decided" to find the necessary capital. .Messrs Cadman and Smith have other •Sons in the fire however, if this one should fail at the last moment. The opposition of those connected -with the iron and steel trade has been very marked, but Mr Smith has been able to answer triumphantly all the objections raised by those who may in the near future bo possible competitors'. He has,' in fact, rather surprised the experts by his mastery of the subject in all its branches, and his knowledge of the latest literature and processes in England.

By the 'Frisco mail Mr D. Berry ra oeived a letter from the Hon A. J. Cadman relative to the for oiation of a company in London to work the Taranaki ironsand and .other natural resources of the district. The letter did not contain anything definite on the question of thu formation of a company, but stated that both himself and Mr > . M. Smith were sanguine as to the- ultimate success of their mission. Mr Berry informed a Ber u,d representative that ho expected to reoeive a cable at any time notifying him of the result of the mission. From the latest Jet ter advices Messrs Cadman and Smith contemplated leaving London for New Zealand in the beginning of November. Mrs Smith also received a letter fiom Mr Smith by the same mail. In referring lo Ibeir mission Mr Smith writes in a hopeful strain that the neces sary capital wiil be, found. He also stated that they would be leaving London before the cold winter weather set in. _ Yet; another Christmas Annual — tim time from Ofcago. The Otago Witness Christmas Annual oan well keep in the front r u nk of Colonial Christmas An uuals. From cover to cover, in both matter and production, it is a thoroughly artistic number. There are pretty glimpses by bush, river, and gully; by town and country; by lake and mountain. There are photographs of the statuary in Chmtchurch Museum; comprehensive views of goldfield towns of Otago; and a number of miscellaneous pictures. InfactMaoriland has been laid under levy from end to end to provide illustrations for the annual, and natu rally, the result is good. In addition there are two* artistic full page- supple ments,"ln Men's Array," tind "Way ( farers on Life's Journey."' There are a lumber of stories by well known writers, among whom are Itichard Marsh, William le Queix, Jessie Mackay, and Fabian Bell.

In many colonial housc^ the lady of 'he house does all the work of the house hold. All honour to them. It is tht-

rue spirit of Anglo-Saxon colonisation trhich animates them, snd there it

iothing derogatory in honest labour. Wba-tever minimises tha disagreeabit effects of such work may be regarded at i loon to the fair sex, and of this nature w Wilton's Hand Emollient, which, re ; ularly used, keeps the hands white, sof md cool. Price, Is 6d per jar. Sold by A. E. Sykes and fl.ll chemists. Whole sale : Kempthorne, Prosser and Co.°