The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1908. THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13595, 15 May 1908, Page 4

The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1908. THE FINANCIAL OUTLOOK.

Now that the colony is entering upon what all the critics appear td- regard as a period of some financial stringency, it is a' little peculiar •that the most pessimistic article' on the outlook has made its appearance in the columns of one of the staunchest of the Ministerial organs. The attitude of the Opposition journals now, as always, has been one of caution, not of panic, and perhaps 'that salutary tone was never more necessary than it is at present- when the exponents of the easy optimism of prosperity slioav symptoms of infecting the community Avith unnecessary alarm at the first indication, not of adversity,; but of a little : less prosperity than the country has enjoyed for a re-. markably long run of years. A perusal of the special article Ave publish to-day will, we hope, soothe the apprehensions .'of any South Canteibury resi-. dents Avlip, may be dreading a return of the poor conditions Avhich obtained until', say, Avithin the last tAA'elve or fifteen years. The circumstances . civhich -combined t-o reinoA'e the depression under! Avhich Timaru and the surrounding dis-' trict once laboured, should suffice to prevent its recurrence, even though AA r e cannot expect that they should always synchronise to produce the abimdant prosperity to the last 'few years have accustomed us. The firm establishment of the freezing industry, and the successful attempt to proA'ide a reliable harbour are the tAVo factors Avhich make the outlook for the farmers of South Canterbury very different from Avhat it Avas in the days AA-hen communication Avith the shore Avas doubtful and often dangerous, and Avhen sheep AA'-ere A'aiuable only for their avool. In this district, too, aa is -explained by the bank manager Avho has been good enough .to give his vieAvs for publication, a tightening of the money market does not carry the terrors Avith AA r hich such a deA'elopment may threaten the more neAA-ly settled and leas solidly established portions of the colony. South Canterbuiy is not relying, as a great part of 'the North Island is, upon borrowed money, so that if the supply of borroAved money should suffer a considerable contraction, Mr Craigie's Avell-founded criticism that the Government's expenditure in this district has been of small dimensions, -will proA*e to be a matter for congratulation, since the pinch %vill not be felt here as in these parts of the colony Avhich have been draAving their sustenance from the feeding bottle .of the State. Of course the expenditure upon the Avoi'k of development AA'hich has been proceeding apace in the north ia only the preliminaryto the permanent establishment in newly settled districts of the same solidity as South Canterbury noAV enjoys, and it avu! be a very regrettable-thing'if a financial

stringency should postpone for any appreciable time the subjugation of waste lands or of newly occupied lands whose profit" able occupation would increase the wealth I and stability, not only of their own\ districts, . but of the country as a whole. 1 Still, it seems that those are the districts which have to face the unpleasant prospect of a lees plentiful supply of money, both from borrowed sources, and from the marketing of their own produce,/ for the fall in value of the staple exports of New Zealand will hit the North Island more severely than this island, and especially South Canterbury. The last monthly export leaflet of the Department of Industries and Commerce contains some etrjing figures showing the contraction in value of the principal exports from the north as coinpi incipal exports from the north as compared with last year. Of course a. comparison of the statistics affecting only so short a period as a month is very apt to be misleading, and the returns for the whole year, which closes at the end of March, would be of considerable interest just at present. In their absence, however, Ave take, from the leaflet the folijbwing comparative figures of last April and for tlie same month of the previous-year, showing the value of the various eommo-, dities exported :—•,:.:..,

April, 1908 Apiil,l9o7 Butter 31,411 100,182 . Cheese ......... 86,162 70,678 Flax 34,222 75,058 ' Kauri-gum ... 25,956 36,941 Timber 18,119 . 23,064 All these are exports to which the W orta Island contributes the larger share. on the other hand, those in which the SOIIWI Island is more particularly interested, come out as follows:

. April, 1908 Apiil,l9o7 £ £ Lamb .......... 245,644 178,917 Oats 2,888 iiil ..Wool .......... 339,754 550,123 With the exception of wotfl, South >Janterb.uiy hasV nothing to complain atxmt m the prices of its" products,! and as Nlv Craigie points out,? even with wool down, sheep-growing has not ceased to be profitable.'- And ■ with the accumulated wealth .of past years, which ha-S put land buyers in the enviable position deseribJa by Mi' Newman,' the district is aDie to face the situation, if not exactly v'th at least with equanimity.