COST OF LIVING.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11578, 23 December 1915, Page 4

COST OF LIVING.

WHEAT AND FLOUR AND BREAD. SOARING PRICES.

[Ftiom CUrR Corhesi'Ondent.] WELLINGTON. December 22. Tho news from Brisbane to tho effect. that the master bakers there havo ceased in consequence of the high price of flour lias sc-t people hero speculating as to "what may happen it tho National Government allows the cost of living legislation of lust session to remain in abevaneo much longer. Tlw attempts of the Reform Government to rt-gulnto the -prices cf wheat find flour failed dismally, through no "lack of earnestness on tho part of y" Massev and his colleagues, but through their 'failure to provide the necessary legislative* machinery to give effect to their cood intentions. The net of their efforts seem to have been a loss by the State of somo £-.100,000 upon the importation of wheat, a vast amount, of heartburning among farmers, millers and merchants, and mi unparalleled inflation of prices. Just why tho Government persistently refused to accept tho reiterated Assertion ot Mr Thomas Buxton, who was then member for Tomuka and probably the best-in-formed mitliority on the subject in tho House, that thero was sufficient wherut in. tho country to .satisfy all requirements till the harvesting of the new crop, has not vet. been explained, and this is not tho time to royive tho old controversy: but it is obvious enough now that Mr Buxton s estimate was appro xunat e1 y correct. THE NEW LEGISLATION.

Tt may bo assumed that when .Mr M'.assov and Sir Joseph Ward put their heads together to give effect to ho stipulation of the Liberal leader that tho National Cabinet shoud turn immediate attention to the cost of living problem, they .agreed that tho Act subsequently introduced by Sir Joseph Ward would serve all practical purposes. Tho legislation already on tho Statute Book gave the Government authority to fix prices, but it did not provide a sufficiently mobile tribunal to make inquiries and advise the Minister of Trade and Commerce. The Cost ot' Living Bill was intended to remedy this defect by creating a pe-rmanent Board of Trade* to deal with this and kindred subjects. The Bill was'hurried through Parliament during the last days of tho session, but this appears to have been the only piece of haste displayed in connection with the measure. Applications for positions on tho Board woro not invited till some weeks later; they were not received until November 15, and ,no appointments havo yet been made. Tho last word spoken on the Bill in Parliament came from Sir Walter Buchanan, who, while warmly commending the principle of tho measure, thought tho Government " would be committing the greatest mistake possible if they wero to act rashly and without careful thought and inquiry. - ' Mr Massev, who, as Minister of Trade and Commerce, is entrusted with the administration of th& Bill, appears to be taking the advice of his old party ally very literally. Nearly three months have elapsed, and tho Minister has not yet got beyond tho sta.go of " thought and inquiry." Six or seven weeks ago a deputation consisting of millers and merchants waited upon Mr Massev and urged him to remove tho prohibition that had been imposed upon the export of wheat. They represented that thero wero some 1,500.000 bushels over and above the requirements of the country in stock, and that good prices could be obtained abroad for tho surplus without in any way prejudicing tho interests of the local consumers. Mr Massey hesitated at the time, wishing, of course, to make quite sure the position was as it had been represented to him; but subsequently ho removed tho prohibition, and though there havo been practically no asportations, owing to the lower prices in Australia and the high freights to London, the price has gone up from 4s 3d to os 6d a bushel, and with the duty re-imposed there seems at least a. possibility of it reaching the famine rate of last .season. No doubt the drought in Canterbury has had a great deal to do with the course of the market, but this was threatening at the very time the prohibition was removed, and while Parliament was actually sitting the member for Ashburton, who represents the largest wheatgrowing district in the Dominion,.predicted that the yield would be much below tho average and feared it might bo as low as it was during the disastrous years of the late seventies. AN UNCOMFORTABLE FEELING. No one- is blaming tho Prime Minister for what has happened, nor suggesting that ho is in league with the millers and merchants for the^ exploitation of the public; but thero is an uncomfortable feeling abroad that the blunders of last season may be repeated this season. The Minister had promised that the statistics this year will be moro reliable than they ever have been before, but reliable statistics will not by themselves bo 'a, guaranteo against the evils that are threatening. Mr Buxton gave to tho House a very close estimate of tho available stocks moro than a year ago, but this did not prevent tho Government from making a very bad deal in wheat or tho price from soaring as high as 7s a bushel. It was just hero that tho Board of Trade was intended to come in with its "thought and inquiry" a.nd with its practical advice to the Government. But for some unexplained reason the board has not been set up, and for all that can be ascertained Mr Massey is as much in tho dark as he was when he rushed off to Australia and Canada for supplies which the country did not require. WHAT MIGHT BE DONE. j

If the Board of Trade, contemplated by, Sir Joseph Ward's Act, were in existence, it would find plenty of authority in the Commercial Trusts Act and the Regulation of Trade aucl Commerce Act to protect the interests of t.ie public to the very fullest extent. It might not be advisable to follow tho example of Australia and commandeer nil the wheat crop at a given price; indeed, the greater variation in the quality <•>{• New Zealand wheat might make this course inexpedient: but it would bo unfair to no one to fix a generous price at which wheat might be taken over liv tho Government on the recommendation of the board. The price of wheat is tho legitimate foundation ot tho prices ot flour and bread, and these commodities arc so clearly among the necessaries of life that they should not bo lelt in war tinio to the manipulation of the enterprising specuThere are scores of other commodities that require tho attention of the board, many dealers having made the 1 per cent primage duty excuse for much larger additions to their selling prices; but bread and meat aro tho two commodities which most intimately concern tho less fortunate members of the community, and the fact that neither retail bakers nor retail butchers aro making largo fortunes is no answer to tho demand that tho Government should exorcise without further delay the powers it obtained from Parliament last session.