LI

H.—lB

have data, has been at least equal to that of the cost of living, although it has not imitated the sharpness of the rise in prices of the last year or two. But this is perfectly normal, and as it should be ; the curve of wages is always steadier than that of prices—not rising so high in times of prosperity, nor, on the other hand, falling anything like as low in times of depression. It must, however, be admitted that during the last decade wages have not risen to the. same extent as prices in this country."* 9. The cost of living in France for workmen's families has moved as shown in the following table : —

France

Table 38. —Cost of Living in France (for Workmen's Families). (Salaires et coût de l'existence à diverses époques jusqu'en 1910.)

Here again the opportunity to raise the standard of living has presented itself. 10. As already explained, the method of measuring the rise in the standard of living by means of examining the way in which expenditure is distributed by the various items in the schedule of living cannot be applied in New Zealand, because no comparative statistics founded on actual budgets exist. A rapid examination of a number of budgets collected by Mr. Tregear in 1892 (see Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1893, Vol. Ill), and discovered only when this report was in the press, supports the general argument of this chapter. But it may be interesting to note the comparison of this distribution of expenditure with that in other countries. The general principle is that the greater the real income, the smaller the relative outlay on food, and the higher the relative outlay on " other items." The tables following are from "Inquiry into the Cost of Living in New Zealand, 1910-11 " (J. W. Collins) :—

Relative consumption,

Table 39.—Comparison of General Distribution of Expenditure in New Zealand, Australia, United States, and Germany.

The following table compares the above figures in another way (the New Zealand standard in each heading is taken as 100) :—

1810. 1820. 1830. - 1840. 1850. 1860. .1870. I 1880. 1890. , 1900. 1910. ~r ' ! Wages .. ..41 43 45 48 51 60 71 82 92 ■■ 100 110 Cost of living- on a uni- 74 80 83-5! 84-5 85-5 95-5 103 110 103 100 104 form standard Real wages .. 55-5 53-5 54 57 59-5 j 63 69 74-5 89-5' 100 106 j____ j j I I i j i | I

Pericntage of Total Expenditure of Cost of Date of Inquiry. Country. Food. Clothing. Fuel and O ther 6 Light. Items. ! _j 34-13 13-89 ! 5-22 26-45 29-30 12-72 3-46 40-82 36-45 15-72 5-03 25-40 30-31 14-91 3-12 36-76 Totals. - 100 100 100 100 1 Housing. rew Zealand .ustralia Inited States of America 20-3-1 13-70 17-40 14-90 1910-11 1910-11 1902 1907 rermany

Percentage on Total Expenditure of Cost Country. r Housing. Food. m ii.- Fuel and Clothing. T . , . b Light. Date of Inquiry. Other Items. lew Zealand .ustralia Inited States of America rermany 100 67 86 73 100 67 86 73 100 86 107 89 100 100 92 66 113 96 107 60 100 154 96 . 139 1910-11 1910-11 1902 1907 * Journal Royal Statistical Society, lxxv, i, p. 17.