The Gisborne Times PUSLISHED EVERY MORRING. MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 1915.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLV, Issue 4003, 9 August 1915, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUSLISHED EVERY MORRING. MONDAY, AUGUST 9, 1915.

!i is inu-n-siing to find that in the course of the Coalition negotiations an agreement was entered into between the ]>arty loacl-(-rs that further legislative action be taken to prevent any exploitation o! the public in the matter of the prices of all merchandise. A Royal Conimission, it will ho recalled, dealt with the important question of the cost of living earlier in the current year; hut its members were unal.de Lo satisfy themselves that, on the whole. Unpeople of this .Dominion were being charged higher rates than were justified in view of all the circumstances. Nobody, it can be taken, was overjoyed with, the finding. "What is now proposed, it will have been noted, is that the basis of the promised further investigations shalll he a much fuller enquiry into the profits which are being made by merchants and traders generally. As far as can he gathered, the regulation prices ot commodities even in the Commonwealth—• where very stringent steps have been taken with, a view to keeping the charges as low as possible—are higher even than the rates in this Dominion. Some very illuminating evidence on this point, it may be mentioned, is contained in the results of the investigations made by Air G. 3d. .Knibbs, the Commonwealth Statistician, as to variations in the cost of living in Australia -for the second quarter of the present year. it would seem that as compared with the corresponding period of last year, the weighted average cost of food and groceries for the six capital towns, increased by 17.8 per cent., while the cost of bousing accommodation increased by 5.8 per cent. There is a marked decrease in the purchasing power of the sovereign in all six centres, “the “amounts necessary on the average “in each capital town to purchase “what would have cost on the average “Cl in 191.1,” rising in Sydney from ‘24s 3d for the second quarter in*l9l4. to 24s 7d for the first quarter in 1915, and to 25s 2d for the second quarter of this year, which represents a loss of over 25 per cent in the purchasing power of the sovereign within four years. In Melbourne- tire loss is slightly greater, rising from 22s 7d for the second quarter of 1914 to 25s 3d for the second quarter of 1915. In Brisbane the rise is from 19s 9d 1914 to 22s 8d this year; in Adelaini'rom 23s (id to 25s Id; in Perth from 22s lOd to 21s Bd, and in Hobart from 22s to 24s 3d. The rise in the price of food and groceries is shown bv Mr Knibbs, on - the same plan, to have been from 23s 3d in Sydney last year to 25s 9d this year; in Melbourne from 22s 4(1 to 27s 8d; in Brisbane from 21s 2d to 26s 4d; in Adelaide from 25s to 30s 2d; in Perth from 25s lid to 30s 2d, and in Hobart from 24s 7d to 28s 3d. The reduced purchasing power of the sovereign as between June 30th, 1914, and Juno 30th, 1915, is thus seen to bo as follows: Sydney, 2s 6d; Melbourne, 5s -Id; Brisbane, 5s 2d; Adelaide, 5s 2d; Perth, 4s '2d-; Hobart, 3s lid. . If, again, one takes the question of the price in Australia of, say, sugar one finds that the wholesale figures as “regulated” by the Government, range from .£25 10s per ton in Brisbane and Sydney up to £25 12s 6d in Melbourne, £25 17s 6d in Adelaide, and £26 in Perth. And, without any regulation of prices (pi the part of the Government., sugar is being sold in New Zealand to-day at £2l per ton! As a matter of strict fact there is hardly any class of foodstuff which is'

Art Important National Problem.

cheaper in Australia than it is in this Dominion. When wo were dealing with this important question some time back wo suggested, it may be recalled, that more trouble should bo taken by the authorities to ascertain, at fairly regular intervals, the position as to the available supplies of the different kinds of foodstuffs throughout this country. The action of the Government in importing wheat on it becoming known that supplies wore going to be short unquestionably prevented the, price of bread soaring unduly as well as providing that the full people in this Dominion wouldsiou met. In the same way it was jujgreat help in the matter of prices where it was decided Gy prohibit .the export of certain hyps of produce. Apparently, the regulation of prices is useless unlessjpxeps be also taken to ensure that sujjplies on band will be ample to im-.-o •,\W reasonable demands. The oublic.

W is certain, will welcome the «n----'nouncomcnC that additional expert assistance is to be secured with a view to going into the matter as fully as possible, and will await with very considerable interest the results of the further investigations which it is proposed shall at once be made.