LIX

H.—lB

New Zealand, often for special parts of the carcase, and wholesale prices in England for the whole carcase. Any observable differences in the English and New Zealand markets for these commodities, other than those existing at times when supply or demand is subject to sudden changes, are fully accounted for by the costs of transport from the Dominion Home. 8. The opening of British and other markets abroad to New Zealand produce must have disturbed the relative amounts of production in the Dominion. For example, " Wheat, once a predominant commodity in our list of exports, is now grown in quantities little more than sufficient for our own requirements. Of late years we have hovered on the verge of a wheat panic due to local scarcity. A few figures will make the position clearer. From 1880 to 1890 the annual average amount of wheat produced in New Zealand was 8,000,000 bushels ; for the nineties the annual average fell to 7,300,000 bushels ; and during the first seven years of this century the average has been only 6,700,000 bushels. As indicating that it is the lower-grade lands that have been abandoned to pastoral purposes, it is almost sufficient to note that during this century the wheatyield has been the highest on record —viz., 31*6 bushels per acre, against an average of 23-8 for the preceding century."* The following table shows the variations in regard to New Zealand's wheat crop for the last twenty years, and the average prices and their index numbers, as Worked out by Dr. J. W. Mcllraith in his " Course of Prices in New Zealand " : —

Changes in relative production.

Table 51.—New Zealand Wheat Crop, Years 1892-1912.

There is no doubt, however, that, if wheat continues to rise in price and if suitable labour can be obtained, more land will be devoted to its production, and the. profits derived from the various uses to which land can be put will always tend to equality. 9. To sum up : There is no doubt that, if there were no outside market for New Zealand produce, the supply would greatly exceed the demand, and that prices would fall to an unremunerative level, with the result that the spendingpowers of the rural population would be so seriously reduced that the reduction would have a disastrous effect on both the town and the country population alike, and that nothing could avert financial trouble from the whole community, as the products would not be of sufficient value to meet our liabilities.

General conclusion.

* Mcllraith, Course of Prices in New Zealand, p. 48. f Estimated—and probably too low.

Season. Area under Crop. Total Yield. Yield per Acre. Per Head of European Population, 31st December. Price per Bushel. Index Number (3/5 = 100). .892-93 .893-94 .894-95 .895-96 .896-97 .897-98 .898-99 899-1900 900-1901 901-02 902-03 903-04 .904-05 905-06 906-07 907-08 908-09 909-10 .910-11 911-12f Acres. 381,245 242,737 148,575 245,441 258,608 315,801 399,034 269,749 206,465 163,462 194,355 230,346 258,015 222,183 206,185 193,031 252,391 311,000 322,167 215,528 Bushels. 8,378,217 4,891,695 3,613,037 6,843,768 5,926,523 5,670,017 13,073,416 8,581,898 6,527,154 4,046,589 7,457,915 7,891,654 9,123,673 6,798.934 5,005,252 5,567,139 8,772,790 8,661,100 8,290,221 7,261,138 Bushels. 21-98 20-15 24-32 27-88 22-92 17-95 32-76 31-81 31-61 24-76 38-37 34-26 35-36 30-60 27-18 28-84 34-75 . 28-00 25-73 33-69 Bushels. 12-88 7-28 5-27 9-79 8-30 7-78 17-58 11-34 8-50 5-14 9-23 9-48 10-64 7-70 5-51 5-99 9-13 8-81 8-27 7-08 s. d. 2 91 2 5f 2 111 3 71 4 31 4 2f 2 6f 2 4f 2 51 3 6 4 2 3 11 3 11 3 21 3 9 4 71 4 1 3 8 81 73 86 106 125 124 75 70 71 103 122 92 92 94 110 135 120 107