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WEALTH OF _EMPIRE, AND HOW IT SHOULD BE USED 3 8 5
before the Commission on Depression in Agriculture (see" Minutes of
Evidence," vol. iv., p. 546 eI seq.). His average price was £2 us. M.
only, but I retain a figure more closely approximating the Report of
1881.
Ve§elables.-Mr. Turnbull's figure for 1892'93 for home vegetables
and fruit was 21 million £ (see vol. iv., p. 543 of "Minutes of
Evidence" above referred to). Adding 2! million £ for import of
vegetables other than potatoes, and an allowance for vegetables and
fruit grown at home apart from" farming," the figure stated does not
appear excessive. •
Meal.-The imports for 1902 are as stated. Mr. Turnbull's figure
(or meat produced at home in 1892-93 was 72 million £, and allow-
ing for poultry and game in addition, the figure of 82 million £
cannot be far wrong. An exact comparison cannot be made, as he
includes poultry with eggs, and makes no allowance for game. The
quantities are about 21,000,000 cwts. foreign, and 27,000,000 cwts.
home, the home proportion being that given by Mr. Crawford in his
paper at the StatistIcal Society in 1899, which does not, however,
include poultry and game.
Buller, Cheese, and M'i·a.-According to Mr. Crawford in the above
paper, the home production and foreign imports of dairy produce
appear to be about equal. Mr. Turnbull's figure for home dairy pro-
duce in 1892-93 was 32t million £.
Beer.-The Report of 1881 gave a figure of 75 million £, allowing
for much the same consumption per head as at the yresent time_
The proportionate figure now would be 90 million' £, but this in-
cludes a large allowance (or cost of distribution, which appears to be
as much as 46 million £ on the total of 75 million £ in the Report.
This appears rather excessive, and I believe the figure here assumed
will represent a better average wholesale price. It will, of course, be
observed that taxation here is not included.
Spin'ls, JVine, Toba«o.-These are all lower figures than those in
the Report o( 1881, for the reason given above as to beer.
Nothing has been included (or" mineral waters" specially, as their
cost is partly accounted (or under the heading of sugar and other
items, and cannot be a large figure wholesale.
COllon.-The figure in the Report for 1881 was 31 million £,
which included 20 per cent. (or cost o( distribution; but since then
the home consumption o( cotton, according to the circular o( Messrs.
Ellison, has risen (rom 184,000,000 lbs. to 300,000,000 lbs., or 60 per
cent. at much the same price. The estimate in the Report for home
cotton in 1881, exclusive o( cost o( distribution, was £22,800,000,
which would now be increased to 361 million £ in proportion to the
increase o( raw cotton \,sed. Adding to this £5,700,000 imported,
and not adding anything for cost of distribution, we get the total of
42 million in round figures. •
JVool.-The amount o( wool taken (or home consumption aecord.
ing to the circular of Messrs. Helmuth Schwarz and Co., appears to
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