By the end of 1996, industrial re- 3% covery in Great Britain was virtually complete, 'The Government policy of 3 balanced Budget, easy money and control of foreign' lending; together with assistance to certain industries Jand agricultural "producers, though savouring of paternalism. was still Jessentially orthodox and the pattern of recovery ran along correspondingly normal lines. It was essentially a balanced recovery which took in all branches of commercial activity and brought a measure of prosperity to all classes of people. Tt was not disturbed by any important industrial dispute nor by schemes of social rearm for which there was no pressing Jneed and though certain problems, e.g. ithe Depressed Areas, still remain, they were not such as to impede recovery.
In the course of the trade cycle, Jeonsumers' goods such og food and Jelothing show the smallest variation offtake, while semi-durable goods like motor-cars and more especially Jeapital goods, machinery and. other means of production and distribution fare the first to feel the impact of depression and the last to be restored. Hence no recovery 1s complete until the heavy industries fully participate, In this respect the British figures are significant. By the end of 1936 Stee! reduction had long since overshot all previous marks and in 1937 still higher figures were being recorded: there is no sign yet of a recession, nor will there be for some time as Junexecuted orders will keep the mills going for months. This is not due merely to re-armament ax it Jestimated that only 15 per cent. to 20, per cent, of the steel produced is used for that purpose; it is a reflection of intense industrial development, 'A Well-Rounded Prosperity.
Similarly, building construction, which since 1933 has been on a greater scale than in the boom period before 1929 had reached very large proportions in 1986 and hag only subsequently tapered off, Foreign trade, the importance of which is second to none for a country Uke Great Britain, showed a steady expansion, the imports of raw material allaining record dimensions. In other @irections the same picture—wa! resented. New capital issues to finance the expansion of industry reached a higher. figure than at any time since "1928, Unemployment steadily lessened and the volume of retail trade enlarged as waxes went into circulation. The host of statistics available to the enquirer all depicted well-rounded return to. prosperity. Moreover, the signs of an incipient boom had made their appearance and bankers and economists were concerned that measures should be devised in time to prevent its becoming uncontrollable.
Since the summer of last year, however, it has been clear that a [continuance of prosperous conditions Jcannot be taken for granted. There has been an increase in unemployment an' new orders have fallen off; freights have declined and so ha:
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.