It will be seen that the expenditure actually exceeds the income by 2s. 6d. weekly (or £6 10s. annually) in the group showing over four in family and receiving under £143 income. This result is obtained on the records of ten families, five of which show actual losses, and the remaining five surpluses. An illustration of the above figures is given by means of Chart following:

(Shaded portions show expenditure; white, saving.)

Dividing the incomes according to occupations, it is found that the weekly averages for each section are as follow:

General Analysis of Expenditure under Five Main Headings.

ANALYSIS OF AVERAGE WEEKLY EXPENDITURE PER FAMILY.

The four main items of expenditure are dealt with in the above tables-viz., housing, food, clothing, and fuel and light. The heading " Other Items" covers all expenditure that cannot be included under the four main headings, and is dealt with in detail in the table on page 292. The tables above are shown in two ways, both as to actual money-expenditure and as percentages of the total expenditure.

Comparing the expenditure, on the above lines, of two Wellington workers having somewhat similar incomes, but one having no family simply husband and wife and the other family comprising husband, wife, and four children, the chart herewith illustrates the position:

The worker with no family spends very nearly the same sum weekly on food, but saves in rent, clothing, and other items, and at each week-end has a surplus of Is. 94d. Apparently he buys more luxuries in the way of food than his co-worker who has a family, and his average expenditure on clothing is also higher. The family man pays 5s. more rent per week, 83d. more on food, Is. 1d. on clothing, and 3s. 34d. on other items. His fuel and light expenses, however, are lighter to the extent of 1s. 41d. per week. This worker has no surplus at the week-end.

The figures emphasize what the returns generally show, the favourable position, as far as expenditure is concerned, occupied by the families possessing few, if any, children.

The general averages in the Australian inquiry are as follow:

Before considering the New Zealand and Australian figures from a comparative point of view it is expedient, perhaps, to bring the figures down to a more common basis. As previously explained, the New Zealand returns show a weekly average income of £3 3s. 8d., whilst the Australian returns deal with a general average wage of £4 13s. 1d. Out of the 212 Australian returns, 113 were received from citizens receiving £200 per year and less, whilst with ten exceptions the whole of the New-Zealanders received £200 or less. Comparing the results on this basis the following table shows the position :

Excluding the expenditure on "other items," the New Zealand returns show, as do the Australian, that the cost of food is by far the most important factor, amounting to nearly 34 per cent. of the total expenditure. Next comes housing, 2022, then, clothing, 14:47; and fuel and light, 5.20. It would appear from this comparison that, with the exception of "other items" and food, the expenditure of Australian citizens was less than that of New-Zealanders. It should be borne in mind, however, that the comparison, although based on a common income standard, goes no further. In New Zealand, town workers were dealt with only; in Australia the returns were taken from all classes living in large and small towns, and from dwellers in remote country places. In the 113 Australian returns dealt with, 62 dwelt in metropolitan areas and 51 in rural districts.

The expenditure on food in the three New Zealand income groups is remarkably close, any material difference being accounted for by the number of persons concerned, the expenditure, of course, being higher in the larger families. The general average expenditure on food for families in the three sections containing four and over is 37:09 on total expenditure, and in the small-family groups, four and under, 32:53. Besides the comparison with Australia, a further table might be given, including the United States and Germany. Any comparison is rendered unsatisfactory owing to the inquiries not being conducted on similar lines, nor are wages, prices, social classifications, and general economic conditions the same. In America the

inquiry dealt with the working-classes only, and dates back to 1902; and in Germany the average incomes are much lower than in either New Zealand, Australia, or in the United States. In dealing with foreign figures, however, family groups were selected by the Commonwealth Statistician to make the incomes approximate as closely as possible to the general Australian average. This average income, as indicated previously, is rather high, amounting to £4 13s. 1d. as against the New Zealand general average of £3 38. 8d.

The three following returns therefore are given for what they are worth. They were quoted in Mr. Knibbs's statistics, and the New Zealand totals have simply been added.

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.