CANTERBURY MARKETS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20095, 26 November 1930, Page 12

CANTERBURY MARKETS.

| NEXT SEASON'S PRODUCE. I ■ r ,r ott coi'iii:r.c:i.L juutg.H.. 1 Tuesday Evening. Caslicl street, is displaying an unusual reserve in quoting prices for next season's produce. Values are eo depressed in some products and the future i'a so uncertain generally that there is little encouragement for forward sellers to do business, and on the other hand the trend of prices is influencing northern merchants to wait and see. It U" •ui unusual position for this period oi the year, when speculation in such commodities as potatoes, oats, and to lesser extent wheat, is fairly active as However, tiioru has been an odd deal L>r two. A tew lines of potatoes have been Uufiht at £3 on trucks, but farmers are no more inclined to sell at this price than merchants to buy. Auckland o[>erators point to the increased area in tubers as sound reason for their non-entry into the speculative field. '1 hove will be plenty of potatoes, they assert, at a reasonable price when the season comes around. One northern offer hp.s been £4 f.0.b.. I but the general idea raises around £4 £>s. . A few old putatfMSs uro up to Auckland and farmers are quitting their stocks at anything from 30si to 85s a ton on trucks, and this after being picked over. Some growers have been'uiifortunately guided in the matter of the market future, and are obliged to take much less than half what they could have obtained when the season was on.

Who at and Oats. I A sale of milling wheat —Tuscan, Hunters, and Pearl—has been made at 3d on trucks at a 50-milo rail. There have l>een a few sales of fowl wheat at 5s 3d f.o.b. Oats are being mentioned at 3s 2d f.0.b., s.i. for A Gartons and 3s for li's, but there is no actual oonfirma--tion of sai< s. Tho Seed Crop. There is a general impression that the need crop will be light, due to the Backward season and to the necessity of farmers having to grare paddocks in at were intended for closing up. I his condition is expected to apply both to ryegrass and cocksfot. In the meantime there is ro mention of quotations. Quotations. The following are quotations for produce to be paid to farmers, on trucks, free of commission, sacks extra except vi here otherwise stated:— Wheat —Tuscan Gs, Hunters 6s 2d. Fowl Wheat —0s 2d f.0.b., so. Oats —A Gartons, local 4s. B's 3s lid, for prompt ; Southern 3s 5d for Is's to 3s Id for A s, f.0.b., s.i. Chaff—£4 to £4 15s a ton. 1 tar lev—Jape ?s Od, malting 4s to 4s 3<l •- "v." Potatoes—£l 10s to £1 los a ton. lied Clover—4d per lb. White Clover—Bd to lOd per lb. Perennial Ryegrass—4s 6d to ss. Italian Ryegrass—ls to 4s 3d. Cocl-sfoot^—7d to Sd for farmers' dressetl lines of Alcaroa s&ed; Plains, Gtl to 7d. Peas —So. i's, 4s 9d to os; f.a.q.'a, 4s 2d to 4s Cd. Bran—Local, £6 a ton. f.o.b. ; shipping, £5 a ton, f.o.b. ; 10s extra for smaller packings. Pollard Local, £6 5s a ton, f.0.b.; f hipping £4 15s a ton, f.0.b.; 10s extra for smaller packings. Flour —Wholesale price £l6 15s a ton for 2001b sacks, with the usual increments tor smaller packings. AUCKLAND. | XSX FKEBS Special Berncc.] AUCKLAND. November -J. There have been no important nrv.-einenti in the local grain and produce markets since last report. Old nelson's potatoes are practically finished. Tho clean-up in mercUantn' r.tores has been ver7 complete, and their combined stocks to-day aro probably 100 sacks. New season's from Pukekoho and other local centres are now in plentiful supply, and are of excellent quality, with practically no trouble from Mij?lit. Current quotations ox city stores are 9b t3d per cwt, bat lower prices aro offered direct from trucks at I'ukekohe. Tho consumption of both oata and chaff ie limited, and the market is weak. Tricon of B Gartons aro unaltered at -is 7rt por bushel, but southern chaff in cheaper, being now available at £lO per ton ex store. Fowl wheat is steady at 8s per bushel, and merchants continuo to buy their requirements from hand to mouth as southern rates are fixed. Maizo is unaltered at Gu per bushel, but the demand is not quite i;r> keen as it was last month. Onions aro a scnrco commodity ft the moment, and the few merchants holding stocks of Canadian or Californian can command up to 27n per ba,7 or case. Victorisn Globes arc expected about tlie middle of next week.

Priees of bran and pollard aro unaltered, and oven at tho low levels now ruling consumption i» only moderate. Wholesale current prices aro:—Pollard £6 10s per ton; bran, £7 per ton; oats, feed B Oartons 4r 7d per bunhel, A Gartons 4s 9d, clipped Puns 6s 9d, clipped Algerians 6s 3d, clipped Gartons 5s sd; fowl wheat, 8s per bushel; oi.iize, local 6a per bushed ox store; barley, feed 5s per bushel, seed Cape bnrley 6s fid per bushel; niAfzf* meal, lis 6d per 1001b; barley meal, lis per 3 001b; ehaiT, r.b.o.s. £3O a ton, Blenheim or Canterbury. Tasmnnian £9 in hessian bagn, i! 9 10s in New Zealand sacks; potatoes, 6d per cwz ex store. 8s Gd on trucks Pukekohe; onions, Californian and Canadian 27a per bag" or caee.

MT. LYELL COMPANY

COMPARATIVE OPERATIONS

The Mount Lyell Mining; and Railway Co., Ltd., Tasmania, issued a preliminary financial statement on November 6th, and the complete reports and accounts for the year ended September 30th cam<» to hand by yesterday's mail. Loading; items of production and finance for the two years are compared in the following table:—

1929. 1.930. Smelted, tor>3 . ♦ 40.18 J. 57,371> Production— Copper, tons 7.803 9,*17 Silver, o*. . ♦ 125,887 3 87,489 Gold, 07j. 2,462 3.631 Overall copper recorery 90.C6 p.c. 91.05».c« Net profit • . £324,128 £151.t77 IMvideuds declared out of year's profit - . £.'257,839 £ 123.91 ft Depreciation . . £65,576 £29,027 Prospecting and de velopmcnt • . .£48,047 £29,3*7 Taxation • - £34,120 £lo,Hi® Reserve and insurance •• £797,522 £797 Surjilus liquid t assets £420,608 £453,50» Shares in other companies .. £1,382,908 £1,450,1**' Ore reserves— North LyaU, tons .. 1,013,672 35t,5tfl Xjyell, Comstock, ton 3 . . GOO,OOO 750,000 Average price of electro copper

" THE TIMES."

REDUCED PROFITS

For tbft yt*ar ended June The Times Publishing Co., London, shows a net profit of £236,373, compared with £331,592 f° r 19*28-29. As £.115,258 io brought forward* i>.o balance availbulo for distribution £<->51,631. Dividend of 5 per cent, on preference shares, and a further distribution viz this class o£ chares on the ourplua profi'- 6 at the same rato in terms of articles of association require £2.5,890, and ordinft l ? phareholdera again receive 15 per cent. i° r the year, abnorbing £96,750. To reserve for rebuilding ancl contingencies £50,000 i® allotted, the etaiJ pension fund is £25,000, to roeerve for taxation transferred, and £100,990 ia carried ward- Th* issued capital of the romp** l ? is £965,000, of which £320,000 \n preference jvnd £645,000 ordinary capital* Tho reaerv© fund is £1C0,000 5

CHRISTCHURCH STOCK? EXCHANGE. j - ■ . j YESTERDAY'S TRANSACTIONS. There wa« apod volume of business on Call yesterday and prices generally showed an eosmg tendencv T ran l actions exclusive of vpstJhniV u . included:— business '3O Bank of Australasia &L 1) Comm. Bank of Aus* !m r a M .° f N^ V ? en >»nd (cum div.) 100 Goldsbrough, MorU ISOO New Zealand Breweries • 100 Tooths Brewery ■ 100 Bcath and Co I :.JOO British Tobacco j 8 Colonial Sugar '< LOOO King Solomon Minin- j LOOO Winding Creek (9d paid). Bank ol Australasia shares were re- I leased at £lO 15s, sellers Maying in at | that price, buyers at £lO 17s 6d Com- ! roercial Bank of Australia shares had I dvahngs at 17s Id and 17s, closing quo- ! tations 10a lid buyers, 17s Id sellers. Unsupported sellers of Commercial Bank of Sydney shares reduced their limits to £l/ 10s. National Bank of New Zealand shares were weaker with toilers at £5 13s, buyers at £5 9s 6XI. Bank of New Zealand were fraclionally weaker at 56s 7d, market closing 56s 4a buyers, 56s 9d seller.'.

.miscellaneous. j i Go/dsbrough, Mort.s relapsed to 21s (:ci. sellers stnvi;; ; .' in at that price, , buyers at 21s Oil. Dalgcty and Com- ' p:niy shores v,i>r.., olferod at £8 3s, ' buyers at £7 17s Od New Zealand \ Urcivories were firm with dealings at ; 4'2h lid and 42s Id, market closing 42s ] buyers, 42s I<l sellers. Tooths Brewery ' | shares realised 2os, but closed easier ' with sellers at 24s Sd, buyers at 24s 2d lieath and Company shares cased to 2os. British Tobaccos declined to 32,- on the morning call and to 31s 9d on the afternoon call. Colonial Sugars nt £34 5s show a drop of 10s on Monday's business. New Zealand Drugs were weaker with sellers at GOs, buyers at 595. King Solomon shares changed hands at Sd, and there were further sellers at that price, buyers at 7Jd. Winding Creek (9d paid) were released at Id. Mt. I/yclls (cum dividend) v.-ero firm at 20s. LATEST QUOTATIONS. Bu'-era. Sellers. £■ n. d. £ b. d. N.Z. Government- Debentures—•i& iw cent. Inscribed, li>:;3 and 1939 .. 03 10 0 9-3 0 0 per cent. Bonda, ID3B .. 9J W 0 5j pfr cert. Bonds, 1937 .. 96 10 0 51 per cent. Inscribed, 153:? ar-d 133 C .. SO 5 0 0> per cent. Bonds, 1..C3 and 19W3 .. ?9 7 6 —- Other Debentures — 5 Dcr 0.-nt. Kural Hondo, 1917 .. .. CO 0 0 100 0 0 VCanks Peninsula Power, 0 per cent., IKS .. 101 15 0 BanJKs— Aust Oi Commerce '' 15 9 10 0 Australa.-ua .. .. 10 7 C 10 15 0 Coram, of Ail?!. OJ6 11 017 1 C'umni. of Anst. (prof.'i a 0 0 612 0 C'omru. of Sydney .. ■— 17 10 0 E., S., and A. 5 0 0 5 8 0 National of Australasia (£5 paid, cum div.' 800 G 3 9 National of N.Z. (cum di-.O .. ■'>' 3 6 513 0 >'ew South V.'c'it-?. SI 1(1 C 32 0 0 Sow Zealand .. .. !If 4 216 9 Um'oi: of Aus*. •• 013 0 317 0 Insurancea.p.a. .. o 6 c New Zealand .. •• '2 2 9 South Britis:- .. 'J 16 ') Standard 2 3 3 210 0 Loan and Agency— Dalgelv and Co. (turn J div.) .. 1 I,' 0 S 3 0 { Goldsbrough, Wort 115 116 \ Permanent Investment 10 o 6 United Building Fo:iety 015 0 015 0 Mercantile Finsn.-o (prof.) .. 0 M 3 015 0 Shipping — HuddarUPariicr -.r-i-i-l.: oID 0 j Frozen MeatGear : 15 5 N.z. ifeiris. '".cs r.a-:-j. o - to s a Woollens — Kaiapoi C7s v ii ' J . •■ °. 8 ". ulO 5 Kaiapoi (pre!. 1 .. Ul2 8 CoalStockton (0.u.. - • o 1 S Stockton (pi»£.' •■ 0 0 7 0 10 GaSAucklarid • I+o Christchurch (Jus palest 012 0 012 C Breweries — Carlton .. 12 3 15 0 Foster's • ■ " 'J ]9 0 MonteitU'a .. • • - - 0 18 6 New Zealand .. ' '2 2 0 22 1 Staples .. . 113 0 '2 10 Titnaru -- _ 013 6 Timaru <ss paid) . • 0 6 6 Tooheya ■• 015 9 016 8 Tooths 14 2 14 5 White Star .. 0 6 0 Miscellaneous — Australian Distillcy 116 Australian Glass tcuxu div.) .. 16 6 17 0 Beath and Co. .15 0 15 4 British Tobacco I 11 7 1 31 9 Colonial Sugar .. 34 0 0 31 12 6 Dunlop Perdriau Rubber 0 11 a Electro. Zinc (pief.) .. OIS 0 015 6 Htnry Jones Go-op. (cum div.) .. 116 12 9 Holden's Motors 0 8 3 090 N.Z. Drug Co 110 0 3 0 0 N.Z. Farmers' Co-op. f (6A per cent. Stock, j loic) .. - 76 0 0 ' N.Z. Farmers' Co-oj). (6£ per cent. StocJr, 1945) .. .. 70 0 0 76 0 0 North Cantv. Co-op. Flour .. .. 0 10 0 United Pictures 012 0 12 0 Taranaki Oil .. 0 5 0 0 3 0 Whitcombe and Tombs 3 7 6 Wilson's Cement (cum div.) .. .. 1 19 6 hi vans At la a Flour .1. 8 0 F.clipso Petrol (fl pd.l -- 0 II ft National Electric .. ~ - 0 9 10 N.Z. Express MiningCornish Point - 0 0 6 King Solomon '' 0 74 0 0 6 Okarito 0 5 9 0 6 6 Mahakipawa 0 0 8 o 0 Bij AVinding Cree 1 ! (Is pci.) 0 0 2 0 01; "Winding Creek (9d pd.) 0 0 OJ 0 olj Aft. Lyol) (cum div.> J 0 0 10 2 YESTERDAY'S SALES. j 1 CHRISTCHURCR, j Sales on 'Change— j Comm. Bank or Aust. t-ii 017 ] 0 17 o Bank of New Zealand (cum div.) ... ... «]g r Goldsbrough, Mort . . ) \ g New Zealand Breweries (4) 2 o o I (4) 2 o i '; f 3) 2§T ; British ToDaeco . . 0 i 1 . 11l 9 Mt. Lyell (ctmi dir.) 1 0 0 King: Solomon (2) 0 0 8 Winding Creek (!>cl paid> 0 0 1 Salea ReportedBank of Australasia ... .10 15 0 New Zealand Breweries .. 22 1 | Tooths Brewery ... ... 15 0 Beath and Co. ... ... 1 5 q Colonial Sugar ... ... 34 .5 Q Mt. Lyell (cum div. 1 ... 10 0 DUNEDIN. Sales Reported— \ •Si a. d j Milburn Lime and Cement 110 6 j New Zealand Breweries ~ 2 20 S j32 3 !

AUCKLAND. Sales on 'Change- £ Inscribed Stock, 1939, -:U g per cent. •••,,,.,,-. n Inscribed Slock, .93,, o, Q Commercial Bank ct A U& - Q Q \ Bank of New Zealand ... |l6 U New Zealand Insurance ... a 3 6 Auckland <*as ... -y Q British Tobacco . <■*> ' Consolidated Br.ek and 0 u ~ KaiS Mining '"*> 0"o 0 j i WELLINGTON. ' j Sales Keported — New Zealand Breweries ~<,.. (cum div.) ... ••• -" - Australian Bank or Com--mcrce . ••• -•• uJJ u t allied motors, ltd. I I ANNUAL REPORT. j

The anuuitl report of tho directors of Allied Motor Interests, Ltd., for the year ended July 31st, 1930, is us ollows: — Tha accounts disclose it loss* for tho year of £1303 14s lid, which will bo carried forward to next year. Since tho last report submitted to you. effect has been given to the special resolution passed at an extraordinary general meeting of the comrxinv, held fin Wednesday, October 16th. 1920, and confirmed on Thursday, October 31st, 1920, whereby the jfipital of tho company was written down from 20b to 10s per share, and I the share capital now appears as l £214,072, instead ct £428,144, as formerly. In connexion with this writing down of capital, the opportunity was taken to adjust the book values of certain assets appearing in the ba!- [ ance-sheets of the subsidiary com- • panics, and for this purpose the j balance of tho profit and loss account i as at July 31st, 1929—viz., £B4IB 14s od—together with an amount of £26,528 Uis 5d in dividend equalisation reserve account, were utilised. Among these adjustments, g00dwi11£39,506 £39,506 12s —has been written off altogether, and substantial reductions made in booh values ot plant and tools, furniture and fittings,, etc. All inter-company advances Allied Motor Interests, Limited, to the subsidiary companies, and as between the subsidiary companies liavo been repaid, and each company's balance-sheet now stands on its own. As will be .seen by a reference to the balance-sheet of Allied Motor Interests. Limited, as en July 31st. 1930, the result of these operations has been t<» placo the account of that company—£s9,Bs7 9s 9d —in credit with its bankers The bank is allowing a full set off of interest as regards any advance of the subsidiary companies. Since last report, Commercial Vehicles Proprietary, Limited, one of the subsidiary companies, has been placed m liquidation. As a unit, owini; mainly to adverse legislation and the increased cost of petrol and oil, this business did not pay; but the sale of light commercial vehicles will be continued through Olympia Motors Proprietary, Limited. The past year has been a very diffi- '' cult one in the motor trade generally throughout Australia, and the subsidiary companies in which Allied Motor Interests, Limited, is interested have, in eomnion with all other motor tfaders, suffered severely in the falling off in business during that period. The Chamber o! Automotive Industries publish figures showing the importation of chassis into Australia during the six months ended June 30th, 1929, and 1930, and these were 51,100 and 20,462 respectively, and a further falling off of 10,530 is shown for July and August, making a reduction for eight months of 41,108 units. Those figures speak for themselves i-s indicating the falling off of business referred to.

A thorough reorganisation of the business of the Allied Group has been rendered necessary through the slackness in trade, and this has now been carried out with a resultant very substantial saving in overhead expenses, and this should react very considerably in the company's favour when husiness improves, as it must do in the future. Among the changes effected are the co-ordination of the three service departments and two assembling departments at 149-163 Little Lonsdale street, and the three used car departments at the rear of 104 Russell street. All these activities aro now carried on by Autocar Industries Proprietary, Limited. The three selling companies —The All-British Motor Company Pro-f'l-ietarv, Limited (distributors fo-r ?olls-Royee), Sunbeam, and Arm-strong-Siddiey cars) ; Tarrant Motors Proprietary, Limited (distributors for Fiat c:irs) ; and Olympia Motors Proprietary, Limited (distributors for Rugby and Durant cars and trucks)— are now all domiciled at 104-112 Russell street, where lhe showrooms have been very considerably enlarged for this purpose, and the three accountancy departments are also co-ordinated at the same address.

Since our last meeting, the name of the Melbourne Motor Body and Assembling Company Pty., Ltd., has been altered, for trade reasons, to Ruskin Motor Bodies Proprietary, T,td., and a suitable trade-mark, "Ruskin," has boon thereby secured. The main business is carried on as heretofore at Dudley street. West Melbourne, with n body repair , and service section at Jeffcott street. West Melbourne. In connexion with the bodyworks, it :'s gratifying to note that, apart from the building of motor bodies for our associated companies, the company has secured contracts with distributors of other cars, and these now represent a very considerable proportion of the present turnover. As now reorganised, the bodyworks can, if business improves, earn good profits. Realising that the present; deprea- ! sion through which Australia is passing is largely of our own creation, and recognising th© vast potentialities of the country, it is felt that when the causes are remedied, Australia wiil enter an era of renewed prosperity, in which all should participate. The founders of your company have been in the motor tra<ie for over thirty years, and when business improves, their experience should be invaluable. Meanwhile, we are concentrating on placing our house in order so that when business does come along we may be among the first to grasp the opportunity.

Balanee-bheei iißuree rafted the reduction of capital and other adjustments, and compare with those for 1927-23 and 1928-29 as follows : 1928. 1920. 1930. Liabilities— £ £■ £ Capital paid 42-S.Ui. 423,.U-t 214,072 deposit and interest ~ 63.75 H RI.S2.S 45,603 Reserves . . 2T..529 27 i s2n 1.000 Sundry cr<-ditf>M 1! " 23 IV Profit and lost, account . . 6,277 S,il9 625,741. 525,913 263,693 Assets- ■ % Shar©3 hi lus- ? sid;arie,» 222,5tW S"JV.s39 'JO'i.aS-Z J AdTacces to isnbsidiariea 300,237 207,552 _, Cs sk . . 2,323 SO3 SS.SoT Profit and loss, , debit . , J 525,943 285.692 !

WESTPORT COAL COMPANY | ANNUAL MEETING. ; [THE PEESS Special Semce.j DUNEDIN, November 25. At, the animal meeting of shareholders of the Westport Coal Company. Ltd., Mi James Begg presided. Iu moving the adoption of the report anil balance-sheet, the chairman referred to the operations of the year just closed, during which, owing to the extension of the use of oil anu water power and to i-ompetiii from new mines, the output showed a reduction on that of the previous year. The competition from uw no mines, which were naturally working ut less cost than the eomnanv. owing to its greatly extended operations, was very keen, and this and the lessened output had affected the profits for the year, and accounted for the reduced rate of dividend recommen 0 directors. Reference was made to steps being taken to develop a new area, which it is hoped will be worked economically, and help to meet the competition referred to. 'JIn-* report and balance-sheet, which provided for tho payment of a final dividend of 9d per share, making a total of Is 9d for the year, were adopted. The retiring directors. Mr &. LDenniston and Mr Crosby Morris, were r«-elected.

AUSTRALIAN STOCKS.

THE EXCHANGE MOVEMENTS

The upward movement of security prices on the Stock Exchange, which commenced at the end of September, continued for the greater part of October (states the Monthly Summary of the National Bank of Australasia). Despite the extent of the movement in prices and the sharp nature of the change, such subsequent- reactions in quotations as occurred we're isolated, of small dimensions, and of brief duration. For the greater part of the month two main influences were at work—first, the "oversold" state of the market for a number of industrial and trading shares, and. second, a revival of genuine buying by investors prepared to hoia sound stocks for eventual recovery in price. Pressure on "bear" sellers forced considerable buy-, ing in a market which had a decided tendency to rise, even apart from that influence. There was also some speculative buying, in the expectation that a Nationalist Government would be returned at the election in New South Wales on October 25th. Following the return of the Labour Party in New South Wales with a large majority, there was a fall in prices, but decline was less extensive than might have been expected, and. within two days, the upward movement had begun again. Rising markets prevailed for the remainder of the month and f° r the first few days of November. By that time the "oversold" state of the market had been partially relieved by forced purchases by "bears." The firm attitude of the Aeting-' Fedoral Treasurer (Mr Lyons), in opposition to the extremist section, combined with the realisation that a double dissolution of the Federal Parliament would probably be necessary before inflation could be effected, minimised the alarm which some investors had felt. TENDERS ACCEPTED. i 1 [THE PBESS Special Service.] i AUCKLAND, November 25. Tenders involving £20,000 were accepted by the Auckland Transport Hoard to-day. The largest was for the supply of rails and fishplates. The successful tenderer was John Burns and Company, Limited, and the amount J?11.955 Us fid. In all cases the materials, except hardwood sleepers, which will come from Australia, are , being supplied from England. 1 WAITAKI FARMERS' FREEZING COMPANY. The anaiiii ic-port oi the "Waitaio. ¥**• i mcra' Freezing Company, Ltd., to be pre- ■ aeuted to the annual meeting of shareholders on December sth, states that the stock dealt with for the paat thj.eo seasons has been as folio-* - ?: 1928. 1929. 1930. Sheen .. . 82,180 32,195 56,926 ! Lambs . . 262,496 217,109 292,237 234,676 279.504 346.16S 'The M.>riii-.tf account for the year shows a surplus of £6IOB Sa. This has been transferred to the appropriation account, less the following amounta which have been written off during the year:—Depreciation on buildings and plant £6120 7u 6d, amount written > off to extinguish preliminary expenses £500; total £5620 7s 6d. The directors express appreciation at the support accorded the worßß during the past eeason, and look forward Tiih confidence to its continuance. The retiring directors are Mcbsts Hobori Hamilton, John E. IfcCulloch. and Eobert W. Trotter, all of whore are eligible ani os»r themselves for re-election.

NEW ZEALAND FRUIT. CONTINENTAL MARKETS (J . ' fUSS ASSOCIATION ■iuj. iiltAU .. WELLINGTON, November „.-_ A schome it is proposed to adopt for Continental marketing of New Zealand fruit was explained by the chairman of the .Fruit Export Control Board, Mr J. L. Brown, to the Dominion Conference of Eruit Exporter., at Wellington to-day. Briefly it provides for the direct shipment of fruit to the Hook of Holland, whence its distribution throughout, the Continent will be handled by fin English (inn with branches or representatives in all the leading Continental cities an,l centres of population. 11 r Brown, who returned from abroad a few weeks ago, spent sonic time in [ Europe, where lie had an opportunity of j gaining first-hand information as to the I potentialities of (he market, there and j the requirements of the Continental i consumer. ! "On the Continent, our fruit has been ! exceptionally well received because of its quality and grading," he said. After referring to the increasing production of fruit not only in New Zealand but other fruit-growing countries and the paramount need for paying more attention to marketing distribution it was, he said, quite apparent that something would have to be attempted in the way of stabilising the market more than ever before. What was wanted besides distribution was control of distribution. While at Home he was astounded to see the large number of over-size apples which piled up on the market floor and bore down prices. They pre* rrcd apples of smaller sizes. England did not want the larger sizes, and the time had now arrived when they should take the opportunity of testing out the Continental market with these sizes on a larger scale. To land fruit in London, and have it redistributed on the Continent from there was an expensive matter, It cost as much as 5s per case to send apples from London to Cologne, while it did not give the fruit a chance to secure that good name the Dominion hoped for. Mr Brown said the difficulty was to get a connexion with a firm that would take the responsibility of distribution, but satisfactory arrangements had now been made with an English firm, with branches and representatives all over the Continent. At the conclusion of the conference the delegate* passed a resolution expressing confidence in the scheme outlined by Mr Brown.

COMMONWEALTH LOAN

SUBSCRIPTIONS. (US H EX* PASHO 4830C1A. FlOy —B* HLXCTUIO TJ:L.KOKAPU—copvuxout.) SYDNEY, November &*i. Subscriptions to tho Commonwealth loan in the first week totalled £1,797.050 from 1233 applicants. RANGIORA MARKET. There was a much improved entry at tho Rangiora murket yesterday, Mid a satisfactory amount of business was done. In the sheep pens there were 1115 sheep and lambs, nearly a thousand of which changed hands, amongst the sales being:—Ten fat ewes at 17s lOd, 4 at 13s Dd, 2 at 17s, 7 at 15h, 10 at 18a 3d. 3 at 13k Id, IS fat wethers lit 15s 1 Od, 2 at 16s, 3 at 26a Id, 50 ewes and lambs at 13s lOd, 09 at 8s Gd, 51 at lots Od, 70 at 13*, 71 at f>s 9d. 36 at 12b fid, 76 «t 12s 7d, 105 at 12s Id, 24 twotooth ewes at 14s. 05 wethers at 10s 4d, 300 at 10s 4d, 52 at 7s 2d, 70 at 10s 4d, 0 ewes at 7s Bd. 18 at ss. About 80 head of cattle wore offered, but there was a poor demand, and prices vvero low, with tho result that there were a considerable number of passings. Springers made £4 to'£G 10s, cows in profit £3 to £6, springing hoifers £2 5a to £5, forward cows £4 10s to £6 10s, store cows £2 10s to £3 17s Gd, yearling hoifers £1 10s to £2 ss. Thero wqs an entry of 77 young pigs, Stores sold at 31s to 37e, largo weanara 24a to C9s, small IQb to 21s.

In the poultry and produce yards prices on a par with last week's quotations.

ASHBURTON STOCK SALE. The stock sale at tho Ashburtun yavds yesterday disclosed a further drop in the price of fat Bheop There was a lair yarding, and the quality was well up to tho usual. Competition was Tory slow with tho result that although the decline in tho bent quality was about 2s 6d a head, unfinished linen showed a drop of from as to 4b a head compared with those realised at Tinwald last week. The following were tho Bales;— Fat Ewes (in the wool) Six at 12s 7d, 7 at 10b, 31 at 10s Id, 17 at Ss lOd, 17 at fis 7d, 2 at 10s 4d, 2 at 19s 10J, .1 at i!ls 6d, 3 at 12a lod, 1 at 10s 7d, 6 at 21s, 2 at 18s 4d, 5 at 18s 7d, 5 at 16s Bd, 4 at 16a Id, 6 at lln Id, 6 at 15a lOd, C at 14s •Id, 5 at 20s 7d, 8 at 17s 7d, 6 at ISs, 5 nt 12s 7d, 7 at 14s 4d. 6 at lis Id. Shorn —Four at 8s 10(1. r> at 9s lOd. 4 at 8s lOd, 6 at 5s 10(1, 5 at 15s lOd, 3 at lis 4d. 10 at 14s 7d, 10 at 12s Id, 0 at 10s 4d, sat 13s 2d, 3at Us 9d, 7at <Jt 7d, 8 at 9s 7d, 5 at 9s 7d, 4 at 8s 7d, 7 at 88 lOd, 8 Bt 7s Id, 7 ut 8s Id, 4 at lis 4d. Wethers—Eiglit at 22s Id, 4 at 22s lOd 6 at 22s Id, 9 at 23s lOd; shorn, S at 37s Id, 2 nt 18s 7d, 4 at 19s lOd. Lambs—Four at 21s 4d, 4at li)s Id 6 at 21b lOd. Store Sheep—Thirty-eight sound-mov.fh hnlfbred ewes and 38 lambs at 8s Id, 20 crossbred wether hoggets at 9s 3d. ' 63 three-quarterbrad wether hoggets at 8s 7d, 4.1 three-quarterbred ewo hoggets at 18s 2d, 62 do. at 17s lOd, 48 cross and three-quarter-bred wether hogets at 15s yd, H 8 crossbred owe hoggets nt J2h, 25 forward threo-quartcr-brcd wethers at 16s 9d, 04 forward threequsrterbred ewes at 4s id, 3 7 cross and three-qunrtebrcd owo hoggets ut i:is, -11 crossbred ewo liogets at 14s fid. Cattle —-Fat heifer SO 2s fid, Shorthorn Fleers at £7 10s. 2 two-year heifers ;i* £G 7s fid. Jersey bull at £3. * EGG AUCTION. Mesris ilui'ria Bros., u.. ( oiv Umt the annul weekly auction sain of "Feather lirand" guaranteed new-laid ecgq was held yesterday afternoon. Tlie following prices were realised- Hen eggs, first, grade (2oz or overt, Is IJd; ben eggs, second frrado (under 2os:), Is OJjd. q

LORNEVILLE STOCK SALE. i.-RKSS ASSOCIATION ÜbUCUHAi:.; IX VERCAUGILL*. November 25. All Koetions were well represented at the JLornevijle stock sale to-day. Store Cattle—Tho largest yarding to date comprised some nice liites of station Herolord two-year-old and yearling steers. There were also nom« pens of good mixed coloured two-year-old and three-year-old steers with the usual few pens of empty cows and heifers. The bulr was not a pood one, prices realised, quality considered, being hardly on a par with recent sales, hut k large percentage of the vendors accepted the prices offering. Three-year old steers realised from £8 to £O, two-yoar-old from £6 to £7 10* for extra pood ones, yearling steers from £3 10s to i' 4 ss, good yearling heifers up to £l, medium sorts from i*ss to 50s, fresh conditioned empty cows from AM to £4 15s, empty heifera £4 10b, dairy cows £4 to £6. Store Sheep—There was a small entry, and prices wore equal to those ruling at country sales. Good ewe hoggets realised Itis lid, good wether hoggets 14s, and ewes und lambs from 4s to <is all counted. Kat Sheep—The yarding was a large one. being about, double that of the previous week. There was a fair percentage of nice quality shorn wethers forward, also several pens of shorn ewes, & few lots of prime heavy woolly ewes, and some outstanding wethers. Prices were barely up to last week's, but as the sale progressed with outside competition the market was maintained to within about 2* on last week's rates. Extra prime heavy wethers sold up to 32s 6d, medium from 23b 6d to 265, lighter down to 19s 6d. Prime heavy young woolly ewes sold up to 265, medium from 17b to 19s, and lighter down to 14s. Prime shorn butchers' wethers made from 22s to 23s 6d, prime shorn fat ewes from 16s 6d to 18s 6d, ond lighter 13s 6d. Prime heavy butchers' lambs made up to 27s 3d, good medium-weight lambs from 20s to 22s 6d, and lighter sorts from 15s to 17b Gd. l ,l at Cattle—The yarding was about equal to last week's as regards numbers, but the quality to-day was not up to the same standard, The percentage of prime ox beef iti to-day's entry was small. Extra prime bullocks realised up to £l6, medium weights from ill to £l4 10s, lighter sorts down to £lO. Prime heifers sold up to £l2 12s Od, medium weights from £9 to £3 1 10s, and lighter sorts down to £7 10s. Prime cows sold up to £l3 12a 6d, medium weights from £9 to £ll 10s, and lighter sorts down to £7 10s. Prime cows sold up to £1« 12s 6d, medium weights from £8 to £8 10b, and lighter ports down to 10s. Venlers made from £1 Jo £2 10k. METAL MARKETS.

A.P.A. ASSOCIATION. Ne-w "bubinosy -written by tit-; Australian Provincial Assurance Association. Ltd., for th-e year onded September 30tli amounted io £562,935 (carrying annual premiums of £20.76G), compared with now business of £559,292 (with annual premiums of £19,190) for tlio previous year. Total income from premiums was £289,46*1. Interest, dividends, and rents amounted to £l-10,283, and miscellaneous receipts to £264". ' Because of increased income tax an extra amount of -SI 1,000 has been added to income tax reserve, makincf £22,771 for *he vear. P.onus to policy-holders is £',>0.922. Dividend cf 25 per cent, to sh;i rchoblor*. :i'i rate. absorbs £8925. The total appropriation account is £IUS.SI-l. Uio *issur:>nce funds amounts to. i-2.iM7.117. Oeditorw appear as £88,446, and bank overdraft at *IO,OIO. The directors ->tato that the ro« sulta are satisfactory, but- that if the mCo, nti tax on companies, many of \slii<*u have to operate on narrow margin*. if continually increased it will be unprofitub e for th? i-rm-panies to earry on. and unempbrym-'it -will be increased. COAL OH. (N.Z.), I.TI). IPUKSS ASSOCIATION 'I&LfcUJIAj:. . ~ , NR\V PLYMOUTH, November 25. w«Ai! aA J* Ltd., reports for th«» ending November 22nd that a soft formation between 2342 feet and : feet necessitated mudding. While pullo up the drill stem after muddin# the *>Jl r b,t stuc * at 252 » and the drill m parted. Preparations gro being - made r&covcr the tooU.

OTAGO SHOW.

CHAMPIONSHIP AWARDS. (FBXSE 4.BSOCIA.TXOH TJCLBCRAK ) DUNEDIN, November 25. At the Otago A. and P. Society's Show to-day, the following championships were awarded:— Cattle. Shorthorn Bull—J. A. Johnstone and reserve; heifer —J. A. Johnstone and reserve. Milking Shorthorn —bull and cow. Estata of late James Miller, and reserve. Friesian —Cow, W. Y. Dickie and reserve; bull, W. Y. Dicitie; reserve champion, T. Hewitt. Ayrshire—Cow and bull, Gillies Bros., and reserve. Jersey—Cow, J. Prvde; reserve champion, P. J. Hellycr; bull, A. McGregor; reserve champion, John Hellyer. Slieep. Merino, line combing—Earn, R. Jopp and reserve. Strong combing—Rani, R. Jopp and reserve; owe, L. R, C. Macfarlane and reserve. Border Leicester —Ram and ewe, J. W. Blair and reserve. Romiiey Marsh-—ltam and ewe. J. Mosley and sons, and reserve. Corriedale —Rain and ewe, J. A. Johnstone and reserve. Southdown rani and ewe—rH. J. Andrew and reserve.

KcieivcJ November 25th, 10.-35 p.i i). > LONDON, "November 24. Xov. >2u y civ. 24. Per ton. Per ton. Compel x p. cl. i: e. d. Standard, mih,i ;;> 10 (\ iT 1(\ lUi Standard, forward 1> 12 *j- i - -*7 16 ii)\ Klectrolytic 45 0 *> 52 0 0 to ;,i 0 0 52 10 0 "Wire bar-. .. 51 0 52 0 0 Lead- - S);ot .. .. 3 0 1 3 i.-> 18 9 3'onvnrd 15 8 v* !,") 17 0 SpoHcr— SpOt .. .. Irl 13 0 l-i !;? 9 Forward . 15 5 t« 15 2 6 Tin-— Spot .. Jli'i - (I it3 18 9 Forward .117 7 G 114 18 S Silver— Sttmdrtrd. per o/.. 1(5 IG-Ad Pine, par oz. 18<"! 17 13-1 Cd