FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20101, 3 December 1930, Page 12

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

MINERAL FIELDS.

FfiSLP FOR PROSPECTORS. fSONFERENCE TO BE CALLED. ASSOCIATION TELE&KAJi.) NELSON, December 2. During his visit to Motueka and the I Sfakaka district the Hon. A. J. Mur- ; jdoch, Minister for Mines, conferred : •with. Mr G. C. Black, M.P., regarding the mineral potentialities of the Motueka electorate. Mr Murdoch also made a tour of inspection of the Taracement works and Onakaka iron works. Ha was greatly impressed by the possibilities of tho Onakaka works, which are subsidised by the Government. Ho is satisfied there is a great future ahead of the industry. There is an a.iplo supply of iron ore in the district, and the works are working at good pressure. In addition to manufacturing pipes the company produces and sells pig iron. The company recently shipped 600 tons of iron ore to Australia in the hope of finding a market to keep the plant in operation. The quality of the iron was such that repeat orders had been received in every instance.

Mr Murdoch said the people in the Nelson and Motueka districts did not appear to be feeling the effects ox the depression to such an extent as was the ease elsewhere. This, he thought, was due tp the fact that there were such a number of small industries in operation to keep the people occupied. Mineral Deposits. The Minister was also much interested generally in the mineral deposits in. tho north-west portion of the island and made enquiries from local miners. He intends to take up immediately with the Unemployment Board the matter of assistance to tho mining industry aid to prospecting and otherwise. Mr Black suggested that to acquire the necessary local knowledge of the areas to which men should be sent out a conference of all interested in mining in the Collingwood, Takaka, Motueka, Nelson, Murchison, Lyell, Karamea, and Jnangahua districts should be held and that officers of the Mines Department and of the geological branch of the 1 Scientific and Industrial Research Department should attend. It is anticipated that such a conference will be held in. Beefton early in the New Year pnd that possibly tho Minister for Mines will presido.

HOUSE PROPERTY VALUES.

GOVERNMENT SALE. ©nt of four house properties situated til the City arid suburbs which were ' offered for sal© by auction yesterday by th© Commissioner of Crown Lands, three wero passed in and the fourth was Bold at the upset price of £7OO to » Christchurch land agent on behalf of a client. The property sold was a section of half-an-acre in Colombo street, near Bealey avenue, carrying a fourroomed house with motor-shed and workshop. The other three properties were a four-rpomed house in Lin wood with an upset price of £B3O, a four-roomed house beyond the Fendalton tram terminus with an upset' price of £BSO, and an acre of land with a four-roomed house on it at Woolston, on which th© upset price was £6OO. All the properties were offered for sale on a basis of a £SO deposit and the balance on Government mortgage over periods of twenty years or more. Mr H. It. Robinson, chief clerk to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, who conducted the sale, considered that it had been fairly successful. House properties, of course, had been very low for a long time, but recently ithera had been a slight tendency for values to harden, especially in the case «f sales under th© Discharged Soldiers' Settlement Act. Th© Department's conditions of sale were very easy, but, even so, there were not many people fcbout who were willing to take on their shoulders, in th© present depression, the burden of maintaining regular interest and sinking fund payments pn ho us® property. What sales there were, M"r Robinson thought, were being made only because the Department bad. cut down its values to a mini-

OF INTERESTS, j POVERTY BAT FREEZING WORKS. (PRESS ASSOCIATION TM.tiyum ) GISBORNE, December 2. iUp till to-day two freezing companies | feave been operating in Gisborne, the ! Gisborne Sheepfarmers' Frozen Meat and Mercantile Co., Ltd., and Nel- | Ron's (N.Z.), Ltd., but henceforth all freezing will be done at the works of the former company, which are situated alongside the wharf at Kaiti. This step was agreed upon some time ago with the object of cutting down overhead costs. It was officially announced this afternoon that a fusion had been effected, a subsidiary company in which the two firms will have an interest having been registered. The new company will be known as the Gisborne Refrigerating Co., Ltd., and be governed by two directors from each of the two companies.

Mr F. Tolerton. who for years has been manager in Gisborne for Nelson's (N .Z.), Ltd., will be manager of the new company. The principal employees of both companies will not be affected and will enter the employ of the new company.

The Kaiti works close down to-day under the Gisborne Sheepfarmers' .Frozen Meat and Mercantile Co., I:td., and reopen on Monday as the main works of the new company Nelson's (N.Z.), Ltd., works at Kaiteratahi will be held in readiness to commence freezing operations should the volume of stock prove too great to be dealt with any time at the Kaiti works

STANDARDISED CHEESE. <TEES« ASSOCIATION telegbam.) WELLINGTON, December 2. The question of the export of standardised cheese will be considered at a meeting of the Dairy Export Control Board to-morrow. A number of suggestions have been placed before the Board by the Department of Agricul/ST® « ? instance of the Minister, (the Hon. A. J. Murdoch), and the disat Board table will be centjed on these suggestions. An anerßm^+ 6 SSn aS x *1? courEe the GorgrawKot will follow may be expected

WOOL SALES.

THE SYDNEY MARKET. STRONG BUYING BY JAPANESE. (tryiTHD PF.ESS ASSOCIATION—BSf ELECTXIC TELEGSAPH—COPYRIGHT.) (Received December 2nd, 9.10 SYDNEY. December Q. At tho wool sales tho market was very firm, with good general competition. The outstanding feature was strong buying on Japanese account. Greasy Merino made up to 23id. The offerings totalled 10 561 bales 9847 being sold, also 809 which were disposed or privately. VALUES DOWN AT PERTH. GOOD CLEARANCES MADE. (CrTITSD sasss ASSOCIATION —BI BLECTJSIO TELEOBAPH —COPYRIGHT.) (Received December 2nd, 10.35 p.m.) PERTH, December 2. At tho wool sales 20,000 bales were ofEered, including many choice clips. Good clearances were made competition was fairly well distributed. Values were down five per cent, as compared with former sales. The best price was 14d.

PRICES AT LONDON MAINTAINED (UKITED PBESS ASSOCIATION' —BX SLJCOTKIC TELEGBAPH —COPYRIGHT.) * LONDON, December 1. At the wool sales 8769 bales were offered, including 1930 from New Zealand, and about 7290 were sold. There was steady competition, with all sections operating. Prices were maintained. New Zealand greasy halfbreds — Riverina, 9Jd top, Sd average. Glenary, SJd and SJd.

TARIFF ON TOBACCO.

STATEMENT BY MINISTER. (?K£S5 .ASSOCIATION TBLXGKAM..) WELLINGTON, December 2. A reply was made to-day by the Minister for Customs (the Hon. J. G. Cob be) to the remarks of Mr Gerhard Husheer, chairman of directors of tho National Tobacco Co., Ltd., in reference to tho new Customs tariff on tobacco.

Mr Cobbe points out that when the recent alterations in the tariff wero under th© consideration of tho Government, the opportunity was taken of so amending the tariff as to promote the use of New Zealand leaf tobacco and at the same time to correct tho serious inroads on the revenue which wero being made owing to the manufacture locally of tobacco from not only New Zealand grown leaf but also from imported leaf. Th© originally proposed excise duties of 2s 8d per lb on New Zealand cut tobacco and Is per lb on imported leaf quoted by Mr Husheer were designed to encourage th© use of New Zealand leaf, and at the same time to safeguard th© revenue, said th© Minister. These proposals, however, met with strong opposition from local tobacco growers, possibly because they were not fully understood and Parliament finally decided that the duties should be as follows:—lmport duty on leaf tobacco, 3s per lb; excise duty on cut tobacco, Is 8d per lb. The tariff also provides that the aggregate of the two duties shall not exceed Ss 8d £er lb., "Although it is stated in th® article under review that th© duties quoted are those originally proposed," said Mr Cobbe, "the fact might easily be overlooked that these proposed duties were not passed by Parliament but that duties of 3a _ and_ Is 8d per lb are those now effective in respect of imported leaf tobacco and locally manufactured cut tobacco respectively. The position with respect to tobacco made wholly from leeajly-grown leaf is th© earn© to-day as it has been for many years past, i.e., that it is liable to excise duty at the rat© of Is 8d per lb."

TRADERS' FINANCE CORPORATION.

" ANNUAL REPORT. [THE PRESS Special Ssrvica.l AUCKLAND, December 2. A net profit of £5454 1» is shown in the annual report and balance-sheet of the Traders' Finance Corporation Limited, Auckland, for the year ended September 30th, 1930. With the balance of £1122 brought forward £6576 is available for distribution. Out of this the directors have paid a preference dividend totalling £2385 and the directors' honoraria of £250 voted at the last annual meeting. After making provision for income tax at £IOSO, a balance of £2891 is left, with which the directors recommend payment of a dividend on ordinary shares of 4 per cent., which will absorb £2297, and leave a balance of £594 to bo carried forward.

MEETING OF FARMERS. DISCUSSION OP FALL IN PRICES. A meeting of Canterbury farmers has been called by the president of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association (Mr L. R. C. Maofarlane), the president of the North Canterbury Executive of the New Zealand Farmers' Union (Mr C. Mcintosh), and the president of the Canterbury Sheepowners' Union (Mr IJ. M. JD. Morten) to discuss the problems arising out of the fall of produce prices in order to make recommendations to the Government and to the financial authonties. of the Dominion as to how the position can best be met. meeting, which will be open to all farmers, will be held in the rooties of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association on Wednesday, December 10th, at 2.45 p.m. It 'is emphasised by the conveners that the meeting will not be used for Party political purposes.

THE CONVERSION LOAN. (UNITED PRBSS ASSOCIATION—BY ELECTBIC TELEGSAFH—COPTJUGHT.) SYDNEY, December 2. The conversion loan is being rapidly up. Subscriptions now total £5,552,920. Conversions were £2,916,880, and cash subscriptions are now £2,636,040,