IMPORTING.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20173, 27 February 1931, Page 12

IMPORTING.

a costly Business. Apart from the aspects of protection arid revenue from indirect taxation (which the Prime Minister promises to increase), importing ib a costly luxury for New Zealand. By way of illustration a few actual invoices i furnished, by a Welling' •, indentor tot the "Evening Post" are given hereunder and may' be found interesting*—

' Article £ s. d. Cigarettes, price f.o.b. .. "0 0 *0 Freight .. .. 2 7 8 Insurance ... .. ' 0 7 3 'Exchange .. ...500 Duty .. 84 7,6 Surtax .:. ..444 * 146 6 9' Original cost of cigarettes, £SO. Packet soups put ugl in England and much used in New Zealand in giving "body" to home-made soup, originally cost £67 10s. Freight and duty bring the landed cost in New Zealand up- to £99 10s.

;A line of English tinned herrings invoiced at £4 15s cost £9 5s 6d by the time it 'was landed, duty paid, in New Zealand. ' .

A proprietary line invoiced at £8 2s carried freight and insurance charges 15s 6d, exchange 17s 6d, duty and surtax £4 18s. Total additional costs £6 lis to invoice of £8 2s of goods.

Liqueurs are admittedly a luxury, and pay duty accordingly. Their import is small; but it is a moot point whether duties cannot be so high as to almost entirely arrest consumption and consequently reduce ■ revenue from the overtaxed article, in any case, a parcel of liqueurs invoiced at £4 6s cost, with duty and all other charges, £l3 5s to land, and on top of that had to go and retailers' profits before the consumer bought them. Olive oil, not a luxury, invoiced at 5s 7jd, with freight, ? duty; and other charges, . cost 9s 6d before it went through the House-that-Jack-built process to. the retail buyer over the shop counter. ,

; CURRENCY PROBLEMS.

COMMISSION OF ENQUIRY IoR HONG-KONG. IREITIBH OTrICIAI. WIMUtSB.V ; (Received February • 26th,, 5.5 p.m.) RUGBY, February 25. " Dr. Drummond Shiels, Colonial ' Under-Secretary, stated" in the House, of Commons to-day that a mission is proceeding to Hong-Kong to enquire into the currency question there. It ; will consist of Mr Clegg, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, Mr Ezeohiel, one of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, and Mr Clansqn, of, the Colonial Office, who' will act as secretary. The last two will sail to-morrow, Mr Clegg them at Singapore.. * The "Commission will report to the Colonial Secretary, but .action will not be' taken upon the recommendations ■ until the'-Hong-Kong Government has 'bden further consulted. ; Other interests' would be consulted, if desirable.

COMPANY NEWS. '' \ OVERSEAS OPERATIONS. .

BeiVHs: of operations of oTerseas com* panles *re to hand:— liOTdl and -ffhrtßtmaa. y Owing to trade depression and the'need to conserve resources the dlreotorsof Novell and 'Christmas, ,Ltd*- - provision merchants, London; -who hsndlepa <lar»e-quantity- ot ' New Zealand dairy produce km decided sot. to" pay an 1 interim"«W dend' on the £750/<K>O .oratory, Iq- the . pr 9 rfour ;< y»r. 1 ordinary-. received,- .anrjnterton, dividend of 2J',per .cent), but'no'final "ordinary . wMyauiie,'- s 1 r| - < > r Xttvtfendit liind. | I No Jittering dividend 'to "be paid on the 7 pet cent. feat preference apa'the. 8 per cent. :»eetmd. preference Issues .ot. Beard: "Watson 50d.00., Ltd,' (bonsevfurtishers), Sidney. The ; i»ld ' nO - ordinary dividend. in' Ms. la»t-financial year,' endedJolyiilst.: '>l DirectSr* 'tt','Safjeit«. , **Ltd.', ■ (caterera), 'Srinfijf, ; have. decided, to mi* the ,interim [.dividend; for the half-year ended Deeembdr 'Blat'<tast. Although the profit eamed was estisfsctory under the sdverie trading condition*, they consider it impossible to foreeast the effeat of the -preient obicnre financial position on the. ensuing, months. The posi--1 tiOn ijrtß l>e reviewed after- 'June 80th, the 1 dose of the company's financial year. .

. . Victoria insurance Co. Premiums recilred by the Victoria In„snraae* Co., Ltd., for the half-year ended .Deoesiber Slat, 1830, amounted ■to £189,004, eompMad with £314,449 la the correiponding half' pf 1929. Interest and rente ?iel4«d £14,886, compared wltH £15,745. Ciurgef - iaenrred . included' reizuursnces, eommUsiona pcid and outstanding, and payments to underwriting BssooUtionß, £79,926; lon«B paid, and provision for outand taxes, £6800; and.tost of management, £41,484, ■ A RttrphM of £31,704 was shown, compared with a snrplns in the corresponding half of 1939 of. £24,780,- Added to £33,908 Jrronght /orward > from the previous half* year, a sum of £44,607 was available for distribution, and out of this the directors .recommended payment of an interim dividend of 3e a share on or after February 18th jThe interim dividend paid in. February, 1900, /was 2» 6d a share, > ' CAELTON BREWERY,

, NET PROFIT LOWER. : . For the year ended Decfember 81st reduced earnings 'are shoWIT by Carlton- Brewery, Limited,, net profit -at £08,489, comparing with' '4124,900 f0r'1929. As £95,149 is • brought forward, .there is available'£l9B,6Bß. Interim dividend at the rate of 11 per cent, per annum' paidtin October'absorbs-£44,936, and final dividend At-the rate of 10 per cent, per annum requires -£40,849, leaving a < balance of £107,858 at the credit of profit and loss, In ,the previous year the dividend paid was 14 -per cent. The balance-sheet shows that shareholders' funds total £1,084,,809, 'compared with £1,084,912 at December 81st, 1929. Sundry "creditors disclose ah in< crease of £11,824, sundry debtors are £3247, against £4765, debts under contract of sale '■lire down £7794, while loans o» mortgages are up : £19,980.- The "company holds £446,254 of shares in Carlton 1 and United ; Breweries, -Ltd., and" .£406,016 in Victoria Brewery Pty., Ltd. The profit earned by the Victoria company, for the .yearis;£27,sß2, compared with £85,121 for' 1929, and the dividend paid—by it is £24,000, against faO.OOO. Figures from the last-two balance* sheets compare as under % 1929. 1930. Capital . .. 816,993 816,992 'Profit and .loss ' ,i . 152,889'' 148,708 Snrplns account - 115,581 119,114 I SundTy creditors, etc. 8/721 15,645 Freehold property .. 58,189 58,189 Brewery freehold, plant, etc. ' ... 90,000 90;000 Debts under„ sales, etc. 20,049 12,255 Shares other' companies, ' ' etc.' .. 705,412 701,094' OaSh' .. 4,876- 9,89?. Loans on mortgage - 210,240 The- directors state that they decided to' declare the flnsl dividend at the; reduced rate of-10. per cent,, per 'annum in view • of. the present conditions jand increased taxes. BUTTER And cheese. . —MM. The New . Zealand .Loan and' Mercantile .Agenqy Company, Ltd/, baa received a .cable-, gram' bom its London office giving- the- folinidnna&on,' ,'under date February ' salted 120s"tp 123 a r [Market quiet. - , / .' 5 ' Bheefe—WKite P7s to 88a. .." ".»/ St- C9a to "61s t j , t * %