COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 771, 21 March 1910, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. Saks of Taupiri Coal at 19s. 3d. and Leyland-O'Brien Timber at 245. 6d. were reported •, on. Saturdaj*. '■ National, Bank, sellers J?G ss. 6d.; Bank of New Zealand, buyers JE9 12s. 6d.; Wellington Investment, buyers lis., sellers lis. 3d.; Wellington Trust and Loan, buyers 2s. 6d.; Fealding Gas, buyers ,£1 Is. 6d.; Gear Meat, ill paid, buyers £2 135.; Wellington Meat Export, £2 12s. 6d. paid, sellers £2 165.; New Zealand Shipping, buyers £7 IBs.; Union Stoaih, buyers £1 lis., sellers ,£1 12s. 6d.; Wellington Woollen, buyers .&! 25.; Hikurangi Coal, sellers .£1 .45.;. Westport-Stockton Coal, buyers 7s. 3<1.; Leyland-O'Brien Timber, buyers £1 45., sellers £1 55.; New Zealand Portland' Cement, buyers £2; Sharland's preference, buyers £1 25.; Taranaki Petroleum, buyers 7s. 1f1d.,. sellers -9s. 6d. V THE MONEY MARKET. , ' It would be. interesting,to know what a: a the :true reasons. which influenced the gji'.ernor and court of directors of the Bank of England -to advance the 'discount rate from 3 to 4 per cent. Such an operation is not'profitable to the bank, but from, the peculiar position it holds as the. bankers' bank and the bank of the nation it is obliged at all times to take effective steps to protect its- reserve of gold. The object of the high rate is to attract gold, or to prevent its outflow. Going back a few weeks and comparing the amount of the gold in' the issue department and bank rate and-market rate we get the following:—

Bank Market rate. rate. Gold. Per Per 1910. £ cent. cent. < February 16 ... 30,204,000 .3 2j! February 23 ... 34,464,000 - 3 ' 2J March 2 34,720,000 3 25-16 March 9 33,917i000 ■ 3 2j March 16 ...... 33,112,000 4 3 9-16 There is a decrease in four weeks of a little over three-millions sterling, but as against. this tho proportion of. reserve to liabilities', is 49.32 per cent.j as against 49.41 per cent, a year ago. At the end of . the month 1 there will .be the usual heafy quarterly payments, but it' is more than likely, that steps are being taken , to', prepare for. the heavy borrowings' on the part of the , British Government, Which now seems inevitable. The high rate' is a trade disturber.

.GERMAN ,WORKMEN INSURANCE. . According to a cable message from Berlin, published " in ' The Dominion on Thursday, a'consolidating measure dealing with industrial insurance is ready for -introduction in tlio Reichstag. The draft Bill, following the usual German practice, was published six or seven months ago, and it is worthy of note that, on the whole, it met with a favourable reception from employers, whose annual contribution to the insurance fund is to be increased by .£2,500,000. The.ex.tent of compulsory workmen's insurance in Germany is shown by the fact that no fewer than 12,500,000 people are insured against sickness. In 1906 nearly 5,000,000. workmen were incapacitated by illness,.the mumbor of days during which they were absent from work owing to that cause being 31,000,000. In the 6amo year the amount paid out by the insurance fund against sickness amounted to abont ,£13,500,000. The number of persons liable to insurance against accidents was 17,000,000. Of this number 936,491 persons received in all i! 7,125,000 as compensation for injuries received. The number of workmen paying into the insurance fund against invalidity exceeded 14,000,000. In 1007 pensions aggregating ■£6,340,000 were paid to permanently incapacitated invalids. To this must be added ;£8G6,G50 for old age pensions and ,£175,000 for sick pay. Every person on receipt of nn old age or -invalid's pension -receives, moreover, an annual additional sum of 10s. from the Government. In 190G the total capital available as security for the payment. of old age aid invalid pensions amoimted

to .£65,925,000 invested in Government securities'or on mortgages on real estate. It has long been recognised that the development of.insurance against invalidity requires a closer connection between the various branches of insurance. ing to the letter of the law, invalidity begins directly upon the-insured person being no longer able to earn, by means of some employment for which his mental and physical capacity fits him, and with due consideration for his former conditions of life, a third of that amount which he was able to earn regularly when in the full possession of. his fucultks; also in the event of his being incapacitated for work v-iti:oul .interruption for a longer period than months.

Paragraph 13 of the Act nmpowors rho insurance offioo to c-ohijie! the person ii:sirred to undergo treatment in ono of lh« .saM'toriums erected for .'this, purpose, in order that his working.capacity may be re-stored or maintained. An ever-increas-ing use has been mnde -of this power, as

the - results obtained ir. cases of tuberculosis ami other diseases have surpassed ali expectations. lil 1592 10,564 .persons were treated in this manner at a cost of 2,000,000 - marks; in 1903 the number treated rose to 80,990, -necessitating a total outlay of not iess than 21.500,000 marks. In this way the number of workmen in receipt of pensions decreased enormously, as in many instances the capacity for working was completely restored. Sometimes the expense entailed i\;as borne by the Accident Insurance Fund, when it was proved that interference had been; justified b"y_ results. The amount paid' by .the Invalids' Insurance Department for medical treatment of this nature 'still absorbs a large percentage of its Teceipts.. In 1897 the sum devoted to this purpose amounted to 1.6 per cent, of the premiums received; in 1908 it had reached 9.8 per cent. In the interest of the workmen themselves it is most desirable that the treatment described should be carried out whenever there is the slightest hope of recovery. Very often months are necessary to effect this purpose, therefore the Invalids' Insurance Department has started building sanatoriums for consumptives and convalescent homes on a .large- scale. It has already been said that in order that all branches of insurance may work together for the general benefit of . the working classes, a closer connection between the various offices, under the control of the Imperial Insurance Department, is considered necessary. . And this is to be effected by the proposed new Act.

HOUSE-BUYING ASSOCIATION., The annual meeting of ihe Co-operative House-Buying and Provident Association was held on Friday evening, in. the Druids' Hall, Taranaki Street, when there was a large attendance of members and friends. In moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, the chairman remarked .that the progress of the first year's business had been fairly satisfactory considering the state of. the times. Comparing the first yearns business of the association, with that of the parent one in South Australia, the results have.been quite as satisfactory. In their twelfth year, which closed December, 1909, their success has been so marked that their last' quarterly ballot in Jauuary of this year amounted to JE7IOO, showing clearly that the foundation upon which it is built is a sure and sound one for its/members. The third ballot meeting was held at the close of the annual meeting, when .£IOOO was balloted for, resulting in the-following numbers being drawn:—No. 2, ,£500; No. 35, .£SOO.

Customs • revenue collected at Wellington on Saturday amounted to .£963 16s. 6d. The total for the wook was .£10,338 Os. lid., beer, duty amounting to JC23O 10s. 3d.

/: FEILDING MARKET REPORT. Messrs. A. H. Atkinson and Co., Ltd., of Feilding, report a, keener market for pigs, at their last sale, and better values lor green sorts and porkers, mediumweights, making up' to .295. .. In poultry every, pen was filled, and some 50 additional boxes, making a total of over 200 birds, offered and sold. There was a keen market for. good tablo birds, and the heavy supply of medium and halfgrown sorts,, were taken up at fair average prices. A large quantity of fruit and produce and general sundries was also marketed, and. sold at quotations. Quotations: —Pigs: Weaners, 35., 4s. 3d., 55., 65.,- to 75.; slips, '7s. Gd. to 10s.; stores, to 215.; porkers, 275.- to 295. Horses: Aged, 305.; hacks, to. j£s 2s. 6d. Poultry, at each: Hens, 9d., lid., Is., Is. "Stl., Is. 4d., Is. ' sd;, its. 7d.; average, price, Is,, id.; cockerels, half-grown, 94. to Is. 3d.; table birds, Is. 5a., Is. 7d., Is. 9d.,7.15. 10d., to';2s.'; average, Is. 7d.;. ducks, 15.,. Is.-3d., • Is. 5<1., Is., tkl., Is.! Bd.V Is:'9d. ; geese,; 2s. lOd.;- turkey hens, 3s. 3d. to 3s. 6d. Produce: Mair.e, is. 3d. to Is. 6d.; oats, 2s. 3d. to 2s. 9d. ; pollard, 10s.; wheat, 4s. 3d. to ss.;.bran, 4s. 3d. to 55.; vice meal, 7s. 6d.; peaches, 2s. to 55.;. quinces, Is.; cucuinbsrs, Is.; plums, Is. Oil.'; pears, Is. 3d. to 2s. 9d.; tomatoes, ls.V6d. to Is. 9d.;. potatoes, 10s. fid.; factory bacon, sides 6i<l v ' hams 7d. We also sold a quantity of brewers' fittings at satisfactory prices.

BANK OF ENGLAND .RETURN. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyrleh*. London,: Inarch 17. The Bank of England return issued for the week ended Wednesday, March 16, is as under :— , . « . Issue Depabtment. Note Issue... £51,561,000 Gov.debt ... £11,015.003 Other aecuri- . ties ... 7,434,000 , Gold ... 33.112,0DD ' £51,561,0 M ' £51,561.C0Q Banking Department. Proprietors' . Govt, securicapital £14,553,000 ties . £13,976.000 Publio de- Other securipositß ... 9,644,000 ' ties 29,591,000 Other de- • ; posits ... 40.636,000 Notes ... 23,658,000 Boat, 7-day aud other « 1,235.000' bills... ....*3.717,000, £83,610,000 . £63,610,000 The leading items of the Bank of England . return afford the following comparison:— This -week.. Last week. Last year Bullion ... ... 33,112,000 33,917,000 383^,000 Reserve ... ... 24,U4iJ,U0U' '25,WJU,000 'i8.m.000 Note circulation 27.9U3.U00 My.OW 'i8.6U.000 Public Deposits 9.M4.U00 8,374.000 1b,a30.u00 Other Deposits 40,896,UW 42,176,000 41.302,0J0 Proportion of reserve to • liabilities ... 40.32 53.82 40.41 GOVERNMENT .SECUBITIES. The. following aro. .the latest quotations for Government securities, with a- com* parison of those ruling last week:— Variations - Pries ? om P.{ued irlC9 with last w£ek. £ b. d. « 2i% Imperial Consols 81 ii 6 ss. lower 4 „N.5AY.1933 Jah.-July 106 15 0 ss.lowpr „N.SAV.l9lßj;ar.-Sep. 98 15 0 Unchanged 3 „ N.S.W.iy3sApl.-Oct. 87 10 d Unchanged 4 „ Vic. 1920 Jan.-July 103 G 8 Unchanged 34 „ Vic. 19-21-6, Jan.-July- 9S 10 0 Unchanged 3 „ Vic. 1929-49 Jan.-July 36 0 0 Unchanged 3$ „ S,A. 1916 Jan.-July 93 0 0 Unchanged 3 „S.A. 1016 Jan.-July fc'4 10 0 'Unchanged 4 104 0 0 Unchanged 3i „ QTdl924-30Jah.-J«ly lis 10 0 Unchanged 3 „ Q'l'd 1U22.47Jan.-,7uly 86 0 0 Unchanged 4 „ N.Z. 1929 May-Nov. 106 10 0 Unchanged 3i ~ N.Z. 1940 Jan.-July 98 5 0 ss.lowor 3 „ N.Z. 19-if-April-Oct. 67 0 0 Unchanged 31 „ W.A.192CM0 May-Nov 08 17 6 2s. 6d. lower 3 „ \V.A,1915-35May-Nov t>9 0 0 Unchanged 3$ „ Tas. 1940 Jan.-July 97 10 0 Unchanged 3- „ Tas. 19-20-40 Jan.-,) uly •86 10 0 si, higher BANK RATES OF DISCOUNT. The Bank of England discount, rate was raised on October 7 last from 2£ to 3 per cent., on- October 14 to 4 per cent., on October 21 to 5 per cent.; on Dcccmher 9 was reduced to 41 por cent., on January 6 to 4 p& ccnt., on January 20 to per cent., alid on February 10 to '6 per ccnt. On March 17 it was raised to 4 per cant. The Bank of Franco rate was reduced from 3| to 3 per cent, on January 23, 1908, and remains at the latter figure. The Imperial Bank of Germany, on >September 20, advanced its rate of" discount from 3£ to 4 per cent., and on October 11 to o per .cent., lowered same on January 21 to 4} per cent., and on February .10 to 4 per cent. JiAItKET HATES OF DISCOUNT. The following are the mafket ratesfor best three months' bills:— London Paris Berlin rate rate rate • , per cent, per cent, per cent. March 16 3 9-16 2f . - Last week 21 2| 3 Last year 2* 1J 2 13-16 Short loans in London are higher at j 32 per cent

COLONIAL AND OTHER PRODUCE. Wheat.—The wheat markets are steady, with a quiet demand for cargoes, but no speculation. Victorian March-April shipment, 335. 3d. per quarter; 14,000 quarters South Australian and Victorian, February-March, 39"5. Holders are asking . 38s. 3d. for steamer parcels afloat, and 375. 9d. for March-April. There is littlo inquiry" for Australian on the spot, which is quoted at about 425. 9d. Chi-cago-May wheat, 113 c. to 113ic. Flour.—Australian flour, 31s. There is considerable buskies? at Gl'isgow in March-April shipment, at 275. 9d. c.i.f. Oats.—Quiet. La Plata, April-May, Ms. Id. to 14s. lid. Butter.—The butter market is slow, high prices checking business. The irarmer weather is also having an effect, though Continental supplies are still in•signiiicant. Danish, 130s. to 1345. per ; cwt.; Australian, choicest, 1245., secondary 1205.; New. Zealand, choicest, 1265.; Argentina, 1245. . Cheese.—Firm. New Zealand, 60s. to 625. per c-wt. Sugar.—German beet, 88 per cent., 14s. 6d. per cwt.; first marks, granulated, 10s. 6(1. Bradford Tops.—ln. the Bradford wool market, merino sorts are strong, and crossbreds quiet. ■ Common sixties, 271 d. per lb.; super, 28d. London Wool Sales. —At the London sales the Wairere clip, fleece portions, realised IOJd. per lb., average IOJd.; Tukoranga, 12J(1., average llid. Kauri Gum.—At the; kauri gum sales, 570 oases offered, and 205 sold at full rates. THE METAL MARKETS. Copper.—Three months', ,£59 Is. 3d. per ton.

Tin.—On the spot, .£143 15s. per ton; three months. i>l4s 17s. 6d. LONDON WOOL SALES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. London, March 18. There is a strong market- for all wools. FROZEN MEAT. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Rec. March 20, 5 p.m.) London, March. 19. The Frozen Meat Trade issociation's Smithfield Marke.t quotations for; the undermentioned classes of frozen meat are based'on actual sales of.not less:than one hundred carcasses of mutton or lamb, or Jwenty-five quarters of beef .of fair average quality. The quotations are not for selected lines, but for parcels fairly representative of the bulk- of the shipments now . on the market. The prices which follow are on an average a farthing per 16. more than the value ex ship, this difference representing an average cost ip

expenses, handling, conveyance, and selling the meat:— . Mar;'l2. Mar. 19. Mutton— d. d. Canterbury,' light — — Canterbury, medium ... — — i Canterbury, heavy ... — — Southland — — North Island, best 4 4J North Island, ordinary 3j 45V Australian, light 3i- 3fAustralian, heavy 3 7-16 3J Diver l'iate, light 311-16 3} River Plate, heavy ... 3| 311-16 LambCanterbury, light — 59-16 Canterbury, medium ... — — Canterbury, heavy — — Southland — , — North Island; selected 4g 5| North Island, ordinary i| 5i Australian, best ij|- 4} Australian, fair 1J 48 Australian, inferior ... 4jJ . 4? River Plate 4J . 4| BeefNew Zealand, ox fores 33-16 3J New Zealand, ox hinds 3| 4{Australian, ox fores ... 3J- 3* Australian, ox hinds... 4 River Plate, ox fores... 3J- 3J River Plate, ox hinds 39-16 4} The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, have received the following cablegram from their. London /house, under date, March 18:— 'Frozen meat: Stocks light, and market strong with an upward tendency." LONDON MARKETS. Messrs. Dalgety and Company, Limited, report having received the following cable messages from their London house under date of March 17:—Tallow: (Prices for beef and for be?fy mixed are from 3d. to 6d. higher, but other descriptions are firm at last quotations. Frozen meat: Mutton, which is in good demand, is -Jd.higher, and'arrivals are - being cleared as landed. The consumptive demand of lamb is active, aud prices ire very firm at unchanged rates. We expect that if any change in prices takes, "place it will be in favour of sellers. As mutton a.id lamb is -selling so freely, we anticipate that the heavy arrivals later on will be cleared more, readily than was at first | thought. Prices ior beef fores are higher and for hind's id. higher, owing to a temporary shortage of chilled, but large arrivals are expected shortly, when a reaction will probably take place. MURRAY, ROBERTS, AND CO. (By Telegraph.—Press Association/ Dunedi'n, March 19. The firm of Murray, Roberts, and Com.pany is to be turned into a private limited company as from April 1, in-dividual-interests being preserved as they now exist. The capital is to be ! a quarter of a million sterling, with .£200,000 paid up. The change is purely internal. Mining News will be found on page . 5 ofthis issue. .