COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 855, 29 June 1910, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHAKES. The transactions recorded yesterday were National Mortgage, £3 Is. Get.. Napier Gas. £12 10s.. and Taranaki Petroleum 12s. x-itiniril- Hank bitvers £6 Is.; B.iiili of New »£ buyers J,U; K«»Habi e Bnlldins buyers £9 7s. 6(i.; Metropolitan Dulles' buvers £12-. ttV.lingUm Investment, iver" lls. 3d.; Wellington Tru:.t and Loan buyers £7 8s; WellinKton Deno-it, buvers Bs. 3d.; National ■Mortiraire. buvers buyers £18 10s.. £6 15s. paid, buyers .CU 10s.; South British, buyers .£3 25.. M.; Standard Insurance, buyers £1 te; Gear Meat, £1 paid, buyers £10 Is., £1 paid, bnwrs £2 13s • N«w Zealand Suimunß, buvers £8 10s.; Union Steam, buyers £1 13s 6d.; Wellington Woollen, ordinary, buyers £3 55.; Taupiri Coal buyers 19s. ?d.; Lcyland-O'Brien Timbor, buyers £1 ss,

13d.; New Zealand Drug, buyers £2 9s. 6d.; Sharland's preference, buyers £1: Taraiiiaki Petroleum 12s. 3d.; Ward and Co., sellers £5. FKOZEX MEAT FOK AMEIiICA. The New' Zealand frozen mutton that recently found a market in York .-■ubjei't to a duty of 15 cents per lb., and then sold at a good prolit to the importers, in addition to New Zealand mutton it. seems that Australian beef and mutton found a market. In the American metropolis. According to the "New York World" —"Australian beef and. mutton were beinn Fold in several New York stores during the week ended April 16. at imvor tVis'iit Wester™ meat. At the same time the Icsiilinc Australian importer sail! that he learns that the meat trust is Koing to try to cheek the business in imported meat by raising a legal micstion over the method of inspection. By this lite trust hopes to hinder the sale ot the importations already received in New York, and to tie up a groat shipment that is expected here early next week. Dozens of lawyers are said to be at work on behalf of the trust tryins to devise some means of preventing the importation of meat here, and the importers believe that a, desperate effort will be made to prevent their uudersellins the trust, even after jsaylni? the duty. Strauss Brothers, of Brooklyn, controllini! six large stores iu the borough, placed on sale a supply of newly-imported Australian beef and mutton, at prices ranging from 12 cents for roasts to 16 cents for chops, tbb prices being 3 and 4 cents below tile prices charged for trust meat, although a. duty of 2 cents had bceu paid upon the meat, besides the carrying charges. Nathan Strauss said that tho firm was making an experiment in the use of the Australian meat. He declared that tests had shown it to be as good if not superior to Western beef and mutton, and that the stores of the firm had been crowded by purchasers. 'The meat is brought here in cold storage,' said Mr. Strauss, 'and is in no wiso different from the Western meat sent to New York. If anything It Is better. Yet, dc--uite tho duty and carrying charges, we can -sell it for an avcrajto of 3 cents under the trust price, and we intend to keep up the importation.' S. Zahu. of Sayles, Zahu, and Co., with headquarters at Sixth Avenue and Tenth Street, said that his lirn: has Imported duriiic the last week 500 sheep. 3000 lambs, and 1000 sides of beef." There is just the possibility that this trade with New York may expand, but there seems little hopo of New Zealand meat, iu any quantity, finding a market there. The importers to make a profit out, of the business after paying duty and landing charges and under-cutting the trust must buy cheap moat, and tho Australian and Argentine meat will serve their purpose much more readily thaa the superior New Zealand meat. THE "EMPTIES." Tho butter boxes sent from New Zealand and Australia to Londou filled with "choice colonial" have when empty served tho purposes of the enterprising uiargarino manufacturers, who- havo thus been :iblo to market a substitute as prime bitter. But these men do not use all the butter boxes by many thousands. The "British Australasian," writing on May 19, says:"Thero is a very large quantity of butter boxes empty in England, for which the retail trade would very much like to find an outlet. They arc at present being sold for firewood at Id. each. Tho wrappers which are used to cover the meat carcasses during shipment and in cold store are sold for two purposes, directly they are of no further use as meat covers. They are disposed of by the butchers to people who extract the fat and grease which they contain. The wrappers are then dried, torn across, and sold to hardware dealers, who in turn sell them from 3d. to 4d. each to enfleers and others engaged in greasy trades, the stulf being used as cotton waste. Casks which come to this country with Australian wine are emptied of their contents, aud are for sale in great Quantities at different seasons. The wine coca into bottle, and tho casks are of no use to the wine merchant. They are sold to be cut down for garden 'tubs,' and similar purposes. Tho distillers reauire some for whisky casks. In this capacity they in a few instances return to Australia. A from the Commonwealth 1 with win'c. ' Tho cases in which the fruit is shipped arc of a. rather nondescript character, and are usually broken up after discharging their contents in the markets." • CUSTOMS REVENUE. Customs revenue collected at Wellington yesterday amounted to £1657 15s. 10d. WHEAT AND FLOUE. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. London, June 27. Tho wheat and flour afloat for tho United Kingdom totals 3,215,000 ciuarters; for the Continent, 1,190,000 Quarters; Atlantic shipments, 91,000; Pacific shipments, 35,000. The shipment, to Europe during tho week totalled 900,000 quarters, including 83,000 from Argentina, 400,000 from Russia, 104,000 from India, and 19,000 from Australasia. (Hoc. Juno 28, 10.40 p.m.) London, Juno 28. Wheat.—Two cargoes of Australian were sold at 335. and 335. 9d. THE METAL MARKETS. (Ecc. Juno.2B, 10.40 p.m.) London, Juno 28. Copper—On spot, £54 12s. 6d. per ton; three, months, £55 6s. 3d. per ton; electro■c, £57 15s. per ton. Tin.-On spot, £148 Is. Bd. ->er ton; three months, £149 Is. Bd. per ton. BAB SILVER. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. London, Jnne 27. Bar silver is o.uot«d at 24 11-16 d. per ounce I standard. TAEANAKI PETROLEUM COMPANY. With respect to the projected issue of 32,090 unallotted shares, the directors of the Taranaki Petroleum Company in their circular state that it is proposed to issue them as.preference shares at par—"to hs preferential as regards dividends to the extent of 7* per cent, per annum (not cumulative), and then to rank equally with the ordinary shares in the distribution of any additional dividend, after the ordinary shareholders receive 75 per cent, per annum. The shares are to be preferential as regards distribution of assets —should the company at any time be compulsory wound-up-to the extent of 10s. in the £, before any distribution of assets among ordinary shareholders, and to subsequently rank cciually with the ordinary shares iv. the balance of tho assets, if any, after the ordinary shareholders have received a like sum." In the event of a boua fide sale of the company's pro•rty at, say, over 10s. per share, all shareholders both ordinary and preference arc to rank equally in tho distribnThe present output of the bores is reported by the manager to bo approximately 23,520 gallons or 945 tons per month, "and may, when refined, be expected to produce, at current market values, a profit of .about £672 per month or 7J per cent.' per annum on tho whole capital."