COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 931, 26 September 1910, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

V INVESTMENT SIIAItEB, A sale of i/eylarid-O'Brien- Timber shuns at. 275.;: 6d. wa3 the billy 'transaction recorded'on Saturday., The quotations were unchanged, and wero as under: Buyers. Sellers. Sales.

THE MONET MARKET. . The Bank of England return last week was satisfactory, but still it has to be noted that thcro was a further shrinkago in tho stock of sold coin and bullion. The. .reserve decroascd by oTer two millions during the week,. but, as. thcro was ' a shrinkage of over a million ster-, line in the note circulation, and the nub-

lie and othor doposits wero . practically stationary, the proportion of resorvo to liabilities was almost the same as in the previous week. The "other deposits" aro exceptionally small for this time of year, and, unless the. other banks have special gold reserves, it is'obvious that, there will be heavy borrowing from' tho Bank of England next week to meet the end-of-the-quarter disbursements. After next week tho money market is bound to become stringent, but. whether the bank rate will be atfected just yet remains to bo seen. Gilt-edged securities are without any great change, but Consols at £80 7s. 6d. established a new low record. Tho discount rates in the open markets of London, Paris, and • Berlin are practically tho eamo as they wero in .the previous week, and tlio short loan" rate is unchanged. THE MEAT MARKET. All descriptions of frozen meat aro favourably affected: at the moment by tho shortage of supplies, and this position will continuo for .a little while, . unless Argentine and Australia are, able to immediately increase their, shipments. New Zealand; has been doing very little recently. During the first half of tho current month the shipments, of beef totalled 466cwt., as xgainst 33,178ewt. in.: the first half of September last year. The frozen mutton exported ooffisisted of 22,366. carcasses, as against 22,795. carcasses, and the lamb shipments comprised' 17,688 carcasses, as against. 31,828 carcasses. AUSTRALIA'S. HINT TRANSACTIONS. The Amount' of gold coined in Australia and London during :the last ten years has been aa follows " Australian and British Coin.

, '.Total . ... v .,.;.... : ... £25,056,616 "; £23,525,837 The 'percentage-; tto.t., Australian gold coin bears to British has 'thus been, reduced during the year. New. coin-.received, at' tho-- Bank of:' England from Australia amounted; ..to .£263,0iQ, ngaiiist . i-0J3,100 shipped in tic-previous year; In continua* I tion of tho arrangements for tlio withdraw*!, of light golti coin in Australia, teo. Sydney, and; Melbourne .S'liats vrorc, appointed' to -receive such. coin to., an .'amount :of £250,000/ The actual amount Tvitharawn during, 1909 at both mints was £143,649..-In Ueibourno' the number of coins weighed, vras 269i061, of tho value.of £97,853,: and the Taiue A -of tlio deficiency- was £1354. T'ho total' ''quantity-, of .gold . coin and bullion issuedby the Aleibdurne Jtint was £3,540,494, a docrease! of .£106,084 in the Quantity issued in.1908. . '- : Y ... • ' Tiio" total-.new silver coin issued in Aua-. traiia. during the last .threo years lias been - as follows:— . . ■ ~1907..,.' 1908. , 19C9. : i Now South Wales ...... 195.C00 55 ( t00 .18,000' Victoria . ......................101,000 r -'-20,tf00 • 'Qubeußiajid/<.i. : ......ii.i..v.,47,v50 •' 19,7/5, 2,250 South 'Australia ....',.- " 38,100; / 41,8-0; . n I Western Australia ~..: — ■; .4,600 > 23,800 The mint made a profit of only, £85,951 last year, • against £560,728 -.-during the s preiviouc year, largely, due to' the^ falling ou i the/demand for silver coin,; which, is such-a,'-profitable branch -of -its • busin'ess.. ; i'; ; SAYINGS ;BANks; : DEPOSITS; '• The . Saviug • Banks' i deposits throughout Australasia >now. reach big > figures, ; and iltl. is ,; &oiiiewhatp to .• bo-. regrfitteu ,tnUt the returns'are'not ail made .up to the same, day for they would then .be of considerablevaiuo:. , for' . comparative purposes.-,- '. The latest Returns; which; for New Zealand are '.up to December .31,' i9c9, and' in the. Com.inonweaith mostly , to -June 30 last, show .that the . total;, amount at', credit of - de-. : positors in Australasia - was; the huge ,suiu of' '£64,714-,700, > and practically; r thewhole : 1 .'of r tliia sum has 'been borrowed by 1 the. several' Governments., ' -The: growth of. the deposits in a period of about" 10 yearß ;is. ■'shown'" in the ; table appended;—. . -i 'v ; . r ,...... 1899-1900. . 19C9-10. IncrcaE«. ■ 'N.S. "Wales ...10.9:1,382 20,823,764.' 9,922,352' i 'Victoria -9,110,i93 {■.' 14,471,566 ' 5,360,773 I Queensland .3,374,125 "VM7,125-v::i,952;t99 S. ,• Australia ,'.:3,Z5V,838 : ■;; 6,35 V,271 3,C(j9.433 : Australia-' .1,266,1.58 ; 3,472,257, 2,206,199 i TasinUiiia;; 915.C63 1,605,919. " 690,8^6 ' ' 52,047,802 23,222,542 New Zealand 6;320;3.70 L .• 12,666,898 . 7,346,528 ■! . • ~,' 34445,630 : . 64,714,700 30,569,070. ,In the ten years the savings have been Very nearly , doubled; and these, deposits taken in conjunction' with 'tho bank- deposits and lifo . insurances, the people -ot Australasia may- be' said to be. a thrifty and prudent community.; • BRITISH ■ TRADE. Mr.:' G. h/F; , KoUestori, the, British. Trade Commissioner, • sends us, the-.following intercsting details ol the : external ; tra.uo ,o£ ■tile 'United Klngdoju," foi' ..the. hall-year ended Juner'3U, ; compiled -by i the Board of Tra<le,' liondon, ,witn special, reference to' Sew , Zealand. . . . -•. : . ' 1 The total"value 3 of the merchandise imported into tho- United . Kingdom, and of the merchandise exported from thP. United•Klngdom, during the six, months . ending; i J une'' 30, 19W,:were: as; folio w -.— ' ;; \ ■ ImiVortav.;... 334,462,818 ; j f.'-'united, kingdojii' iprpducb.-...'.. 204,585,723; !■ Foreign and' colonial d 0...; 03,.i1i,ii/i - :On comparison -.with the * totals for the; .corresponuinß.i.period theserligures' show the' following .increases;— - In. imports '• ' £32,805, 148. ior, 10.9; per cent., in' exports— ; . ,■ Of iTTnited" kingdom'"pr^duce^—^27,6sl,373,; or 1'5.6 per cent." . ;: ?:■' '■' : Of foreign - and, colonial 1 produce— £8,763,1u3,'0r .'lß:B"'per';.cent:'.. .. The -values :of•: merchandise imported, anu' Lof. foreign 1 and colonial mexonaindise or-J ;ported,'. uuring.' thc first 1 half- of . the yeui,. wore greater than, in -the first halt? :of anyproriouS year,; and the exports of j the United Kingdom produce foil] short 'ot; tile record figures ■ of. -.1907; by : some. iJ1,732,-,' (HjO only, on a' total exceeding £200,G00,GL0.; As . compared .yrith. -tho first; half of 1909; : there were largo increases-in, noarly every' 'class-of imports under the hoad of ';Kawy imaterials and. articles,- mainly :unmanu-,; ifacturcd," and: in each principal class of; exports under the head, of "Articles whouj.".r mainly manufactured." . Owing .to. the shortage of . .the ectton :crop,'the supply of raw cotton .was-greatlJv reduced; OJid in spite' of the high level-: ; at, which its price has been' maintained' : tho value of. tho imports fell off .by nearly £4,000,000 ; as compared !with the first, half ,of ■ 1909."..;,; -. .' ', ; ;■ '• ■■' v- The?' Quantity.-of "caoutchouc ■ imported .nto the United Kingdom during the first ■ half of .1910 was 5C2,499cwt„ as' : compared with. 355,955cwt. in tho first' half' of .1909. I;. Although the re-exports .of caoutchouc.: a-s I;well as . the imports, -were much greater, pthia'yfear than last,'! the amount retained in the United . Kingdom was-/>241,453cwt. this year as compared with 162,777cwt.. in • the' first' half : off last' year. The value of tile- retained caoutchouc ; was, £7.832,000 this year as compared with £2,478,0C0 in tho, : ilrst half , of 19C9, the average ;,value per cwt. being more than double that .of last year. ■. . notes.... 1 .' It is stated that probably, in .the., entire United States'- over £20,100,000 *-has 1 , been ipaid. oiit for motor-cars . during thfe tost •six months of this year.' Tnero .are about i dt'U.bliU cars being operated'.ih'tHat l country, !or one. for pery 3W) persons, accoraing 'to the . last census returns. Canada ,is thought to own; about 7302 ~cars, .'or.:-one i.u. every* 1000 : persons..'. - - In' the past'two.'years. tho Britisli/monopoly of aiamond .production: has -been out into by tho Hermans.- In; May,'l9oß,' 'a. new diamond held was discovered -at " Ludoritzuueat, in Gorman bouth-W.est Africa'. It had to survive a good i deal of. scepticism, out -the. business was organised/in rnucii the same way as . the Uritish .business. There , is a Liiamant Qesellschnft which has a monopoly of the; mines,, and a Diar mant". Regie, in which a number of leading banks'are interested, 'which controls i,ne sales. The mining industry is subject to an..export duty of. 33 1-3 per. cent., and negotiations , are on foot, recording to which the share, of thc.Governmfent in the. prolits of..tho industry will -be iinally fixed at 80 per cent. , According to, a recent Consular, report,; the total output of. the .field up' to December, 1909, was. 468,993 icarats, valued at £694,700, and the output is increasing; amounting at present: to about 45,000 carats por month., t The fieid has-thus already . attained a productive power equal to about one-ninth of tho British fields. . Banana, cloth is tho latest production of China. Tho process of manufacture is, as followsTho stalk of the banana, -when about one yeii-r old, is unrolled and steamed' over cauldrons of ..water until' it , becomes soft; the green outer sliin .is then easily removed by.- paßsirig strips of the stalk through an instrument provided ':with two blunt blades, which act as scrapers. Tiio residue contains the .fibre; it is enclosed in a cloth and pounded in order to drive out t;ie moisture. The fibre is then . shredded and twisted into tiu-ead for weaving. . Aftei'' the steaming, the method employed to extract- the fibre is .similar to that;adopted locally in the case of ramie fibre,. Up to the present only a few pieces 'of tho cloth have been made experimentally, for which reason the prico is high, namely, '£l'3s. 6d.' per roll of 15ft. in length by 3ft. in breadth. It is claimIcd that the cloth ,is extremely durable, and it is hoped that, with a lower price rendered possible by ' manufacture on a larger scale, it may, .in time, bo. used for summer wear. Arthur Guinness, Son and Company,' Ltd., tho great Dublin brewers,' earned a net profit - of £1,322,071 during tlio- twelve months ended June' 30 -laat. • ■'

CUSTOMS. . The Customs revenue collected.-, at tho port of .Wellington on Saturday totalled J53639 14s. 2d., ns eoinpared with SIZI 1&. 7d. on Saturday of the previous week.. 'Plio , beer duty was £389 4s„ as against £199 14s. 'Gd. in tho ooiTesponding' day last weelt. ' Tho Customs collections for. the past two woelis compared as under with the corresponding iveeks of last year:— ; - ' 1910. 1909. 'Sept. 17. 19,836 9,383 . Sept. .24 22,642 ' 17,192 . - ' 1 ' £1.2,378 . £26,576 FEOZEN ' MEAT. : By Telecrapb -I'reig Association—Copyriahl (Bee. September ■ 25, 5.5 D.m.) , '. . London, September 24.^ The' Frozen Meat' , f irad& - Association's Smitbfield market quotations for tho .undermentioned clusscs of frozen meat ara based on actual sales of not less than one hundred carcasses of mutton or lumb. anil twenty-livo uuarters of beef of fail average quality.' Tho Quotations Uro nol for selected lines, but-for parcuU tairlj. representative of the bulk ,of the shipments' now on f the market. Tho oi-icea rrhich follow are. on . an averaso' a farth ing pel* lb. uiore.thau tho value cx 'suip. tins dihercuce rcpreseunag un avcrai!« cost iu eipeuties.' -hauaiiiii;,- i-ouveyaut-e, uud scliius tiiu rneat;-

tleef-r: '■'"■■ '"■ 1 ' * . ■ .. New Zoafand, ox fores ... 29-16,/. 23. Neiv/Zealand/ox hinds:.. ;3J ■;. 37-16 Australian, ox foroi .25 . ; . 211-16 ' Australian, /ox hinds 35 .' ' 35-16" ■Hiver Plate,/ox fores ... 29-16 .;:.23 > Eiver / Plat-e, ox hinds ... 3};. "37-16 Babbits are firm, diispito large; supplies of English.. ,v: '.- • ■ -■ : . ■'■ ■ : The .New'/Zealand Loan and- Mercantile following cablegram, from their London, cliouse,. under: date, September':, 23Froz-en Jfcat: The.'market,'for. mutton- shows'/in-, creased;firmness. Beef' is siso firmer, and. there is a. slight improvement-in larno. i-',:/,--:-/-:/ /,: /' / : -;/:f—, i////-. /// •/ AN'l-WERE'S WOOL'; SALES. v ' . i!,r Teieuiii r/i ■'- '■■; - ' ; ■' "/' -.'-.,-iKhx : (Kec. September 26, 1.15 a.m.) . -,: / / /'/ ;, . / . Antwerp,' September 25.'" .- The . wool/ sales closed \viih anjniiitod compotition;: 16243 bales were offered; amd--7964, sold, besides .which 10CD; bales were dis-r posed of between sittings. - , ~: / ..: j; : '- ; PALMEIISTON, PEOPEETT,, SALE/' ;. 'ieienrapn.-TSpecittl vCorrospohilent.!-'' ■ /.;-• //.///,: .' Palniorston, September 25.,' /iMessrs. .Abraham . and Williams hejld a wry gucocssful. sale of sections in the estato 'of,,W. L.: Hrn-st yesterday.; afternoon. 'Eie , seotioiis ...were situated in i liroad, Amesbury, and ■ Grey, Streets,. and tho whole' vero. quitted at;price6/thiit must. be considered ' "highly/ satisfactory; : : : ; : The . home-' stead ■' s'eetioni", with l house,- -'was -bought by. Ifr. S:' - Greer,..of: Palmerston,v,for.;£l92s. The sections: in'.Bi?oad Street-iwent:Mip. to. £6 ss. • per. foot,in Amesbury' -Street, to £4 15s. per. foot,- and in Grey' Street 1 to'-£3/lCs. per. foot./ -Bidding was spirited, showing that -tne'ro' is a consideraule- demaud. for good {actions'. here'. / The' whole /of / the > sections • .w-ere ?,piircha;sod-: by 1 1'almerston riesidents./ '■"/ /', /' - -'/// /'■/' ; /

£s.d. £,e.d. £s.d. National - Bank 5 15 0 5 17 6 • ■Bank • N.Z 10 6 0 .-— . 'w. . Metropolitan ; -12J) 0 — N.Z. Loan and Mercantile 12'0. 0' . Well. Investment 0 11 0 — — Well. Deposit 0 8 3 0 8 9 — Well. Gas (£10) ...... 18 15 0 . - - Well. Gas (£6 15s.) 13 17 6 - ' - -N.Z. Insurance 4 0 6 — — . Ghristchurch Meat 13 17 • 6 - — —. . Meat Export (52s. 6d.) — 3 4 0 — N.Z. Shipping 10 2 0 Well. Woollen (pref.) 214 6 - ~ :TaupiH Coal ... 0 19 6 , — ' Wcstport Coal • — 6 8'6 — Wefitport-Stockton. ' 0 7 3 0 7 9 < ~ 'Lcyland-O'Brieit 1 7 0 1 7 9 ~ ■IhA.- Con, Dental ... 1 0 6 1 2 0 — Sharland's (ord.)... — '..1. 2 3 —, Sliarland's (prof.)... — 1- 2 3 - — : -Tarauai;/ Petroleum — 0 9 0 — . Tarinffaunitu Totara 2 2 9,2 5.0 . — Ward and Co. ...... 5 2 .6 . —' —

■ 1908. ■ 1909. •V" ■ .£■••■ Sydney-' ™.V.U — 2.286.000 2.057,000 •: Melbourne 3,282,665' . 3,122,585 "forih ; 4,8o7,'951 .4,s4u,252 Total Australia 10,456,616: 9,725,837.:London ............'.........14,610,100 13,100,100.

; • i . Seiit. 17. Sept; 24. Mutton— • . d. d. Canterbury, 4J , 4}.. Canterbury/ light .....'. 4a . 4J • Canterbury, Heavy. . «• 1 44 '. Southland .. : . .■• North Island,'best '. 4 4J . tiorth Island,., ordinary... 33 4 Australian, light, 31-16 3iJ Australian, heavy 3 3-16 : ;'- 3i • River. I'late,. light : 3} . .... . 3 9-16., liiver 1'iate, heavy; 3J ' 33 Lamb— . ' . Canterbury, light 63 ... 5J ...Canterbury, medium. ...... 5J'61. • .Canterbury, heavy 48'... .43 ■ . Southland '5J' * 5M6 .North Island, selected... 6J ' 6 5-16 North Island, ordinary... 5 63-16 " Australian, best ............ — . . , Australian, fair' — ; —' Australian, inferior — • - • Eivor flate — , . —