COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1339, 17 January 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

. INVESTMENT SHARKS. A sale of Taupiri Coal shares at 21s. was the only transaction recorded in investl ment shares ycsterri'iy. The buying and . selling (juotatioun were as under:— Buyer?. Sellers.

THE LIMIT OF ACDITOKS' HESPONSTIHUTIEH. The question of the auditors' responsibility in the case of falsification of a, firm's accounts by one ol' its servants is dealt with by the "Law Journal" in its issue of December 2, as follows Mercantile law is founded on the basis that, people, as a, rule, are honest, and the assumption is nccessary for the-cai-y working et commerce. Auditors and accountants arc entitled to rely on this principle, the security which they. bring to their elient* l being simply the application of a trained and experienced mind the account put before them. As Lurd Lopes said, in In rc Kingston Mills Co., No. 2 I19CG): "An auditor i& Jiofc bound to be suspicious when there are no circumstances to arouse ?uspicion. . . . He is a watch-dog, but uot a bloodhound." . This doctrinc of the auditor s responsibility was upheld Lost wesk by the Court of Appeal in the case of Jlewl v.' Ball, Jtaljor and Co.. where the Lords Oustico affirmed the decision of the •Lord Chief Justice at tho trial. The ap • pcllant had advanced considerable sums tc; a company which was carrying on budnc:* as cash chemists. lie and one Ifeeco were--1 the directors of the company, and the to spondents wero the auditors. Recce, who managed the .business, made elaborate falsification in tlu account and stocksheets so as to show an annual profit fo? several .years, when, in fact, there had been a heavy lofs. The appellant sought to malic Uic auditors responsible for ilia iCu?*, on the ground that they were oegll gent in not discovering the frauds. A 1 the trial of the action tho Lord Chief Justice had held that there was nothing on the face of the accounts and stock s.lieets to arouse suspicion, and that the auditors had done al! that was properly reo.uired of them in calling the attention oi the company m their annual report to the apparent large increase of htock. In 4W Cn «£ tllc a p p Uant to suspect that there was something wrong, and upon a closer examination of the books tuo falsiiicalions were discovered by the respondents. But the responsibility for not discovering the frauds earlier lav on the directors, who should have been' put upon inquiry by the auditor;' note about the unusual increase of stock. The accountant, like any other professional man, ■ ppondct peritiam artis, but Ms "art" is , to see whether the books a.nd accounts of a business tally, and what i-s the position shown by thera, and not In search for possible frauds and falsifications. Prouded he usey proper skill in the esaminar 1 e "oote he is not responsible for failing to discover fraudulent conduct on the part of the servants of a compun.\, though he is not entitled to depend ou the mere assurances ol' tho directors. Til At) E IN ALLEN STItEET. Vegetables.—A better demand was experienced during the week. French beans have been coming forward more freely, but cauliflowers are extremely scarce. AVliite turnips meet with a poor demand, whilst marrows have good inquiry. from the Hawke's Bav , ami .uotucka ojetrict.ii i'ontimic to ! increase ' and some really lino Iruit - is- finding iu way ou to the market, especially of stone ; fruits, sueli as apricots, nectarines, and pcaclieo. .Both desert and cooking apples are cominE forward in large supplv, but so far no prime Now Zealand dessert apples have been available. liaspbci ries are not very plentiful, whilst the season tor black currants is now almost, over. A few Cahfornian oranges arc still on the market, and Alossina lemons are offering more freely. Owing to heavier supplies of tomatoes, values have declined. Poultry.—lfens are selling at 35., roosters at ss. to 43., aud ducks at 4s. 6d. to ss. 6d. a pair. Geese arc unsaleable. The market is bare of turkeys, mid. consignments are-recommended. Onions. —The bulk of the supplies arc now coming from the. Auckland district, and prices range from \Z<. to 14s. The market in Australia is extremely high. Potatoes.—Good sound samples are sell--1 at 3s. 9d. to 43. per cwt. l«ice Hour has moderate inquiry at £5 ICs. per ton. Pollard is in short supplv, and sale? are bejng made at £6 ss. to £0 lCs. per ton. Jirati continues in good supply, and is selling at .£5 10s. to £5 15s. per ton. Flour.—Well-known brands arc quoted at £9 ss. per ton, ex store, leia' the usual discount. Nollcd oats arc without change, the cur* , rent ouotatioits being 9s. 6d. to lCs. 6d. pev dozen 4th bags. Oatmeal continues at £14 lCs. f.o.b. south. Oats.—Only a hand to mouth businev is doing, and sale? arc being made at 3*. 4d. to Is. 6d. a bushel. Chaff.—New season's is selling at £4 15s. to £5 with old offering at £5 ID?, to £5 lo>. ! Fowls' wheat has very good inquiry at j 4s. 4d. to <*s. 6d. a bu.*liel. ! Cape bailey is dull of r=alc at 3s. 6d. per • j bushel. > i Fowls' barley is selling at 3s. 3d. per t bushel. Haled Straw.-—The market- is bare. The | new season's will 'be available shortly. Glover hny i> selling at £5 to £5 10s. : ilaize mroU with fa.ir imniirv at to 1 4s. Id. a bitsh?l. Ham? and bacon.—Hams. 9>d. per lb.: rolls, ; sides, 9d. Fresh eggs arc dull of sale at lid. to Is. per dozen. Butter.—Prime* milled, in sclb. boxes, is selling ut. to lid. per lb. Cheese meets with the u-ual inouiry. Medium size, 6£d. to 6i?d.; loaf, 71d. to 7id. Customs duty collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £2763 ,* 3s. 3d. CAXTEItBU R V GBAIX AKKET. [ (Hr TeleirraDti.— Fm.ss Aspocistlon.i Christchurch, January 16. Pending harvest, practically no business * is bring done in this season's grain. The weather experienced during the past two or three days, if it continues, should have the effect of hastening harvesting operations. Cable advices from Melbourne received locally state that wheat is weak- ! enittg, a decline 0? lid. per bushel (in t sympathy with Loudon priced being re- [ corded. If. is possible that the -t:ito of the London market may he reflected in the local market, but. as 110 new wheat is vet ' on offer, it is difficult- to, say exactly what » the effect will be. ' I Will',Vl' AXI) ri.OUR. j- j By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright n London, January 15. "I The wheat and Hour alloat f for . tho " United Kingdom totals 2,425,C00 <|iiartcn-.; * | for the Continent. LUS.COO quarter?: Allnnt 1 tjr. shipments, 187.000; Pacific shipment?*, • WitW. The total shipments to Europe dur*

ing the work amounted to 9GO.GCO quarters, I including 145,0C0 Jlussian, 153,GC0 from the Ihumbiau proving. 129,000 from India, and 1 132,101) from Australasia. None was shipped to Kurope from the Argentine.

S £ d. X «. cl. * National Bank — 5 16 0 f Hank of N'cw Zealand ••• — li 10 0 ' Knuitahlo Building 10 5 n \ Well, lnv?.«tmont 0 JJ 3 — * Well. Trust, and Loan ... 7 u fi ■i Chn'ctehuri'h Gas 9 10 0 9 14 1 - Gisborne Gas /u \ Xapicr Gas <£10j 21 15 0 , Well. Gas (third itsucj ... 11 10 0 — 1 Well. Gas (prrf.) 0 5 Ghristrharr-li .Meat 15 .10 0 16 0 0 Weil. Woollen fpre.f,) . -- 3 Z 6 Ifikuransi Ccal 0 19 .V" — y Taupiri Coal I I o — Leyland-O'Brien ' 18 9 C. M. Banks, Ltd — 10 0 r Golden Bay Cement 13 0 - N.Z. Con. .Dental — 1 ?, 6 - Shnrland's prefcrcncs ...... — 14 6 I Ward anu Co — 6 tl 0