STUD BULLS FOR INDIA.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1409, 9 April 1912, Page 8

STUD BULLS FOR INDIA.

A consignment of stud bull?, purchased in jS'ew £outh Wales oil behalf of the Indian Ciorernment, was shipped by the steamer itunus. There wove eleven in all, comprising lour Rolstoins, lour Ayrshire*, and tlirw» Shorthorns. With tlie exception of ono Ayrshire, from Ui« Hunter liiver, all were from South Coast j?tuds. These bulls were selected for dairy quality, and, considering that the amount flowed by the Indian Government for Hie purchase only represented an average of about JiW per head net, a, very pood lot was secured. All these bulls were submitted to tho tuberculin test before shipment. COMMERCIAL ITEMS. THE. TARANAKI OIL WELLS, LTD. prospeelus of the Taranaki Oil Wells Company was circulated towards the close of last week. Tho capital is fixed at £400,0C0 in £t shares, and of the:» 2 275,0C0 are offered for subscription at par, payable as io 2s. per share oil application, 3s. on allotment, and the balance in calls not exceeding ss. per share, at intervals of not less than three monihs. Of the balance of the shares 84,000 fully paid-up are to go to the vendors, and 41,000 are held in , reserve for future issue. The British Empire Oilfields has underwritien 150,"COO shares of the present issue in consideration of the sum. of £15,000, and consequently the comj pany will go to allotment The British ! Empire Oilfields, Ltd.. the promoters of ths Taranaki Oil Wells, Ltd.. undertake to pay all the preliminary expenses of the company (except commission, brokerage, cost of completing and stomp duties on tho sale agreements or tho transfers of the properties, or stamps on allotment letters) up to the time of allotment in consideration of £5000. If the preliminary expenses are in excess of the sum the promoters will pay the balance, and, if less, the balance will be refunded. Practically this £5000 is to cover cost of printing and advertising. The Taranaki Petrobum Company, Ltd., is, to receive £51,000 in cash, £50,000 in fully paid-up shares, and £9000 in cash or shares at the option of the directors of tho new company. In addi:ion, 4d. per gallon is to be paid for all tho crude petroleum in stock, and plan;, machinery, and movable chattels acquired since June 1, 1911, are to be taken over a<; valuation. The promoters receive £10.CC0 than the Taranaki Petroleum Company. The total ar?a covered by boring rights is abou: 4300 acijes, in respect of 3000 acres of which a period of over nineteen years rpmains unexpired. Then* is a small plot of freehold land upon which one of the flowing wells has been sunk. Oil won from land other than the freehold plo'i is subject to a royalty of 5 per cent. In one cas* there 1 is a minimum royalty of £40, and in two cases a small rent, is payable until boring operations commence. With respect to one of the wells a royalty of is. per barrel is payable. The directors of the company aTe:—The Earl of Kanfurly (chairman), Major Dudley Alexander, Joseph Brailsford, of Leesons, Chislehiirst, and Andrew L. Horner, K.C., M.P., Dublin. The advisory board in New Zealand consists of Messrs. C. Carter and 11. J. Okey, M.P., both of New Plymouth. Sir George Clifford, of Chris : .church, ami Sir John, Lajjo Harrington will join the board of directors after allotment. EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY INSURANCE. It appears from a report issued recently by ihe Insurance Superintendent of New York that employers' liability insurance in the United States has not been much more profitable to insurance companies during the last few years than it has been in the United Kingdom. Competition has resulted in low ra»:es and excessive commissions paid to agents, and most companies have experienced losses on trading account. In seven States a now law was enacted lasi year requiring all companies to provide a minimum ressrve equivalent to 50 per cent, of the premium income, io be increased by 1 per cent, annually until the reserve coital? 55 per cent, of tin premiums." The Insurance Superintendent expresses the opinion, however, that even this reserve will prove inadequate. Figures from the next annual statements issued by the companiss will be tabulated by the Insurance Department and issued to the public, so that each company's financial position will be readily ascertainable.

HEVIEW OF THE TEA MARKET. In view of the high prices - which havo ruled (or tea- during the past six or nine months, a U2sumc of the course of the London market from «in authoritative sourcc should be of interes'. Such a review is furnished by the "Economist" (London). "The past year," writes our authority, "has been most prosperous for the majori:y of producers, the distinct ri?e in values made during the latter half of 1910 being further improved on. The average price for Indian teas for the period under review reached the high figure of 8.91 d., an advance of .61(1. on the previous year, while that of Ceylon was 8.88 d„ against 8.19 d„ showing an increase of .69d. Those figures had not been previously reached since 1897 and 1893 respectively, and when it is borne in mind that only as recently as 1905 the Indian average was 7.3d. and the Ceylon 6.99 d., the present level is doubtlsss highly satisfactory to planters. Heveral factors contributed during the year .to impart further strength to the already sound statistical position. First, there was a shortage in shipments during th 2 opening months of the year from Northern India to the United Kingdom, as compared with the .corresponding period of 1910. Second, drought during the middle of the year in several districts of CeyJon and Southern India mado supplies to this market on a smaller scale, thus causing a further depletion of already reduced stocks, till on August 31 those of all teas in bond were 13,000,0001b. less than at the corresponding period of last year (these la:t?r being the smallest since 1903). Then, thirdly, the dockers' strike in August resulted in importers only being able to hring forward small supplies at a time of the year when dsmand always shows considerable activity, and the policy adopted afterwards, particularly by the leading distributers and shop syndicates, of accumulating large duty-paid stocks at their various branches throughout the country, iu order to protect themselves against a possible recurrence of labour troubles before Christmas." MIXING AT WAKAMARINA. The recent formation of the Empire Con» solidatcd Developing Company at Walcamarina opens a new era in the develop, meat of quartz mining in that district (remarks the Pelorus "Guardian"), The old and primitive crushing plant that has done service for so many years in treating the product from the Golden Bar reef has now been abandoned.. Through the enterprise and unfailing confidence of Messrs. Humphries Bros, a new and up-to-date battery on quite a new site is being erected. The most conspicuous evidence of the new development is the building of a large "hopper' well up on the western hillside. This "hopper." which will hold close on two hundred tons of quartz, i? 1 situated below the third level of the reef. Into this huge coffer will be dumped the whole of the Quarts won from the tlireo main shafts which at present tap tho reef at three different levels. By connecting the two upper workings with the bottom level a convenient method will lie established for trucking all the material into the hopper from one point. The quartz will be conveyed from the hopper to fe?d the batteries as required. It is intended to drive the batteries by water power, and Messrs. Humphries arc now applying for a licen -e to ercct a water-race for this purpose. To secure an adequate supply of water no less than five and a half miles of race will have to be constructed, tapping six or, nsven different sources of supply. The estimated cost of this work is £750. and it is exported to take fully twelve months to complete. A valuable by-product from this reef \ is sohcelite, and Messrs. Humphries re-; oently shinpod a consignment of five tons 1 Home to rngland? The return from this "parcel" of schcelite was nearly sufficient, we are told, to defray the whole of the expenses of the mine for that period. WHEAT AND FLOUR. By Tpiegrapti-l'ressJ Associatioii-Conrrlght London, April 7. The wheat and Hour afloat for the United Kingdom totnb 4,375,000 quarters; for tho (Joi?:inent. ?..260,000 quarters; Atlantic shipmonK 273,000. The total shipments to Enrooo during the w-?ek amounted to 1.675,000 quarter?, including 4RCCO from Argentina, 150,000 I»ussian, 320,020 Dannbinn, 69.000 from India and Persia, and 210,PC0 from- Australia. MOUNT MOltflAN RETURN. By Telegraph—Priiss association—Copyright Brisbane, April 8. During the month. tli3 Mount Morgan gold reduction works treated;; 8233 tons of ore for 3399 ounce? of gold// The copper reduc inn works treated 22.263 tons, which produced '613 tons of blister nopprr. rontnimn? CC-7 tons of crtnper. and approximately 80G3 ounce- of gold. ' Th« total value of the ir. tals produced' wa-1 ;