COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1444, 20 May 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. The tales recorded on Saturday were: National Bank at £6 U*. 6d.. and S'harland's preference at 235. 6d. The buying and selling Quotations wore as under:— Buyers, Sellers. £ t. d. £ s.d Well. Trust and Loan ... 712 6 — Christchurch Gas 815 0 9 0 0 Well. Gas (£10) - 13 7 6 Well. Woollen (pref.) ... — 2IS 6 Ei'kurangi Goal — 019 0 Tanpiri Coal 11} 12 0 Westport Coal — 1 10 0 Levland-O'lirien — 18 6 N.Z. Powell. Wood - 15 0 Taringamutu Totara 2 7 6 — Golden Bay Cement — 1 4 (1 Sharland's ordinary — 13 3 GERMAN SHHPPING. Belated though the date may be, considerable interest attaches to the latest issue of German Government statistics relating to - shipping traffic in 1910. which has just been issued. From those it appears that. 224,365 mwehaat ships with a. net displacement of 60,134,j0g tour: register entered and clea.red from German ports in 1910, an incrc-a.=o of 4607 ships, or 2.1 per ccnt.. over the previous year, the increase in tonnage being 3.C04.287 tons resistor, or 5.3 per cent. Is. is of interest to compare tile figures for 1676, namely. 87.558 shins of 12.722,710 tons register, tho percentage or increase in the. matter ot ships being 156.3 per cent., and in tonnage 372.7 per cent. These, of conn-rc, arc ships of all' nations. Of that number, however, a high percentage, namely, 75.6 ncr ce:it. of the ships and 59.4 per. ccnt. of the tonnage, flew the German (lag. Taking steamships alone, the percentages are:—7S.7 per cent, of the ships and 57.8 per ocnt. of the tonnage. 'The number of voyages made by German ships during 1910 was 106.164. and the tonnage in motion amounted to 50,995,198 tons register, every ship being counted as often as it made a voyage. The figures show an increase of 2.5 per cent, i'n the number ot voyages, as corn-pared with 1909, and the tonnage moved an increase of 5.6 per cent. Of ihcee voyages 84.6 per cent, were made with cargo anrl 15.4 per cent, in ballast or empty, the 1909 percentaaes being 84.8 and 15.2 respectively.

LLOYD'S AUDIT, The posting at Lloyd's on April 1 of the lifrt of underwriters who have received a "clean bill of health" iti connection with the f-?mi-nfFteial auciit, which is now compulsory. has been the subject of much (lis* cushion during the patt day or two, says the "Fiiianri'al Times-." Great satisfaction is at the fact that every underwriter, wilhout exception, has emertred j'ntfsfnetoi'iii* from a te.-t of financial lability which is carried out with revurit.v. Knur yetvra have dapped since I ho committee decided that it would be in the interests of the institution if the individual members and syndicates were to submit their account* 4 to an annual audit, and the re ; ult ha- undoubtedly been to enhance the prestige of the room. On the present occasion the reMilts ehown are all the more satisfartorv in view of the very heavy which Ijkvp been experienced by underwriter*. and it would noL have been jotrprisine had one or two of I ho .-onnUer member? found some diYHculty in obtaining the nece.PFary ?:eriilieate. So far a? can be n.?certaincd. however, i.here ha * pot evop been a nuo-t.ion repardinp the Ftahility of any underwriter. There hap boeu a disposition in some quarters to srKtta that t.hte t&at lassea durum tho past Uiivs sot beca to

i-evere ;i:< ThR however. is an entirely assumption. for, if anything. tin- disbur.-enuMiU by underwriter* in ri'MM'H oi clit-ii;.- dunn-f the p«<^t twelve mouths have been in exce.-s of the liiruros which lisive gained currency. .So l':ir ;i>.- any explanation i> required of the no.-ition nmv disclosed. it may ho found ill (he fact that. while losr-es have boon numerous and substantial, there has ab.o been a very large volume of remunerative and althcuirh It in probably a fact. I hat a few underwriters are better oil' now than they were a year ago. it i> aI.-t> a fact thai they have boon able So counteract the cH'eot. of onerous claims isy an increased premium account on iejiinneraiiv:' The indications point to another year nf great activity in the room, and with ordinary prudence underwriter* should ajzain be able to show satisfactory bank balance* twelve months hence, even if they do not make anv verv substantial profits meanwhile. flood and bad year* have a. habit of running in cycles in the insurance world, and, .so far as can be seen, Lloydo i.«? just now in the middle of one of its period-- of depression. The law of average as«erl. itself presently, and underwriters will then reap the full ad* vantage of the im-ren-scd rates which are now becoming the order of the day.

FHILDTXG MAKKKT REPORT. "Messrs. A. 11. Atkinson and Co., Ltd., of Feilding. report, an active market all round on Friday. There was n. medium ontry of pig<> and poultry, which sold at nuotationnr-Agcd draught horse made £9: aged harks, 25?.; 2-year heifer?, £4 155.: wenncr pips, 4s. 6d., 55., 7?.. fi?.: slips, 6?. fid. to iC«. Gd.; stores, 14s. 6d„ 16s. fid. to 195.: porkers. 255. fid. to 2fis. ilivnp, at per nair, 2s. 6d., 2s. 9d., 35., 3s. 3d.; small ccckcreis. ip. 6rf. to 2?.: grown sorts, 3s. to 3s. 9d.; ducks, 3s. 6d.: pups, 2s. 6d. Saddles. £2 ICs. to £3 10.-.; harness, 2fa, lo 455.: bridle?., 7s. 6d. to lis.: chaff, 2?. to 3s. sack: bran, ss. fid. to 65.; pumpkin?, s*. 6d. to 6s. 6d. per Back: marrows, 3s. to 3s. 6d.: cabbage-. 45:.; cauliflowers, Bp. Potatoes. 9.«. to 10s. 6d.; pears, 65.; apples, 6s. to 75.; half-case?, 35.; onion?, 10#. to 12s. per cwt.: parsnip, If?. 6d. to 2s. per sugar bag; carrots, 16. fid.

OTAfiO GRAIN MARKETS. The business doing in wheat during th« week has not been large. Farmers are tiudor the belief that wheat has not yet reached its highest level, in conßcnucncc, thev are not keen to sell. Velvet lia.s Holn at 3s. 9d.; Tuscan at 3s. 9d. net. at country stations, and red chaff at 3g. 9d.. Iftss commission, at country stations.

Outs n.rc not offering freely, owing. nn doubt to t.ho threshing of tins cereal not having been carried out very generally. The market is strong. and prices are \v,ol! maintained. "A" Grade fiartons have boon bought nt 2s. Id. to 2s. 2d. net, nt fountry stations, and for "Tl" Grade n.t 2s. and 2:-. Ojd. net. at country station*, was paid. The potato market Is weaker, although .£5 to X 5 ss. has been paid durincr the week. That price is not now obtainable, the reason is a lack of orders for coastwi.se shipment, and the difficulty of petline orders into Australia. Growers are offering freely, but for the reasons stated merchants are not keen to buy. CUSTOMS. Customs revenue collected nt the nort of Wellington on Saturday amounted to •C 1761 ss. 5d., the total for the week be-ins .£18,29 8 3s. md. The return for each of the past, eight weeks, compared with the figures for the corresponding periods of last year, show as under-.— 1912. 1911. March M 8.*478 April 6 1! 18,597 25,145 April 13 10.972 10,890 April 20 22.803 16.745 April 27 12.150 12.111 Mav 4 15,093 19,765 Jlav 11 10,339 6,(87 May 13 18,298 14,954 *134,50-3 114,175 The beer duty collected during tlio past week amounted to £229 18?., as against £214 14s. for tlxe corresponding week of last year. FROZEN HEAT. New Zealand Loan an d Mercantile Agency Corapanv, Ltd., have received the following cablegram from their London hoKse, undor date May 17:— Frozen Meat-There is a fair inquiry for mutton, a good demand for beef, and the lamb market continues to advance. FP.ENCH DANK EATE. 8y Teleeraph—l'ress Association—OopyrleM Paris, May 17. Ths minimum dipcount rate of the Bank of France has been reduced from 3i to 3 per cent. • FROZEN MEAT QUOTATIONS. (Ecc. May 19, 5.5 p.m.) London, May 18. The Incorporated Society of Meat Importers' Smithficld market quotations for the imdermentioned classes of frozen meat are based on actual sales of not less than one hundred carcasses of mutton or lamb, or twenty-fire quarters of beef of fair average quality. The quotations arc not selected lines, but for parcels fairly representative of tho bulk of the shipments now on the market. The prices which follow are

on an average a farthing per lb. mora tlinn the value ex ship, this difference representing an average cool in expenses, handling, conveyance, and soiimg the meat:— May li. May lE. Mutton— d. fl. Canterbury, light — 4j Canterbury, medium ... — 4i Canterbury, heavy — 4 southland — — North Island, best 33 31 North Island, ordinary... 3j o} Australian, light •- 3E Australian, heavy 3j 33 Biver Plate, Ugh*. — — Hirer Plate, heavy 31 Jj Ken" Zealand ewes 3i 33 Australian ewes 3J 31 Ilivcr Plate ewes 5 3-16 3i LambCanterbury, light 6 6J Canterbury, medium 5J 6 Oa.nterbury, heavy sj. 5 5-16 Southland — — North Island, selected... 55 515-16 North Island, ordinary... Si S3 Australian, lioi-t 5g 5 9-16 Australian, fair 5i sj! Australian, inferior — 5 5-16 Ei'ver Plate, tlrst 53 51 River Plate, second ... 5J 5J BeefNew Zealand ox fores ...33 3S New Zealand ox hinds... 43 <3 Australian, ox fore? 3 5 Australian ox hinds ... 4S 4fl Kiver Plate ox fores ... 3 5-16 3H River Plate ox hinds ... 4J Hiver Plato chilled fores 3i 33 Kiver Plate chilled hinds 5} 5J Babbits are dull and unchanged. BUTTER. (Rec. May 19, 5.5 p.mA London, Jlay 18. Danish butter Is ouoted at ISOs., an advance of 3s. on the day. HIDE SALES. London, Hay 18. A limited supply was,offered, and the business done was insignificant. MINING NEWS. WELLINGTON SHAKE MARKET. The sales recorded on Saturday were: Boss Pecc-nstructed at 6s. 2Jd„ and Wsihl a,t 375. The buying and selling quotations were as under: — Buyer«, Sellers. /. & d. £ i. d. Con. Goldfiekls — 0 15 0 May Queen 0 1 6 — New Big Biver <50 - Progress — 0 8 3 Kofs Reconstructed 0 5 i — Talisman 2 2 6 2 3 3 Waihi ~ 1 -? J Vaihi lieefs ~ -* 0 1 ; Waihi Grand Junction... 12 6 1 3 o Waitangi 0 12 0 13 Taranaki Petroleum — 12 0 The course of sales during the past week was as under:— Occidental, Is. 3d., Is. 3sd. Itoss Reconstructed, ss. 4d„ ss. 4d„ ss. 4d.. ss. 4d„ 55., 55., ss. 2}d. Talisman, 435. 9d., 435. 9d., 435. 9d„ 435. 6d.. 425. Sd„ 425. 6d., 425. 9d. Waihi, 385.. -376. AVnilii Hoofs, Is. 3d. i Waihi Grand Junction, 235. 3d., 225. 6d„ 225. 3d. Waiota.lii, 2s. Bd. Wnit.augi, Is. 2d., is. 2d., Is. 2d., Is. 2d., Is. lid. The Wellington Stock Exchange received the following toloerain on Saturday from the Worksop Dredging Co.:—Hettirn, 540z. 6dv,-t. for 115 hours. STOCK EXCHANGE. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) Auckland, Jlay 18. Business done on 'Change this mornin"':— . .May Queen, Is. 7d. Kurauui Caledonian, Is. 7d. Oicidental, Is. 4d. Waiotalu, I*, id. Tairua Golden liills, 2id. Talisman, £2 3s. W-iihi. £1 l'<s. 6d. Grand Junction. .£1 2-. 9d., £1 3s. Tannin Coal. £1 Is. 9d. Duncdin, May 18. The following sale wan reported on the filofk Hieliaiue to-day :-Jiilburn Lime and Conient, £1 9s. IIIiKDGINn. (Hr Telegraph-Press Association.) Dunedln, siny iB. Ee.turn?:-*Pi'iing Sun, ''-Bo?.. 15dwt. for 123 hours: Bise and Shine. 50oz. 17dwt. for 132 hours: Worksop, Sloz. 6dwt. for 116 hoursi Trai»l?a.i", I0o«,, .Viwt, lor IJ6 ho'ifsj IsliUjid Bloclti £8c». £oe 332 iioms,