COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1501, 25 July 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. A sale of N.Z. Drug shares at 51s. was the only transaction recorded yesterday. The buying and selling quotations were as under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ s. d. National Bank ! 5 19 0 6 0 0 N.Z. and River Plate 1 19 6 —" Well. Investment * 0 11 9 — Well. Tnist and Loan 712 6 — Ohristchurch Gas — 817 6 Foildinc Gas 10 6 — Well. Gas (pref.) 10 0 110 Christchurcli Meat — 15 7 6 Mospriel Woollen 3 7 0 3 8 0 Well. Woollen (ord.) 3 9 0 — Well. Woollen (pref.) .... — 218 6 Taupiri Coa-l 12 6 13 0 Westport Coal 18 0 18 9 Leyland-O'llricu — . 17 0 Donaghy Rope and Twine 1 '4 9 — Golden Bay Cement — 110 N.Z. Drug 2 10 9' 2 11 3 TIIE AMERICAN WOOL DUTY. A Bill on the lines of that passed by Congress last year, but vetoed by the President, for the reduction of the duties on raw wool for clothing purposes to 29 per cent., was followed in its introduction into the House of Representatives of the United States by a Bill fathered by Mr. Payne, leader of the minority of the Ways and Means Committee, for the imposition of specific duties on imported wool. The minority Bill fixes the rate of duty on wools of the first class at, 9d. per lb. on the cleaned content of the wool. This the minority declares, measures the diffcronco in the cost of production at, home and abroad on nearly all wool imported, and the bulk of the wool grown in the United States. The minority Bill is declared to be drafted In accordance with, the findings of the Tariff Hoard in its report presented to Congress in December last, which is declared to be vory able and complete. The majority of the commil,tee. however, ticclarcs the report of the Tariff Board to bo fragmentary and incomplete, and to rest upon an incorrect statistical basis The theory of applying tariff duties according to the difference m thc cost of production in t ills <\iKl in ioreiprn countries is, the majority assorts, entirely erroneous' and untenable, witiJc the data, collected m t..w board's report are too fragmentary and incomplete to admit nf conclusions \*n>i reference to rates of tariff duty. • Under that report, the majority contends conclusions as to duties can only he reached for a few paragraphs of the wool ule, and for the*, it fc not possible "to formulate definite conclusions because ||ie figures vary widely and serious!-.- lark miii formity and coranarahiHty. ~\s re"ard» raw wool, the eoneli;,«ion' i= reached bv the maiority that. 7 and 3 need -i'o protection, and tlint Has* l no prn . tcction. as indicated' by actual fisriiTc of sates, while as «ho-,vn by estimated relative cost of nro-'".r!ion fVn duly tt -nulil jwt exceed fiom 15 to 20 eat cent.

MARCONI WIRELESS. Wireless telegraphy lias made rapid strides since the young Italian Marconi astonished tire world with his great invention. The Jlarconi Wireless Telegraph Company Is a British concern, and the parent of all wireloss companies. The annual report of the company shows that the profit for the year amounted to £141,700, as compared with £60,500 for 1910, and the directors state that, but for the fact that- the amount of business on hand outgrew the ca-pacity of the Chelmsford works, tlio figures now shown would have been , even better. The directors recommended a final distribution for the year, of 10 per cent, on the whole capital, giving a total distribution for the year of 20 per cent, on the ordinary shares and of 17 per cent, on the preference capital. In addition, a first interim dividend of 10 per cent, is declared on the ordinary shares for 1912, while a full seven per cent, is declared on the preference capital, and holders of this issue will, therefore, participate in all further dividend payments during' the current 12 months. The value of the business on hand at the time of malting the report was stated to exceed £1.000 XOO by a considerable amount,, ah against. £254,000—twelve months previously, which means that the company's turnover has quadrupled during the year.

EXPORTS OF PRODUCTS. The values of tho principal products exported from New Zealand for the first half of the current month, compared with tlio figures for the corresponding period of last year, show as under:— 1912. 1911. Butter 9,744 3,396 Cheese 13,579 , 2,571 Beef 22,789 v 12,212 MuttonCarcasses 86,134 58,813 Legs and pieces 112 235 Lamb 118,304 96.194 Wheat 5,755 3« Oats 21,450 140 Potatoes 2,515 269 ITemp 5,677 7.867 Rah bits 625 6,639 Tow 1,293 1,227 Kauri sum 17.5C5 12.665 Grain and pulse 2,715 677 Hons 10 677 Hides 19.963 10.429 Skins 28.164 27.845 Tallow 32.085 20.493 Timber 20.132 3U16 Wool 100.872 149.506 Gold 70,138 . 73,296 1,579,571 1,517,094 KOTES. Of all the fibres in the world, perhaps that spun by tlio silkworm is the most expensive. Any number of attempts have been m&do to produce something ".iust as good," but without much success. A Gorman patent, however, has just been taken out. for tho manufacture of an excellent artificial silk, manufactured from jute. It is stated that the uew fabric Eives fine promise. Records show that during 1-he year ended June 30 last, in the metropolitan area, of Sydney, 7734 buildings were finished and assessed, tho cost amounting to £4,495,017. In tho previous twelve months the record was 5712 buildings, at a cost of £3.285,515. These figuros take no account of premises in course of erection; tho only structures included in the total are those actually finished and assessed.

Jlr. Thomas, president of the New York Stock Exchange, in Ms evidence before tho Congressional Committee, investigating the conduct, of the alleged "Jloney Trust," said that daring the panic of 1937 llr. J. P. Morgan made a loan of twenty-five million dollars on the Stock Exchango at a, critical juncture when call money had soared to 125 ner cent., and thus eased tlio money miTiiet, immediately. The Marino Underwriters' Association lias forwarded to the Sydney Chamber of Commerce a copy of survey report by Contain Tipple, Lloyd's snrvevor at Yokohama, on the matter of in-ect, prist*; in the holds of ships. Captain Tipple conclusively states that the damage in the case of wool tops under review is caused by a species of weevil. This is interesting, in view of the fact that complaints of previous shipments have been nut down to t.he depredations of copra, bugs.- It -was decided to forward a copy of tho report to the various shipping companies, and to emphasise ttv* desirability of fumigation before loading wool tops. ' WOOL AND HIDE DEPORT. I Messrs. Williams and Kettle, Limited. Dannevirke, report having held their wool, skin,, and hide sale yesterday. They state:—Oiir offering comprised 18 bale; of wool, 1700 sheepskins, 200 hides, 50 calfskins, and 69 tins tallow. Wo ropOrt a total clearance at from id. to Id. per lb. abovo onr last sale, which is owing to the increased values in overseas markets. Our Quotations ruled a 6 follow:—Wool: Crntchings, no good lines offering: crutchings, medium. ;'6d.; c.rutcliinis, inferior and ssedy, 5Sd. to 6d;'; crossbred fleece, inferior, 6jd. to 7id.: crossbred, dead. 63d.; lock®, 4d. Sheepskins: Coarse crossbred, 6Jd. to 7Jd.; crossbred broken, 5Jd.; crossbred dead, 51d.; dead hoggets. 6d.: crossbred damp, 2s. to ss. Bd.; crossbred salted butchers, 6s. Id.;.farmers. 3s. Id. to.ss. 6d. Hides: Ox, 7Jd.; cows, 61d. to 6>d..; cut, 5 3-Bd,: slippy, 5.M. to s}d.; hoi'i*a hides. ss. to Bs.: wcaners, B>d. per lb.; calf, sound, 103 d.; flippy, 5Jd. Tallow, 235. 6d. Horsehair, Is. Bd. per lb.

Customs duties collected' at tho port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £2056 13s. Ed. '

GRAIN MARKET, 'v (Br Telegraph.-Pros* A.onclatto".' Dunedln, July 24. Oats.—There is very littlo business passing in oats. The demand is chiefly for prime 'Garton's and SparrowbiU'e. Medium and inferior lines are not inquired for. Prime milling, 2s. 2d.; good to best feed, 2s. to 25..1 id.; inferior to incdium, Is. Sd. to Is. lid. Wheat.—Dunedin millers are not buying, and quotations are merely nominal. Fowl wheat is in fair demand. Prime milling, 3s. 9d. to 3s. lOd.; medium, 3s. 6d. to 3s. Bd.; best whole fowl wheat, 3s. to 3s. 3d. LONDON WOOL SALES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, July 23. At the wool sales prices generally were unchanged. Those for crossbreds were occasionally irregular, but for merinos the highest figures for the series were realised. (Rec. July 24, 9.35 p.m.) London, July 24. The following are prices realised at the wool sales for the fleece portions of the clips named:—Papanui, top price 10d., averaEe price 9d.; Kekorajici, llUd. and 10Jd.; Parorangi, ll*d. and 10 3-Bd.: Omtiratna, llid. and 10' d.; Glenavay, 12d. and llld. Messrs. Dalgefy and Company. Limited, Wellington, liaVeliust received the followjne cablegram from their London office:— "Wool sales continue irregular. Prices are somewhat easier. Anieriean buyers are overloaded." BANK SHARES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, July 23. The latest- quotations are:—Bank of New South Wales, £44 (buyers) and £46 (sellers); Union Bank, £60 and £61; National Bank of Australasia. £5 and £5 55.; National Bank of New Zealand, £5 10s. and £6. THE METAL MARKETS. (I!cc. July 24, 9.35 p.m.) London, July 24. Copper.-On opot,. £78 15s. per ton: three months. £78 155.; electrolytic, £81 10s. Tin.—On soot. £199 ss. per ton; three months, £196 15s. , PiK-iron. £2 18s. 3d. per ton. Lead, £18 10s. per ton.. MINING NEWS. WELLINGTON SHARE MARKET. The market was vory quiet yesterday, and there were no transactions. The buying and selling quotatioiis were as, under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ s. d. Ross Reconstructed 0 5 10 0 6 3 Talisman 1 18 3 1 19 D Waihi 1 14 3 - Waihi Grand Junction ... 1 1 3 12 0 Waitanci • 0 0 5 0 0 6 STOCK EXCHANGE. (By Teleeraph.—Press Association.) ; Auckland, July 24. Business done at thia morning's call:— Wa<itanffi, 6d. Ross, ss. lid. Grown, 2s. 6d„ 2s. sd. Waihi, £1 14s. 3d. Grand Junction, £1 Is,. 4d. Loan and Mercantile, 9s. Auckland Gas (new). £3 Is. The following business was done at the 3.15 p.m. call:— Now Sylvia, 4*d.: Saxon, SJd.; Bank of New 'Zealand, £4 16s. 3d.; Loan and Mercantile, 9s. Dunedln, July 24. The following saJ» was made on (lie Stock Exchange to-day:— Waihi Grand Jtiuction, £1 Is. 6d. The following sale was reported port Coal, £1 Bs. 6d.