COMMERCIAL ITEMS

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1534, 2 September 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS

INVESTMENT SHAKES. There were no transactions in Investment sharos on Saturday. The buying and soiling quotations wero as under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ s. d. National Bank 6 0 0 * — Equitable Building — 10 0 0 National Mortgage — 4 10 Well.' Trust (new, prcm.) — 012 6 Feilding Gas 10 6 — Well. Gas (£10) - 18 2 6 Well. Gas (pref.) — 110 Standard Insurance 11l i — Meat Export (525. 6d.) ... — 3 10 Well. Woollen (ord.) 3 15 0 4 0 0 Taupiri Coal — "13 3 Westport Coal 18 0 — toil 0 2 10 — Taringamutu Totara — 2 6 6 Golden Bay Cement 10 0 110 Bharland's preference ... — 13 3 The course of sales during the past month was as under:— Bank New Zealand, £10 15s. National Bank, £6. Equitable Building, £10, £10. N.Z. Loan and Mercantile, 9s. X.Z, anil River Plate, 405., 395. 9d. Wellington Investment, lis. 9d. ■Wellington Trust and Loan, £7 17s. ' Hokitika Gas, £5 12s. 6d. Wellington Gas (£10), £17 17s. 6d„ £17 17s. 6d. National Insurance, 395. Standard Insurance, 325. 3d. Christchurch Meat, £15 ss. Gear Meat (£4). £12 12s. Meat Export (525. 6d.), 625. 6d. r 625. 6d. Mosgiel Woollen, 68s. Wellington Woollen (ordinary), 765., 765„ 765.' Wellington Woollen (preference), 585., 58s. Taupiri Coal, 235. 3Jd., 235. 3Jd., 235. Leyland-O'Brien Timber, 265. 9d., 265. 9d„ 275., 275. Taringamutu Totara, 465„ 465. Golden Bay Cement, 21s„ 215.. 21s. Manning and Co., £4 25.. £4 Is. N.Z. Paper Mills, 21s. 3d. W.F.C.A. (£5). £7 55., £7 sb. W.F.C.A. (205.), 295.

BRITISH NATIONAL DEBT. For the management of the National Debt, inscribed in tho books of the* Bank ol itoKland, the Untißh Government naiil over £186,000 last year. The agreement with tho bank expired on March 31, but in reply t-o a question in the House of Commons, the Chancellor of tho Exchequer stated that ho had no intention of varying the terms, although the existing arrangement would not continue indefinitely.' Tho scale of remuneration at present is as follows:— £3?.5 per million pounds of National Debt upheld five huudred millions, and £100 ner million above that amount, with a minimum annulil payment of £160,0C0. In addition, the bank receives a commission of £100 for Exchequer bonds, and £200 for Treasury bill?, calculated on every million pounds .outstanding on the Irit day of the previous financial year. Tho Hank of Ireland is paid on a hither scale.' £425 ner million on Rational Debt, up to £30.CCD.000, and £300 per million above Mint total, with a. minimum remuneration of £&COO ycr fI.TITIHTTIj

COLON! AI, JIUTUAJ, LIFE ASSURANCE. Tn the House of Commons on July 15 Mr. Ginnoll (N„ Wcstincatli, N.l asked the President of the l)o:»rd of Trade jf the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Societv of Australia denied that its practice ot lending money to its own directors was one of the causes of its failure" to keep its enBasements; what evidence it submitted to tho Hoard ill support of the denial; if it did not deny the practice, what-notice the Board had taken or . proposed to take of the practice; what proportion tho payments now being made by that, society at the end of tontine periods bore to the sums which the society promised through its estimates and agents that, persons insuring would bo entitled to receive; what proportion they bore to the sums paid in premiums; anil whether the Hoard had called the attention of the Director of Public. Prosecutions to this society's methods of obtaining and using money. 31 r. Buxton: I am not aware tliat the Colonial Mutual Life Assurance Society, Ltd.. has failed to keep its engagement's, as suggested in tho lion, members' question. So far as is known to the Hoard of Trade the society has neither admitted nor denied that it lends money to its directors, and the. matter is not one in which tho Board have power to take ony action. The information asked for relating to the proportion which the payments made by tho society bear to the estimates and to tho premiums received is not required to be disclosed in the society's returns, and I am therefore unable to furnish it. The Board have not called the attention of the Director ot Public Prosecutions to the business of. the society.

CUSTOMS. Customs revenue collected at the port 9.V.-.Vv li,lEt . toli 011 Saturday amounted to £1034 6s. 7d.. the total for the week being £17.218 Bs. 2d. The returns of the past eight weeks, compared with the'flgures for Ihe corresponding periods of last -cor show as under:— 1 > 1912. 1911. j>. f •July 13 22,931 27,889 Ju y 20 " 9.P67 13.426 •July 27 11,292 21,343 •August 3 12,348 )1i5 f15 August 10 10;479 25,136 August 17 9,114 11,592 ' August 24 27.261 15,955 August 31 17,218 18,156 119,710 »5,015 The beer duty collected for the week totalled £291 7®. 3d., as against £203 6s. for tho corresponding week of last year. FEILDING MARKET REPORT. Messrs, A. 11. Atkinson and Co., Ltd., of Feilding, report a good yarding of pigs at last week's sale,- and a continuation of high priccs, good weauers making up to 20s. M.—a, record. Poultry also sold exceedingly well. There is a good inquiry for potatoes, which are selling at 12s. to 13s. per sack. Woaner pigs (poor). 10s. 6d., 11a. 6d.: others, 17s. 6d., 18s„ to 20s. 6d.; slips and 6tores, 155., 165., 19s. 6d., 21s. 6d., 255. to 305.; porkers, 275.; sows, 435. Aged horses, to £4 2s. 6d. Poultry (at per pair); liens, 3s. 6d., 45., 4a. 3d.. 4s. 6d.; cockerels and roosters, 3s. 9d„ 4s. 3d., ss. 3d., to 65.; turkey gobblers, 9s. 6d. each. .Sheep pups, 2s. to ss. Sturmer apples, 6s. to 7S. per case; carrots, 3s. 6d. per sack; cabbages, 65.; bran, 65.; pollard, 13s. 6d. NORTH OTAGO MARKETS. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) Oamaru, September 1. Although little business lias been dono there is a better tone in the wheat market, and prices are slightly higher. There is not much offering, however, farmers being busy making up for loss of time by the wet weather, and, further, there is no keen desire to sell. The only two sales made have been lots of velvet at 3s. 6d. net-, delivered in .Oamaru. What little business has been done in oats has been at Is. lid. and Is. lljd. for A grade Cartons, net at country stations, and B grade at Is. lid. net cx store. Oaten sheaf chaff sells at 2s. lOd. net on trucks. Potatoes have gone up to .€8 net at country stations, hut at that figure little business has been done.' there being no eagerness to buy. Freshly nicked over lots have been taken at £7 15s. and £8 net at country stations, and £7 15s. was given for a large line in old sacks without picking over. A largo lot has hcon sold for September shipment to Sydney, and an effort is being mado to induce the Union Company to send a steamer earlier than was first intended. It is s.-tfd'that 10.0C0 sacks are awaiting shipment. About 46,000 sacks of potatoes will then have been shipped direct from Oamaru to Australia.

FBOZEN MEAT. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantilo Agency Company, Limited, and Reduced, have received the following cablegram from their London house. under dr.to August. 30:—Tho market shows increased firmness for mutton, is steadier for lamb, and there is a fair inquiry for beef. LONDON MARKETS. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (liec. September 1, 5.5 p.m.) London, August 31. Tin.—On spot, £218 per ton; threo months, £216 15a. Tile rice is owing to fears of a prospective scarcity. Copra is active. South sea, in bat's, £24. 12s. 6d. per ton. Cotton.—August and September shipmonts,, 6.14} d. per lb. • . Hemp.—October and December shipments. £27 15s. Jute—September shipment, £22 12s. 6d. Rubber, ss. ljd. per lb. Lemay's estimate that the English hop crop will not exceed 3CO,OOOcwt„ which figure will bo seriously reduced if rain continues.