COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1809, 23 July 1913, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. There were no transactions in investment shares, .yesterday. Tho quotations werb aa' under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ s. d. Bank of New Zealand ... — 10 17 6 Metropolitan Building ... — 12 7 6 N.Z. Loan, Mercantile 010 4 — N.Z. and River Plate 2 0 0 — Well. Investment 0 11 10 0 12 0 Well. Trust and Loan ... 7 1 0 — Well. Deposit 0 6 0 — Well. .Gas (£10) 16 4 0 - Christchurch Meat 15 3 6 — Gear Meat (£4) 12 7 6 — ' Gear Meat (£1) ' 3 4 0.. Meat Export (£4) — 5 0 0 Meat Export (525. 6d.) 3 0 0' — Hiktirangi Coal — 015 0 Westport Coal 17 6 Golden Bay Cement ...... — 10 0 Sharlond's preference ... — 119 W.F.C.A. (£5) :. - 7 3 6 W.F.C.A. (£1) - 10 3 CANADIAN BORROWING. The rapidity with which Canada has increased her indebtedness of late years has excited unfavourable comment in London' financial circles. According to: calculations made by the president of hte Dominion Securities' Corporation. Ltd., in 1912. no less than .£54,600,000 in new capital was demanded by Canadian "public service" and other joint-stock corporations. Of this total £41,000,000 is credited to the.United Kingdom, £6,200,000 to the United States, and £7,600,000. was found locally. In this sum land issues never oublioly made in London are included, while share issues, like that of £3,600,000 by the CanadianPacific, are omitted. However reckoned, it i 3 evident that British capital is beine sucked into Oanadian enterprises at a Bpeed which has hitherto invariably led to a crisis. It js ostimated by reliable authorities. states a -Montreal journal, that the Canadian banks Me to-day carryEnc: no less than £20.M0.K0 of loans to Oanadian municipalities; This enormous sum, which is over one-ninth of the current loans of the chartered banks of Canada, is bo.imr steadily incre^ every month, for v:hilo a few sales have been made since January to English and American investors, it is believed that a larger amount than has been sold had been drawn from the bainke by the municipalities, which could not or would not make an issue of long-term' debentures. but had to finance urgent public works. The simple fact is that the amount of bonds sold in recent months has been less instead of more than the amount of capital expenditure incurred by the munipali'ties in the same period. This state of affairs may be an important factor in the future, when the banks are called upon to ftnanco the crors. Tho authority mentioned gays the £20.000X00 will during this summer be increased by heavy expenditures on public works, and a considerable unloading on the English market will be reauisitc. If this should prove to be the caee. the Enli'sh investor will want still more attractive terms than in the past, for otherwise it is difficult to see how a large amount of new borrowing by Canadian municipalities could be effected.

IMPORTS INTO HEYT. ZEALAND. . - The aggregate values of the imports into New Zealand under the classified heads during the past two years are compared in the table appended:— 1912. 1911. Food, animal 141,858 134,1/2 Food, : vegetable ...1,696,132 1,539,678 Beverages 0......... 946,361 869,728 Miscel., ccrasumn- ' tion ; 1.867.449 1,678,567 Soft goods 4,574,624 4,475,905 Metals and metal goods 4,302.758 3,857,085 Jliscel., manufac- , tures • 4.665/57 4,148,710 • Bublic works. 286,730 227.355 liaw materials ...... 1,647,530 " 1,465,199 . Parcels post 435.594 374,294 20.564.493' 18,770.691 Coin 399.995 763,271 11 churned N.Z. produce 12,086 11,917 20,976,574 19,545,879

TRADE IN ALLEN STREET. Fruit.—Only a moderate consignment is coming by this week's steamer front Hvdney. and the shipment • comprises pineapples, mardarines, Sgyille oranges, sweet oranges, passion fruit, and lemons. Thero will be no steamer from .Sydney next week, conseouently retailers must this week secure supplies to carry them over a fortnight. .The fruit which came to liund by the Moan.i last week opened up mostly im srood. order, and bananas realised extreme rates, and excellent rates also ruled for oranges. Some nice sainDles of Sturmer and other varieties of dessert apples are comine from the Motueka district, and. are realising satisfactory rates. ■ There is an excellent demand for first-class cookinc apples, whilst Epps's seedlings'are -somewhat. neulectcd.. Dotiehort.vs are arriving almost daily from Port Albert, and are selling extremely well. Bv last Friday a f-.team-er from Melbourne and Eobart the first shipment of Tasmanian apples and pears reached Wellington, and thare. wero some ! mice samples of Scarlet Pearmain and Itus* 1 set- apples, and Winter Nelis, Josephine, and Winter Cote pears. Vegetables.—Exceptionally lorire supplies of cauliflowers raine to hand yesterday, and the values eased, but a recovery almost immediately is expccted. Cabbages have also come in more frcelv. ami prices havo declined somewhat. There is * itron«; de* i maud for pumpkins and marrows in sound

condition, and choice white celery and wellgromi a.re also wanted. Carrots are in over-supply, and parsnips meet with the upual demand. Potatoes.—Tho market continues weak. Good sound table potatoes are quoted at £4 15s. to £5 SS. per ton: seed potatoes are Ecllinc freely, Up-to-date, ot £5 ss. to £5 103. ner.ton: Northern Star. £5 10a. to £5 lfe.; British Queen. £6 10s.: Gamekecucr. £5 15s. to £6 55.: Beauty of Hebron and Early Rose, £8 ss. to £8 10s.: Kidneys. £9 10s., and Early Vermont. £7. Onions.—The first of the Japanese onions packed in crates is due this week. Vic-torian-crown are plentiful, and are oiTerinc at £9 to £10 per ton. according to samDle. Flour is with chanee. and is quoted at £9 f.o.b. south, lets the usual discount. Bran continues in heavy supply, and the current quotations is £5 to £5 ss. per ton. Pollard rules at £6 10s. to £7 per ton. Maize meets with vcrv little demand at ss. and ss. 2d. per bushel: Itolled Oats—Thistle brand, in fljlb. bags, is selling at IDs. per dozen. Oatmeal, best brands, in 251b. bags. £15 per ton. Oats—Tho market is lifeless. Short feci. 2s. lid. to 3s. per bushel: feed Alfferiatn. 2s. Sd. to 2s. lid.; seed Aleerian. 3s. to 3s. 3d.: heavy run oats, 3s. to 3.?. Id.; discoloured and fioft. 2s. 6d. to 2s. 7d. Hay—There is very little demand for second duality; for prime rye and clover, hand-pressed, the Quotations is £5 103. to £5 15s. per ton. Chaff.—Supplies are increasing, and some really Rood samples are coming forward. Prime quality is quoted at £5 ss. to £5 10s. per ton, sacks in. Fowls' Wheat.—Excellent business is beiner done ou the basis of 4s. 4d. to 4s. 6d. per bushel. EKfrs.—Fresh, l<s. 7d. to Is. Bd. per dozen: preserved, Is. sd. Butter.—Primo milled, in bulk, is nuotcd at Is. per lb., and irood duality at lid. Partridge Peas,—Gond samples are realising 4s. to 6d. a bushel.

Prussian blue peas have very little inquiry at ss. 3d. to 53. 6d. ner bushel. Feed barley is slow at 3s. to 3s. Id. Cape barley is extremely dull of sale at 3s. 3d-, per bush.el. Poultry.—Hens, 3s.' to 4s. 6d. a pair: ss. to fa. for heavy birds: cockerels, 43. to 6?.: stajjs, 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d'.: ducks, Pekin and Aylesbury. 53. to 7s. :Indian runners. 4s. 6d. to ss. There is a srood demamd for livo ducks. Turkey cobblers, Is. por lb. live-weight; hens, 9d. to lCd. Customs duties collected at the part of Wellington yesterday amounted to £4569 19s. 3d. SOUTHERN MARKETS.

(Br Tfllssra ph.—Press Association.) Chrlstcliurch, July 22. Though more business ha-s been done lately 111 -wheat In South Canterbury and North Otago', the local market Will remains in a quiet condition »There nre neither buyers nor sellers In the market at oresent. There seems to be #Ary little hoDC of cheaper freights to the United Kingdom for j?rnin this season, the present rates being 355. per ton for wheat and 40s. per ton for. oats. Now that the frozen .meat and 'dairy produce season is practically oyer, steamers are betne sent across to Australia to load for Home ports, and while freight is obtainable there, prospects of any reduction in rates from New Zealand aro not verv promising. At any rate, freights would have to come down consider ably to allow business beine done with the United Kingdom on the ba-pis of the prices ruling here for grain. There is practtcallv no demand locnlly for either oats or wheat, except it may be seed lots for spring sowinc. Favourable weather durintr the antumn and early winter has enabled farmers to sow their wheat, and probn oly" the amount of spring wheat nut in wil l be considerably less than last year. A demand is settine in for grass and clover soed for tiie coming season's sowings. The potato market is ©till very dull, and rales have been made as low as &Z 12s. 6d. at countrv stations, though the general price is £2 15». There are, however, few buyers or sellers.

BANK OF VICTORIA. . By Telegraph—Press Association' -Conyrieht Melbourne, July 22. The half-yearly Teport of the Bank of Victoria provides for a dividend of 6 nor centum, the addinsr of £15.000 to the reserve. and the carrying forward of ..20.483. BEET SUGAR. London, July 21. Herr F. 0. Licht, sutrar expert, of Magde-burg,-in his monthly circuJsr, states that .the production of heet surar in Europe show.? an increase of 2,544.000 ton*. He estimates that for the campaign thero will be a total surplus of 2.D26.CC0 tons. WHEAT. (Eec. July 22. 11.11 p.m.) London, July 22. The Theat market ie steady, and prices aro unchanged. There is no active demand. SILVER. ' London, July 21. Bar silver is quoted at' 27 l-16d. per ounce standard.