COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1819, 4 August 1913, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. A salo of Sharlaml's preference shares at 21s. 6d. was tho only transaction recorded on Saturday. The quotations wero as under:— 1 Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. J; s. d. Bank Now Zealand 10 3 6 — National Bank 5 10 — Union Bauik (£10) — 1517 6 N.Z. Loan and Merc 0 10 4 — N.Z. and lliver Plate 2 0 0 — Wolltnuton Investment ... — 0 11 8 Well. lVust and Loan 7 10 — .Wt/lliTWlon. Gas (£10) 15 15 0 — Well. Gog (preference) .... — 10 0 National Insuiranco 2 6 3 — S.B. Insurance 3 14 9 — Ohristc.hurch .Meet 15 3 6 — Gear Meat (£4) 12 8 0 - Gear Jleat (£1) .3 4 0 — Meat Export (525. 6d.) 3 2 6 S 7 6 N.Z. Shipping 15 15 0 - Union Steam 2 2 6 — Well. Woollen (ord.) 3 13 0 — Golden Bay Cement — 1 0 0 JfenninK and Co. 4 3 6 — Sharland's preference 113 119 Ward and Co 5 3 0 — W.F.C.A. ' (£5) - 7 2 0 W.F.O.A. (£1) 18 3 UNITED STATES CltfiltENCT. President Wilson has promised to eubmit to Congress legislation dealing with the currency of the country. In his Mestxigo to Congress, wihich he read in person, ho urged that the legislation was necessary to supplement the new tariff system and to place tho business of tho nation upon a sure economic footing. Business men, he argued l , wore about to acquire now freedom, and must not bo left without tools for acting when they were free. "Wo ar<» about to sot them free by removing tho trammels of a protective tariff," said the President. "There will follo\v_a_poriod of expansion and new enterprises freshly conceived. It is for us to determine now whether it shall have a rapid, faoile and easy accomplishment. No man, however casual or superficial. can fail to see 'that one of the chief tilings which business needs now is a proper means whereby readily to vitalise its credit. corporate and' individual, and its oricinative brains. The tyrannies of business, biV and little, lie l in the field or credit. If a man cannot in alee his aesots available at pleasure, his -nesota of capacity and resource, what satisfaction is it to him to «se opportunity beckoning to him on every hand when others have the keys of credit in/ their pockets and treat theai as all but tlietr own private possession. It is perfectly dear that it is our duty to supply a now banking and currency system. Our banking laws must mobility our roservos and must not permit the' concentration anywhere in a few. hands of the monetary resources of. tho coumtry or their u«o for speculative purposes v ln such volume as to hinder, impede or stand in the way of other moro legitimate and more fruitful uses. And the control of the system, of banking and ■belie must be vested in tho Government tedlf so that the banks may be the instruments and not the mastera of business and individual enterprise and initiative."

THE KINiEMA GRAZE. Moving pictures have taken a grail hold upon the peoples everywhere, and in Great Britain as elsewhere the company promoter is experiencing quite a boom time. During May, 59 picture enterprises were reentered with a combined capital of £294,700, giving an average of just on £5000 per company. The registrations for tho flvo months to the end of May this year totalled 232, the various, companies having a capital of £229,500. The list of individual concerns shows an increasing tendency on tho part of proprietors to duplicate' enterprises in towns already well provided, and to start fresh ventures in districts that would appear -to be much too funall to support picture theatres oven of a very , primitive character.

THE AUSTRALIAN REGISTER. 'The vessels on tho Australian Register on December 31, 1912, consisted of:— 1034 steamers 302.373 133 steam dredges and tups 8,615 1193 sailing vessels 63.311 115 sailers with auxiliary power 2,<07 276 barges, hullte, etc 63,065 2751 439,776 Plus 46 vessels and 622 -tons registered at Port Darwin in 1911. To the. above total Virt-nrin. contributed 422 vessels and 163,199 tons; New South Wales, 1119 vessels and 141.C03 tons; South Australia. 289 vessels and 65,455 tons; West Australia, 336 vessels and 28,209 tons; Queensland. 315 vessels and 24,267 tons, and Tasmania. 220 vessels, and 17,0-13 tone. • Tho Australian average tonnage per vessel is 160 tons, tho State average being 337 tons in Victoria, 226 tons in South Australia, 126 tons in New South Wales, 77 tons in Queensland and Tasmania, and 75 tons in West Australia, ■ CUSTOMS. . Customs duties collected at tho nort of Wellington- on Saturday totalled £1516 9s. 3d. tho amount for the week bolntr £12,539 193 . 9d. Tho returns for oacli of the past eight woclte. compared with tho figures for the corresponding period of Iho previous year, show as undor:— 1913. 1912. £ £ June 14 21.390 10,971 .Tunc 21 10.829 21,732 •Time 20 20,4-12 12,150 July 6 9,614 10,382 July 12 22.236 22,931 July 19 13,709 9 067 July 26 21,928 . 11.29 a August 2 12,5W 12,348 £132,688 £110,073 The l-fr duty collected fur the past w<-i>k was £209, as ngainst £270 ss. 9d. for tho corrKJDOiwliug week of year. NOTES. In the making of 29.725.937 tons of ni"irou last year, tho United States n s "~d 59.975,000 tons of ore. 35.721,127 tons of coke. 120.816 tons of coal, and 15.092,166 tons of limes'tone. Canada, in 1912 made 912.878 tons of nleirou, a-3 compared with 824.363 tons in 1911,

witli 319.557 tons in 1902, and with 44,791 tons in 1894. Tho railways of tho Untied Kingdom did not do well last. year, lnreclv owing to tlio strikes in tlio first half. The gross earnings increased about £1,368,000, hut the working expenditure increased as .much as £2,356,000; and there was occasionally-a drop in tho net profits of £1,188.000. . The passenger traflle was less, and the mineral traffic was smaller, but merchandise, increased. A considerable drop was indicated in tho train mileage. The net indebtedness of Australia on June 30, 1912, was £271,422.238. equal to £58 10s. per head. In the previous year tlio amount ntood at £261,694,904, and in 1903 it was £220,839,598. In Canada tho -telephone!; ore controlled by private enterprise, as is also tho cave in tho United Slates, and was so till quite recently in the United Kincdom. It in intercGtinsr. therefore, to get at the facta regarding tho Canadian system. These .ire available from the last report of tlio Comptroller of Statistics. He shows that tho aggregate capital involved is '46.276,851 dollars, an increase of 6.232,869 dollars over last'year. Tho capital is equal to 124.75 dollars '(nearly £25) per 'phone. Tho cost, of real property Is placed at 56,875.799 dollars. Quoboo heading the list with 27,480.69 dollars. This is duo particularly to the Bell Telephone Company being credited to Quebec. the head office being in Montreal, though its linea aro nil over tho country. Gross earnings of all companies iu the year wero 12.273.620 dollars, operating expenses 9,094,688 dollars, and net earnings 3,178,987 dollars. Tho operating expenses were 74 per cent, of tho gross. A total of 370.884 telephones are in U6O in Canada, oqual to one Jpliono for every eight of population. Employees numbered 12.873. and salaries last year totalled' 2,659,641 dollars.

1 GOLD AJJD SILVER. SEVEX MONTHS' ffiETTTRNS. Tho following issued by tho Mines Department, shows tho quantity and yaluo of gold and silver exported from Now Zoaiand during tho months of July, 1912 end 1913, and for tho first seven months of thoss years FOE juijy, 1913. GOLD. Oz. £ Auckland 25,817 96,684 Wellington' 16 64 Ne'soni 164 736 Greymoutll 3,475 13,793 Dunotlin 8,660 35,268 Invercargill 1,951 7,774 Total 40,103 154,319 July, 1912 38,567 149,318 Inuroa.se for July, 1913, 15360z.; £50,001. 6ILVKK. Oz. £ July. 1913 107,909 11,984 July, 1912 : 65,889 7.311 Increase, 1913 42,020 4,678 SEVEM MONTHS. • Oz. £ Gold' (1913) 210,385 826,614 Gold (1912) ,157,848 933.9E6 Decrease (1913) 27,463 107,372 Silver (1913) 605,939 63,788 Silver (1912) 593,300 61,841 Increase (1913) 7,639 1,947 FEILDING MARKETS. Messrs. A. IT. Atlrincon and Co., Ltd., Foil-din*, -report largo all round entries on Friday. Tho firm sold cows to early profit at £9 10s„ £8 10s., £8; backward sorts, ■ £6; eiglrtcen-iiiontli heifer, £2 12s. 6d. ; wcanor heifers, £1 18s. 6d.; saddles, £1 2s. 6d. to £3 10s.; weanar pigs, 10s. 6d„ lis.; slips, 16s. 6d.. 175., 18s.; stores, 170., £1, £1 is., £1 2<".; porkers, £1 lis. 6d. Poultry, per pair: Her,is, 3s. 3d., 45., 4s. 6d.; cockerels and roosters, 4s„ 45.-3d., 4s. 9d., &?. 6d„ 6s. 6d.; ducks, 4s. to 4s. 6d.; turkeys, te. to 16s. Potatoes, 7s. to 9s. 6d. sack; pig potatoes. lis. 6d. to 2s. 6d.; seed Dates (southern), 12s. cwt.; Early Hose, 12s. 6d.; British Queen, 125.; gooseberry trees, 4s. per doz.; swedes. 3s. saok; carrots, 4s. i dessert applea, ss. half-caee, 10s. case; on. ions, ,10s. to 13s. cwt.; chaff, £4 12s. 6d. ton ; oats, is. 3d. to 3s. 6d. bushel; pressed hay, £4 153. ton; fytraw, £3; carrots, ss. ton.

SOUTHERN JtABKETS. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) Oamaru, August 3. The improvement in tbe domand for wheat noted last week continues, owing to millers coming on t.ho market, and about the Kiimo level of nricos is maintained, viz., 3s. Hid. net and 4s. to <3. OJd., loss. commission. Red Tuscan, 3s. sd. net; solid straw, 3s. 6d. and &: 7d„ ices commission: and lied Chaff, is. Bid. net for extra Ko'od samples. There is not any domand for oaits. and tho few lots that lmvo changed hands have been on the basis of 2s. to 2s. 2d. for "A" grade, and "B" grade a penny less. A little business lias been dona on oatshaaf chaff at £3 IDs. net delivered in town. Potatoes still dirag, and' tho outlook i 3 no bettor, but holders «till Ecem inclined to place some faith in the future, and d» not caro to accept current prices. Duritte tho wool: some purchases . woro made at £2 15g„ and £2 170. 6d. net on tracks. At tihcso prices it is liard to effect eales owing to tho absenco of orders, and merchants do not caro to so beyond £2 ICs. not.

LONDON MARKETS. Messrs. Dalgot.y and Co., Ltd., Wellington, have received eablo advice from their London. office, d<utocl July 31, 1913:—"Urozen Meat— Denramd is sustained, but sales are being forced. Prices aire id. to id. per lb. lower for lamb. For beef, hindquarters are lower by id., foro-qua.rtors are unchanged. Tallow.—Mutton: Good to prime, par to 3d. cwt. higher; miied good to prime, 6d. to 9d. per cwt. higher; low and inferior descriptions, 3d. to 6d. per cwt.. hinher. Beef tallow—Market ia neglected."

FROZEN MEAT. . By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Rec. August 3, 6.5 p.m.) London, August 2. The Incorporated Society of Meat Importers' Smitlifleld market Quotations for tho undermentioned classes of frozen meat aro based oil actual sales of not loss than one hundred carcasses of mutton or lamb, or twenty-fire quarters of beef of fair average duality The quotations are not for selected lines, but for parcels fairly representative of tho bulk of tho shipments now on the market. Tho prices which follow aro on tho average a farthing per lb. more than the values ex ship, this difference representing tho average cost in expense, handling, conveyance, and selling the meat:— July 26. Aug. 2 Mutton— d. d. Cantonburyi light 4 5-16 4i Canterbury., medium ... 45-16 45 Canterbury, heavy ; 41-16 4 Southland * • . North Island, best 4i 41 North Island, ordinary 4 3-16 41-16 Australian, light 35 38 Australian, heavy — • River Plate, light 41-16 . * River Plate, heavy 4!- 315-16 New Zealand owes 33 35 i 1 Australian owes 33 * River Plate ewes 311-16 33 Lamb— Canterbury, light, 63 53 Canterbury, medium 53-16 51-16 Canterbury, heavy 413-16 '3 Southland 55-16 Sj North Island, ordinary .. 65-16 5J North Island, selected ... 53-8 63-16 ' Australian, best • " Australian, fair * • Australian, inferior " • Diver Plato, first • • River Plate, second • * BeefNew Zealand', ox foroa ... 31 31-16 Now Zealand, ox hinds .. 41- 4 Australian; ox fores 3 V 3 1-16 Australian, ox hinds 35 35 River Plate, frozen fores 3 3 River Plate, frozen hinds 4ft ■- 4 Ilivcr Ptott, chilled fores 3i 5 River Plate, chillcd hinds 5 45 •None offering. Rabbits.— I There Is nothing doinir in. spot supplies. and buyers aro disinclined to deal in' futures at rates asked, namely, 17s. 6d. to 135., c.i.f. KAURI GUM. London, August 1. At 4ihe kauri gum salos twon:t.v-nine packages wore offered, but bought in. ■WHEAT IN 1913. (Sydney "Sun."—Special.—Aug. 2. 6.20 p.m.) Berlin, August 2. Tito German jonrnal "Dornbuseh" publisher a preliminary estimate of tho world's wheat crop for 1913. There are indication.?. it ptata?. that the crop will lie the largest production on record, and will r«ich a total of 511,2(10,COO quarters, including Australia's oontribotion of 11.100.0C'0.