COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1934, 17 December 1913, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT' SHARES. [ A salo'oi Wellington Trust and Loan H at. £7 6s. was tho only transaction in in--3 vestment shares recorded yesterday. The quotations were as under:— . Buyers. Sellers i £ J. (I. £ s. d. j Bank New Zealand 10 19 0 — 1 National Hank ..' 5 16 6 — 3 Well. Investment 0 10 9 — i Well. Trust .and Loa.n ... 7 5 6 J 9 0 < Well. Gas (preference) ... 0 19 0 — t Gear Meat 13 10 0 - J Gear Meat (£1) 3 10 0 - j Well. Woollen (ordinary) — 4 2 0 t Westport-Stockton (0rd.)... - 0 4 0 » Westport-Stockton (pref.) - 0 9 0 ' 0. M. Hanks, Ltd - 13 9 & N.'/.. Con. Dental 110 j Wbucombo and Tombs ... — 7 0 0 | COST OF SHIPS' SPKFjD. I In the James 'Forrest lecture before the J Institution of Civil Engineers recently, Mr. fi Alexonder Cracic give .-nine flEiivp-, which J illustrate how costly speed is in ship". I Taking a. lin-.r 6EO fee* long a-- tho basi*. 1 thi", ~hipwill carry '.".000 tons of cargo »5 and burn J'.OO ton;, of ccal in crn=;irjs the

Atlantic if designed to do 16 knots. On tho other hand, if the designed speed 1.0 increased to 22 knots, tho coal consumption ri-e3 to 3500 tons and tho cargo falls to 3CCO tons. Moreover, the first, cost of the faster vessel v.-ill be 25 per cent, more than of the slower ship. Speaking roughly, it would apparently cost about half ae much again per trip to rim her. Honw extra, revenue would bo derived from tho passengers but. tho cargo would fall to onequartet'. Thcso figures nre a. sufficient explanation of tho popularity of the 1.&knot ship with large Atlantic steamship firms. Moreover if pas.songcvs only knew it. the slower chip is far more comfortable than the flyer, especially in bad weather. Mr. Gracio did not supply figures for the carjo-carrying capacity of express boats like the Mauretania, but it is obviously ]oi», and the coal, consumption very hich—about 5000 tons per trip. On longer voyages than the North Atlantic passage the fuel item becomes even more important, mid lower speeds urc nccr.isary, especially as tho freight and passenger markets necessitato smaller ships* in which the ratio of horse-power to tonnage for a given speed is greater than in tho larger ships of tho Atlantic. Cross-channel steamers, although small, can attain high specib because they need carry no car»o. WOOL FOft THE UNITED STATES. An American authority, discussing tho probable demand in the United States for Australian and New Zealand wool now that the tariff barrier has been removed, says that anyone in close touch with the United States textile trade knows that Australian and Now Zealand wools arc appreciated by its spinners and manufacturers. It is quite in order to say that the bulk of the wools now grown in the United States are. cither of merino origin or direct crosses from this breed of sheep. Probably 75 per cent, of the sheep depastured to-day in the States are either puro merinos or their descendants. Consequently fairly big weights of both dossbreds and English wools will be required in addition to tho puro merinos of Australia. No doubt some good merino wool Is being produced in the United States, but tho proportion of really high grade domestic wool is not great, and consequently considerable quantities of Australian merinos are certain ■to be wanted. Those wools are of mAterifll ncsistnneo in STvmnin? and work-

materia! assistance in spuming ana wonting up American domestic wools, for every user kno'ws that Australian and Now Zealand wool improve as they are put through tho different processefi.. and in the finished piece appear better than any other wools in the world. One is not stigmatising South American wools, hut it is often a fact that these depreciate'as they near the finished article. This fact is well known to American manufacturers, and for blendins with their own domestic wools, Australasian merinos of the same nuality are exactly what they need. For months the prices of United States grown wools have he3ii to the level of imported wools, consequently foreign wools offer to-day hardly and inducements except that which arises from the better manufacturing properties which they possess, and after all this ie considerable. CHEAPER WIRELESS MESSAGES. Iu nasiy to its representations for the reduction of tho ship station portion of radiotelegram charges, the Sydney Chamber' of Commerce has received a communication from the - Amalgamated Wireless fAustralasia), Ltd., to tho general, effect that the company is favourably inclined to making; a. reduction for ships trading between ports separated by comparatively short distances, such as' those engaged in the Australian inter-State trade. As a result of suggestions recently made by tho Now Zealand Government, the company has agreed to reduce the charges by one-half for nil ships trading exclusively between sports in Australia and Now Zealand, and on the New Zealand coad, so long as they are iu communication with Now Zealand coast stations. This arrangement will be on trial for a, period of six months, and should it prove satisfactory the company will approach the Federal Government, on tho question of making similar reductions in Australia. The writers point out further that it is very desirable to have such o, trial period, and . thus obtain came conclusive data, before making a general reduction. In assuring the Chamber that its retiuest will receive earnest consideration, the company ask that tho matter bo left in abeyance until tho result of tho trial is known. In regard to oversea ships, it is pointed out that the wireless stations on board arc operated and controlled by aseociated companies, in Great Britain. America, and Europe, and the Question of reducing rates for such ships whale in Australian waters has td' bo considered in conjunction with the general policy in other parts of tho world. At tho present timo lower charges arc made for short-distanco radiotclegrams, but for long distances tho rates are the same as those in force on, this side of the world. The council of tho Chamber decided to await the result of the New Zealand trial. In regard to oversea, ship station rates, the company was asked to forward a copy of the president's letter to tho Marconi Company in London. CUSTOMS REVENUE. Customs duties collected at the port, of S. sl ston l xstcr(ia s" amounted to £3242 TRADE IN ALLEN STREET. There is promise of an abundance of fruit for tho Christmas trade, and business is becoming very active at the fruit markets. Tho Wairuna, from Fi.ii, is due to-morrow with shipments of bananas for Wellington, Christclrurch, and Dunedin. Oiliforaian apple? and oranges are in plentiful supply just now, but no further shipments of California!! apples will be coming forward this season. Supplies of fruit from tho . Nelson district arc increasing daily, and consignment*; of peaches, apricots, blackberries, black and red currants, cherries, and tomatoes are coming forward. Hawke's Bay is now sending regular consignments of peaches and apneota to this market, and Auckland is sending cucumbers, plunK, and a lew peaches. Vegetables.—Practically all vegetables' aro ruling at extremely low rates, and cabbages aro very difficult to sell. A fair domand exists for carrot 3 and parsnips, and first-class, samples of green peas meet with ready sale. Now Potatoes.—The market is being flooded with consignments from tho llanawatu, Auckland, and Butt districts, abd prices range from 4s. to ss. per cwt. Onions—Owrig to no eteaauer arriving from Australia the market id absolutely bare and first arrivals will realise extreme rates. Flour is now ruling at £9 10s. f.d.b. south, and at £11 ex stoic Wellington. Fowls' wheat has had nnotiier rise; primo whole wheat is now Quoted at 4s. 9d. to 4s. lOd. per bushel, and fair quality at 4s. 3d. Maize, meets with moderate, demand at 4s. 9d. to se. per bushel. ' Bran is in heavy supply, and is quoted at £4 7s. Gd. to £4 15s. per ton. . Pollard is in excellent domand at £6 10s. per ton. Oatmeal is ruling at £13 10s. per ton for Rolled Oats.—Thistle brand, in <*lb. hags. 10s. per dozen; Creamoata, in 41b. bags, 9s. Chall'.—Prime oaten sheaf is in rather limited supply, and is quoted at £5 15s. to £6 per tou, sacks in. Frosh eggs have good inquiry at Is. 4a. to Is. sd. tier dozen. Butter.--Prime milled, in bulk, is quolcd at Sd. to 9;d. per lb. and good quality at 8(1. Prussian blue' peas are quoted at ss. to s*. 6d. per bushel, according to quality, but aro hard to quit. • Partridge peas arc sbw of sale at 4s. td. to <?• 9'l' * bushel. Poultry is in good demand. Hens, as. to 4-. 6d. per pair; cockereli, 3s. 6d.-to 60.; rocst"rs 3s. 6d. to 45.; Indian Runner ducks, 4s. to 5:.; Pckin and Aylesbury ducks. ss. Gd. to 75.; goslings, 6s. to Bs.; turkey gobblers. Is. per lb. live weight; hens 9d. to lCd. Consignees of poultry are reoucsted to send in their lots as early 03 possible to avoid the glut which is generally iu evideuco a few days bcioro Christmas. NORTH OTAUO MARKETS. (By Telegraph.--Pross Association.) Oamaru, December 14. There V.avo been only two or three small transactions in wheal during tho week, although there Is a. strong demand from both north and south. If the grain ie in the district, farmers aro not offerinst it, possibly in anticipation of higher prices before the new wheat is available. Tho present quotations net to growers at country stations are:—Velvet, 45.; red til-can, 3s. 9d. to 3s. 9id.; solid straw tuscan'and Mnrehall's white, Js. Bd. to.3s. Bjcl. No oats are oirering from the country, and it is supposed that'there is littlo to oll'cr." The net quotations' are:—(JaTtom?. Is, lid.; B grade, Is. lOd. Fowl wheat is in good request, and catensheaf chaff is difficult to obtain. NATIONAL MUTUAL LIFE ASSOCIATION. The general manager of the National Mutual Life Association for New Zealand (.Mr. Orion Stevens) has received th<; following cablegram from Melbourne:—The forty-fourth annual report of tho National Mutual Life Association, to be presented at tho meeting on Wednesday is tho most favourable one in the history of the association. Nov/ policies were issued for nearly four millions, the now premiums amounting to £180,000. The total income for the vear i? nearly £1.500.000. Tho. total funds arc now over £8.0C0,000-n record (the chairman states) that policy-holders should be proud of. SILvr.R. By Telegraph-Pres* Association -OpyriifcV London, December 15. B.ir silver i; quoted at 15 3-6 d. per i ouncs standard.