AUCTION SALES

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 2, 28 September 1920, Page 8

AUCTION SALES

FORTHCOMING FIXTURES. I TO-DAY. 51 Manners Street, Wellington, 10.30 a.m. —Sale of office- furniture (Whca-iley and Co.). Main Road, Karori, 10.30 a.m.-Furniture sale (Johnston and Co.). 48 Devon Street, Wellington, 10.30 a.mFurnituro sale (Vine and Wilson). Alartiiibormigli*Yards, 12.30 p.m.—Stock sale (Dalgety and Co.). Dominion Avenue, Wellington, 2 p.m.— Furniture sale (Vine and Wilson). 105 Customhouse Quay, 2.30 p.m.—Property sale (Nathan and Co.). Tirau Yards—Salo of stock, tic. (Farmers' Co-op. Auction Co.). TO-MORROW. 26 Stoke Street, Newtown, 12.30 p.m.— Furniture salo (Johnston and Co.). . Dannevirke Yards, 1 p.m.—Sale of pedigree bulls (Wairarnpa Farmers'). Feathersfon Street, Wellington, 2.30 p.m. —Property sale (Bethune and Co.). Cashcl Street, Cliris-tchnrch.—Property sale (Jones, M'Crostie and Co.). Waikauae Yards.—Stock sale. THURSDAY. Kaitoke, 1 p.m.—Stock salo (Wairarapa Farmers'). Customhouse Quay, Wellington, 2.30 p.m. —Property sale (McNeill and Co.). 137 Lambton Quay, Wellington, 2.30 p.m. —Property sale (Hodgkins, Carver and Co.). YORKSHIRE LETTER HOME TRADE HOLDS LARGE STOCKS (From Our Special Correspondent.) Bradford, July 22. The "O" series of colonial sales finished last week. One feels that they have not been entirely a failure, although barely half tho offerings have Icon actually sold. Never in the experience of the writer, which extends over thirty years' actual attendance at the London sales, has nnv series been witnessed when less than half the offerings have Men sold—not even in the slumps of 1890-1900 and 1908. At that time buyers were prepared to purchase at lower limits, but at tho last two series the actual purchases have signalised not only a slump, but selling brokers have been unable to command bids on very many lots. One remembers quite well tho December London sales, 1914, when excellent combing wool in the grease was procurable at lOd. per Tb. Even then, in face of a fifty times worse outlook than obtains to-day, wool could be sold, but to-day the majority of buyers have enough woo at home, and they prefer to wait and see wliat is going to be the outcome ot the present serious condition of affairs before increasing their obligations. One can understand the attitude of tho Homo trade because of the tremendous stocks of wool which everybody appears to have, there hem? in Bradford to-day no less than 50,000,000 to 90,000.00011). of mannings ready for going through the combs.

This is n big weight of wool, bom-Mat the highest point of the rise, and with such a serious fall in values, u js on y natural for tepmnkers an<l spinners to use up their present stocks before buying again. ■ „ , The Antwerp Sale. An offering of 10,110 Mes of colonial wool was made last week-end at Antwerp; only 3300 bales were sold. Ihe auctioneers report that the attendance was the smallest of any since the commencement of the Goycrnnipnt Bfllo at Antwerp, anil lliey attribute this to financial stringency. Valuing wools on a combing basis with oil, first cost clean Antwerp, the folk-wing indicates how

prices ruled:— Merinos, averasc GO-64's fleeces 75(1. Defective, Go4l's fleeces <« • Average, GO-Gi's pieces «. Defective average. 60-Gt's pieces GO-Goi. Very defective, short pieces ... 50-oad. To find good overage merino fleeces selling on a clean basis of lod. cie.uij indicates a fairly cheap market. U<* March these wools were selling on a clean basis of at least J2sd..hencei the decline lias been considerable-. It Js patent that good average bis tops can bo made out of Antwerp-bought wool St Bs. Gd., possibly 3.1. to Od. less , one is prepared to use defec ive iloecte fw good pieces. But these do not give*, good spinning value as good, shaft), sound, merino ileeco wools, and these sold bV far the best at the recent sales. Thro are those who beliete that the demand for this woo lis gong to remain good, so much so tl at these are not going to show much turthei lull. U the last auctions in London there were Brms prepared to buy far mow "per Ge - long fleeces without regard to mil if sucii wool had been catalogued but in ™ not there hence the fairly big prices that wre %M for good Tastnaman, fleeces and the wools grown in the *m Engtand d* trict of New South Wales, ihese aio essentially the best, and realsed exceedir.gly good prices. The Recovery in Fine Crossbreds,

A very significant feature of "the recent auttaswas the recoveryby- M P cent, of fine crossbred*, a fact hat smarted a good many. It is not altogether clear why these should have unproved, Sit we think it is largely due to spinal purchases with the ob]ect of cheapciuig English Down wools. It was not Bradford tdpmake-s who bought 56s to s{ b»t woollen manufacturers from the West Hiding and Scotland. .am l one feels that they were purchasing- with a view of blending for the production ot good Cheviot tweeds. , One has only to seo tho tremendous prices being paid ioi English Downs lo realise .that tjhey «"> fiellins far -beyond their intnns.c value, hence to cheapen these there was a very .-cod demand for fine crossbreds m London, a call that exceeded all expectations. Bradford buyers fe'.t that *ey had no need to join in the fray taa« there ', enough fine crossbred wool in sight lo Bafisfy all prospective fHSnDown wools will give a full bundling fabrc but the judicious use of colonial fine crossbreds will impart a soit handle, llhus combing two excellent properties. Th« Position Among Manufacturers. The general decline in tho price of raw material outlined above cannot in itself bo regarded as an untoward event. It has teen felt for quite a long- time tlin.l values had reached high-water mark, and that if they could be judicious y brought to a lower level the whole trade would benefit. It is a. fact, howtxtr 41mt tho decline is being nccomTMiiied bv circumstances which do not orbode any real good for the taado as a ivhole. It w:'ill be remembered that a short time ago considerable dissatisfaction was created by the cancellation ot orders by clients in Japan and across tMe Atlantic Obvtoiisly these cancellations „erc tho outcome of a desire to evade the ill consequences which seeniecMiKely to follow tho new turn of events in the nricD of the raw ma-fertol. this, of course having some bearing on the price, of partly and fully manufactured goods. The fact that, though the raw material has become cheaper, there is still a considerable quantity of dear stuff which has noil vet found it's way to the ultimate consumer is very difficult, to impress upon tho minds of some of those w;ho nays ac'ftated for a lower scale of prices- On tho other hand there are also those who apparently have not realised tho significance of 'the decline in wool, and who aro of opinion that the.recent boom had come to stay. If there had been no one who regarded i*o situation ;n this light the new demands made on behalf of textile operatives would not have been brought forward. At the beginning of Juno the workers received a 10 per cent, advanco in wages. This was followed by another 10 per cent, advance, at the beuinning of Julv, in face of which the ream) demand for a 40 per cent, advance to couio into force at tho beginning of Au'tist, is « serous blow to the wliolo 0 f the industry. Tho 263 per cent, advance offered by the masters is -regarded bv the trade as being quite as much m can Ik> conceded, bull at the time of writing the ballots taken are unanimously 4a • favour of the offer being refused. If orders were- still coming freoly and there .was every prospect of n continu-

mice of good trade, the new demand .vould probably have raised l.ttlo opposition, but "u-day now business is almost absent. Orders arc -still being cancelled, niid unless the outlook changes very quickly machinery will be standing.