WELLINGTON NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 7 April 1928, Page 4

WELLINGTON NEWS

THE WOOL -MARKET. (Special to “ Guardian WELLINGTON, April I. The second of '{lie series of London wool sales closed last week with prices at their highest level in recent years. This is the result of tlte general trade revival, and tlte fact that Bradford operated freely and bought more largely than even the Continent is evidence that Bradford lias abandoned the waiting policy. Wool conditions are decidedly mure buoyant. The President of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce, Mr J. R. Pollit. in a speech at the annual meeting of the Chamber, said that while lie did not desire to he termed an optimist, lie felt that 1928 would see more employment in the industry than there had been during tlte three previous years. Conditions were better

in Bradford but that did not by any means betoken employment for all the looms. The world could not afford dear wool, and growers of the raw materia!

should study the state of affairs in the large manufacturing countries. ’l'll • rapid growth of the artificial silk industry would make very serious inroads into the consumption of wool if the cost of raw material were made prohibiti:e. The latest bulletin of the British Won! Textile Delegation says that tops and yarns had naturally benefit ted and quotations had been considerably firmer. sellers being more inclined to insist on prices c-unlorming to the wool basis. There was a growing confidence in wool and in general trade conditions and while the problem of finance would he more important jit the next lew months the general soundness of the position seemed to Ho assured. Writing in respect of the Jnnunry-Fehruary London sales. Messrs H. Dawson and Co., ot Loudon, wnolbrokers, stated that many users still lelt that the price of wool had advanced too rapidly and that it had outpaced any improvement in the manufactured product. Statistical facts and the inferiority of the Buenos Ayres clip had brought about a strong position, particularly in the case of crossbreds, and had combined to create a covering demand. The problem which remained was the difficulty ol passing on to the consumer the advance in price established in the raw material. Dawson and Co. consider that a light would now have to he made by the manufacturers and the spinners to obtain an adequate remuneration for their work. The turn of the wheel lias been to favour the Bradford trade, as a recovery had occurred from the depression and stagnation of the past four or live years. THE BUTTER MARKET. Tlte latest London advices report the butter market as quiet and rather easier and it seems probable that prices will recede a little more for wo must expect to see the output from Europe begin to show on the market. Ihe price-, however, is still very salislaetorv. The abandonment of price-fixing and control of supplies by tho Now Zealand Butter Control Board is claimed to have proved beneficial to the producers of the Dominion. Not only lias the prejudice in London against tlte New Zealand prndiue disappeared, but the saner method of meeting the market has prevented an appreciable accumulation of stock. Writing on this phase of the position a leading Toolov Street firm stated that when butter factories rot eived their account sales this year and SCO the small amount of cold store expenses and other charges compared with those during the period ol control the\ cannot fail to realise nine and lor all that there is no policy equal to that of meeting the market and clearing the goods as they land and while they are fresh.

With cold store charges as at present and the large supply of European butter during tiie summer months it cannot he seen how it will pay to hold i butter unless prices decline to below the economic value. A sufficiency ol batcer promised to roach the London market to meet ail requirements to about the end of March hut the volume would not he as heavy as to bring about any accumulation of stocks in cold store unless some of the larger importers decided to withhold supplies. This will lie a had policy as lar as the interests of the Dominion producers were concerned as it was most desirable that a good healthy market should bo maintained. FROZEN BHEE. The depression in the irur.en meat market continues for supplies Irom the Argentine remain on a large scale. In 1927 the exports ot chilled beet from the Republic broke all records: fi.147.702 quarters of chilled beef wore exported Compared with 1,933,403 (|unretrs for 192'i. There was an increase of approximately 240,000 quarters of frozen licef. which aggregated 2.(>03,5fi(> quarters. The mutton sent overseas amounted to 1.8(52.083 carcases against 1,028,001 carcases and the- lamb to 1 .(>90.019 eaicases against 1,239,922 carcases in the previous year. Canned meat shipments were maintained, the total. 2,525,553. siiowed an increase of 280.000 eases for the year. The shipments of hides for tlte twelve months numbered 2.102.775 dry ox hides and 5,705,299 salted ox hides.

POLICE SHOT DEAD. BERLIN, February 9. A robber called Hein, on whose track the police have been for weeks, shot dead a commander of gendarmerie this morning in the neighbourhood of Coburg, and escaped after a desperate revolver fight with another gendarme. Six weeks ago Hein held up the officials and robbed the post office at Ohligs, near Dusseldorf. He was run to earth by the police at Flatten in Saxony, but escaped after shooting one policeman dead and severely wounding another. He has now appeared in Thuringia. Hein’s photograph was sent to the authorities all over (lermany, and Scheter. the gendarmerie officer whom lie killed to-day, must have recognised him when they met on a country road.

Sc.heter got off his bicycle and covering the robber with a revolver, ordered him to. come to the police station. But Hein was too quick for him and fired three shots, wounding him in the chest. Scheter fell and the murderer finished him off with a shot through the head. Then he got on the dead man’s cycle and fled.

A gendarme who had heard the firing followed him on bis bicycle and came up with him. Hein took covin' in a ditch, from which he opened fire on tlie gendarme, who returned it. Suddenly the robber sprang up and rush? 1 into the woods, where he disappeared. A strong lone of gendarmerie ami soldiers are searching for him and the whole countryside is on the alert.