SOME FACTS AND FIGURES

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVII, Issue 41, 18 June 1915, Page 7

SOME FACTS AND FIGURES

fi TRADE, INDUSTRY, AM3 INTER” [| MAS, r'.NAMwE. fe ! In addition u» the remarks pub- || lisucd yesterday, tac Chairman ui me fd Uauk of New /manual s address cou- || tamed the following;— I The New Zealand quarterly ave -age If Ik.Uuug ui...cements indicate an easy || financial position in the Dominion. |i Comparing tile figures of 31st Aj arch hi last with those ol 3ist March i. 91-1, f we find the following differences in Hj the aggregate averages ol all the p| Banks: — 11 deposits. i 'lnterest bearing—increase £316,020 : Noii-nu-ei cst her ring—in- | crease ... ... £2,482,061 | £2,798,000 . ' ADVANCES. Discounts —decrease ... £382,600 T Other advances—increase £384,32-1 Net increase ... ... £163-1 O , improvement during the , the 12 months in the s position of the public with the Banks ... £2.707,356 n 7 " B The Post Office Savings Bank fig- , arcs show similar large accretion of y , funds. The excesses of deposits over withdrawals, for the half-year ending 31 st March last, reached the largo total of £1,138,071. Tae.se improvements have been contributed so largely by (1) The increased value of our exports, and (2) The reduced value of our imports,—tin? margin between which will probably lie found, when the returns for the ■ 'year ended 31st March are'complete, to be the highest that has been touched for many years past, j For the year ended 31st December I—the 1 —the latest date to which complete returns are availabe—the figures arc:— Exports (excluding specie) £26,253,900 Imports do. £21,1T1,-00 i Surplus Exports £5,109,v00 , Tim surplus for the previous year ended 31st December, 1913, was/ £1,156,731. i The increase in the exports is due in a largo measure to the enhanced prices j commanded by our primary products. ; The decrease in imports i« attributable to several causes;— ('./> The caution exercised by infer- j chants and importers when ordering! 1 supplies nr the early days of the’ .war. ' <;*>> A lessened demand consequent t •ipo.i the more economical stylo of [ lIVt l g 1'.:.; iiaV. in -'U . nr.* in 1 iv : . ./■ r Imp?;-;. i ' The impossibility of obtaining many linos of merchandise from; Germany | :.-id Austria, and the inability of:. (British manufacturers and exporters i ’to .fill orders. 1 ■/) The lack of tonnage and the ! difficulty of shipping owing to con- ; t igeutnen at the 1 oiic'ot!• Docks. | ; nrt T.: ..r'er (March 31st are available and amount j jto £11,205,000, as against £9,993,100 i jfir the quarter ended March 31st, . i. . 'File import figures for the name quarter are, however,' not complete, A .'nut the Customs revenue for the I quarter is; sa id to amount to only !t |£7.>7,0-00, as against £935,000 for the I quarter ended 31st March, 1914,T1 I showing that there has hcen a sub- j Jstaetiai falling off hi importations. ; jThia is, of course, afl in the direction jof w idening the margin between imports and exports, thus increasing the credit balance on the Dominion’s trade as a whole, and, consequently, ; the funds available here. Financial ease is, apparent, but it is ease which, like the cairn before - , > the storm, may presage strain and i 1 stress later on. The accumulations i ! , i :- i the hands of the Banks arc un- \ doubtcdly due to apprehension with ; ; regard to the future, and a desire on ; ,ho part of . the depositors to be pro- ! pared for possible eventualities. This j is clear from, the fact that the ia- I 'Tpe .eposits , ; e ! ' the non-interest bearing class—i.e., ; Accounts. ,r hh; is not an encouraging feature j because it indicates, to some extent, j£, commercial and industrial inactivity, fv. Building, except in t li c way of Gov.eminent undertakings, is -largely at u. standstill ; and investors . re disinclined bo enter into commitments. Business on the Stock By-nanges of the Dominion is also very restricted. At the same time, pri'Ti-'.of shares in regular dividend’ paying financial ‘4 and industrial Compauie? stand at a a.., satisfactory level : and chares are well ■ held, there being few sellers. At, the ■ ,?e commencement of the war a sharp drdine in ; market values occurred, but as confidence returned recovery be- • came rapid, and to- bv ther-> are few (p>, in favor: £<■ 'iv i can be purchased to yield n: r , !• ban j* 5 m; 6 per cent. Ton export of Meat '.'"•mi 'hr Tom- I

iiuoii, otherwise than iVr tlir Government, is new prohibited. Early In die year the New Zealand Goveru- : uioj- . ' iny mi behalf ol uu I mpcnal Authorities, coiiunauaeored the whole of tin:' .Moat in .store and all i tun re surplus for export, '.’he meat is puron the basis uf a fixed turiil which gives rcasonanly leiminerative i! prices while, at the same time, it prevents exploitation of Cm Imperial ! Government anti of the British con:slithers by speculative huyers. : It seems to me that a. similar i scheme, controlled by the New Zeailaud Government and worked probably in co-operation with the British Government, would he effective to put a slop to operations hy the American Meat Trust in this Dominion, should any dangerously aggressive action : hero he attempted by the Trust after : the close of the War. Giving to the serious shortage in 1 the wheat supply of the Dominion, importations of wheat and Hour .have been made from America and Australia, a large part representing purchases made hy the Government in the public interest. The Government’s judicious action in this respect undoubtedly has had the effect of steadying the market, and preventing an advance in the price of “the staff of life” to a figure which would almost certainly have necessitated reduced consumption. The pressure upon steamer freight space from Now York and San Francisco owing to this and other causes, has been so great that quite a number of sailing vessels have been recently chartered for the crude.' LONDON MARKETS. 1 It is interesting to note the values which have ruled in the London market for some of our principal products this season, as compared with tile previous year. Take, for instance, wool, meat, butter and cheese:— WOOL. The figures for March, 1914, being mentioned first, and those for March. 1915, appearing in parenthesis. Simed Wellington wools 13d to bid 'MI d to 24d). Greasy Merinos GO’s 12id to 13.1 d , Old to L>d). ■Greasy Grosejireds fine 50's I2jd to 13ld (led to IT id). Greasy Crosslin-ds medium 4-1-16’s . 12d to 12 U! < 1 f.pi to ISd). | Greasy Crossbred- coarse 36-40’s lid .; ,o Hid (17 p.i to ! 7 Ad}. These prices arc for ’'average” quality, per lb. It will he seen, thoreioro, that the < ireseut condition of the market is j muight about by the strong demand * wools suitable for khaki ami blan- 1 lot purposes. J FROZEN .ACAT, i •Canterbury lamb, per lb. Ltd to 63d 7fjd to fid). , , North island mutton. per lb. Id to , ffd '{o-„d to 6id>. ,\ New Zealand lieef, loro;;, per lb. 3sd ; o 4d (s|d to Gid). Now Zealand beef, hinds, per Jo. 4id ; o 4-cl (63d L’ bid). I BTTTTEE AND CHEESE. , i Butter lE,a to J2()s per cwt, a36s a 142 s p-rr cw;,). Cheese E.; to G’.m 6d. per cwt. Nil •• ; i) 93s per o-rL}. The market, for all dairy producci v as since improved.