ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11511, 18 February 1903, Page 8

ANGLO-COLONIAL NOTES

Cnaou ocb over cob&estoxdkct.) j LONDON, January 9. There would appear to be no lack of' 1 faith in the future of South Africa, more particularly as a market for. frozen meat and other foods. Some little time ago tlie Imperial Cold Storage Company absorbed the South African and Australasian Cold Storage Company, which in its turn had absorbed Mr Bergl's contracts, of which so much was heard at the time of the war. On Monday last Mr Bergl and a South African partner put before the public the Federal Supply and Cold Storage Company of South Africa. This company has been formed with a capital of £500,000 in £1 shares, of which 250,000 have been offered for subscription at par, to carry on the business of suppliers of fresh and frozen meat, food stuffs, and other produce in South Africa, and to take over certain businesses in South Africa. The purchase price, which includes all assets, except book and other debts, stock-in-trade, cash and uncalled capital, totals £275,000, payable as to £125,000 in shares and £150,0U0 in cash. The assets to be takea over, ex- I elusive of goodwill, have, the prospectus states, been valued at £197,739, and it is j added that the goodwill, £77,261, is the i estimated equivalent of less than fifteen j months' net profits. Arrangements have been made with Mr Bergl, of Smithfield, | and Messrs James Nelson and Sons, for ! the supply of meat to the company, and three of the directors of the latter company are on the Board. I learn in the city" that over £1,500,000 in applications was received. According to a London paper, a company called the Imperial Food Supplies Association is being formed with a capital of half a million to promote and extend the supply of colonial and Indian produce in this country. Representative and influential men in Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are connected with the new venture, and the promoters believe that, with a better arrangement for centralising, handling, and distributing tlie produce, there is np reason why our trade with the colonies should not be largely increased. Depots will be erected I in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and throughout Great Britain, arid they will be fitted up with a system of cold storage rooms, a separate installation being set apart for each kind of colonial produce, including meat, butter, eggs, and cheese. The company proposes to utilise the existing maoltfnery of the large distributing j firms of this country," and has no intention ' of supplying the consumer direct. By an arrangement with the Midland Railway J Company a number of depots will be built i close to the company's lines, thus saving much time, and doing away with a great deal of tlie handling at present necessary. At the outset the depots in this country number thirty, and will include centres at Manchester, Bristol, Southampton, and Liverpool. In addition to a central board of directors, local advisory committees wUI be formed in some fifty or sixty provincial towns. Some of the" leading commercial men in the large towns have given their support to the scheme, and have agreed to serve on the local committees. So far back as last summer I was able to inform you that a new battleship was to be named after your colony. Preparations are now being made at Portsmouth dockyard to begin building this new first-class battleship, New Zealand, sister ship to the Dominion, which is now building at Barrow. On tlie 16th inst. the cruiser Suffolk is to be launched, and the battleship New Zealand will be at once laid down on the slip which the cruiser now occupies. Already the battleship's vertical keel has been prepared, and a good many of her frames bent, so that her construction can proceed rapidly. Evidently recent criticisms of Portsmouth dockyard have not been without effect on the official mind. Its lack of modern machinery has been commented on. When Lord Selboroe and his colleagues pay their visit of inspection this week they will see the dockyard in process of rehabilitation. A site is being cleared for a large engineering , factory, which will be equipped with the most modern machinery. 'its erection will greatly increase the engineering resources of the yard. Among other innovations is the pneumatic toot plant now being installed alongside the building slip.. The tools are of American design, and will be used in building H.M.S. New. Zealand. According to the report of Messrs W. Weddel and Co., which has reached me to-day, the demand for New Zealand butter has not yet shown the briskness that was expected as soon as the year turned, but considerable anxiety by the buyers to get hold of the butter ex Karamea, which arrived this week with 20,000 boxes, shows that previous arrivals have gone in consumption. Messrs Weddel note that the lack of briskness in the market for New Zealand butter prevails in all butter markets at present, and a revival is not exEected until later in the month. Some olders of New Zealand butter have been pressing sales, and consequently prices have declined on the week by about 2s, and "choicest" brands are now quoted at 108s to 110s per cwt., the price for "finest" being given as 106s to 108s. The Board of Trade returns for December show that the total import of butter for the calendar year , 1902 was 13,564 tons in excess of the previous year, which in itself showed an increase of 16,219 tons over the year 1900. But none of last year's increase was due to New Zealand or Australia, for the former colony is represented by a decrease of 467 tons and the latter of 8261 tons. Russia headed the list with an increase of 5532 tons over the previous year, Denmark coming second, France third, Holland fourth, and Canada fifth. For the first quarter of 1902, New Zealand was represented by an increase of 457 tons over the previous year, but the second quarter imports from that colony fell by 529 tons, in the third quarter by 124 tons, and in the fourth quarter by 271 tons. Trade in New Zealand mutton has been extremely dull and depressed. The Karamea has arrived with 36,522 carcases from New Zealand. The C.C. and D. Company say that the cheap beef and the large number of sheep from the United States which have glutted the market have tended to lessen the demand for New Zealand mutton and to lower its values. Very few sales of Canterbury mutton have been made; the price quoted in country price lists -s s|d per lb for selected carcases. North Island mutton is much weaker, and can hardly be quoted above 4|d, though 4|d is occasionally made, but the majority sell at about the lower figure. Stocks of New Zealand lamb have run very low, and only few carcases can now be left in the stores. A limited number are required, and any of good quality and condition find buyers at sjd per lb. A few small parcels have realised that price this week. The Karamea has brought 4993 carcases of lamb from the colony. Hardly a quarter of New Zealand beef has been sold; chilled beef from the United States has sold at low prices, and River Plate "chilled" has been obtainable much lower, so, with few exceptions, buyers bave neglected "hard" beef.