COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17608, 10 November 1922, Page 10

COMMERCIAL.

THE BUTTER MARKET. NERVOUSNESS IN AUCKLAND. (SPECIAL TO " THE PRESS.") AUCKLAND, November 9. The advance payment to suppliers of the New Zealand Co.-operative Dairy Company for October has been fixed at Is lid per lb of butter-fat, with the addition of id per pound for superfino quality and id for direct delivery. This represents a reduction of 4jd per lb compared with the previous month's payment, which was Is 6d per lb, plus tho allowances mentioned. Commenting on the position of the butter market, the managing director of the company, Mr W. Goodfellow, stated that tho market to-day warranted a higher payment. It had to be realised, however, that the butter manufactured during October would uot be marketed till January, when, ii.) doubt, the market would be weaker than it was at present. In the circumstances it would be a great mistake to advance on other than conservative lines. After the bitter experience of last year, the company had decided to take no risk of making excessive advances. Enquiry from experts in Auckland elicited the information that there was considerable nervousness among those interested in the butter trade, the general opinion being that a reduction in the price on the London market was likeiy to occur before Christmas. Meanwhile, it would be no surprise to see a slight improvement in values pending the arrival of large supplies in Great Brtain.

BRITISH EXPORT CREDIT SCHEME.

The officer-in-charge of his Majesty's Trade Commissioner's Office in New Zealand has received the following particulars with regard to the Trade Facilities Act, 1921, which it haa been decided to amend in certain respects: Section 1 of the Act enables the Imperial Treasury, subject to a total limit of £25,000,000, to guarantee the payment of interest and/or principal of a loan, the application of which is calculated to promote employment in the United Kingdom. The Act was devised to relieve, to gome ertent, the unemployment which aroee" in the United Kingdom in 1921, and was expected to continue throughout the winter of 19211922. It has been of substantial utility, for up to June 80th, 1922, guarantees were approved to the amount of £17,000,000 sterling, and it ia estimated that unemployment amounting to 879,000 men-months will be given on work get going under it. It haa been decided to amend the Act on the following lines, and it is proposed that the necessary legislation should be introduced this year: (a) To enable the Government to meet for the first three years of the career of undertakings the whole or part of the interest charged on loans to be raised by statutory authorities and companies in the United Kingdom or by Colonial Governments. (b) As regards undertakings of local authorities, the form of assistance sug--1 Rested in (a>-will be- treated as an alternative to the present scheme for assisting the - revenue-producing' works of local authorities with parte of interest, charges; : .-\(o) ..The limit of the amount for guarantees and loans will be increased from £25.000,000 sterling to £50,000,000 sterling, and the time limit for the operation of' the Act will be extended by 12 months.. (d) Power will be taken to create an insurant fund, to compensate for possible loaiis by charging a premium or j otherwise. V" /V GERMAN GOODS FOR AUSTRALIA. Although from* the lifting, at the bej bf ' August, of the barrier against j i shipments receivedvarious 'Teasels i from Hamburg and Bremen were rather small, and consisted largely of goods from neutral Staites, » steady increase .in cargoes is now reported (says the Sydney "Moraini; Herald"). No partioulary .large cargoes have .lifted by, any one vessel, but this Ip'tio^'surprising owing to the . keen , <?ompetition.'.f-A large number of lines iifiw' established, and na fewer than nine large shipping interests are directly. concerned six services now running. Two services are maintained imaer.jQipt arrangement. The first is' thai carried out in monthly -liiling' by 'tlie German Australian St&iinship Company; the Ifard Deuts- • clier Lloyd'' ima Alfred Holt and Co., -Ltd., acting' tmder agreement, and 1 anothercqmbination is reported of three Sb&diittvian lines, who iiin ' between ' 'inbntlify' service. These companies'are the : Transatlantic Steamship , ' Company of Gothenburg, the Pet Otiatiske ' J£ompagnie of Copenhagen, ■and, ihe Den'Norske Afrika, of Austro- . lielineof Ohristiania. Another afrange- | mentjisthat of * the Commonwealth, ( Government line and the White Star j vwHich running distinct monthly ' wmoes: arrange their sailings alternately.- v Twootlwrßemoes 1 are the Ihonthly service of the Commonwealth and 'Doniinion Line, Ltd., and the Hol-land-Australia line, established by the Vewenigte Neredlandsche Scheepvaart Maatschapnij carries out direct sailings t4HHn. Hamburg to Australian ports. : SAZE OF SUTFOLX SHEEP. Messrs H. Mataon and Cb., held, a in Tattersall's yesterday ' morning of purebreH Suffolk sheep on acctiunt of Qillon, of Greenpark. These sheep wete of . the George Gould '* strain,"ana met*,with good competition. . Three ewe hoggets made 9gns each, one full-mouth ewe with ram lamb at foot 18zna, and two ewes each with ewe : aMMt each. Mr Geo. Murray, of Braemar, Lake Tekapo, was the ■, purchaser o| the lot.

TAXATION PROBLEMS.

BELATION TO PROSPERITY.

Taxation and finance formed the subject of ■an "interesting .address delivered by Mr Edward .Anderson, who was a member of the Taxation Committee, at the weekly luncheon of the Auckland Eotary Club this week. Mr Anderson said he would endeavour to deal with the subject without the political bias, which unfortunately surrounded it. As far as his experience went .he had never met two men for entirely agreed on the question of taxation. All men, however, were in absolute agreement on oue point relating to taxes: they had no objection to those the other fellow had to pay. (Laughter.) It was evident the taxation of a country could not be adequately discussed without reference to its financial condition, and this aspect of the matter very soon appealed to the Taxation Committee. It was considered by many people that one or more political economists should have been included in the personnel of the committee, and the committee itself held that view. But, as the enquiry developed, it became apparent that the duty of the committee was not so much a question of recommending new sources of revenue or framing a new policy of taxation—that was a change which he felt sure could best be handled by a eomni's sion composed of financial men, political economists, and at least one department expert—it was confronted with a situation which demanded more than anything else, the reduction of a burden which was seriously hampering industry and progress, and was stifling the ambitions and energies of men whose enterprise and labour represented a very valuable asset to the Dominion. State and Individual. The wealth and prosperity of the individual were closely related to the wealth and prosperity of the State. If this fact were not so frequently overlooked we- would hear less of certain methods of taxation solely because they tended to restrict the earnings of those people who possessed a gift either of saving money or of making it. Personally, he was inclined to agree with those who maintained that we were operating at the wrong end, and that taxes should be levied on what we spent rather than on what we earned. If the energy and earning powers of the individual were restricted, the wealth and progress of the State were restricted, a policy which must react to the detriment of all. In legislating for the very .desirable purpose of spreading our wealth we must be careful not to interfere too much with the earning powers of the individual, otherwise we would find our brightest brains attracted by countries where business activities were'not foolishly hampered nor an undue proportion of hard-won earnings garnered by the State in the shape of. taxation. If the development of the Dominion was not to be seriously retarded, we should encourage and not restrict the inflow of capital from abroad. Unless . a miracle happened further heavy retrenchment and further heavy reduction in taxation must be made before we could feel that our financial position was firmly re-estab-lished. We need not be pessimistic about it, but while it could not be accomplished in a day, it was to be hoped the Government would accept the suggestion made by the Taxation and boldly'•.: remove the whole of the super-tax on land, and reduce income-tax to a maximum of 5s in the &, and arrange its expenditure accordingly. Such a step might create a temporary deficiency. If it did, we must simply face the situation and reduce our expenditure until the deficiency waß provided, for. Position of Large Companies. The speaker referred to the increase in permanent annual expenditure necessitated by the war, and the additional burden in the expenditure brought about by the creation of natural, expansion, of Government,, .departments. It might also have; a sobering effect if we considered that during the-next Ave . years .the,-,; country, had* to .meet loans aggregating over £44,000,000, and by. 1933 nearly £90,000,000, u .the latter amount, being , equal to the whole sum of our public debt of ten years ago. The method of taxing profits made, by companies was the only important subject on which the committee failed to agree.- It could not be denied that the present system possessed many defects, the.chief of which was that under the existing method of levying taxation no large companies could 'advance money against .farm lands, nor on any other security, at a rate of interest which would give a reasonable net return on the money invested. On the existing rate of 7s 4d in the £ a large company would require to charge 9$ per cent, to obtain a net return of 6 per cent., and we possessed enough experience to know that no producer could pay such a rate; We could not look forward to any further heavy reduction in the cost of manufactured goods for some time to come, if . ever. If the Dominion was to progress with any degree of rapidity it was of paramount importance that we should be able to manufacture goods as cheaply as Australia, for instance, but our existing system of taxation worked against us. .The Land Policy. Our land policy badly "required overhauling, Mr Anderson said. The aim in these times- of stringency should not be to borrow heavily to open our backblocks. Let ,us do first things first, and concentrate the capital and energy and .>labour we possessed, or could.attract in.rapidly bringing, intoa state of productivity. the • large areas of unused land in. the vicinity of easy transport to our,shipping ports. Money advanced, in this direction would quickly improve the volume of our/exportß and shorten the period of depression through which we were passing. As a member of the Taxation Committee, he was naturally grateful to the Government for adopting some of the recommendations made in the report, but several anomalies and injustices remained. He,referred particularly to one grievance of long-standing—the freedom from taxation enjoyed by publicly-owned . trading companies which were in competition with private enterprise. This reform should not be allowed to be shelved. BIG RIVER, GOLD RETURNS. (PBKSS ASSOOUTION TXLEGHAM.) KEEPTON, November. 9. The New Big River returns for October state that the battery crushed 406 tons quarts for 88801 lldwt melted gold; cyanide vats treated 200 tons of sands for 60oz 17dwt of bullion, the total- estimated value being 41705.

THE METAL TRADES.

'The September .Bulletin' of . Information issued by the British Depart* ment of Overseas Trade, has the following upon the metfll ; trades:: — ---■',■• Iron and Steel. The trade is now beginning to feel the first effects of the autumn demand, but many buyers are undoubtedly withholding from the market in anticipation of prices moving in their favour in the near future. Since the removal early in August of the steel price restrictions, quotations for finished material have varied considerably. Manufacturers in the rolled steel trade are now free to namo whatever figures suit them, and with such conditions, which have not been known in the steel trade since 1907, there is naturally very keen competition for business. The situation in America is still acute; several blast furnaces have already been blown out, and there are indications that others will soon be compelled to cease operating through lack of fuel. . A number of enquiries have been received on this side from the United States for pig iron, and a certain amount of business has been transacted. The Continental position has been materially affected by the recent rapid exchange fluctuations. Makers of iron and steel material on the Continent are reported to be behind with deliveries, and now that British prices are somowh'at -easier and moro regular shipments are possible, tho consumers are inclined to turn their attention more to British material. In view of the situation set up by the removal of the price controls, it may be interesting to note the figures which represent the British export quotations current at mid-Septem-ber; — Per ton.

Tin Plates. The export demand shows very little improvement, the exchange rates being so erratic that European countries are unable, to buy more than limited quantities. In some countries business is precluded by the practical impossibility of purchasing sterling. The production, including terne and black plates, during June was 56,600 tons, as against 1600 tons for the corresponding month in 1921, and a monthly average last year of 24,300 tons. The production for the first six months of the present year was 328,200 tons, in comparison with a total output for the whole of 1921 of 291,000 tons and of 591,300 tons in 1920. One of the features of recent months has been the great expansion in the trade with Canada, which has been directly at the expense of the United States of America manufacturers, who are practically the only competitors of any importance of the Welsh makers in the world's markets. Some indications as to the nature of the development may be gathered Lfrom the fact that during the first seven'months of this year no fewer than 26,239 tons of tinplates have been Bhipped from this country to Canada, as against 3126 tons for the whole of 1921, and 957 tons during I 1920.

AGRICULTURAL BANKS. MB W."J. POLSON'S CRITICISM. (PBJ!S9 ASSOOUTJON TIXEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, November 9. At a meeting of the Dominion Executive pt the Union, Mr W. J. Poison/ chairman, discussing the recent : legislation regarding agricultural banks, ■ expressed grave: disappointment that the Government had not seen fit to go further than it had gone in. the matter. That, disappointment was shown by hundreds of farmers throughout the country. He would sooner have seen the agricultural bank not dealt with by Parliament than have the Bill which had now become law, for the new legislation would be absolutely useless" to the fanners, and would only prejudice the position when they sought to have the system they were supporting carried into effect. The fact was that the Government was reaching put to extend the Advances to Settlers Department until it became a State Agricultural Bank. Mr Massey had determined to enlarge the operations of the Department, and anticipated a reserve available for 1924, when the moratorium ceased. That was no doubt desirable, but it was not what the farmers wanted, and it could not provide the insurance against financial trouble ib. 1924 which a State-assisted agricultural banking system would provide. He complained of want of support, and that producers generally were not backing the movement up as they should. Parliament was quite ignorant of the principles of agricultural banking, and a great deal of prejudice and suspicion were displayed. All the memberß endorsed the formation of agricultural banks, one member suggesting that if two thousand were in favour of the project they should put down £2O a year for ten years, and so produce a capital of £400,000. The following motion was carried: "That this conference expresses its disappointment at' the Agricultural Bank Bill passed by Parliament, and urges unions to keep the matter prominently before their members in order to obtain sufficient' support, with a view to amending legislation next sesBoin." AUSTRALIAN MEAT - COUNCIL. (By CMa —Press Association!— Copyright.) (Aiutralian and N. 7.. Cable Association.) MELBOURNE, November 9.' The new Australian Meat Council held its inaugural meeting. It was decided to approach the Overseas Shipping Committee and ask that freights from Australia be reduced to the level of New Zealand freights. The Hon. A. S. Rodgera (Minister of Trade and Customs) announced that the Commonwealth Government would be advised'by the council. It recognised that the 8.A.W.8.A. did good work for wool, but did not possess the same experience of the meat industry as the Meat Council did. . The finance committee recommended that £40,000 be raised by a compulsory levy for the first year's operations, the levy to be id a head on cattle and l-12d a head on sheep for owners with 100 head of cattle or 500 sheep. ■

MEAT FREIGHTS EEDUOED. LONDON, November 8. The British shipping companies have reduced the freight on frozen mutton from Australia from lid to lid a lb.

NEW ZEALAND'S CREDIT. ENGLISH FINANCIER'S VIEWS. (SPECIAL TO "THE rBB$8.?')AUCKLAITO, November 9. New Zealand's :credit stands very high in Great Britain, said Mr A. G. Hopewell, a prominent English financier, who arrived by the Nav*a from Suva. Mr Hopewell, who is accompanied by Mts Hopewell and their daughter, is on a tour of the world, having journeyed to Australia byway of Suez. They intend spending some weeks in the Dominion, and will then proceed to Sydney, afterwards going home by way of Japan and Vancouver. Mr Hopewell is to retire shortly from the position of director of the National Provincial and Union Bank of England after 49 years' service with that institution. The bank was established in 1833, and has now 100 branches in England and "Wales, with a nominal capital of about £50,000,000. The paid-up capital totals £10,000,000, and the reserve capital nearly £9,000,000. The visitor said that New Zealand was regarded as a very sound country, and financiers were always ready to participate in any loan the country desired to negotiate. He had underwritten portion of the City Council loan raised in London, and had' been glad of the opportunity. Brief reference was made by Mr Hopewell to present conditions in England. He stated that the cost of living there when he left in February was 103 per cent, more than that of pre-war days. It had now been reduced to 80 per cent., while the position with regard to unemployment had improved slightly this year. Money wa3 now as cheap as it was likely to be with the bank rate at 3 per cent., but while many of the European and other countries outside the Empire were desirous of securing advances, the ruinous rate of exchange was so strongly against them that they were unable to avail themselves to any great extent of the money offering. '

FOUR INSURANCE COMPANIES.

SUCCESSFUL NEW ZEALAND CONCERNS.

There are four large New Zealand-owned) and managtd insurance companies: all four have recently issued' their balance-sheets, and the documents show that the companies have done exceedingly well (says the "Dominion"). The premium income of eaoh of the four companies was as under:— Company. £ South British .. .. 893,340 New Zealand > • .. .. 1,167,616 National \ .. .. . 203,254 Standard .. ... 181,454 £2,446,664 It should be explained that the aotual premium income received by the New Zealand Insurance Company for the year waa £1,087,661, but as £BO,OOO leas was required as a reserve for unexpired risks than was the case last year this £BO,OOO haa been addeU to the premium income. The lossea and expenses for the year were as under:— Losses. Expenses. • £ £ South British .. 538,289 279,638 New Zealand .. 756,470 870,762 National .. 92,732 80,064 Standard .. 87,224 76,2c6 £1,474,715 , £806,709 The losses and! expenses together total £2,281,424. It will be noted, that the figures of the National Insuranoe Company and the Standard Insurance Company -are very much, smaller than the other two oonoerng. That is because the New Zealand Insurance Company and the South British are praotically world-wide ill' their operations, while the other two «re confined practically to Australasia. The results of the year's operations may be summarised e* under:— . £ Premium inoonw .. '.. •• 2,445,664 Losses and expenses .. 2,281,424 Underwriting profit ... £164,210 After handling nearly two and a quarter millions these four companies axe left with £164,240 'as profit. The losses were equal to 60.80 per cent, of the premiums, the -expenses to 82.98 per cent, and the profit to 6.72 per oent. Adding the Interest and rente to the underwriting profits, tile year's results were as under:— ' £ South British ... : .. 160,769\ . New .Zealand .. .. • . .'• 134,481 National .. •■ 62,169 Standard .. ■ • 88,27a 1 £380,643 Of the above •mount, £280,888 was paid iln dividends, there was added to reserve funds £104,926, and the balance of £44,884 has been carried • forward. The paid-up oapital of the four companies totals £1,800,000, and the total dividends of £230,833 is equal to a little more than an average of 12J per cent., of which the underwriting profit of £164,240 was equal to slightly than 9 per' cent. All four companies have built up large reserve funds, inoludSng provision for toxsr tion, and their assets, which aTe mostly in cash and gilt-edged securities, are very llarge. Excluding fixedi assets such aa freehold and leasehold properties, the assets of the four companies show as under;— i South British .. ..1,770,127 New Zealand .. .. 1,970,002 National .. .. 705,888 Standard .. .. 405,832 £4,851,849 The Imperial and Dominion war loans held' by the South British Insurance Company amount to £811,837, besides other Government and municipal securities, including £149*500 American Government securities. The New Zealand Insurance Company holds Government and municipal bonds and debentures and war loan stock for a total of £1,558.462. The National Insurance ' Company hofda £295,858 in war loans, besides debentures - for £74,682. The Standard Insuranoe Company holds £218,984 in war loans and £62,000 in Government and municipal debentures. DAIRY PRODUCE. Messrs A. H. TuTnbull and Co. are in receipt of a cablegram from Messrs W. Weddel and Co., Ltd., dated London, Npvember 3rd, reading as follows:—"Danish butter 220s to 223s (last week's quotations ,212s to 2165), New Zealand unsalted 218s to 220s (2165. to 2205), New-Zealand salted 206s to 210s (204s to 208s). Market firm. "Cheese—First quality New Zealand white I and coloured, first grade 124s to 1265. Market firm and advancing." ™"" WAIHI GRAND JUNCTION MINE. GOLD VISIBLE IN QUABTZ. At the point of intersection at No. 10 leyel in the Waihi Grand Junction mine values on the Empire reef were somewhat disappointing in view of the good results followed down for some distances in winzes, and more particularly the No. 7 winze. The country also showed signs of disturbance, suggesting that results might prove unsatisfactory, but as the lode has been driven upon both ways there has been marked improvement in values, the faces at present being in pay ore. An interesting feature is that gold can be seen in some of the quartz. The prospects of the workings on the Empire lode at the new No. 10 level in, the Waihi Grand Junction mine were briefly disi cussed this week by Mr S. Leah, manager of the mine; who is at present in Auckland. Mr Leah said it was five months ago that the sinking of the main shaft from No. "9 level was commenced, and the time consumed in reaching the centre of the new workings constituted a record for the company. The men were now driving on the Empire lode east and west of No. 10 level, and the values so far had proved highly successful. There was no indication that the level showed any deterioration compared with the level above, which had given highly payable results. In February last the company deemed it advisable to discontinue the operation of the battery owing to high working costs, but it is now proposed to resume working the mill immediately following the New.Year holidays. So far the No. 9 level has only been explored; so that when the battery is started the whole ot the ore above No. 9 and that : between Nos. 9 and 10 will be available for crushing.

AUCKLAND MAEKETa

(SPICIAL TO •'THH PBESB.") 'aDOJ£IjA..\iJ, ivoveniber 9. The wholesale and retail grocery trade continues to ' report active conditions. In the ordinary; way' wholesale business is usually quieter fox this period of the month, but with'the uncertainty of "supplies . from southern sources owing to the shipping strike retailers axe looking ahead and securing stocks, of any lines that are available which they might be requiring in the near future. Collections are very heavy, and include a lot of business for December account, so that seasonal lines for the Christmas trade take up a large share of the orders. Stocks show some acute shortages, dried fruits, sago, tapioca, health foods, etc., being on this list. Outside of the grocery business trade is reported as quieter, but every effort is being made to tempt buyers, competition in the main thoroughfares being very keen. The next week or two will see a big improvement as the demand for presentation goods will appear. Tailors report a very busy season, suitings being now cheaper and cash more plentiful. Jewellers report an improvement, but most business attaches to the cheaper goods. Fancy goods are continually arriving, and a very wide range will face shoppers this Christmas, while prices, compared with a year ago, in the majority of offerings re*al costs equal to about half. Dnapary displays are more tempting than ever, dress goods bein? not only much cheaper, but also the colourings and dressings are attracting admiration. The shipping trouble is naturally disorganising the ordinary course of trade, but fortunately at this season of the year heavy supplies of potatoes are not required from the south, as the new crop is coming in more freely. As a matter of fact, the last of the old potatoes are delayed on the steamers in the south at the present time, and excepting the fact that it may mean a loss to the shipper, it will have little effect on the local market. There is a probability that supplies of maize will run down if the steamers remain idle for a few weeks, and it. is probable that inconvenience will be caused if the Island steamer does not make her trip at the due date. Had the trouble occurred in the winter, when Auckland required about 5000 sacks of potatoes each week, the position would have been more serious. Hardware—From now until Christmas business promises to be exceptionally brisk as so many buildings in all districts are under way which it is desired to complete before the holidays. The chief difficulty at the moment is to secure labour, the building and kindred trades being fully employed. Stocks, fortunately, are in a very good condition while pnces generally remain firm. Potatoes-New potatoes are quoted at 15b Jd per cwt on trucks at Pukekohe Onions--The market is kept going with P^rluOlbTraTe 3 . ° f «**«»«* «'«. 6d Maize-Unless supplies can be shipped the price must rise. The quotation is fe 3d to 5s 6d per bushel, ex store. • Oats—Tie market continues firm, A grade: being quoted »t 4a 6d to 4s 8d per bushel •wL* o *?' "******>* «ed oat. at 6s. ' "P?*"* of milling wheat are held by the local mills, so there no fe r iptg a S^ ofWfo]l^°-Chaff-The market haa a firming tenS°L. Best " oßthem h oted a * »1* Wholesale current prices flw>:—Sunerfini. 20Mb sacks), shnrps ttinT l" P n m oatmeal (25's) ' ** 10a > TALLOW.

<B 7 _F a^*~ Prws A9S an d N.Z. Cable Association.) (Received November 9th. 8.40 pjn ) lil , , LONDON, November 8. At the tallow sales 1776 casks were offered and 621 sold. Prices were unchanged. Da jß**T »nd Company, Ltd., have received the following cablegram from their London omoe, dated November Bth; —"Tallow—At the weekly auctions 1840 oasis tallow were offered and 720 sold. The market is rather quieter. Prices are nominally unchanged.'' SHAKES. (By Cable—Press Association—Copyrifht.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) (Received November Bth, 8.40 p.m.)' LONDON, November 8. Waihi Junction, buyers 8s 7d, sellers 8s 10d. HIDES. (By .Cable—Press Association—Copyright.) (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) (Received November 9th, 11.50 p.m.) MELBOURNE, November 9. The hides market is very strong. Last week's prices were maintained, except for heavies and mediums, which are id to id dearer. SYDNEY WOOL SALES. (Received November 9ih, 10.20 p.m.) SYDNEY, November 9. The fifth series of wool sales opened to-day. France and Japan, keenly competing, bought heavily of the better classes. AUSTRALIAN MARKETS. (Received November oth, 10.20 p.m.) ■ SYDNEY, November 9. Oats—Algerian feeding 4s 6d to 4s Bd. Maize—Yellow 6s, white 6s 9dj South African fis lOd to 6s. Potatoes—Taamanian £ll, local sew £ll. Onions-HU.7 to £lB. ADELAIDE, November 6. Oats—Bs to 8s Id. QUEENSLAND WHEAT HARVEST. BRISBANE, November 9. .The wheat estimate for the 1922 season is 1,901,000 bushels. The total in 1921 was 3,025,000 bushels, PAPUAN PRODUOTa Recently the secretary of the Papuan Products Company, Ltd., Christchuroh, received advice from. Sydney that the Government' of the Commonwealth had officially announced that Papua is .to be exempt from the operations of the Australian Navigation Act. Yesterday the secretary received confirmation of the telegram then reoeived, as follows : "The position would appear to be that any company wishing to trade with Papua,' and not complying with Australian regulations, must apply for a license, which, presumably, will be granted to all with perhaps an excep- I tion in oertain cases." "This latter," adds the secretary, "appears ' to be an assumption only and not at present i verifiable." The secretary forwards a copy of the following extract from the "Sydney Morning Herald," dated October 26th last, bearing upon the subject:—An amplification of the announcement made by the Prime Minister (Mr Hughes) in his policy speech, that steps would be taken to remove dnaculties imposed by the operation of the provisions of the Navigation Act in certain parts of tile Commonwealth was made by the Minister for Customs (Mr Rodgers) to-day, when he informed Senator Keating that licenses exempting vessels from the provisions of the Act would be applied to the outlying parts and possessions of the Commonwealth, and also during the busy summer season to Tasmania whose special circumstances at that season would in the matter of licenses receive special and favourable consideration. STOCK EXCHANGES. (FBXSS ASSOCIATION TZMORAXS.I AUCKLAND, November 9. Sales—New Zealand] Inscribed, 1938, /96 ss; Bank of New Zealand. £57: New' Zealand Insurance, 27s 6d; Auckland Gas, 245; Auckland Gas (contrib.), 19sf 193 3d; Auckland Trams (pref.), 18s "3d; New Zealand Home BuildeTS. 9s 3d; Waihi, 3s; Grand Junction, 10s Id, 10s 6d, 10s Id. WELLINGTON, November 9 Sale oa 'Change—Huddart-Parker. £1 lis Bd. '

£ 8. d. £ a. d. Pig iron, Cleveland No. 3 4 7 0 to i 4 7 6 Ships, etc., plates gin and up . . 9 0 0 „ 9 1Q_ 0 Sheets 3-ltiii 1 and under basis .. 9 15 0 „ 10 5 0 Boiler plates 11 10 0 „ 12 10 0 Angles 8 5 0 „ 9 6 0 Tees > . • 9 5 0 „ 10 5 0 Channels 8 10 o „ 9 10 0 Joists .. 8 5 o „ 9 5 0 Flat bars 9 0 o „ 9 10 0 Round bars 9 5 o „ 10 0 0 Steel hoops 11 10 0 .i 12 • 5 0 Iron 13 15 o „ 14 0 0