DRAFTS ON AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17609, 11 November 1922, Page 8

DRAFTS ON AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.

EXCHANGE BATES AGAIN RATSBn The Associated Australian and New Zealand Banks in London hare again raised the selling rates for drafts, both telegraphic transfer end mail by ss. The last advance iUta made less than & month ago, and the changes that have occurred in rates since the beginning of the year are a sfolkrw:— T.T. MaiL Per cent. per cent. Feb. 7 —los dia. Par Mar. B—ss dis. Par April B—Par Par May 18—5s prem. Par July 14—12s Gd prem. Par Sep. 13—17s 6d prem. lCs prem. Oct. 13 —2C-s nrem; 12s 6d prem. Ifov. 8 —253 prem. IT a Gd prem. The reason for the advances that have taken I place since July that money has been accumulating in London through the heavy orro'.rinir on the part of the various Govern- j mients and to the contraction in the volumo •>f impirts (i>ays the "Dominion"). In normal times when the primary products were sold and the credits accumulated the ordinary imports of merchandise suffioed to establish an equilibrium, but this year there haß been j extraordinary borrowing by the State Governments, and the municipalities have also flooded the loan market. The credits that have accumulated in London are needed in Australia, and thfi situation has become a I difficult one in the ConmmonwepJth, so much c 0 that a proposal has been under consideration of expanding the Commonwealth note circulation temporarily to meet the situation. The Commonwealth Bank has the Role -isht of not-> issue in Australia, and the issu? '9 governed by the Commonwealth Bank Act. There is no such diflVultv in New Zealand, or tpther the difficulty is not so prono"«ced. The practice followed by the Austrian and New Zealand banks in financing trade with Great Britain was criticis'd recently by Mr J. F. Darling, a director of the London Joint City and Midland Bank, •vho became prominent two years apo as an idvocate of the issue of Imperial Treasury 'lills to serve as a basis for the currencies of th 9 Empi'i. Recently published ouotn- • ions, he stated, showed the Australian banks in London to be sellers of drmand draft o -m Australia and New Zealand at par, and buyers of three months' bills on those countries at 96. This, he contended, was equal to 1G per cent, per annum, and pointed out that Egypt's immunity from exchange fluctuations, notwithstanding heavy trade balances, favouring at one time exports and another imports, wub due to a common basis for her currency with that of Groat Britain, that is, British Treasury bills. There is no reason. Mr Darling contends, why any or oJI A the countries in the Empire should not jnjoy similar immunity, ..thus facilitating both production,- and trade, and ensuring a free flow of capital to wherever it is most wanted. The Egyptian Government, however, is not a heavy borrower on the London market, like the Australian Governments. ESTIMATED AREA UNDER WHEAT AND OATS, 1922-23. As in previous years, cards were sent out by post to grain-growers throughout the Dominion, asking them to Btate what area they had sown or proposed to sow in wheat and oata this season. The subjoined estimates are .based on the figures obtained' by a tabulation of the cards •f turned. Wheat and Oats. —Final Areas 1921-22, and Areas estimated as sown or to be sown 1922-23.

*Note.—Experience has shown.that ths results in the case of cats have been generally underestimated. The system of estimation does not appear to apply quite so_ well as in the case of wheat, .where the variation of the estimated from the final result ;is much smaller. ..■■■... Particulars- as to varieties sown or intended to be sown were again asked for. \-The fallowing table gives fl. summary of i results in cases where varieties were specified:—

COLONIAL SUGAR COMPANY. HALF-YEARLY MEETING. Addressing the half-yeax'.y meeting of shareholders in the Colonial Sugar Refining Company in Sydney on November Ist, the chairman (Mr E. W. Knox), referred to his visit to London in response to tie invitation of the Britiah, Government to a consultation about the acute shortage in the labour needed for carrying on tie,industries of Jb'iji. Agreement was ultimately reached as to the course to be adopttd. UrJortunately, it is yet too early to speak definitely ae to the prospects of a recommencement of Indian immigration, for the British Uovernment has reiemd to tie Indian Uovernment tne piy posa.a agreed upon in London, and it xs expected that these will be considered by the iNew Indian, Parliament at tneir forthcoming session, beginning this inontn. Meantime, he did not leel at liberty to disclos* the proposals*. . , , • » Referring to tie sugar industry m Australia Mr Knox said the company had been workiig tie refineries for the Government du i..- tne »*ve*' vear3 > and ior nezdy 12 months more tie vagaries of the su tt tu market will only have a statistical interest for them, as the company will be handling sugar bought by the Government, and no one would venture to make a guess as .to the values that will then prevail. During this year the price of sugar had been down to that prevailing in 1913, and, later, 50 per cent, above that level. Referring to Che Rona mishap, he said tie occurrence has caused the underwriters a loss of £50,000. The company's loss has been limited to that arising from the necessary employment of other steamers for tie Fiji trade during four months of the busy season and some expenses in connexion with' the repairs. WELLINGTON CITY PROPERTY. A block of land on Lambton quay, Wellington, to which an interesting piece of history relates is mw in tho markst for sale or lease by tender. This is an area, of about a quarter ot an acre_ oppesite Kelburn avenue, owned by Cis r*oyai Britannia and AutiP"d°an Lodges of Oddfellows, Manchester Unity, and on which the Oddfe'.lowß' Hail stands. No doubt with an eye ts the possibilities of tie future growth of Wellington, the Oddfellows v;ry many years ago reclaimed this piece of land, from the sea and it has been held by them ever since, now beinjr regrcded aa on-e cf tho most valuable sites in. the city. The block extends along Grey street to the National Bank, and is held as a freehold by the Oddfellows' Hall Trust. AUSTRALIAN MARKETS. (By Cable-*-Press Aasociatinn—Copyright.) (Australian « n<l N.Z. Cable Association.) MELBOURNE, November 10. Barley—Engusii, 3s 9d to 3s lOJd; Cape, 23 lOd to 3s per bushel. Oats—Algerians, 3s 8d to 3s 9d per "* shcl. Potatoes'—£lo to £ll pet ton. Onions-—£l7 per ton.

AUCKLAND STOCK EXCHANGE. (press association telegram.) AUCKLAND. November 10. Sales-War Loan, 1939. £96 fc; ,W»> *? 10s; Taupiri Coai. 17s Sd; Auckland »*», 245, Cement, 21s 9d, 21s 6d; WaiM. 31s Gd; Grand Junction, 10s. CLOSING QUOTATIONS.

DTJNEDIN STOCK EXCHANGE. (SPECIAL TO "THE PRE 33."; DUNEDIN, November 10. Sa'ea on 'Change—WiUon'a Cement, 21s 3d, 22b; Waihi, 3ia 6d. Sale repotted—"Otago Daily Times;" 55a. CLOSING QUOTATIONS. liuyeifl. Sellers. £ a. d. £ b. d-

OTHER EXCHANGES. (PRESS ASSOCIATION TSXEGBAH.) WELLINGTON,' November 10. • Reported sales. Post Office^ Bonds, £96 lof; National Bank, £6,35; Wcstport Coal, il 133 9d (cum). r . AUSTRALIAN WHEAT. The position of the Australia -wltM* .crop, is at toe moment an uncertain one, and W &&»£ between a fair «d. *V*"£ pends upon the weather of the «** ">!"*• says the "Insurance and BanKing *** ol *-. s/eatog generally, the early crops anwn a satisfactory position, subject to cool but the late crops require a. good raintaa almost immediately. ExaminaiUm of toe crops shows.in a number of ca? M * to \V~ heads are only about half fil.ed, toe r«nfall earlier in the season having been only moderate. In South Austral, and W«* Australia the crops may be summed up a. about one half good, a quarter fair and a quarter bad. In Victoria, about tw-towd. of the crops are good, and lie remamdex not too good. In New South -Wales a quarter of the crops are good, a quarter fair, and « half bad. While Victoria »on .the whoto in the most promising position the:farmers are diflinclind at the moment to order corr. sacks, the market for which,'is weak. Estimates of .the probab.e yielde areat pi» sent only problematic, but vnth a good ma fall at an early date a total of 8o million bushels may be" hoped for in the four chief States. Exports of '■'*"}££ flour from Australia during the »«»•**»" canont be estimated at over o5 mi hon bushels, which would mean V" *„« lower value than for the present season, an* hardly one-third of the value of exports during the 1921 season, wlien whrat and flour shipment, amounted to. £46,000,000 The markets are steady, buf there is not much business in white wheals for Europe atpre sent, these descriptions being *»*»« higher than red wheofe, and busbess is in Manitoba wheat. The effect of the American railway strike *» W to hold back wheat .in the United States. The Chicago market is keeping firm.

Buyers. £ e. <L Seller*- £ •, d. BANKS— Australasia. Oommorciai 13 0 0 1 14 0 Rational 6 1 6 8 17 3 Is'ew Zealand .. 2 16 9 Union 13 5 0 -~ INSURANCE— 8 8 6 National 8 7 0 New Zealand .. 1 7 6 17 9 South British .. 1 15 0 1 16 0 SUnda.nl 1 IS o FINANCIAL— 2 16 Goldsbrotigh Mort 3 1 0 N.Z. and River Plats .. 0 19 G — Loan and llercantile .. 74 0 0 80 0 0 Loan nnd Mercantile (prel.) 71 0 0 —• COAL— Hikurangi (ord.) 0 13 0 0 16 0 Taupiri .. 0 17 0 0 17 6 Taupiri (prel.) ' .. 1 2 c ' Waipa 0 16 3 "" Westport 1 13 0 ~~ SHIPPING— Devonport Ferry 1 1 0 15 6 Huddart Parker (ord.) .. all 0 3 11 9 Utiion Steam (pref.) .. 0 19 3 10 0 WOOLLEN— Kaiapoi (ord.) .. 1 2 6 —" Kaiapoi (10a) .. 0 11 9 -"" MINING— Muirs Beefs .. 18 6 1 10 6 Wnihi 1 11 0 1 11 9 Waihi Grand Junction 0 9 11 0 10 0 Mount Lyell .. 1 0 0 ■ — m DKBENTURES— War Loan, 1938 96 0 0 96 15 0 War Loan, 1027 96 5 0 — War Loan, 1939 95 15 0 96 15 0 Soldiers' Loan, 1933 .. 59 15 0 —

Wheat,. Oats. Acres. Acfes. Areas, for 1921-22: - For threshing 352,918 170,655 For ohaffing .. 1,262 314,051 Total harvested 354,17b 514,706 Not harvested .. . 1,220 17, Grand totals 335,330 532,304 Areas, 1922.-93 (estimated: North Island 10,000 50,00" South Island 275,000 335,OOP Totals ... 283,000 *383,001

0 lit a i i Jin* Ji ££'S s SJS weJ &»• o tn«> Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. North Island 5,816 2,048 197 8,061 Nelson, Marlborough, and »• 4,42F Wcstland' .. 2,085 Canterbury 137,527 1,124 317 36,769 16,971 191,267 Otago and 16,7t>0 13;'687 Southland 28,625 69,21? Dominion Pis 175,158 56,'fill 31,172 262,366

MINING— Hydraulio .. — 0 11 0 Rise and bmno — 0 8 u Rising bun .. — 0 8 0 "W aihi 1 11 6 1 11 u Waihi Grand Junction 0 10 0 0 10 2 Mount Lj'eil .. 1 0 9 — BANKS— Australasia — 13 6 0 New South Wales 35 0 0 — _ New iie-aland .. — 2 17 b ™ National 6 2 « — P. and 0 14 0 0 Union 13 6 0 13 9 0 INSURANCES— National 8 7 3 8 8 0 New Zealand .. 1 7 6 1 8 0 South British .. — 1 10 0 Standard 1 11 6 — SHIPPING— Huddart-Parker (ord.) 2 11 0 2 12 0 New Zealand ipref.) .. 10 0 0 — P. and 0. (d«f.) •• 305 0 0 -7-\ Union Steam' Ship Co. (pit!.) •• 0 19 6 1 0 0 COAL— . Westport 1 13 5 1 13 b FINANCIAL— N.Z. Loan and Mercantile (ord.) 75 0 0 — Perpetual Trustees 1 16 6 — Trustees Executors 2 6 0 — Wright, Stephenson and Co. (pref.) — 0 17 6 MEAT— ■> N.Z. Refrigerating (paid) 1 6 0 —. N.Z. Refrigerating (cont.) 0 14 1 0 14 3 Southland Frozen Meat (ord.) ; .. . 1 2 6 — South Otago Freezing ■ — 4 8 0 MISCELLANEOUS— ■ Brown, Ewing, and Co. fjrf.) 15 0 — Brown, Evring, and. Co. (pref.) .. •• 1 0 3 — D.I.C, (ord.) .. — 2 0 D (prem.) D.I.C. (pref.) ... .. 1 0 3 .1 0 8 Dominion Rubber ■ .... 0 17 0 0 18 6 Dons'3hy'a Rope"' and Twin* •:■ .. •i 10 o — Dunediri-Kaikorai Trams 1 4 0. . — DunedinStock Exchange - Proprietary (2 0 0 . —. Empire Buildings Milburn Cement . .... .10 1 10 0 9 1 11 6 McLeod Br':«. Soap :. 15 5 0 ■ — JNationaf Electrio 1 2' 9 i a 3 N.Z. Drug .. • • •• 2 13 6 ■ —" N.Z. Hardware (ord.) 0 8 6 — N.Zi. and Malay Rubber. 0 7 0 . — N.Z. Paper Mills '..... 1 3 6 ■• — Otago Daily Times■,.'., 2 14 6 — . >ith and Smith, {priat) 0 19 0 > — Wilson's, (N.Z.) 'Cement 11 9 1 2 8 WOOLLEN— Kaiapoi (ord.) 1 8 6 — Kaiapoi (cont) 0 12 2 — Kaiapoi (pref.) ; y. Bruce 1 1 1 13 0 0 1 18 Q M>"s?iel ' •• 6 10 3 6 12 6 DEBENTURES— 1930 4J per 6«nt. Bonds 9610 0 97 2 6 1939 41 per cent. Bonds 96 5 0 97 t> 0 1933 51 per cent. S.8. Bonds . •• 99 17 6 . — ■ 1938 44 per cent. Inscribed 96 2 6 97 0 0 1939 41 per cent. Inscribed 96 2 6 97 0 0 1933 54 per cejrt- S.S. Inscribed " 99 15 0 '- 1 -' 1927 5 per cent. P.O. Bonds ••'.■■ 96 7 6 — 1929 5 ?er cent. P.O. Bonds' •• .■■'■• ■• 96 0 0 . ~".