WOOL SALE.

Press, Volume LXIV, Issue 19502, 26 December 1928, Page 10

WOOL SALE.

NEXT CHRISTCHURCH CATALOGUE. The second Christchurch wool sale of the season will be held on Monday, January 7th. The catalogue is limited to 25,000 bales. The order of sale and the catalogues of brokers are as follows „ Bales Pyne, Gould, Guinness, Ltd. ... Dalgety and Co., Ltd. ... 5,250 N.Z. Farmers' Co-op. ... N.M. and Agency Co. ... 2.204 H. Matson and Co. ... ... ->lo° N.Z. Loan and M.A. Co. ... 1,920 25,000 At the corresponding sale in 1928 (held on January sth) 27,095 bales were offered, and all but 84 bales were soldThe average price per lb was 18.36 d and the average per bale £24 Is 10d. Last season the market improved as the sales proceeded, the per lb value at the February sale being 19.22 d and tho per bale £26 10s 7d. The level of prices set at the opening auction this season has been fairly well maintained, particularly for coarse wools, but the finer classes are scarcely keeping company. However, at the Dunedin sale just prior to_ the holiday there was spirited competition for all classes. The same may be expected at the forthcoming sale in Christchurch, though last January's big average need not be looked for. SOUTHLAND WOOLLEN MILLS. WINDING UP ORDER APPEALED AGAINST. The directors of the Southland Woollen Mills, Ltd., have lodged an appeal against tho decision of Mr Justice Macgregor recently made after hearing legal argument on an injunction to wind up the affairs of the company. The judge an order to wind up the company as bought by the petitioners, and it is against this that the directors have appealed. The petitioners in the case were principally Central Otago shareholders, and the appellants for the most part are business men and fanners in the Eastern district of Southland. The site of the proposed mills was Gore, and steps in the enterprise had reached the stage in which orders wer'o being placed for machinery. BRITISH INDUSTRIES. SAFEGUARDING VERSUS TRADE. (fboii our own correspondent.) 'LONDON, November 8. Lord Hunsdon (President of the Empire Industries' Association) in a recent speech said:— Safeguarding will probably excite more controversy- at the General Election than any other topic, and this, not because the Labour and Liberal parties will be eager for the discussion, but because the Conservatives will desire that the electorate shall know that the experiment, which has been one of the -chief items in their policy,, has so far been attended by success. There can be no doubt that, apart from the theoretical case for Free Trade, which is probably not very intelligible to the working classes, that system has a great hold on our people. This is mainly due to the fact that during the latter half of last century the country prospered exceedingly under that system,- and unless one can show that the conditions which then existed have altered so materially as to make free trade undesirable at the present time it is unlikely that the people will abandon it . . . In no case have prices of safeguarded manufactures risen to the extent of the duty, and on the average they have hardly risen at all, arid, further, the duties, including the McKenna duties and those on key industries, amounted in 1927 to close on £12,000,000. The Prjme Minister says that the experimental stage is passing. I would perhaps rather say that the safeguarding experiments of the last seven years have been so encouraging that it would be unreasonable not to extend them, and in this connexion it should be remembered that the motive for imposing import duties has had nothing whatever to do with the results. It is the import themselves which have checked foreign imports and increased home manufacture; it is the import duties which have * given the manufacture security; and it is the import duties which have brought in revenue. Therefore, the restrictions and conditions which ' are now imposed on those who apply for safeguarding might reasonably 'be relaxed until we have tried the effect of import duties on a scale which would be a complete test of the system. HIGH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. Tho Department of Agriculture has received the following cablagram, dated 22nd instant, from the High Commissioner for New Zealand, London: — TALLOW. Market very quiet with poor demand at auction. Present quotations for spot are:— Mutton, fine 45s fid to 46s per cwt; fair to good 41s 6d to 45s per cwt, dark to dull 38a to 38s 6d per cwt; beef, eweet and-or mixed 42s to 46s per cwt, fair to good S9s 6d to 42s per cwt, dark to dull 87s to 37s 6d per cwt; mixed, fair to good S9s to 41s 6d per cwt; dark to dull 87s to 87b 6d per cwt; gut, etc., 85s 6d to 37b 6d per cwt. HEMP. Manila market quiet but firm; fair business has been done. Shippers' offerings small; closjng values "J" grade JanuaryMarch shipment, £3B ss. Sisal market firm with somewhat more trade enquiry. No. 1 December-February shipments in demand at £4O 10s to £4O 15jj. Hellers £4l; No. 2 leas enquiry; nominal!) £3B 10s. New Zealand: Better demand but business restricted as shippers have advanced prices which buyers unwilling to follow. Closing values December-February shioments: Highpoints, £36 to £36 10s; fair, £33 to £33 10s; common, £3O 10s; tow No. 2, £22 10s; No. 3, £l9. WOOL. Bradford market quiet with no general buying of either tops or yarns expected until new basis established. Quotations nominally unchanged but position favours buyers. SHARES. . LONDON, December 24. Bank shares and other quotations afford the following comparisons with those pre-

vicrasly cabled: — Dec. 11. Dec. 24 £ e. d. £ b. d. Australasia 14 7 G 14 12 6 New Soutli Walee (ex div.) .. .. 48 15 0 49 0 0 "Union of Aust. 15 5 74 15 10 0 National of N.Z. 7 6 3 7 6 3 Bank of New Zealand (4 per cent, stock) 92 10 0 92 15 0 Bank of New Zealand (shares) S 0 0 3 0 6 N.Z. Loan and Mer- . eantilo (4 per cent. deb.) 74 10 0 74 10 0 N.Z. Loan and Mercantile ford stock) 123 10 0 120- 0 0 —Australian Press Association United Servic*.