FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Press, Volume LXV, Issue 19624, 21 May 1929, Page 10

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

FORWARD MOVE. CITY REAL ESTATE. MANY PROPERTIES CHANGING HANDS. Not i-T v«ars ha* tin r* be. » *<«.» larked --truty in Ci-y >:* there ~ at and fcW^ts m»v tru:% t>< de-enbed as bennj in a fmd «,>„;i»U,n. W.tl..n f -;ar Leh a cbW„d a m >.-a: ,m; that it * ill at on.- ot <>v sr,,u i*rovisiona str*-e » ~t Cfcmvli.mh. i»i:- ili<.r.>.i K litar t - hJ6 ~!»avt IHCP<i N'h.ml < oloinbo■ htn-et -.„ valo-s. !>" 1 l"--"y m the Ut-t,-r i* vaLi.-d "« ;iU ' ul l l '* l ° »* r l °°l i'ihS" i'i'AK h!n <" tit., opinion ot competent Jiid«e, ihcy iniijt d" *<> JiortJv and a deal »1 deveiopItu* natural a ppnt-.;iii.»... 1 hat th >s »-ith t-wpitd*. •-<» "iv.-M are realising tao iiiown hv tl.,- l:-<t tint land which was ►..ld thoVo 1* ninths a-<. tot UoO a f.»ot tould n. i l>o pur- haM/d to-day lor \ rroiK.riv wli.ii has .-hanged hands t v.,v witlnr." a brut jK-riod is a section .n the n-»!-th <»> Armagh street m the middle ot the- shopping area, whirh »m formerly the property of Mr T W iter row ami has now been leaold't" Messrs Uixliop »«'» Co.. wino and f=l»«rit merchaiiU the price being stated a* ttjOOO. The section has a froatar of IV, f.-et and a depth oi three chains. Tho building formerly alaßding on the Mie has In'on demolished, and Mof-rs Bishop and Co. will hniki there fhurtly up-to-date prenim, for whiih the plans have been |irepared.

Manchester Street Deal. A much bigfier deal than this took place in connexion with the sale of ib* three storey brick business premises at the corner of Manchester and Tuam streets, occupied by Mr 'l. it. Barfett, house furnisher. The firm ot Atkinson'a, which was established ruanv rears ago. formerly leased this building, and Mr Barfett took over the property from them not long ago. 3le.>sr» Jackson and Jones bought this building, and it has uow been resold to Mr W. Crooipton, of the firm of Crompton». Ltd., plumbers' merchants, the purcnmie price beinp between £IO,OOO and £II,OOO on the first occasion, and rather mor© ou the second. It is understood that the block, which has frontager of approximately 60 feet to Tuam street and 40 feet to Manchester atreet, will bo converted into lire ahopa, to which purpose it lends itself admirably. Three will be in Tuam •treet and two in Manchester street.

Mr Crompton, it is also reported, baa made other purchases in Colombo street. In fact numerous properties in that street, between Moorhouse avenue find St. Asaph street, ar» changing hands, the prices asked being very .reasonable. One property in this quarter hat appreciated from £SO per foot to £l6O in 18 months. The Messrs Hollanders have bought * long lease of several shops in Colombo street on the east side, near the intersection with Armagh street, and iatend building on all the back land, of which there is a considerable area. Mow shop fronts will be built and a big branch of their business will be opened. The shops affected are the liN* occupied by Messrs Finney'a, Harreys, and the Crown Tailoring Company, and the frontage is at least 46 feet in length. Recently an offer of £BO,OOO was refused for the freehold of the whole of this block, which ta owned by the Crams estate, Palmeraton North.

lw«arby, Mr Mosson, fruiterer, has bought from Harris's estate the shop occupied by Mr S. R. Whale, and when tin learn expires intends taking out .JkkJtatMit and that of the fruiterer's •nop be at present occupies and convwrting the two into one. J* **• stated that when the premises wcctmied by the British International *M Company in Oxford terrace were ■oW, the purchase price was £12,000, fe«t it has since been learned that it lwjhe«« onderstated by more than J" 88 " 1 Maling and 00. were tlie purchasers.

NEW ZEALAND OIL. VIEWS OP DR. L. BOSSARD. l^Sli 1 * w ?' a i a Swi " Petroleum geo--22i , < N - Z > who was on a orlef visit to Melbourne a fortnight the oil possibilities ofV Imtedparts of the petroliferous areas hVSI'/ ,** d M P romi ßing, and justifying development. Disappointments of the past, Dr. Bos■ard points „ut, arc mostly found to be *ne to lack of preparatory scientific work, or to various technical mistakes. Most of the main promising oil hori■oaa have up to the present never bean reached by boring, and such areas have, therefore, to be considered as untested. Following upon his geological investigations in the field, he has been able to point nut some promising areas within the various petroliferous districts on the west and east coasts of the North Island ©f New Zealand. Where advisable he had recommended geophvsical investigations in addition to the geological survey for the purpose of elucidating incomplete geological data, thus rendering the preliminary research work as complete as possible. His investigations of the New Plymouth field had enabled him to discover structural con- » dittona favourable for the accumulation and retention of commercial quantities of oil in the hitherto untouched Omata area, about two miles south-west of the eld Motnroa area. Certain conditions

of the newly-discovered field influenced him to recommend a geophysical survey of the area, the result of which had confirmed his recommendstions. After all possible modern scientific efforts had been combined to investigate this area, it eouid be definitely stated that this Omata locality was distinguished by the presence of a proven structure. Expectation* as to the concentration of commercial quantities of oil on this structure were well founded, considering that •rtr 2,000,000 gallons of oil, with a high paraffin base, had been collected in the vicinity near Moturoa. where the structural conditions for the accumulation of commercial quantities of oil had not been as favourable as those proven for the Omata locality. The high commercial value of the oil found near New Plymouth, close to a deep-water harbour, and the occurrence of repeated oil horizons, rendered a boring enterprise on the Omata area more attractive. Methods of thorough preparatory scientific investigation wi-re also being adopted for selected parts of other petroliferous areas within Now Zealand.

LONDON PRODUCE MARKETS. Th» Bank of Sow Zratand b«s received the %k« «]#•• of business last week:— Butter—Bl«"«v; 1§»» to ISSb per c*t. Chae**—Mow; white, 86» per ewt; coloured, " Ma y«r iwt, ?»*«»«; Mwfr—Tbm- ii ■ little better de■tliil Ut wether rbntt'On. The kdrmce in , *•)«•■ •>»• checked the demand for ewe*. 2 K ? A * t u * hon ot iuvulie* ol beef, , «*4 .price. »r» nonnnai. """" "* ow ""

GROWING DEMAND NEW ZEALAND BUTTER IN ENGLAND. i I LONDON IMPORTER'S VIEWS. i J I THE PEESS Special Senrice.J j AUCKLAND, May 20. I New Zealand butter in quality is equal to the best in the world. The | demand for it in England is still grow- ! ing. This is the view of Mr C. J. ! Pollard, one of the principals of I Samuel Page and Son, of London. His firm is one of the oldest dairy importI mg businesses in England, and Mr I Pollard has made a lite-long study of the butter market, during which time he has served as chairman of ! various importing associations. He I arrived at Auckland by the Niagara. ! "I come with a Londoner's desire | for knowledge of the producing conditions in the Dominion," Mr Pollard j said. "I have a great belief in New Zealand as a producing country, and I want to see how we in London can best co-operate with the producers' to enlarge the market for New Zealand dairy produce. New Zealand butter occupies an unassailable position on the London market. AH round it is far stronger than Danish and Continental butter in the south of England. It is in the north that the Danish stronghold exists. The northern ports, of course, are handy to Denmark and other Baltic States where dairying is the principal occupation of the people. This creates a natural demand for cask butter, which arrives in England only 24 hours after it is made. Nevertheless there is a genuine demand in the north of England for New Zealand butter, and that market, if the prejudice in favour of Danish cask butter can be broken down, is capable of exploitation witn benefit to the New Zealand producer. London will always be the chief mari ket, but efforts in the right direction I should result in the establishment of a subsidiary market. At present traders in the north are not doing all they could to block the importations from Denmark. The publicity work now being carried out by the Empire Marketing Board is helping to create a solid market for New Zealand dairy produce throughout Great Britain." Mr Pollard said the wide disparity which exists at times between the E rices for New Zealand. and Danish utter was not really due to a difference in quality; it was more a question of relative supplies. When there were relatively small supplies of Danish butter it obtained a greater price, but that did not mean that New Zealand butter was of inferior quality. New Zealand prices sometim°s topped Danish when supplies of the latter were heavy. "I am not alone in declaring that the packing of the New Zealand butter is the best in the world," Mr Pollard said.

Referring to New Zealand cheese, Mr Pollard said it was ge'nerally recognised that it had its faults. Chief among them were a certain looseness and lack of cheddar flavour. If New Zealand wanted to produce cheese of the highest possible quality she would have to be satisfied with a smaller return per pound of butterfat. However, many factories even now produced very high-class cheese, and there was a solid demand \ throughout the United Kingdom for the New Zealand product.

EMPIRE WEEK. MEETING OP COMMITTEE. Keports of progress were made at the meeting of the Empire Shopping Week Committee yesterday, when Mr Studholme presided over a good attendance. Arrangments were well in hand, stated the chairman, and the business firms of the City were all very favourably disposed toward the movement. The Publicity Committee reported that arrangements were in hand for essay competitions and the Christcburch newspapers were giving their support. Mr Lindsay Russell's offer to arrange for screen advertisement for the actual cost of the slides, was gratefully accepted. A suitable poster had been selected for Empire Week, and it had been arranged to have 25,000 copies printed at a cost of £27 10s. A letter was received from Mr W. D. Lambie, Deputy Trade Commissioner, stating that he would be pleased to speak on Empire-New Zealand trade over the wireless during Empire Week.

EGG EXPORT. OVER PRODUCTION REDUCES PRICE. (THE PKBSS Special Service.} AUCKLAND, May 20. Over production in various countries producing eggs for the London market haß had a bad effect on the export aeaaon just passed, according to Mr A. J. Harrison, representing the Egg Federation of Melbourne, who is returning by the Niagara from a world tour in which he has investigated affairs connected witn egg exportation. The present state of the London egg market made it necessary for exporters in Australia and New Zealand to look to the future, Mr Harrison said. At present eggs from the Continent were being imported in large numbers into England, and there was little opportunity for Australia and New Zealand to widen their markets. Egga exported from New Zealand were practically of the highest quality, but there was hardly a demand for an increased quantity. New Zealand egg producers' should consolidate their present £osition The rate for imported eggs on th« london market was about 3s a dozen, a figure much lower than usual The rate was generally about Ss 6d a dozen. Mr Harrison thought the New Zealand Government's guarantee to producers would have to be revised. It was too high, and was creating a fictitious market. The egg marketing scheme introduced in England in April will probably benefit Australian and New Zealand exporters, Mr Harrison said, Eggs carrying Empire branding will meet with a healthy demand created by the publicity work of the Empire Marketing Board There was little opportunity of establishing an export trade with Canada and the United States, Mr Harrison continued. Both these countries had adopted hi"»h protective tariffs, and both were served with laTge home production.

Mr Harrison said he was surprised to hear of shipments of Canadian flour to New Zealand. A recent shipment comprised 700 tons, and- it was surprising to him that an agricultural country like New Zealand should be under the necessity to import its flour.

NORTH AUCKLAND DAIRY SEASON. A RECORD ESTABLISHED. (FBXBS ASSOCIATION TBI.EOaAM.I DARGAVILLE, May 20. The 1928-29 butter-fat season has eclipsed all previous records, the output for the present season from the two district factories — Northern Wairoa and Ruawai—reaching the respectable total of 2825! tons, an increase of 448 tons over the 1928 season. The payout to April 30th, 1929, for the same two factories was £350,620 Os 3d, an increase of £72,798 4s 3d for the season. With a month to go, the output will just about reach SOOO tons and the pay-out £370,000.