FINANCE AND COMMERCE

Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21377, 21 January 1935, Page 17

FINANCE AND COMMERCE

gITFTER SOLD TO AMERICA ggOBTAGE CAUSED BY DROUGHT J-OCT 10,000 CASES SHIPPED rySB tSZBB Special Service.] 'HTELLINGTON, January 20. jvcuzfei conditions in some parts of l«d the United States have for such a long time Widespread distress and produce have been caused. The New fsjasd Department of Industries and Zggaerc* acted quickly, and about J«*» cases of butter are at present ggjer shipment to New York, on -nfchKwt sale. Uncertainty about American stocks MM February and March has led toJßteWrtsd importers on the East Q-gi d America purchasing supplies jjjew Zealand butter from London. 3%y department is anxious to show jts to j m and to introduce New Zealand to** in the American market, as Smmeat shortage may recur in 1935 3mj to difficulty in replacing thousS( sf milch cows which were Strtured because of fodder shortage. i 5» widespread drought conditions JmT described by Mr J. W. Collins, •to* Zealand Trade Commissioner in SLta. who is at present making contSTwitb New Zealand producers and interested in American markets, a $n interview. •Be drought has been very bad in r F ««rf» and has been combined with tig drift" said Mr Collins. "Alberta, jSgjjgißtowan. and Manitoba have sufifftd very badly, particularly Sasj(j*djewan and Manitoba. In Sasfenjffawaffl the drought conditions have tOl jualntained for nearly three years, ail im r Reguia the farmers have had mOW * or three vears - The mainly Ji jjrain, particularly wheat, but tens the dry weather there was such a loir yield that it did not pay to iamst the crops. Tremendous Soil Drift

"to the cummer of 1934, hundreds of thousands of tons of soil were blown ftco tiie Adds—lifted from farm areas, mi carried to the far north. That invctnd the provincial and federal govtrammts in enormous expense in shiftjfef thousands of farmers to northern area where rainfall could be depended upsa. In the middle west, the pasture* were so scarce that 7,000,000 to 15,080,000 cattle had to be slaughtered, aid many millions had to be transparted to new states where pastures •ere obtainable.

"The distress of the farming complicity both in Canada and in the United States was so acute that grants •ere made- by the federal and provincial governments to provide sustenance and clothing. The governments *J» undertook the financial responsiMlitjr of finding new farms, and transporting families and stock. "In the 1932 season in Canada and tte United States world prices were ptebly at their lowest ebb. It has wm established that for the finest fiide of wheat all that could be netted was Is 3d a bushel, that pork sold at from 1 to 3 cents, and beef at 1 cent \W lb. That condition is materially dmnged to-day. due very largely to the Ottawa Agreement allowing the Canadian farmers to get a market in the United Kingdom for pork and pork Products. Wheat advanced to 87 mu a bushel and beef has also shown Heady improvement. Slaughter of Cattle t."? 1 ? shortage of butter in the Batted States is undoubtedly due to »6 drought, combined with the slaughter of rattle but the season during Well this shortage will extend is mtiy to be a very brief one, as it ri Ull7 J a^ t J d P ated lhat in late February and March domestic production *W approach domestic requirements. Jw Department of Industries and wmmerce has done everything posato to ascertain the facts, and has i7»Jf^ pe , rat L ng with the shippers rawtt commercial information as to "■wet conditions." Jfl BK* Wi £ b - e in New Zealand BSJ*V oUeh with a]l sWPPers ££f e^ en nt S r c oncerned in trading in SSftnSf U « ted States - and the ta?c&u H t wiU to Nel--5w2m ,t t h !r, h \ Duned in. and inM utJ? d t later win visit main mSLM t0 * ns with a view to Sa2«l g w Zealand's trade relaAm , e f ca - Towards the K255S£ w,u leave for Canada

IiCHRISTCHURCH GAS V COMPANY i < . DIVIDEND DECLARATION **«•« tStOCUTTOM TJCLSOXJJt.) f 'lfc. -f January 20. •fidSE??^ 11 Gas Com P an y ha * ..J** the Stock Exchange Associar"" I * l »t a meeting of the board of JJJ-w* held on Friday, a dividend j * Per cent was recommended to be '•Sfctsi? 6 six months ending De ' t«fi?kW end for 1933 was at the S«2ffa2 £<*""*• interim and 3 hali -y ear en ding De*•*ISSLJ WaS e samo r * te as OF TAXATION •UIDEN ON SHAREHOLDERS to Writing of the weight of taxation, J«« emphasis is laid upon the £™™ «taxation per head of populas» m£!s tex P a y er . remarks the "Syd- ** tSTT 8 Herald " But this does ft**;! f whole tele ' because in*irt*?¥u high ' as weU as taxation. «'ifc«n reason that a comparison *« to- h ° f different countries on fcantL u or per taxpayer basis «tar*fL be misleading. The weight fcttkcm t LS best ]earne d by a comtt «* Daid income received with taxafe3 at th« n The ratter was brought «aS cJ£! ar "iual meeting of Dalgety ?*S3SBF y J n l <° ndon recently.* A d / ew atten tion to the *«SriS?t ta - es P aid amounted to tt «^ a «li le the P rofit after paying amounted to £107,500, ** dividend distributed i£L3; 'AWO. Thus the taxation was *Wlha 5* r cent - of the net profits, mffi lJF v £? aWDt * took » sum QXkaniZ, ps ordinary shareholders. *mSs «2& l ?J he Preference dividend hgZSr!r' *«e capital of the snareto every £2 it earns for the earns £1 for the governJf*« you anything to sell—Do SOg* to buy? 5 bo, a small klSfiS*2L en U n tn ® classified secHh.% Press" will be all you BKrwcro Is, three insertions

PRIVY COUNCIL APPEAL LYSNAR V. NATIONAL BANK OF N.Z. AROWHANA STATION DISPUTE (fboh oub own cobbebfondiht.) LONDON, December 22. An appeal case having a New Zealand interest has been heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and judgment reserved. The appellant was Mr William D. Lysnar, of Gisborne; the respondent the National Bank of New Zealand. Mr Lysnar appealed from a judgment dated June 15, 1933, of the-Court of Appeal of New Zealand. Before March 14, 1931, the appellant was the proprietor of Arowhana Station, near Gisborne, consisting of 13,608 acres, being part of Mangatu j blocks 5 and 6, subject to a mortgage to the East Coast Commissioner securing with arrears of interest approximately £21,700, and called "the back ; portion"; 7820 acres, being part of Waipaoa and Mangatu blocks, subject to a first mortgage to the Public Trustee securing with arrears of interest £30,082, and called "the front portion." By a memorandum of mortgage dated April 12, 1916, appellant mortgaged all his equity in this land to the National Bank of New Zealand. Owing to the collapse of the wool and stock markets, and to the bank insisting on retaining all available revenue from the station, the appellant fell into arrear with his interest to the Public Trustee and the East Coast Commissioner, and the latter on March 14, 1931, s<Jld through the registrar of the Supreme Court that portion of Arowhana Station called "the back portion" comprised in his mortgage, and bought it in himself for £13,608. As Arowhana Station could not be advantageously worked without the back portion, the. appellant, at the request of the general manager of the. bank, entered into extensive negotiations with the East Coast Commissioner and the general manager to arrange some plan of working the station to the advantage of all parties and to secure a fresh tenure of the back portion. After these negotiations the appellant, the East Coast Commissioner, and the general manager of the bank, on behalf of the appellant, entered into a contract whereby in consideration of the East Coast Commissioner agreeing to lease the back portion of Arowhana to the appellant for a period of five years with a right of purchase for £13,000, the respondent agreed to reduce the appellant's liability to the respondent to the sum of £30,000, to be secured by a mortgage subject to the existing mortgage to the Public Trustee over the front and back portions of Arowhana Station, including the sheep and cattle thereon, for a term of five years at 5 per cent. This contract is evidenced by an offer in writing made by the East Coast Commissioner and dated April 29, 1931, and an acceptance by the appellant by a letter dated May 1, 1931, and by the respondent by an endorsement in writing thereon accepting the contract, dated May 1, 1931. Action of the Bank On May 2, 1931, the bank attempted to vary the contract by imposing additional conditions on appellant, and on the refusal of appellant to allow the insertion of these conditions the respondent bank purported to revoke its acceptance of the offer of the East Coast Commissioner and served upon the appellant a notice of its intention to exercise the powers conferred upon it as a grantee of the chattels instrument, and on July 10, 1931, served a notice of its intention to exercise its powers as mortgagee. In due course the bank entered into possession, and still retains possession. Mr Lysnar computed his damages at £50,919, and claimed for that amount. Mr S. O. Henn Collins and Mr G. E. Timins appeared for appellant. MiGavin T. Simonds and Mr Cyril J. Parton appeared for respondent.

Appellant's Case Appellant, through his counsel, submitted that the order appealed from was erroneous and ought to be reversed, because, among other reasons, a complete and binding contract was concluded between the appellant and respondent when the latter's general manager signed and handed to the appellant his letter of acceptance on May 1, 1931; because the contract operated as an accord and satisfaction of the prior indebtedness of the appellant to the respondent. He also contended that the Court of Appeal was wrong in basing its judg-" ment on facts that were not pleaded or raised in respondent's repudiation of the alleged contract; in having misconstrued the evidence, and in holding that the commissioner's consent to the exception in respondent's letter of May 1, 1931, and tin marginal note was essential; and in disregarding the evidence that such consent was in fact given.

MACKY, LOGAN, CALDWELL, LIMITED FIRM RECONSTRUCTED trasss association tkleobam.) AUCKLAND, January 19. The firm of Macky, Logan, Caldwell, Ltd., which has been in liquidation for the last two years, has been reconstructed. The minimum subscription on which the company could be formed was £60,000; and £70,000 was subscribed by the public. The directors are Messrs D. R. Caldwell, S. G. Steer, L. Griffiths, and H. J. Mills. POTATO EMBARGO A deputation representing the shippers of New Zealand potatoes to Australia, consisting of Messrs V. C. McPhail and G. E. Royds, waited on the Minister for Customs (the Rt. Hon. J. G. Coates) in Christchurch on Saturday morning to urge the case for the removal of trade barriers between the Dominion and the Commonwealth. Mr Coates gave the deputation a sympathetic hearing and explained that no finality had yet been reached in the trade negotiations. LONDON KABBITSKIN SALES LONDON, January 18. At the rabbitskin sales 2399 Australian bales were offered and 1536 sold. Six hundred and sixty-six New Zealand bales were offered and 230 sold. There was a good demand for furriers' sorts at Id to 2d above the November rates. Hatters' pulling sorts advanced 5 per cent, and unpulled 10

FROZEN MEAT * SMITHFIELD MARKET The New Zealand Meat Producers' Board has received the following cable message from its London office, dated January 18, advising that the following are the approximate average prices realised for the week, based on actual transactions of wholesale quantities of the descriptions of meat mentioned, and are for representative parcels of the goods offering during the week, being for business done on the basis of delivered to Smithfield market, and/or ex London stores:— (Prices for the two previous weeks are also shown.) Jan. Jan. Jan. 18. 11. 4. Per lb. d. d. d. N.Z. SheepCanterbury & North Island selected crossbred wethers and maiden ewes: I 48 to 561b .. 5£ 5| 5| 1 57 to 641b .. H 5i 5§ I 65 to 721b ..5 5 5k I North Island: 48 to 561b .. 5i 51 5| 57 to 641b .". 5J 5i 5g 65 to 721b ..5 5 5£ \ Ewes—481b and under 4g 4g 4g 48 to 641b ..4 4 4 I 65 to 721b .. 32 3$ 3? *N.Z. LambsNew Season's— Selected North Island brands: ' 361b and under 8 7g 73 37 to 421b .. 84 8J 8i Second quality: Average 321b .. 7i 7| 7 Other North Island brands: First quality: 361b and under 73 7.? 7g 37 to 421b .'. 8 8 7g Second quality: Average 321b .. 7i 7 6? Australian Lambs — Victorian Ist quality: 361b and under Ik 7h 7 37 to 421b .. 71 7.1 7^ Argentine Lambs—--361b and under 7 7 6f 37 to 421b .. 7 7 7 N.Z. BeefOx fores .. 23 2§ 2\ Ox hinds .. 33 U 3] Argentine Chilled BeefOx fores .. 34 3g 3 Ox hinds .. 55 5| 5g Australian Frozen Beef— Ox crops, over 1001b .. 3i 3J 21 Ox hi. ds, over 1601b ..4 33 3| N.Z. Prime Porker Pigs—--60 to 801b .. 6i 6g 6\ 81 to 1001b .. 53 5? f 5J . 101 to 1201b .. 53 53 5g N.Z. Baconer Pigs—--120 to 1601b ..6 53 5J Lamb Market—Fair demand with prices tinner owing to short spot stocks. Mutton Market—Light-weight wethers slightly easier, but trade fair. Ewes: demand slow. Beef Market—Prices better with stocks showing decrease. New Zealand Porker Pigs—Demand quiet with light-weights easier. New Zealand Baconer Pigs—Slightly firmer.

The Bank of New Zealand has recevied the following advice from its London office as at the close of business last week:— There is a little better demand for wether mutton. Trade in ewes is slow. There is a moderate demand for lambs; smaller supplies have caused prices to harden. Trade generally is slow. Quotations: Per lb. Wethers— d. d. Light .. .. 5J to 6 Heavy .. .. 4& to 5 1 Ewes .. .. 3$ to 4j| Lambs—2's .. .. 73 to 8 B's .. .. 8 to 8i 4'b ' .. .. 7J to 73 Seconds .. ; .. 7 to 1\ LONDON WOOL SALES SUSTAINED COMPETITION AT FULL LATE RATES

LONDON, January 18. At the wool sales 8325 bales were offered, including 2645 from New Zealand, and about. 6954 Australian and New Zealand bales were sold. There was a firm tone and sustained Home and Continental competition at full late rates. New Zealand sales: Scoured Merinos, R. Company T, top 21d, average 20gd. BROKERS' REPORTS Messrs H. Irwell and Company, Lon.; don, report on the London wool sales as follows:—Sale proceeding with the market firm and active, and Germany buying moderately. The following is the ruling range of prices:—Fiftyeights, lid; fifty-sixes, lOJd; fifties, 9d; forty-eighths, 7£d; forty-sixes,* 6Jd; forty-fours, 5Jd.

WHEAT TRADING CHICAGO FUTURES NEW YORK, January 19. Chicago futures are:— Jan. 16. Jan. 19. Cents a busheL May .. .. 96? 988 July .. .. 88S 89g September ... .. 80S 772 New York (cash) .. 1063 109£ LONDON MARKETS LONDON, January 19. Friday's closing, prices:— Cotton—Spot, 7.15 d; February, 6.87 d. Rubber—Para, 4 7-8 d; plantation smoked, 6 7-16 d. Jute—January and February, £l7 7s 6d. Copra—February and March, South Sea, £l2; smoked, £l2; plantation Rabaul, £l2 15s. Linseed Oil—£2l 15s. , Turpentine—£2 8s 3d.

POULTRY PRODUCERS, LTD.

The Canterbury Co-op. Poultry Producers, Ltd., report that for the sale on Wednesday and Friday exceptionally heavy yardings of all classes of poultry were auctioned to a large attendance of buyerß. Bidding wis brisk, and all lines were read* ily bought at satisfactory prices. Ducklings were much in evidence, and are now hard of sale, while prime chicken and •well-con-ditioned boilers were mainly sought after. The following prices were realised a pair:—Chicken: Heavy are short of supply and realised up to 10s; medium are selling well at prices up to 7s 6d; light in good demand, the top price being 4s 6d. Boilers: Heavy in good supply, prices going as high as 7s; medium to light comprised the majority of the pennings, and found the market at Ss 6d. Ducklings to 7s; goslings to 7s; turkeys from is to Is 2d per lb, While eight to 12 week old pullets sold at prices from 4s 6d to fs 6d n pair. Egg Market—Eggs, machine graded, tested, and gus'tjnteed, first grade lid, sec-

STOCK EXCHANGES AUCKLAND Sales on 'Change £ s. d. E., S., and A. Bank (2) 5 3 6 A.P. Assurance .. ,0 11 0 Farmers' Co-op. Auct. (B pref.) .. ..106 Dominion Fertiliser ~ 110 Dunlop Perdriau .. 019 10£ Farmers' Trading .. 0 7 3 H.M. Arcade Theatre. - (pf.) 116 WELLINGTON Sales on 'Change £ s. d. Com. Bank of Aust. .. 016 9 Bank of New Zealand .. 210 0 2 10 6 British Tobacco .. 119 6 Dunlop Perdriau .. 10 0 0 19 11 0 19 10 Electro. Zinc, (pref.) .. 113 2 1 13 3 Unlisted Stocks Woolworths (Syd.), ord. .. 4 8 0 DUNEDIN Sales on 'Change £ s. d. Otago Daily Times .. 2 13 0 Gillespie's Beach ..017 Sales Reported Dunlop Rubbers .. 019 11 Mount Morgan .. 118 3 DIVIDENDS

H.Ma Arcade—final pref. 5 1-5 p.c. per annum, ord. 3 J p.c. .. Jan. 23 Hume Steel —pref. 10 p.c. . . Jan. 24 Kuala Lumpur Tin, (id a, share .. Jan, 25 Mining Trust —12& p.c. .. Jan 25 Union Bank—interim, 2s 6d a share Jan. 30 Meggitt, Ltd, —Half-yearly pref. 10 p.c, per annum, loss statutory deduction, and 5 p.c. per annum . . . . Jan. 31 Farmer and Co., Lfd. —Half-yearly, first pref., 6 p.c. por annum; second pref., 7 p.c. per annum Jan. ill Aust. (Jen. Ass. —8 p.c. .. Jan. 31 Wgtn. Trust and Loan—s§ p.c. . . Feb. 1 Trustees, Executors Agency—int. 6 p.o. p.a. .. .. Feb. 1 A. P. Assurance—2J p.c. .. Feb. 5 Wgtn. (ins. Co. — & p.c. final, making 8 p.c. for year , . . . Fob. 5 Commercial Bank of Aust.—interim pref. 4 p.c. , p.a., ord. 5 p.c. p.a. . . . . . . Feb. 8 N.Z. Insurance—interim, Is a share Feb. 13 Queensland Nat. Bank —int., halfyearly,' 4 p.c. per unnum ~. Feb. 14 N.Z. Refrigerating—sJ p.c. .. Electro Zinc —int. pref., 8 p.c. p.a. . . .. Mar. 13

FOREIGN EXCHANGES (Banisn OFFICIAL WIBSUBSIJ RUGBY, January 18. I'uv. Jan. 17. Jun. 18. Paris, fr. to £1 124.21 74 9-32 74 5-32 New York, dol. to £1 4.8G6 4.788 4.881 Montreal, dol. to £1 4.8G6 4.872 4.87 i Brussels, belgastoXl 35 20.99 20.93 J Gen evii, fr. to XI 25.2215 15.14} 15.11 Amsterdam, fl. to XI 12.107 7.24J 7.231J Milan, lire to 21 03.47 57? 57 7-33 Borlin, reichmarken to £1 20.43 12.21 12.20 Stockholm, ki\ to £1 18.159 19.39J 19.39J Copenhagen, kr. u> XI 18.159 22.391 22.391 Oslo, kr. to £1 18.150 19.90J 19.00J Vienna, fcchgs. to £1 34.585 261 2GJ Prague, kr. to XI 1C4.25 117J U73 Ilelsingfors, marks' to XI .. 103.23 220J 22GJ Madrid, pesetas to £1 25.2215 36 13-10 36 3-16 Lisbon, escndoß to XX 110 Jloi 1101 Athens, draoh to £1 875. 514 514 Bucharest, lei to XI 818.6 487J 4871 Belgrade, • dinars 26.2215 21.6 21.6 Kio do Janeiro, pence to milreis .. 4.892 . 4J i\ Buenos Aires, pence to dol. 57 361 301 Montevideo, pencotodol. 57 39J 30J Bombay, pence to rup. 19 18 1-1,6 18 1-16 Shanghai, penco to dol. * 174 171 Hong Kong, penco to dol. * 21 7-16 .21 5-16 Yokohama, pence to yon 24.57 14J 14 Warsaw, par zlotys to XI 43.36 Batavia, guilders 12.107 'Determined by prico of silver.

METALS MARKET LONDON, January 18. Jan. 17. Jan. 18. A ton. A ton. £ s. (1. JC s. d. Copper—.Standard, spot 27 14 41 28 3 11 Forward .. 28 1 7J 28 10. 71 Electrolytic .. 81 0 0 ' 80 10 0 to .. 31 5 0 31 15 0 Wire bars ..3150 31 15 0 American electrolytic: 9 cents pc,r lb. Load— Spot .. 10 5 0 10 5 0 Forward .. 10 10 0 10 15 0 Spelter— V Spot , .. 11 18 9 11 18 9 Forward ... 12 5 0 12 5 0 TinSpot .. 230 10 3 231 5 0 Forward .. 228 16 3 228 17 6 Silver— Fine, per oz. . . 24fi 24 9-16 d Standard, per ob. 26 9-16 d 2CJd . . Jan. 11. Jan. 18. Pig Iron— Home trade ..376 876 Export .. 3 2 6 3 2 6 AntimonyBritish .. 77 10 0 77 10 0 Foreign .. 58 15 0 58 5 0 (a unit) (a unit.) Molybdenite ... 114 6 114 6 Wolfram .. 1 19 6 1 18 9 PRICE OP , GOLD * . LONDON, January 18. Gold (a fine ounce) is quoted:— ' • £ s. d. January 18 ~ 7 2 Ij . January 17 .. 7 111 January 16 ..716 January 15 ..724 January 14 .. 7 1 11 January 12 ..717$

MINING . BELL-HOOPER RETURN The return for the week ending January 18 was'Soz 9dwt 9gr. WETHERSTONES Wetherstones Gold Mining Company, Ltd., Otago, reports that operations were suspended for four months, during which time a complete geophysical survey of the company's claim was made. This was necessary owing lo'a serious fault having been discovered at the location of the incline shafj. Pioposals for future development have been prepared by the company's engineers in conjunction with the Mines Department and the Department of Industrial Research. Financial arrangements have been made which will permit a definite programme extending over five months, and during the period of operations the engineers anticipate fhat they will then be able to prove definitely the extent of the gold values. The mine manager anticipates that he will be operating three full shifts within about two weeks. THE GOLDFIELDS DREDGE The secretary of the Goldflelds Dredging Company, Ltd., reports that advantage was taken of the Christ : mas and New Year holidays to overhaul the dredge, this being the first overhaul since passing through the gorge. The..overhaul was extensive. New pins and bushes were fittea to the ladder buckets, a 12-foot extension was made to the tail race, and certain" other adjustments were effected. Good progress was made with the overhaul and on January 15 the dredge resumed operations. There was no wash up this week, as the dredge has been dealing mainly with silt deposited during the recent flood. BRIAN BORU RETURN (rmsss association txmcqbam.) GREYMOUTH, January 20. The Brian Boru dredge return for the week ending Saturday, January 19, was 22 ounces 6dwt for 159 hours, the yardage treated being 22,000. MOSSY CREEK

Owing to the extra quantity of sand being handled by the Mossy Creek dredge, it has been considered advisable to lengthen the elevator. The work is being put in hand immediately, the contractor having the additional section ready to be placed in position. The working time last week will therefore be lessened, with a consequent effct on the gold return. WORKSOP DREDGE The Worksop dredge is undergoing alterations, and will resume operations in about a week. RUSSIAN TRADE ORDERS TO GREAT BRITAIN The Moscow Narodny Bank Review reports that the orders placed in Great Britain during October amounted to £574,466, compared with £506,202 in October 1933, an increase of 13.5 per cent. The following tahle shows the orders placed and the purchases made in October of 1934:—Machinery and equipment, £58,552; ferrous alloys and steel. £9100; non-ferrous metals, £161.422; rubber, £102,055; textiles (raw materials), £64,970; tea, £73,291; herrings, £42,242; various, £62.834; total. £574,466. < In the first 10 months of 1934 the Anglo-Soviet Shipping Company, Ltd., chartered on the London market alone a total of 391 vessels, of, 2,442,484 tons, and an estimated freight amounting to £1,163,347. Of these, 282 vessels, of 1,774,715 tons, and of an estimated freight amounting to £51,163,239, were British. The share of the British tonnage was thus 72.7 per cent., and that of the freight clue to British shipowners was 73.1 per cent, of the total. The above figures do not include the chartering by the company of vessels outside the London market, nor do they include time charters.