FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 202, 20 May 1908, Page 10

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

. , ' THE SHARE MARKET. V The market was again slow, yesterday I ,' and 'exhibited,a downward- tendency. Sellers.; were very much in evidence, but buyers" wire scarce. Many-of: the shrires. are getting hack .to .their proper level- under the pressure' of - dear money. -Bunk of .Now ;Zealand shares suffered. a further relapse,, and were' yes Vrday offered' .for sale at <i 9 2s. 6d. without attracting buyers.National Bank shares : were quiet, ;with sellers 1 at £5 53. 3d. " Financial shares lacked animation; sellers maintained their quotations, hut thore does not appear to be any immediate chance of realising the- prices. There were sellers of Wellington Investment' shares at«l2g. 3d.,- Wellington Trust and < Loan i' at: £7 . llsv Wellington Deposit at 9s. (ex dividend), and Loan, and Mercantile at ss. For National Mart-' gage shares'thero was a bid of «£3. Gas shares' were .practically unchanged. - Feilding - Gas shares were again, wanted at 19s. j and thero ; wore sellers of ChristchurchGas at -.£lO 2s. 6d., and Wellington Gas (it 7s'::6d. iMeafc' shares were neglected. Christchurch Meat, sellers ,£lO 55.; Gear Meat, sellers l £2 10s.'•Cd.;' Wellington Meat Export, third issue, sellers S3" ss. New Zealand Shipping shares were on salo at i 6. For .Wellington Woollen was bid,' and <£3 7s. JJd. asjied.-•• Sellers willing -to 'accept <£8 55.-(cum' dividend) for Donaghy -Rope and 435; Timber, 51s; 6d. for New Zealand Drugs; 235. Gd; for New Zealand. Paper Mills/: and-75.. forTaranala Petroleum., There were ; inquiries for Manning and Co. brewory shares at .£3 14s.

' ■', THE MINING - MARKET. ~ ./ • ••..• Aslmnp appears to/have sot in-with-,-respect to Talisman shares,! which changed hands at ,X 2 Gs. 3d., down to ,£2 4s. 9d. -Just'.what is tho cause of this collapse it is difficult to'determine, but it is.probably due ,to.forced sale?.. : on .the part of-.weak and'timid holders. Waihis; have firmed slightly, and changed hands at £9 9g. • Yesterday.s quotations wero as under: — . Buyers. .. Sellors. .Sales., ... ...■■■■ '■£ s. d. i£'s. d. ■"£ : s.-d.' Big River ... ... 1 0 0 Blockwater Reefs ... 1 3 0' . — -■ — Waihi . 9 .'9 o '9 10 .6 *9 9 0; Talisman ' ... ... 2 4 9 2 5 3 2 6 3 2 6 0 , < - -"2-49 ■■.. 2 5:0 ...... 2 4 9 ; THE WOOL MARKET. The latest telegrams from.London, which givo ; .he. tone of the market on' Monday, show that - iho recent recovery has. been well maintained.. The competition appears, to. be good;'and-may become stronger if the aro heavy.' 111 the meanwhile, wool, growers are realising what the present level of prices means,,for,theaccount sales of. the. March sales, show that . nearly all who had obtained advances from the banks have now to make refunds, the wool sell-, in? for less than the advance. Borrowing ;:is .being resorted to on a large scale, and many ..farmers and- others unable ;to secure advances on. certain securities are now obliged to'seek outside sources for funds. The life offices have ; - very littlo monoy to place, and aro unable to ■ take up good securities.' POSTAL CHEQUES IN GERMANY. Some eight years ago a scheme was formulated in Germany to inaugurate a system ofpostal cheques inconnection -with the post" office, :but owing to tho Reichstag imposing . conditions thereto vhich the Government could- . not accept, it was never carried out. Latest mail news, however, states that the Imperial Government has decided to adopt this, plan,. I ho present - scheme - will be put into operation through a decree,; which will remain in force i.. by .which time a general law on .the is expected-.to bo-passed. The., systemwill be-much the same as the one which has : worked in such' a' highly' satisfactory, manner in Austria,- but, .unlike- the Austrian prototype, no interest upon deposits will.be paid. . This is regarded as rather a defect'in the scheme,, as one of the merits of; the Austrian system is that it appeals to the saving instinct.of the people, besides supplying them with a cheap and easy method of making payments without . tne use of currency. It is intended at the beginning to'open cheque offices iii nine of tho : ' chief cities of the Imperial system, namoly, "Berlin, Breslau, Cologne, Danzig, Frankfort, Hamburg, Leipzig, Hanover, and another, the system extending to . other cities later. This cheque business will not be confined to tho cities having cheque offices, payments for ac- " count of a regular patron of a cheque office being permissible at any post office in the Im- ; perial system* and he can have all monoys arriving at the office carried to his account. , To open an account" the subscriber must make , a deposit of £5, and his balance must always reach that sum, while small fees, just sufficient ' to meet the cost of the system, will be charged • for, services. Surplus moneys \not needed to : meet current payments will be deposited with the Reichbank, and invested for. the Imperial 'Treasury. .This system, it is honed, will alleviate the great strain upon' the country's currency, dne to thovvery small use-"of bank cheques amongst the.people. . . ... ■ OREGON LUMBER. . ;, ' . Tho reason why Oregon pine is, coming into, active competition with New Zealand timbor is owing to the depression in the trade. . The close of 1907 saw ithe timber trade of tho Pacific North West'of the United Stages in ,a worse condition than it has experienced since it sprang into prominence. The financial . crisis of America naturally .played ,an, adverse part in this gigantic industry, but perhaps even more directly detrimental was the arbitrary action of the American railroads, which added 25 per cent, on to their lumber charges. The vast importance of tho Industry is shown in the fact that manufacturers in Washington alone have .£20,000,000 invested, and more than 90,000 persons are employed, while tho pay roll aifliually exceeds .£12,000,000. Accoraiug to lumbermen's figures, sinco early last autumn, 70 per cent. of the timbor mills and practically all the shingle plants hn<-- been closed. In" /:•' Bpitfi " t W.ks received, the total pro-

duction of the Pacific Coast for 1907 reached 7,000,000,000 ft. of lumber, and about the same .number of shingles. This total' was for California;' Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The'total" Pacific-cut for 1907. was about one-fifth of'tlie entire United States, the greatest- output'of-any ono locality being Portland, which' cut "540,000,000ft.v'0r 100,000,000 less than for 1900. The principal exports'for the year ;were 'as follow:—Australia, 115,000,000 ft.; South America, 137,000,00,0 ft,, of, which the main distnbutaqlis -wore .100,000,00ft.,'t0 Peru the balance; China and Japan, 93,000,000 ft; Mexico and Central America, 39,000,000 ft.; United and>EuVope, 21,000,000 ft.;. Africa, To ythe ;j insular, possessions and Alaska the'exports" were:—Hawaiian Islands, »24,500,000 ft/; Archipelago, 10,000,OdOft'. ; "Alaska,".22,ooo,ftOOft.' Australia increased jts..purchases_.by_..s,ooo,oooft.; Chile's increase was 18,000,000 ft., and Mexico did as well, Peru following-with an, advance of 10,000,000 ft. The .Eiiropiean 'and'\Chuiese'ilemands each declined about B,oflo,ooo{tr "Of the '21,000,000 ft. sold in tUp.JJnitod IvingdonHand-J3urope, England took 10,000,000 ft. Tito' Alaska in the last year was illustrated'' in an increased import of : 7,000,000ft,- tA:,drop, is shown in'' the figures for the Philippines and.Hawjiii. I ■ v tAßANAia''^ET^l^trk.'Cdlb , ANY. • /The Secretary" of the"'4'aranaki Petroleum; ■Company-writes:— . , " The" ,, 'direct6fs'.of" : tKe|J Taranaki Petroleum Company, Limited, desire,- in view of the late ' the ' Company's. shares; to inform sharehpldere"-of the "actual ' progress ofy the operations.''lt'was hoped eome fort- . night ago that, the surface water was entirely ishut'oftj but theyrregrei.to say that such has no'fproved to fad the'c'a'so, owing mainly to the -peculiar 'encountered, but from steps now taken by the "Company's manager, Mr.. Simpsonr it is confidently hoped that the water difficulty will be finally overcome. Even if this should not be the case in ' the opera-, tions in prospective, there yet remains'a'stillfurther...course which, in the opinion of all connected with.,the ,bijres,-;must be successful. 'While" the matter is still-a venture only, the directors do. not consider that shareholders will be.wise in selling^their shares at a nominal : value 'at"'the'-pros'e'nt time. None of' the directors 'have sold .any .of. their original holdings, while, the manager has lately acquired shares 'ih^'the'c'biripaiy,'thiis' showing' the con--fidence of .' those in- touch with the'operations in prog:ress. 'i,ln conclusion, the directors.would like to say that the operations are at an immense depth,- namely .2440 feet, and' that great care and skill is . required, on the part of the. manager,'-in: whom 1 the'. Company liavo complete confidence; Should development's of interest occur, shareholders may rely upon. the earliesti-'inforination' through the medium of the Press of the Dominion.

:/ WELLINGTON PRODUCE,MARKETS. .Messrs. Laery and Co., Ltd., Wellington, report Lwholesalo prices ruling on the ,n«irket :— Wheat, fowls', ss. 3d. to ss. 6d.; oats, 3s. to 3s. 3d.j'.sced oats, 3s. ,3d.", to 3s. 6d.; maize, ss. 6d. to ss. 9d.; crushed malt, Bs. 6d.; prussian blue poas, 6s. 6d. to 75.; fowl peas, 4s. 6d. to 45.""9 d:", 'all~"&t' per "bushel;"flour,-New Zealand .£l3 10s., Australian »Cll 15s. to £12; bran, £G to .£6 55.; pearl barley, «£l9; split peas, .£lB 10s.; bonedijst, >£6; superphosphates, JE'l 15s. to £S- 55.; chaff (oaterislieaf),- .£5 15s. to .£6; oatmeal, ,£l4 10s.; potatoes,' ,£5 10s.' to % .£G; Tasmanianseed (Up-tq:Dates), i! 6 10s.; bacon, factory sides ]BJd.V hams' 9d., rolls 9Jd.; butter, bulk, lOd,'to 10Jd.; poultry, liens, 2s. 6d. to 35.; ducks, ss. 6d.; turkeys, gobblers 15s. to 22s;,"liens-Bs.-.to 9s.,<ialL*at' per pair; cauliflowers, ss. to.lOs.;; cabbages, 2s.' 6(1. to 7s. Gd., :all'at per" sack •'•peas' (green), 9d. to Is. por ipeckji freshieggs, 2s. 2d.'to 2s. 4d.;'preserved eggs, lg. sd. .to Is. fid. per dozen; cheese, fid. to 6Jd:, por lb.:;• onions, £1 ■ 10s. .to £&; Akaroa cook'sfoot, =-lod. - to lid.; ryegrass, 4s. 9d. to ss.' fid. per bushel. 1- '■ . LIVE STOCK MARKETS. Messrs." Dalgety anil Co:, Ltd., report:—At our, .Marton, sale on. Tuesday, we had a good entry of-sheep.'and a small entry of cattle, with • good demand.for sheep in forward condition. Forward wethers made 14s. 2(1.; forward ewes, 9s. 6d„ 9s. 10d., 10s. 3d.; fat and forward ewes, lis. 9d., lis. lid.; cull owes, 35., 3s. Gd.; cull lainbs, 3s. -3d.; empty ewes, 75., Bs., Bs. id. Cattle sold at latd rates. . LONDON MARKETS. BY TELEGRAPH —FREES ASSOCIATION—COPTRIfIHT. London, May 18. Silver is quoted at 24jfd. The- wheat and flour afloat for the United Kingdom is 2,885,000 quarters; for the Con-1,945,000-quarters; Atlantic shipments. 198;000;'Pacific, ""50,000. ' The'total wheat and flour afloat to Europe from, all .exporting, countries is 900,000 quar-i ters, including 432,000 . quarters from the ArgentnuT and' Uruguay/" •' " LONDON WOOL SALES. IMPROVEMENT MAINTAINED. BT.,TELEGRAPH— PIIESS. ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT - -. - London, May 18. ' Wool.—Market' 'firm.",'Tliere. is general coinpetition at'lat'o'improved-rates. Messrs. Dalgety and Company, Limited, Wellington, have received the following cablo message from their London house, under date of May 18:—Wool.—Prices aro iirmor, especially for greasy crossbreds., Prices are about on a 'par with March series. English buyers are tho principal operators. .

WELLINGTON SHARE,. LjST.,,, - ' Reserve £2 PRICES. Yiolil COMPANY. -j?*!!'™ 1 F n n i d ana vflUty pet = : to •. . • Pwaup. Batons ... - - L «Bt invcator. Forw«ta,p )< j™~ g .fluy.or,, ..Soller. ' BANKS. , £ -.' ■■£ £ £■ £ S. a. £ ft. d. £ e. d. £ o. d. . Hew Zealand / ... . ... 2,000.000 ' 81,675.. lit. Si 10 - 9 '.2 6 ,912 0 3 9 5 National ... , ... ... ... • -i, 375,000 335,318 24 15 12 ;.. 5 5 3 5 5'9 513 5 INSURANCE. ' ... . . National''... ..... -..I .... : 300.000 ■249,33!)... ,. J unltd, 15 1 .7 6 New Zealand ... ... ... 300,000' 396,674 2 8 10 ' j, -3-17. 0 3 15 6 5 6 0 ' .South' British ... ... ... .100,000 474,912 1 4i ' 10 : .218 0 . Standard ... ... 75,000 92,386 j 9i. 10 12 0 1.2'9 ' FINANCIAL. ■ . ■ —' ..; Equitablo Building ... ... PO.COO 22,000 5 5 10 10 2 0 10 0 0 Metropolitan Building ... . ... , 60,742 ' " 5,688" 10 nil 7 ' M 1 ■Wellington Invest ... ... 50,000 3,933 , 1 5 6 012 3 011 6 544 Wellington Trust and Loan ... 101,250 41,334 5 5 8 7 9 0 7 11 0 .7 9 6 5 7 ,0 ■ National Mortgage.-... . ... • ... •■ 200,000" 127,716 •■«■■- 8 10 • 3 0 0 • 3 1 6 3 0 0 6 13 4. N.Z. and River Plate ... ... 300,000 253,000 1 nil 7 111 9 1 12 6 1 12 3 4 6 4 : Loan and: Mercantile -.135)222 ,315,133 j si 5 ." 0, 5 0 0 5 0 10.0 .0 . . .'■ CA3. ' v .' V "Auckland ; ..., ... ir0i370 r5,463 '5 nil 16 • " OhriBtchurcn 160,003 '-70,918 r -5 ;> - nil "10- : '10"2 6 10 0 0 5.0 0 Feilding ...: -.i.'• 12,OX '103''" , 1 "nil '.:..' t *019..;0 "" 019 6 , Oisborue -...: . . ... 17,300 ■ 10.665 'l -nil 13! -2 9" 6 2 10 0 .2 10 0 ,5 10 0 Hawera ..'.1:.,.. : 8,250 •- 694' J•• . J 10- . New. Plymouth... .... . 18,000-. .3,159 5 'nil. 10 Napier - ■;.... ) . . ■,...., 10 . .15 . ... n .. - ■ j, 49,957 23,184 ' "6. Si 15,.;'.. . . •», »'■■ •••,. •••• - - I ■■■ '1 9 " 15,. " „ •Palmerston North ■_. - 27,000 11.002 a -. i 10 " - - - ™ ':'t ; 12i.570 71,798 « 1 ]° " ' " W 10 0 MEAT. ■■', ■•; ;;C : ' ' • '-... .Canterbury ~ ..'w» •. J- : 183,727 '32,656 - 7}' 23' * 8 " 8 0 0' . Christohurch .... ... .., 165,020 77,642. 10 nil 8 10 5 0 10 7 0 7 14 7 : C-ear ...; ... . V... - ... ( - n ii . K J ,2 -9 6 2 10 6 2 10 0 6 0 0 r-n - ~ 1 ' - 'i -.12$ 9-15 0 10.".0 0 • Wellington Meat Export _ j • 5 nil 8 6 12 6 ' •i •• - .'•••" 7-. - - r 105,7C6. 63,767: 1 . 8 - ' '. '■ 5-2 0 S 3 0 « 5 6 ... ... ... •_ I 23 28 ' 8 " /' 3 *5' 0 3 5 0 6 9 3 ; Wanganui ■ , „ „ .. .» 45.E30 10,315- 5. nU ■ ■■ 8.h'; . TRAH:?ORT. •■'' . W. and, M. Eailway ... ■„. ..'.. 170.000 121,432 1 '4. 7; 2 7 3 2 0 .0 2 8 0 III ' N.Z. Shipping ... i'(3,8-10' . 110,760-.: 8' i nil "5 .; ,. X >6 0 0 , Onion Steam V,... .., .800,000' 331,917' 1' nil. ' 7j 114 0 114 g . : .-Wgtn. Steam Ferry ... ', ... . ... 46,23) 65 '. 1 nil 6 . .. . « - '■ . . V."estport ... ... .;. ... 230,000 117,215 .3i IV 125 6 18 0 6 19 6 ',6 19 T 6 5 0 Taupiri .... ' ... :... ... ... fc5.ooa , . 5,339 .'l-...nil - 7i ■ - -0 19-6 0 19 6 7 11 0 woollem. 1 ,■/ '.j\' ,-L i- " ' . ' ' Kaiajpoi -. ... '".100,000 ■ ' ' ; 5.'', nil ' "CI ■Jtoreiel ;... 63,457: ... 17,212'' 14 "'4 3', v 0 0 ' 3""3 6 3 1 0. 4 12 0 ■ Wellington (,"025 • 24.36S 4 '' 1 6-3 3 0 3-7 6 3 0 0 8 ,0 0 . ' r,H3cnLLA:;EQus. • ■ '.'v... - , ... v ,.— : ■ -i ; Donaehy Eope ' .... ; 23,COO . ... 5 1 nil' ... '6 0 0 '6 5 O'6-l 0 , Leyland and O'Brien- .1 ... ;.. 35,000 37.761 .1 ..nil . 15 2 3 0 . • Manriceviile time ■ ... ' , 7,000 . 205 : 1' nil 8 • N.Z. Candle . , 10,000 " ■ 876 10 nil ' '■ 8 • ' N.Z. Drugs' • ... '- ... 200,000 36,730 2 nil 7 2 11 6 2 11 0 6 3 0 1 Iv.Z.' Pacer Mills _. ; .. S4.775 . 1,177;. ;'l nil .7 1 2 6 1 3 6 1 3 3 6 0 5 N.Z. Cement ; v..> • 40.CO3 - - 2,048*- ' 1 'nil'.'-... 111-0 »i;il 6 &anmng and Co. 1 £6,000 - ' '37,670' 4 '* i' - 10 .-314 0 f " / -. Ward and Co. .. ... £0.000 30,655 . 4 „..l ■ 10 4 15 0 5.0 0 .4 15 0 .8 8 5. ' Wgtn. Opera House ... „. ... 18,630 ' -1,705 5 " fail ' 125 . » • . ; \.gtn..Fresh Food .26,261. . ... :i nil .... ... v • Wlutcombe and Tombs .'46,250 20,156' .5 nil 19 4 8 0 Eharland, Ltd. ... : ... . 4S.S7U 9,311 1 nil 7i 019 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 710 0