FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 305, 18 September 1908, Page 10

FINANCE AND COMMERCE.

■ ■ —-—^ WELLINCTON SHARE LIST.

■ TIIE-SHAREMAIiKET. •••• -- - . A fair amount of business . iii, invostineut . shares was reported at-the sitting of the Wel- ; lington Stock Exchange yestorday. Thero were ; sales of New Zealand and River Plate, shares 10s.'_ Ed.'; Loan and at Ward fuid Co. , brewery shares, atf .£4 ,15s. llio quotations show that there were more sellers than buyers:—National Banks, buyers i's, sellers. J& is. Gd.; ' Wellington Trust and Loan,; sellers £7 75.. 8d;; Hew Zealand and River , Plate, buyers XI 10a. 3d.; National Mortgage, buyers "jES, sellers £3 Is. 6d.;Feilding Gas,' buyers 19s. Gd.; South British Insurance, sellers 15s.- 6d.; Meat Export, third issue, buyers .£3, sellers .£3,.ls'.' Gd..; Mahawatii Rails, buyers £2 lis. 6d„: sellers .£2 lis: Gd.; New Zealand' Shipping, buyers ,£6 7s. Gd:; Union' Steam; buyers £1 14s. 3d., sellers :£l 155.; Wellington \\oollen, sellers .£3 6s. Gd;; Westport-Stocktonj l sellers 9s. Gd.; Kauri Timber, 15s. paid, sellers' 145." Grl.; New Zealaud Drugs, sellers iC2 lis.; New..Zealand-Portland Cement, sellers £1- Bs. ■ 6d.; Taranaki Petroleum, buyers 25., sellers 3s. Gd.; Sharland's, ordinary and preference, sellers #1;.-Ward and Co.' bi'ewery shares, sellers',£l , THE MINING 'MAfiKEk''-" .Business was done.'in Talismans at £1 -19s. • 9d., and in Maihis at .£9. This market wasnnusually quiet. The quotations were as under:— y • - . . .. ... ..

, MAURICEVILLE LIMIT COMPANY. The balance-sheet of the abovo company for the year ended July 31 shows that a net profit of *£529 12s. 9d. was made, and there was brought forward from the previous, year <£105 IBs.. Bd., thus giving an availablo surplus of <£635 9s/ 5d.,' andVthis amount has been allocated as follows:—In payment of a dividend at the rate of 6 per cent., £l2(h balance carried forward, =£215 9s. sd.- The .paid-up capital of the company is, £7000.; ';loaiis ' oil" 'mortgage total "i£l3G 16s.'; and.sundry creditors &S 18s., 7d.- The assets include'freehold property, £5115 property, £1650; railway siding, £300; sundry' debtors,v£l7l 14s. Id.; hand, £190;', cash at bank, £91 9s. lid"'""- : jWAIRARAPA FARMERS' CO-OP/. The'directors of the Wairarapa Farmers' Co- : operate Society, in. their report for the year ■ ended July. the balance-sheet 'is ver v v 'satisfactory, showing, a.small increase of profit l ' .o'yor"last year.' 'After having made duo> provision for bail and doubtful debts, depreciat i on: of 'stock and plant,and paid auditors' fees, tho.-net profit .011 tho year's transactions is 1 £14.181 1/s. Id., to which has to bo added I £5162 carried forward from, last'year's profit ami,loss account, making tho total availablo for. division. £19,314' Is. 10d. ~,The. directors recoin-J mend;the.distribution as follows:—Payment-of-; dividend'on- paul : 'up; capital,' C per cent.'; * pay'-" merit of bonus on paid-up capital, 3 per cent.; payment of bonus t.o shareholders on their purchases,. 3; per 'cenl.; "payment of bonus to employees on their salaries, 3' per cent.; and a bonus to managers and to heads of departments which hayo dpne a profitable trade during the. ; year; to carry to a special reserve account tho sum of £1500 as a .contingency fund,; so as to make all the' book debts fully worth, 20s. in tho £; to carry to the employees' accident fund the sum of £130, which will then stand at£looo. ,Aftor paying, 'tlie""Gbverriiii'ent' income-' tax and honorarium/to ,'directors', there'will remain a surii of about £7000', which the directors recommend to carry forward to nest year's profit and loss account; The directors state that it is very gratifying to them to'be able to place so good . a report ■ and;' balance-sheet before shareholders, considering the times are not so good as the. previous year. , • The. large increase of trade and ;,tjie" loyal support of shareholders and tho general public havo conduced to make the year' a' prosperous one. All buildings and improvements mentioned in last year's report hare been duly completed. The Martinborough premises are finished, and tho directors are'well satisfied with tho business being done there, and with its future prospects. The stocks are new, well selected, suitable-for the trade, 'and of good '"value. The buildings and plant aro in good order and repair. The properties are worth considerably more than their book values. The staff is efficient and capable. The retiring directors are Messrs. A. W. Cave. H. G. Williams, and D. Caselberg, who. being eligible, ofTer themselves for reelection. The. auditors, Messrs. B-. T. Badham and W. B. Chennells, also offer themselves for re-election. INTERNATIONAL STEEL COMBINE. . The "Iron and Steel Trades Journal" "Notwithstanding the denials from Sheffield ,Bnd New York as to the now practicallyformed international steel , combine, we.can state without fear of contradiction that Snellen amalgamation has been brought about, and we can positively assert that steel firms, in' Russia, Germany, England, and Scotland are all involved in this particular compact. It is perfectly true that America was chiefly responsible for negotiating this combine. Germany Came next in its desire to be placed on' an equal footing with all firms concerned. Russia, which to-day is manufacturing more steel than Germany and France combined, has joined hands with this syndicate, and, from what we can gather-of this huge alliance,we are convinced that the international scope which it will possess will command an export trade-and a home trade which will be conducive to the production of steel at a price enormously below what individual manufacturers are now asking. For !a considerable period the price of steel has had a most fluctuating career, so much so, in fact, that the . steelmakers of the United Kingdom have de-

-rived • practically no profit from its manufacture, and we oan foresee in this combine a re'Sult.'.whichi'.will. hiean the amalgamation of practically every steel company in tho universe. The stagnation now existing in the steel ;trade of Great Britain, of Russia, of Germany, ■ and ofi.the. <,United . States, has produced'the formation: 'of. this, particular amalgamation,and, whilst opposed to trusts, wo have reason td beliovo that this syndicate will mako for all 'that-can possibly bo desired in tho interests of ■ this,.particular industry." "'NOTES: - i The ,number of companies which paid income tax. in Queensland, last year was 535, and the amount of tax paid was J2103,540. .'. Factories for condensed milk and cream, and also for tinning fruits and vegetables! of'alb;kinds, aro increasing rapidly in Oregon, and Washington, United States of America, "arid" this industry is becoming important.,,; . The. tomato sauce industry is Tapidly increasing at Syracuse, in Sicily, there being four ■factories,' two of which are worked by steam power; the aggregate production during, the season from July 15 to the 1 end of October was about 800 tons of tomato sauce in tins and concentrated tomato paste. Tho Pennsylvania Railroad Company belioves that-it has put up a record. It has 31G men in its employ who have been in the company's service for over half-a-century, and he who heads■the list lias been. G9 years in tho service.* Then; there'aro a further 1034, men who have been with the company "from 40 to 50 years, besides others who have retired after 40 years' service, but aro now receiving pensions., Tho imports of machinery into Japan in .1907 amounted to. .£2,527,G00, and thus easily Constituted > record, being .£941,800 or 49 per cent, more than ill 1903, and ,£1,490,800 or 112 per cent..in excess.of tho average for the preceding fivo years. Of this large total it is gratifying to note .that tho United Kingdom supplied' moro than '52 per cent., which is the same proportion as sho sent in 1906. .' factory-'.'has been erected near .Durban,, jmd a trial of . tho machinery, which ■. ; >vas"imported from' Germany, and is capable' of. a daily production of threo tons cf starch from- twelve tons of sweet potatoes, has been madia with satisfactory results. A quantity of pulp suitable for cattle food is also produced. The'sweet potato' grows freely in Natal, and it .is hoped that it ;\vill be increasingly cultivated to. keep the factory 'running steadily. It is said .that, the* r'eturii'per "acre from sweet potatoes ,is greater than that from maize. .! Tho world's coal' supply for 190G totalled 1,013,000,000 tons, an increase of 72,000,000 tons on tho preceding year. Of this amount Great Britain accounted for 255,097,000 tons, the largest from any country save tho United States, ivhiclT'contributed 375,721,000 tons. Ovor a 'third Cf /:tlie ■'•peoplo j engaged throughout tho world in mining "and quarrying—nearly fivo and a quarter millions—aro employed in tho British .Umpire, ami nearly one-iittli in the United Kingdom. Great Britain employs SG/,000 :jj'i.:coal-hiiii'ing alone, the United fetatcs comiug.'jncxtr^vith-,641,000. The death-rate of coal-mih«s : i )ih..'£he: United "Kingdom was 1.29 per 1000 ;Hii;tbo^United, States, 3.21 per 1000. Tho ;"Qdsh' : onTD,elivcry " service between Great,Britain-and"OTrtain of the British Colonies ■ which began on Juno 1 last,'has "proved so successful that it is being rapidly extended. A few weeks ago tho service.was confined to Egypt (where it was introduced at Lord Cromer's request), Cyprus, and Malta, and one or two British post offico stations in tho Levant. Quito recently Gibraltar, British Somaliland, and Trinidad have 'adopted tlio"system,, and it is expected that before the year is out''half-a-dozen other British Possessions will come in line. -There can be no question that the schemo will become general throughout, the colonies, and that it has already benefited the trade in small articles between tho Mother! Country and the. colonies. ■ Last year. thiiro ' .was imnorted into Chili 234,000, tons of coal' from Newcastle, or less than one-third than tho same country took from "tho United Kingdom, which from geographical considerations seems strange. The Belgian Legation at Santiago says that the production of coal in Chili does not exceed 1,000,000 tons V year. There are several collieries on the const; then there are somo in tho interior whose production is limited by the moans of carrying away tlio coal extracted. Otherwise the present facilities would enable 2,500,000 tons to be extracted. Again, the coal masters do not wish to produce too much, and so, reduce tlio market value, and tho coal is so friable that to keep it in stock would mean its breaking away,, to tho groat loss gf tho owners. Chili gots about half of her coal from abroad. In 1907 tho importation amounted to 1,018,429 tons, of which England contributed 742,55G tons, Germany 23,759 tons, Australia 234,000 tons, .etc. The Customs revenue collected at Wellington yesterday amounted to i 2972 7s. Gd. LIVE STOCK SALES. - : Messrs Dalgoty and Co., Ltd., report that at their Palmerston sale yesterday they had a small yarding of sheep and a fair entry of cattle. Three-and-a-half and 4-year bullocks made JIS 145., £b 175., £5 IBs. Gd.; small yearling, .£2 155.; steers, £.1 55.; backward springing heifers, empty cows, 305.; 21-year steers, J:3 lis.; 2tooth halfbred wethers, lis. 3d. Mr. H. Ernest Leighton reports that thero was a large attendance of buyers at 11 r. Watson's clearance sale of pigs and poultry on

Thursday, liens mado from 3s. lOd. to ss. 6(1. per pair; Toostors, Is. to -Is. Gil.; ducks, Bs.; ono old boar, 155.; one young boar, J!2 10s.; porkers sold exceptionally well, bringing something like Gijd.; slips made from 12s. to lGs. Gd.;_sows with pigs mado from JJ2 7s. to £2 17s. fid.; dry sows and in low condition, .CI 2s. Gd. to .£1 Gs; Gd.; baconers mado from £1 15s. to £2 15s; young cattle, 13s. THE METAL MAEKETS. CIIV TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION' —C 0 P YIIIG11T.) London, September IG. Copper—On spot, .£6O 15s.;.three months, ,£GI 10s. Tin—On spot, JCI3I; three months, £132 10s. "WHEAT- MAEKETS. London, September 16. Wheat—looo quarters of Australian Septem-ber-October shipment sold at 38s. 3d., and 1-1,000 quarters of new crop (January-February shipment), per sailer, 3Gs. 9d. TALLOW SALES. London, September IG. At the tallow sales 1217 casks were offered, and G39 sold. Prices show an advance of 3d. HIDES MAEKET. (Ny TELEGRAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION —COPYRIGHT.) (Rec. September 18, 0.10 a.m.) Melbourne, September 17. In the hides market, prices of inferior hides were easier, others were steady. THE FROZEN MEAT MARKET. (BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Napier, September 17. The C.C. and D. Co. cables the following report on the frozen meat market"To-day's quotations: Canterbury mutton, 4id.; Napier, Wellington, and North Island, 3M. LambFirst quality, 5Jd.; second, SJd. Beef—Hinds, l|d.; fores, 3jjd. MINING NEWS. GRAND JUNCTION RETURN. (bv telegraph—l'REES association.) Auckland, September 17. , The Grand Junction return for four weeks is £6508, from 3640 tons. STOCK EXCHANGE. (p.Y TELEGRAriI—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) Duncdin, September 17. . Stock Exchange sales.—Tasmanian Copper, ss. 3d.; Talisman Consolidated, J£l 19s. Gd.

i • , Reserve eg T . £ PRICES. ' , ' ' ' mmwv Capital Pond ana O S tS ' ' T "? W _ : " BANKS. £ £ -■ £ £. B . .a, £ B . i. £ -a. a. £ i. akatlouai lland "' "' •" 5.000.000 . 50MWT ,1 ji'. 10 ' ' 818 0 . haUonw - mm asMis g 15 $ s 0 0 6 1 6 5.1 0 5 is 9 INSURANCE. fsftk-V= - m m 1 r s m m whii Kir," 1 : ::: S S,'SS jS! | ,tit • ••• ■FINANCIAL. , , , , . ( . . . Z Z gJJJ! '■MbS J "nil *? te&M ::: S } 5 4 I ?V a « ?U Hi ::: ::: » .!»• S US no, t ' SS o iwin ubd uercamiM ... - . lyj.-iti • US4W - } 'ta 6 0 18 0,1 3 1116 1 CAj.. 'LhnltMMroh ' ■•"' .IHWTO. f5,l®. , 6 . ,, B fl 17. IS 10 "o 15 0 0 5 10 0 ::: = W - u tf4 ft 10 01 » 917 - 6 " > i'35 213 ® SM.O su 0 lvew.nymuuth ... ... . ... : leXco JJ. // ■' ' •• •• - - - iie.957 13,181 . ."g' ]J .' E-E E , -'■° C0 J 1 * 8 » Vrc 7 6 0-6 3 3 " ' B 1 124.570 U,W» 1U ml 10 10 0 0 : " "• '" ' . o.a io' 11 0 U 11 1 3 110 5 . (l ,E AT . ' "" """" '! '■ ' Canterbury ..; .... ..... .. %.,««».. . v., , • . Inristcnuivh . ... }®''S . J* 1 ®® .75 ,15 C 712 6 , • tear , ... ' ■ ... ; ■ lt5 .- a) iu » ril -■ g'- '" .10 0 0 " „ „ ... ... ... ... f 12,W0- (Mil 1 nil uj 2 9 0 '310 0 2 9 0 (SO Wellington Meat Export ... ... -■ ■■ •- >,. 4 : . .b- j-ib 016 p :: :: ::: ::: ::: I 105 : 763 , 17 ' 0M - 1 I ' s 0 0' Wangauui „ ' i£125 vj 8 3 0 0 3 1 B 3 0 0 7 0 0 . TdANSFOtSf. '■ "" ' ' ■ ' W.. unci■ Al. liailwny ... .mriv\ - i,~i jrn . . ... i\.z.. niiippiufcj ... . ... 1 4 .7., ,2.11 :6 214 0 .2 9 0 Cruioii wu 3 nil 5 0. .7. 6 6 10 0 G70 6 6 0 Wy M 't, 1 n " 9J -1W8 135 o 115 3 itO I ■ . lJ 1 ; Lil 0 017 li COAU. '. I ' t ; KS' - ::: r « •« me'a'c to.iMj; I , tU 74 —• 019 6 0 IS 3 845 ; WOOLLEN. ; ; -■.. ttS' : ::: ::: r r |§ 4. 'f 7 We™ ,, f .? I 3 5,0.3 6 G 3 6 0 7,4 0 v • MISCELLANEOUS ' ' Donaghy Rope ... ... . .. .351. \ ' n{1 ' fi , \ \ Leylana aua U l>nea - ' ' «Ui " •!' i- 'o r ; n I -2 ® • Iffr.'r t-r 8T;? • ' E ; ' r • VIS 1630 00- - "j 10 •'•'*•" 8; " 6 ' 817'6..: 8 16 o 10 0! r:f S 4160 415 u 8 8 5 ana'A.-iubg 'f/iM «,i h \ , « « bhariaua. Lta. ... ... , . ,-5 ' S - n- . i4 , . 4 7 6 4 10 0 ... ... ; rt U »S W '. k '/£*}£, uii; 'ii r: 1 i> u 'I'lie. above quotations are taken from tho daily official lists of tho Wellington Stock , Esciiahge. " ' .

. Buyers. Sellers. Sales'. ' " . ' .£ s; d. £ s. d: X s. d. Talisman ... •... 1 19 9 2 0 3 1 19 3 Wailii'. ... 9 1 0 9 1 6 9 0 0 Big Eiver ...' ... 112 G 1 13 • 6 > : — Blackirater ... ... 1 1 0 — . —