COMMERCIAL.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 480, 13 April 1909, Page 8

COMMERCIAL.

THE WOOL MARKET. y The latest'report from Bradford is that th wool market is firm, and tho prospects appea to be excellent. There has teen a remarkable n 1 covery in wool, awl wo have but to coinnar tho quotations for tops to prove this, lakin; dates, twelve months apart wo got tho follow ing:— April, April, April, Tops ISJO9. ' IMS. "07. • ''• d - &i Forties... "-■ ISi 9 J9 ■ Forty-sixes ' ... U. JJ Bi ■ Common ;60's ... 25 : M. M Super GO'S' .... 26 . 23 -u It will be seon that tho finer counts are nearl; up to tho level of 1907, but coarse wools havi still somo pence to mako up. I hero is, lion ever, a' great gain on tho slump values ot i - year ago. Writing of tho prospects, an ex ■ chnu»e says:-"As a whole, and. in spite ot cor V tain drawbacks, the wool situation seems I eound and promising one. As far us can bi : seen, there is' less o£ the element of specula tion in it than is frequently the case. It J. complained, of course, 'that the improvement: ' which from time to time haw taken plnce. sme the acute.depression of -Apiil-May, 1908, hav all como from the,wool end, and therefore th wron" end of the industry. It would, ol ' bourse, bo much pleasanter for M concern* if so great a requirement should anso for good as to send prices away up, carrying with then in their train yarns, tons and wool But sue ... occurrences are'rare.. Taking a Ion? retiospeo of the trade, it is somewhat surprising to not . how seldom matters have worked out in tha wav It might therefore almost bo said that as things are going now they arc proceeding normally the recovery from the .depression o . taj months aeo being slow but sure, It tno ques ton bo XdVwLt is tho motive power which is causirfg the enhancement in tho value o wool? th? only possible *™"WL£j£ 'the incidence of supply d ;,,Sf| tion is evidently not tho factor; the advance ot mice" is being stubbornly fought against by . [hose who have to pay it They say they cannot afford to.do so, but they have to pay it all the same, because they must have tho Wool and cannot obtain it without doing so. ahe other branches it is even slower. I™P ro ™ m f, n ' has not yet permeated tho whole body politic in this country, nor in other countries. The purchasing power, of the masses » iehU restricted here as elsewhere, and it looks as hough some timo must yet elapse ere the pro- . cess of betterment can become general. Nevertheless it is indubitably on the way, and esoerSe teaches that the rate of progress will Eeeomo Mcelerated as the movenent gains momentum. Apart from the occurrence; political catastrophe which cannot be foreseen, and which little or nothing can be done by ■!■■ the individual to prevent, "the future is certainly encouraging to all who have to do with wool, from the squatter who. produces it to the manufacturer who converts it into clotn. ( '. \ . ' COST OF LIFE INSURANCE. Do life insurance companies pay too heavily • for their business? This question lias been raised by "The Times," which grumbles at the ' growth of commissions, with a consequent reduction in the amount available for distribu- , tion among pblicyholders or shareholders. The subject is not new to where, under the mutual system, a close eye is also kept upon expenses.' The conclusion arrived at must be that it is impossible to revert to the 10 per cent.; or 15 per cent, commission paid m tie old days. For one reason, as the area ot inBurance extends, so will expenses go up, because ;of the greater difficulty of securing business. • People have, in any case, to bo persuaded to ' insure. Even the best agent has his dull days, ■and all tho while expenses go on. Kesutts i like the whole business of insurance have to be averaged. Managements would never complain if their expenses represented only busir faess done. 'Agents, too,'would not resist a - lower commisson if thej-never metj,with any Wanks in their work. The fact that (high com'missions are paid means that the gradual evoluition o£ life insurance business has involved 'conceding them. Weakly-companies, in their desire to grow strong,' must offer attractions to men to work for them. And the strong .companies, to "hold .their own, .to ensure, progress, and to; see-that the risks taken \aro .qt the best have-to link to. themselves a good ' v ' class of men. Consequently, commissions paid Svould appear to be due entirely to the present ■i i exigencies of the business,-and; therefore, must be borne with.- Of course, success- ' iul life insurance'business depends on a good deal more than the mere commission paw to theinen who do the field work. In the -United States a decided. reversal of opinion in, respect to the wisdom of some of the drastic provisions ' enacted in' the New York State law respecting the cost of new business has taken place. 100 high a price may be paid for it, but that 'is ■ a matter that 'traght'-soon •to regulate-itself, '■. •■ provided that the law stipulates for real publicity" by the companies and societies. With -that guaranteed, as there is plenty of actuarial skill available on opposition platforms to check TesiUts, the unwisdom of excessive costs will soon become a matter .of publicity. - There is also tho prime consideration whether the cost ' incurred in carrying insurance to the man in the'backblocks, so that he may make provision •for the future of his family, is not quite jus- . tified. ' . ■ ■ ... METAL MAEKETS. (by telegraph—peess association—coviriqht.) ■-''■■ j■ . . .-. ■= ■• ■ . London, April 11. . Antimony; <£7 lbs. to .£& 10s. '' , , , ■'. Lead—lmports, 15,082 tons; Australian, 1970; jexports,' 5322. ' s . .. . . ' . i ■ '■ ■ . ■ . • BABBITS. ' ' , v Eabbits aro. .neglected, and the market is iveak. ' MINING NEWS. ."../■ NEW BIG EIVBR. , \. ; (nX TELEQB.U?H—rEESS ASSOOUTIOX.) , Reef ton, April 12. J Tho mine manager. of the New Big Eivei reports for tho week:—No. 9 level east:. The ieef is about two feet.wide. The reef is on the hanging wall side of the level, and a small seam of stone is on the footwall side, reaching about 4ft. up the face of tho level. A pleading, stopo is now being taken off on this , jreef above the level. Tho reef is 3ft. in widtli in'the stope. Stopes on the Branch reef: No >8 stope, reef 6ft.'wide;,-No. 9 stope, reef 2ft. >6in. Wide. The manager' has started to put £ ; cross-cut into the footwall sido of the winze No. 2 intermediate ■ level: This is being continued in hard country. Cosgrove's winze ii 1 being continued on tho reef, whJth continue: very uniform''in size, namely 4ft. Gin. wide ' . with every ■ appearance of going down under foot. The battery, has been running -full time.