COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 777, 29 March 1910, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

FROZEN .MEAT. . . Last week there was a general advance in the quotations for frozen meat, which may be duo to the Easter demand. At the same time it is fairly certain that supplies are within small compass, and. the meat salesmen aro able to maintain prices. Thero are no complaints no-w of market manipulation, of inadequate storage accommodation, and other faults which were mentioned with some intimate reference to the trade a year ago. The present conditions are entirely satisfactory, and the outlook is promising. Of course, the season's heavy shipments from New, Zealand have yet to. reach the market, but in.view o£ tho fact-'that .the stores are practically bare of 'supplies, there should be no pronounced drop in values. . There is tho pleasing fact to record that practically all New Zealand products, aro now selling at high prices, the only regrettable exception being Lion*

CANADIAN TRUST LEGISLATION. In accordance with the hint (riven by Mr. Fielding, the Canadian Minister or Finance, in the course of his Budget speech, a Bill has been introduced in, tho House of Commons at Ottawa to provide "for the investigation of combines, monopolies, trusts, and mergers, which may enhance prices or restrict competition ta the detriment of .consumers." It is believed that the Bill will afford a ready and'eonvenient means whereby parties who have reason to suppose; that any combination is unduly enhancing or unfairly restricting competition will, be able to obtain an investigation and an effective remedy against any evils which may be found to exist. To attain this end it is proposed that six or more persons who feel that a combine exists, and that prices have been enhanced or competition restricted by reason of such combine, to tho detriment of the consumer, mav 'make application to a judge of the High Court for' an order, to grant an investigation of'such'a combine.'The judge may call before him witnesses, but all tha't is necessary for him to assure himself of before granting tho order is that a prima facio case has been made out. When the judge issues, an order for an investigation the order is' to be directed (o the Minister of tho Department, and the Minister will then call upon each of the parties concerned' to name a member of the board of investigation. . .. ■'■■.'■

NEW YORK'S DIFFICULTIES.. Early in. February New York finance was seriously discomfited by tho steady faliiug-away of. prices; tho gradual crumbling is said to have, a more wearing effect on the big finanoiers. and bankers than the sudden slump followed by sharp recoveries to which Wall Street is accustomed.' The failure of Messrs. Fisk and Robinson, dealers in bonds and members -of the New . York• Stock Exchange, looked upon as a first-class house," was expected to bo followed by others. Contemporaneously with . the Fisk and Bobinson failure, a banking crisis took placo in Mexico City.. A long run on the United States Banking Company—following withdrawals by a wealthy Canadian speculator—ended in a suspension which brought down the Mexican Packing Company, whose bonds have been largely, placed in London.

THE BUYING AGENT. In the course of'an article'pn changes which have of recent years oouie over I the export' trade of Great Britain, the "British Trade Journal"- remarks that Lone alteration which will have considerI able effect upon that trade is ■ the appointment of buying agents in Great Britain by oversoa importers.;.: "When;the boom in ' the export trade . was .at its height, covering the period' from -1904 to 1907, : manufacturers ' had no hesitation in sending '. representatives' to. . distant countries; and, speaking generally, there was a. good' return for. the expenses involved. They laid the foundation of future business, and when the leain-years came (and 1908. and 1909. have been comparatively dean years in the export jrado) they no longer saw the -desirableness of sending travellers.. They preferred to. furnish buying .agents, itith whom they'. were already in connection, with samples and catalogues of their goods;, and/they .have to, a large extent relied upon this method to secure business dnringthe last two years.. It.will thus be • seen that the buying agent is /gradually taking the place of the merchant, and as the buying agent naturally looks for the expansion' of his business, .he has taken steps to.increase his,connections, abroad by the addition of new buying 'marks.' He has gone tho length of making special visits, to the. countries in which.he.is interested..-to'.study-.'local conditions and .'make.,, .the personal acquaintance of his:clients, and has also' in many, cases taken good collection's of samples' with. him. There' 'are buying agents in the City of Lcndon'who'hayo 30 or ,40 'marks' v ih which they are.interested, and this naturally represents a considerable turnover of British goods. The London end of the business is carried on c.t moderate' outlay,, and agents exist who, in small offices of tho rental of ,£2OO per annum, are able to .do a business of, over a million sterling.! If. wo average the buying commission at' 1}- per cent, on this turnover we find a. gross earning of .£7500. The expenses of such' an office as we have'indicated, would not exceed .£2OOO per annum, so that the-rc-.turn to the successful. intermediary is a handsomo'one. Wo cannot see any limitation to the usefulness of the buying ■agent; on the other hand, we see a considerable expansion in the near future when export trade in.general regains its former prosperity." ."notes/. '~'; . The exports of rubber from Para (Brazil) last", year -reached 37,7-10,260 kilos (say, 5",587,533Jb.), as,,, compared with about 73,500,000 kilos both, in ..1908 and 1997. Of. the '.1909, t0ta1..19.353,379., kilos were fine' rubber. ,1nM902; the'export of rubber from'.'Brazil, .was only 28,632,000 ■kilos. ' "'- I '. ' •■' ''" ''. At the. end of...January the ..wills"'of two millionaires , were proved, in England—that of the late Mr.' George Salting, with' personalty ; and that of Mr. Ludwig Mond,. personalty exactly .£1,000,000.' . It is stated by the Yokohama, Chamber of Commerce that Japanese fishermen in the southern part of Saghalien have discovered enormously-rich deposits of pearl oysters. The beds have been worked for sotae. time in secret, and the quantity of pearls is.said to bo so,great as to.threaten prices all over the world. The hitherto rare black pearls.of good quality, and a .peculiar yellow .pearl, are., reported to have been.found in quantities, as well as the best quality of pearl usually'seen.

. By a series of amalgamations the Alliance Assurance Company has, we learn, placed itself at the head of all fire, offices in regard, to the gross. amount of property it covers in . London, 'the latest figures on which the contributions'payable for the year 1910 towards tho upkeep .of the, Metropolitan' .'Firo Brigade are based, setting forth that.the gross amount of its insurances' in the administrative county of London in the year 1909 amounted to .£181,532,005. The Sun, which in former days always held a commanding lead, was second with £6114,219,763, and the Royal third, with.£71,160,453. The gross amount insured by all the com-, panies reaches the inconceivable total of £1,072,640,212, as against ,£1,055,200,172 in 1908; while the influx, of new offices is indicated ..by . tho growth in the total sharing this vast sum from -84 in 1908 to 98 in 19.09. The value of the exports from Brazil in 1909 amounted to .£63,000,000, as compared with .£14,000,000 . for the previous vear. The balance of exports over imports was ,£25,000,000. Under almost every head there is an increase in. the exports, coffee showing an ; increase of. .£10,000,000 and rubber of £7,000,000.. In no previous year have the figures been so satisfac.tory. .'■'•■'■ . As indications of returning trade confidence and activity, the. "London Economist" points to the fact that British railway, traffic' returns, which declined throughout the earlier part of last year, were 11 per cent, greater in the last quarter than in the same period-of 1903; the profits' of industrial companies increased by 2.8 per cent; British exports were 10} per /cent, greater; and the clearings at the London Bankers' Clearing House expanded by nearly 16 per cent. These figures are corroborated by tho ' Labour Gazette," which shows in its'annual review .that the condition of cmnloymenf: in the homo market steadily improved throughout the-year., The Hobart Savings Bant at tho close of last half-year had the sum of .£559,377 at the credit-of depositors,. £58,500 at the credit of the reserve fund,-aud a profit and loss, balance of £16.099,. total liabilities amounting to £033,976. Investments included £174,107' lent on ,' mortgage, £300,710 lent on Government securities,

and fixed deposits,',£ll4,ooo, while the cash was ,£39/235. Tho number of- accounts with balances between .£IOO and .2200 is 2163; between £50 and-iilOO, 1654; between .£lO and ,£SO, 4035; and with balances under .£lO, 9923. . The depositors number over 17,000.

According to tho recent balance-sheets published of the Queensland sugar-mill-ing companies, last year was only a mode-rately-profitable one. Some of tho accounts were satisfactory, but. others did not disclose much' progress. The Marian Central mill paid off .£11,620 of its liability to tho Government, built tramways costing £6200, and carried out other works. The . company expects a further sum of .£SOOO from the Colonial Sugar Refining Company, being tho balance of bonus. When received, the net liability of the company . will be j£sU(h), against which tho company will have an up-to-date mill and tramway worth ,£60,000. Mill profits of the Mossman Central Mill Company w.ere .£258, of' the Meadow-land. Mill. Company .£1765, and of the Moreton Central Mill .Company ,£lftfl. The last-named concern is'stated to have improved its position =£15,000 during three years. Record outputs have to bo reported for 1909 for more than one of the important European oilfields. The output of crude oil in Rumania for December, amounted to 118,000 tons, as compared with 935,600 ■ tons for the corresponding mouth-of 1908, and bringing the total output for the year to 1,293,500 tons. ' This compares with an output of 1,147,700 tons in 1808, and is the highest-yield yet recorded in any year. The production of the Galician fields for 1909 was also a record and amounted-to 2,150,000 tons, as against 1,754,000 tens in '1308 and 1,176,000 in 1907. ' . WHEAT AND> FLOUR. By TcleEi-aph—Press Association—CoDvrlchl London, March 27. The wheat and flour afloat for the United Kingdom totals 4,230,000 quarters; for the Continent, 2,130,0C0 quarters; Atlantic shipments, 57,000. The. total shipments to Europe- this week amounted to .1,180,000 quarter.?,, including 249,000 from the Argentine and Uruguay. .