COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 800, 25 April 1910, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

LONDON WOOL SALES All reports from London seem to agree that fine wools will maintain their values, if they do not advance a little, but coarse wools are expected to rccede. This is partly confirmed by the results of the sheepskin sales. Merino and fine crossbred full-woollcd skins advanced Jd. to 3d., while coarse 'crossbrcd full-woollcd skins occasionally exhibited a slight decline. At the Antwerp sales, out of 6784 bales, mostly coarse wools, only 1747 bales sold, which is not very encouraging. There is no doubt that a slight change has come over' the wool situation. The trade is" in possession of ample supplies, judging by the arrivals of _ direct shipments, and the large quantities now on the water. Furthermore, the European and North American clips are now in sight, and in the aggregate amount to an appreciable quantity. Great Britain will clip about 23,000,000 sheep, which mcans v as large a quantity of wool as was supplied during the past season. In another six weeks the early' Australian clips will be availablo,\ so •, that for the rest, of the year the : * trade will have an abundanco of the raw material. 4 ..Vn industrial revival is .in progress, and consequently there is. some hope that values will .be maintained. • ;

WOOL .DRAFT (JTTEgTIOX. . On March ,10 a meeting of' members of the Colonial Wool-buyers Association was held in the- Wool -Exchange; .Coleman Street, E.C., to ,consider. :the above matter. The .chairman ''stated-.that'ithe committee had received from - Continental, • American,and British • firms6so-signatures pledging support. The following ' resolutions were submitted by the ohairman:— • (1) ."That in the event of any attempt being made to catalogue or sell wools at the London colonial wool sales without the customary draft allowance the committee will call upon the signatories, to abstain from buying by public auction or private treaty." (2) "That copies of this resolution s^nt., to Mr. Doxat, toicr'with a list'of the firms who have signed the - declaration.-' (i) "That > copies ot the resolution, together with a copy of the list of signatures, be sent to the chairmcn of tho Wool Buyers' Committees of- Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Western Australia, and Now Zealand, with a request that the associations in those cehtres' should resist any similar attempt in the colonies, and assuring them of the unswerving support of the Home. Continental, and American buyers who operate at, tho London colonial sales; also to the principal banks.- corporations, and financial houses and newspapers in the colonics." ' '

Mr. H. Ayrton,-in seconding the resolution, : said that the first-time publio-at-tention was called to the: abolition of the draft allowance was'at the meeting: of the Congress of Chambers of-Commerce held in Sydney last September. A Sydney woolbroker, 1 who happened • to'be-president of the Sydney Chamber, of brought the proposal forward,- but it was and ho thought for a-long-time nothing more would be heard about it. To his surprise, when he arrived 'Home from Australia a week ago, he found that the qnc&. tion had been pressed forward, and thai it would require , the ' bringing into one united body the forces of the trade in all the centres of industry' to,. crushtliia perhiciolis proposal once, atfd - for all. He'die not believe the growers ' had felt tho desire to open .the, question, because in conversations with many of them he had not-found a single instance where they complained about it. He had also Bpoken to a good many selling brokers in Melbourne*,' Sydney, and "elsewhere, "and the feeling was that it was a'grcat mistake to . open • the question, but. they might be forced to do so by others. A leading member of the New South Wales • ih>voriiment had stated, that owing to this practice . the American, Continental, and English buyers, who went to Australia to buy wool were robbing tho poor growers of' Ncw South "Wales of'botween 4>2'JO,CCO and £300,000 annually. The faet was that tho growers lost nothing by the allowance. ..The great bulk of j the wool whicji waß sold' in-London and Australia was % iii" the prease, and buyers had been trained to cstim&to.what the wool offered would yield, - and on that yield their price depended. If they were told that for the future there would be no draft allowance they, would estimate tho yield at about 1 per cent, iess and be compelled to rcduco their. price. They would stand fast in thoir ; opposition to theabolition of the draft allowance. 1 •;.» • - / The resolutions were carried unanimously.

i SILVER CURRENCY. Some attention ha-s recently been given in New Zealand to the introduction of a new silver .coinage: into,'tho Australian Commonwealth and to' the position of New Zealand in rcfcrence. thereto. So far no action has been taken by the Dominion* Government. IWe 'understand (says yesterday's issue of tho "Trade Review") that, as the law. stands, „no coinage would constitute 'a legal tender in New Zealand savo that issued "by the' Royal Mint'in London, .but as the new coinage is from.ihat source t.hc position of New Zealahu in respect of it is not yet made clear.

- Ono question is whether any good reason exists for allowing tho now silver coinage to ' circulato. in* this .Dominion,' even' if legalised. ' As; we • stand .at present tho Royal Mint, 'from' which our currency.'; is obtained, takes back the' old coins, gold and silver, when they become worn and replaces them with new coins . of full weight, without chargc, within certain limits; f Tho profit, seignorage, which the mint receives on the silver coinage at the present low price of that, metai more than compensates - for the. loss on the worn coin.' If, however, we allowed tho new silver coinage of Australia to over-r.un tho Dominion and oust the' British coinago, we wmld not look to the mint to replace our , worn coins, gold or silver, and wo should have no claim on the Commonwealth, unless special arrangements wore made.

.It would appear, therefore, that three courses are open to Now Zealand, either to make terms with Australia or t«.continue tho present position under which we draw our supplies from tho British mint and get our worn coin replaced thence, or to seek from tho Imperial Government tho concession of the privilego that has just been granted t-o Australia viid get special silver coinage minted for in and supplied to. us at. cost price.

The second course freo3 us -of any troublo and .loss from worn coins. It would also havei • tho cffect'which wo-think aa advantage of preserving the evidence of our connection'with the MotherVCountry. Tho 'Australian coinage !on the' other- hand, strongly Australian in dosign, would not indicate either our connection with the Mother Country or our political detach* ment from tho Commonwealth.

The third course would yield tho New Zealand Government a handsome profit on the new silver coinage which would constitute a fund sufficient to meet futuro losses on worn coin. We understand that

o stock of silver coin in 7 New Zealand Is estimated at £500,000, and that a profit on a new stcck of that face value would, bo about £250,000 or £300,000. Why should* our Government «ot adopt.this course? The Customs duty collected at the port yesterday amounted to £2627 9s. lid.

JOHN DEWAE AND SONS. The annual report of John Dewar and Sons, Ltd., states that the profit on tho year's working amount to £152.762. making, with tho balance brought ;• forward an available sum of £183,768. The directors recommend a dividend on' tho ordinaryshares' of 30 per cent., .together with a bonus of 10s. per share, leaving a balance of £33,465 to be carried forward. The report shows a decrease in profits as com« pared' with the previous year of £901)0, which, it is stated is due to the decrease in consumption on account of the duties having been raised in the last Budget. A . sum of £5000 iB carried to tho reserve, bringing this fund up to £130,0C0.

NOTES. V--1 The giant Prudential Assurance Company in England had another prosperous year in 1909, and the business continued to increase. The company has noTf £71,328,319 : of life funds, besides the reserve and capital, making £2,625,0 C0 S more. Tlio ordinary branch policies 'number 882,804, and industrial branch policies 18,375,229. The reversionary bonus on ordinary policies was increased to £1 14s. per cent., and the industrial bonuses wore also materially augmented. In the latter policies of Ave years' standing becoming claims in the year, receive 5 per cent, bonus, those of 10 years' standing 10 per ccnt. bonus, and those of 15 years' standing 15 per. ccnt. bonus.

TJnder tho recently-passed Japanese trado marks law, a mark known to tho pnblio to belong to a certain person now receives an indirect protection, which prohibits tho registration of marks identical with, or similar to, marks belonging to another person, which are well known to the public, and arc used on tho same kind of "goods. While the advisability of obtaining the registration of trado marks remains; undiminished under the new Ikw, tho owner of an unregistered trade mart., should he desire to enjoy tho benefit ol the provision referred to, must make It clear that hia mark is well known to tho public, and in order to establish this fact it is not sufficient to say that o, weriraen is filod at tlio Japanese Patents Office. Accordingly, in sending spe(iimcnr> of unregistered British trade marks to that office, it is now highly desirable to state where and liovt. long tho marks liavo -been used, and to give any other particulars which establish the fact that they ;uo well known to the pnblic.

Discussing the effects of the Chinese depreciated silver currency in relation to OhinGso competition in ths cotton trade, Professor E. 11. Parker told an English audicnce that when he went to China fortv yoars rtffo, a sovereign, or-thrco taolfli a'day would Beouro Uio labour ol

25 Chinamen; but now a sovereign fetches nearly eight taels, and though the appreciation of rice may, in very recent years, make things harder for the coolie or labourer 011 the . whole, wages have not increased iu the interior; it is only the "wages of luxury" at the foreign ports, where new pleasures are found, that have pone up seriously. Hence, some 60 or 70 Chinese, men and women mixed, can be hired for the same' sovereign which pays only from four to six English mill-hands for the day. "No wonder," remarked Professor Parker, "there is talk of the American Steel Corporation starting rollingmills in Shan Si, which the Peking syndicate has just abandoned under 'rights recovery' pressure; just as, again, the boot mills at Cawnpore have begun to cut in on the British and American leather industries." .

The Customs revenue collected at "Wellington for the week ended Saturday totalled £15,630 10s. lOd. The beer duty' lor the same period was £190 19s.

FRUIT AND PRODUCE REPORT. The New Zealand Fruit and Produce Company report as follows:—Wc arc pleased to say that a much better tone exists in tho vegetable line, peas especially being in good request. Wo sold? one particular brand at Is. 2*d. per peck. French beans have also advanced considerably, bringing upwards to Bs. per bag of 401b. The following prices were ruling in our market during the past week:—Potatoes, ss. to 6s. per cwt.; onions, 3s.- 9d. to 4s. per cwt.; swedes, 2s. per cwt.; turnips, 3s. per sack; carrots, 3s. to ss. per sack; parsnips, 4s. 6d. to 6s. per sack; beetroot, 4s. to. ss. 6d. per sack; cabbage, ss. to 7s. per sack; cauliflower, ss. to 9s. per sack; peas, 9s. to 14s. lid. per sack; marrows, Is. to 2s. per sack; tomatoes, 3s. ,to ,3s. 6d. per case; beans, French ss. to Bs., per sack, broad 2s. to 3s. • 6d. per sack; lettuce, Is. to 3s. case; spinach, 3s. to 3s. 6d. . case; apples, cooking 25.. 6d. to '3s. 6d., dossert 4s. to ss. 9d.; passion fruit, 6s. to 7s. per box; pears, cooking ss. to 65., dessert 6s. to 95., half-case 45.; bananas, case 7s. 3d. to 96. 6d., bunch--3s. 6d, to 55.; oranges, island, 9s. to 10s. 6d.; lemons, Messina lis. 6d. (150), Sydney ss. to 65.; pines, 7s.' 9d. to lis.; grapes, 7d. to Bd. per lb.; eggs, Is. lid. to 2s. per doz.; chaff, £4 to £5 10s.; ducks, '4s. 6d. to ss. per pair; bran, 3s; 6d. per sack; wheat, 4s'. to 4s. 4d. .per bushel; hens, 3s. to 3s. 6d. per pair; peanuts (Japanese), 20s. 6d. per sack.

PALMEBSTON MARKET BEPOIIT. ■Mr. Harry Palmer, of Palmerston, reports a big entry of pigs, particularly good stores and porkers, at his market last week. There was a decided increase in tho demand for these, and prices showed a distinct advance, especially for porkera. The report adds:—We had a fnll entry of poultry of all . descriptions, and, although every line was sold, in' some instances prices were not well maintained. Good business has been done during, the week with'produce, there beinj; a. ready, sale for all lines. Largo stocks of onions are' coming forward, and mixed samples of potatoes are to hand, with no-apparent scarcity, and prices range accordingly. "We • quote:—'Weaners,• 3s. 6d„ ,55., 6s. 6d., 7s„ Bs., Bs. 6d.; slips, 95., 10s., lis.; stores, 12s. 14s. 155., .16s'.: light porkers, 175., 18s.. 195., £1; heavy do., £1 45., £1 ss. 6d., £1 6s. 6d., £1 75.; ducks, 35.,-3s. 6d., to cocks, 2s. 6d. -to 45.;. hens, 2g.' •to >3s.j pullets, 3s. to 65.; turkeys; 6s. to 6s. Gd. each; geese, l 2s. to 2s. 6(1, each; prime table potatoes, IDs. per sack; inferior sorts, 7s. to. 95.; pig potatoes, «2a.', 6d. to 2s. 9d.; marrows, 2s. to 2s. 6d.; swedes, 3s: to 45.; carrots, 3s. to 4s.;' mangolds, 2s. ■ 6d.; pumpkins, 3s. to 45.; apples, 2s. to 45.; pears, 35.; (fuinces, Is. 6d. to 25." 6d.; tomatoes, Is. id.; barley, lis.; wheat, 18s.; pollard, 10s.; chaff, 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d.; bacon, 6d. per lb. Our two days' sale of furniture, on account of Mr. Law, was well attended, and a total clearance was made;

1 FEILDING MARKET EEPOET. Messrs..A. H. Atkinson* and Co., Ltd., of Peilding, report a considerable improvement in pig values. Their report states:— "Wo had a large entry, every pen being filled, and every lot sold at an advance on late rates. Poultry was in "usual supply, the,'birds offering not-showing much table quality. Horses m:tde up to £0, severalgood animals being offered. We sold a ciuantity of fruit, produce, and sundries at quotationa. Quotations:—Horses, £5 to £8; hooded buggy, £B.los. Pigs:. Weaners, 4g. 6d., 6b.,-6s. 65.. 9d.; 7s. 6(1.5. slips, Bs. 6d.; stores, 13s. Cd., 145., 14s. 6d., 165., 15s. 6d., 175., 18s., 195., 20s.- to 21s. 6d.;- porkers', 21s. 6d., 225., to 245. 6d.; boar, 145.; sows, 425, 535.;, 60s. Poultry, at each: Hens, ls„ Is. Id., Is; 2d., Is. 4d., to Is. 6d.; cockcrcls. Is., Is. 1d.,.15. 2d., .Is. 9d; roosters, 9d., Is. Id., Is., 3d., Is. 4d., Is. 9d.; pullets, Is.' 9d.; mixed birds, Bd., 10d., Is.; ducks, Is. 4d.,- Is. 5d.,-ls. 6d„ 25.. 4d.; turkoys, 2s. 6d., 3s. .Produce: Wheat, 4s. 6d. to 55.; barley, 33. 7d. to 4s'. j Oape do., 3s. 6d.; Algerian oats, 2s. 6d.;. -potatoes, 9s. to 10s. 6d.; pig do., 35.;- onions, §d. per lb.; pickling do., Id.; tomatoes, Is. to Is. 9d. per case; cabbage, Is. per sack; apples, 4s. per case; pears, 35.; marrows, 4d: and 6d. each; pumpkins, Is., to Is; 6d.each; quinces, Is. per bag; pie melons, 2s. 6d. per bag; factory bacon, sides 63d., hams 7id. , / LONDON MAEKETS. : The New. 'Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited, have, received the following cablegram from their London house, under date April-22:—"Frozen Meat* Demand restripted;' near arrivals heavy; expect lamb and beef fairly firm market; mutton likely to. decline, but may recover later." "J • "