COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 972, 12 November 1910, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

! INVESTMENT RTTABBH investment shares yesterday were. Metropolitan Permanent at £9 12s !iU ? u J"n °? a , l, at 19s ' M - : and N.Z. Consolidated Dental, at 225. The quotations and sales were as under:— Buyers 3ollers. Sales £s. d £s. d £s. d National Bank 515 0 517 6 — Metropolitan 1 — . _ oto c N.Z. and River " 6 Plate _ 20 6 — Well. Investment... 011 0 011 6 Well. Trust and Loan 7 lo o _ _ Well. Gae (£10) _ 19' 2 6 — r !. Gaa (new) ... — 210 0 — Well. Wooliou jord.) — 315 0 _ Well. Woollen (pref) 2 15 0 — — Westport Coal 6 9 0 — — Taupiri Coal 019 3 — 019 9 Leyland-O'Brien .... — 17 6 — Manning and Co. 4 0 0 — — N.Z. Con. Dental ... 11 6 — 12 0 Taranaki Petroleum — 09 6 — Ward and Co 5 3 0 5 4 0 —

WORLD'S WHEAT POSITION. Summarising tho wheat position, "Beorbohm 8 Corn Trade List," of September 2J. Stated tho market was at that date steady, holders had firmly ■ resisted any further decline, and there had been decidedly less pressure to sell. But the demand had been far from general, and not at all active. There was no particular change in the general situation; shipments, although much more moderate than the re--cord figures of the previous week, were quite liberal, and about 200,000 Quarters above the estimated weekly requirements. Ino estimates of tlio French wheat croD official and that published by the Bulletin des Uolles, fully confirmed prov"ious reports of tho great deficiency in this years yield, and pointed to a possible import ol some 10,000,000 quarters of foreign wheat being rcauired to make up the shortage. In America tho receipts at primary points were on a smaller scale than last year, but, owing to tho email exports, the visible supply continned to increase. The American markets had been very steady, but the improvement ia prices had been apparently more tho result of firmer markets on this side than from any inherent strength in tho American situation. The monsoon in India had been a very satisfactory one, and conditions were, therefore, favourable for new crop sowings; under these circumstances, and considering tho large surplus left over from the last crop it was quite probable that Indian wheat would be exported in fair quantities uu to the end of the year. - Arrivals at Russian and Danubian. ports continued large notwithstanding the very large shipments' stocks were .increasing rapidly, and exports were almost certain to bo very large up to tho close of navigation. Australia only shipped 200,000 auaxters between September 23 and tho end of December last year, whereas this yoar's figures were likely to bo iu tho neighbourhood of 1,000.000 quarters. Tho weekly requirements for Europe wore trcobably fully 100,000 quarters more thaai m 1909. or, say, 1,250,000 to L 225,000 ciuaitera per week, which, for thaj

thirteen weeks from October 1 to tho end ?JrnP£S? mb€r wouW amount to about 16.500,000 Quarters. As far as one could judge at the present time, there should be no difficulty in obtaining all the wheat required in the last three months of this year. WOOL IN JAPAN. 3 The consumption of wool in Japan is " steadily expanding, <and this growing mart kct has not yet been exploited by New 3 Zealaud. It may be that our coarse wools \ are not suited to the market, but this is j scarccly probable. Howevor, Sir. J. B. ' Suttor, the Now South Wales Commercial 1 Aijent in tho East, in a report to the • Minister of Agriculture gives some statis- : tical information regarding the wool m- . ported into Japan during the seven [ months ended July 31 last:— Wool, Including Greasy, Scoured, and Tops, j 7 Months, 7 Months, From— 1910. 1909. : England £411,294 ... £306,865 Australia 301,710 ... 130,542 Germany 42.338 ... 38,226 France 18,171 ... 17,124 China 14,870 ... 39,430 Belgium 8,189 ... 522 ICwantung Provinces 4 ... 137 Other countries 13 ... 5,717 £796,599 ... £538,563 Increase for seven months, £258,026. It will be seen, he says, that the imports from Australia show an increase for the seven months of £171,168. The total imports from Australia in 1909 equalled about £199,649; so that the seven months of lylO show an increase of over £100,CC0 more than the whole of the previous year. Much attention i 6 now being given to the finer grades of wool, and New South Wales tops are spoken of as being excellent in every respect. In addition to the above, a small order .on behalf of tho Ghinese Woollen Mills has been sent to Sydney within tho last couple of weeks. QUICKSILVER AND MINERAL OILS. BONUSES GAZETTED. According to an announcement in this week's Gaaette, a bonus of fourpence per pound will be paid on the production of the first one hundred thousand pounds weight (100,0001b.) of good marketable retorted quicksilver, free from air impurities, from any mine in New Zealand, on condition that at least one-third of the quantity is produced on or before March 31, *1911, and tho remaining two-thirds on or before March 31, 1912. Wo bonus will jbe payable until tho whole of the one hundred thousand pounds (100,0001b.) of quicksilver has been produced as stipulated to the satisfaction of. an officer to be appointed by the Minister of Mines, and on whose certificate alone the bonus will bo paid. In the event of more than one person producing the required quantities of Quicksilver before the dates named, inquiry will be made by the officer above referred to, when, if it is found that each applicant is equally entitled to a bonus, .the amount will be'divided in proportion to the quantities produced by each applicant, but in no case shall any bonus be paid u*uil at least one hundred thousand pounds (1C0,0001b.) of quicksilver has been produced in tho aggregate. For the production of mineral oils, a bonus of 3d. per gallon (£6250) . will be paid on' the first 510,000 gallons of mineral oil produced in the Dominion of New Zealand. The mineral oil in the refined state to have a speciflo, gravity of 0.814 to 0.830, and a flash point of not less than 83 degreee Fahr. by tho Abel closed test. Notice of I intention to claim tho bonus must bo given in writing to the Minister of Mines not later than March 31, 1912, and the claim •must be made before March 31, 1913. The first claimant who proves to the satisfaction of the Government that he has fulfilled: all the'conditions to be the recipient of the bonus. All conditions as to quantity, quality, priority, and value to be fulfilled to the satisfaction of an officer appointed for the purpose by the Government.

ARGENTINE MEAT SHIPMENTS. Tho Commerce and Tourists Division of the Department of Agriculture, Commerce, and Tourists has received the following cablegram from Buenos Ayres, dated November 9:—"The following shipments of produce were dispatchcd from the Argentine to United Kingdom ports during October, 1910, compared with October, 19C9:—1910— | 95,766 quarters frozen beef; 153,771 quarters chilled beef,-322,559 carcasses frozen mutton; no carcasses lamb. 1901-82,531 quarters frozen beef; 84,435 quarters chilled beef; 109,854 carcasses frozen mutton,* 5470 carcasses frozen lamb." NOTES. Thero are 123,815 acres under cocoanut In the Malay States, and the official valuation of those estates is £2,917,000, or, say, £23 10s. per acre. About two-thirds the area has come into bearing. The copra exported last year was increased over 40 nor cent., and amounted to about 6150 tons. There are complaints as to the inferior quality of. tho native-made copra.

The Austrian Government derives a considerable, and almost invariable, revenue fromMts lottery monopoly, says p. Consular report on the finances of Austria-lEim-gary, In 19G9 the 3100 lottery offices received from the public the i amount of £1,536,130 {a little more than a shilling per head of.the population): In return the Stato paid to winners £841.920, and for administrative purposes £92,290, so that Government derived in 19C9 a net revenue of £601,912 from the lottery monopoly. The British Government originally paid £3,976,582 for its holding of Suez Canal shares, and up to July, 1894, those shares did not rank for ordinary dividend, though the Government received £5,635,188 in interest. But from January 1, 1895, to January. l, 1910 (15 years); during which those shares have ranked for dividend, the British Government has received X13.698.C82 in dividends, and is now receiving over 26* per cent, interest per annum upon its investment.

It is expected that the largest cotton crop over secured in Egypt will be marketed during the nest few. months. In round figures the cotton shippers place the crop at 7,500,100 cantars (750,000,000 pounds), which will) if it materialises, top the banner crop of 1907 by 25,t00,1t0 pounds. Tho crop of 1909 was the emallest for a decadejust short of 5,000,000 cantars—a cantar is just ovor 991b.

Business in the United States is certainly depressed. The August bank clearings showed a drop of 15 per cent., as compared with August last year. In the month the New York Stock Exchange sold 10,376,190 shares, as against 24,514,[-21 shares in August, 19C9, and £6,331,962 in bonds, against £23,113,710, and the market was weak. Iron

and.6teel orders were light, and ouotationa easy. The Boston- wool market was down to the, exporting point, and had actually been visited by English buyers, and orders generally were on a conservative basis. Customs revenue collected at the port, of Wellington yesterday amounted to £2531 Is. Sd. NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIAN LAND COUP ANY. By Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright. London, November 10. The New Zealand and Australian Land Company, Ltd., shows a profit for the year of £257,341. The sum of £100,000 has been placed to the credit of the contngency fund, and £2459 carried forward. LONDON MAKKETS. Messrs. Dalgety and Company, Ltd., report having received cabled advice from tlieir London house, dated November 10 regarding the following markets :-Prozen iueat: Market quiet, and prices unchanged except for Australian lamb, which we now quote at 5Zd. to s£d. Tallow: Any chance is in favour of.buyers. WOOL, HIDE, AND TALLOW SALE. Messrs. Abraham and Williams, Ltd., report:—Wo held our monthly sale on Fri- • j j merst Our "catalogue ■ comprised 90 bales and baee of wool, 17C0 sheepelans, 1000 calfskins, 400 largo hides, 46 tins and 7 casks and bags of tallow, 10 sacks of I horse hair, and also cow hair, tails, and oil. Buyers were well represented, and bidding throughout was spirited. We quo to:—Wool: Romney, 9d.; crossbred, fine. Bid.; crossbred, medium, 7*d. to Bid.t dead 3d. to Bd.; crutchings, 4d. to s*d.; dead and pieces, 7d : ; hogget pieces, 62d.; locks and pieces, 4a. to 5d.; bellies. 6}d.; black, 53d. Sheepskins: Crossbred, medium to fine, 63d. to 75(1.; crossbred, medium, 4d. to 63d.crossprcd, damaged, 3Jd.; dead and damaeed, 3itL to fja.: hoggets, 4d. to Sd.; blaclt, 4id. ; uicni;:), ,4)d.; quarter .to half-wools, i ,J ; r .'! S J t s lns , at per piece, 4s. 3d., ss. 3d., ss. ll'd., 65., 6s. 4d., 6s. Bd.. 6s 9d 6s. 10 d.', 7s. 4d 7s. 7d„ Bs. to Bs. Id.'; iLife Is. 53.; Pelts, Is. 3d.; dead, 2s. 9d.; crossbred, salted, 35.; pelts, salted, Is. Bd.; calfskins, sound calf, 6Jd„ 7Jd,, BJd. gdfj 9id to 10d.; cut and half dry, 6d. to 6!d.' ; slippjr, 4Sd.; : yearlings, 6|d. to 7d.; cut yearlings, 6di Hides: Ox, heavy, 53d. to 7d.; medium, .6Jd. to 63d.; cows, medium weights, 6Jd., 62d ; , to 6Jd.; light, 6d. to 6Jd.; cut and slippy, sod. to Sid.; half dry, 6Jd.; heifer and steers, 63d,. Horso hides, 7s. 6d„ 10s. to Us. 6d. each. Sundries: Tallow, m casks, £28 to £28 ss. ner ton; tins, £12 10s. to £27 per ton; drum£27 per ton; rough fat, 10s. per.cwt.:

horse hair, Is. s|d. to Is. 6*d. per lb.; cow hair, 6d. per lb.; cow tails, Is. 6id. pep dozen, CO-OPERATIVE BUILDING SOCIETT. Tho fifth annual general meeting of the Colonial Co-operative Building Society of Wellington was held in the society's rooma, Willis Street, last evening, Mr. Fred. Lee being in tho chair. The annual report stated that tho society was in a flourishing condition, and it also mentioned that if such societies were increased a great amount of good might be wrought in tho district, and numerous individuals would securo homes, which they were unable to do at tho present time. .After providing for all expenses there was an increased credit balance on tho profit and IO6S account., The mortgages held by the society woro ample securities for the repayment of the loans for which they were taken. During the year the subscriptions received amounted to £1461 65., and tho redemption moneys to £386 10s. Messrs. A. Milne, W. P. Healy, and J. C. Urio were unanimously re-elected directors for the ensuing year, and Mr. P. D. Hoskins was elected auditor. A vote o fthanks was tendored to tho chairman and directors for tho attention which they had given to the society's affairs during the year, also to all those who were responsible for the present satisfactory condition of tho society. This concluded the business. BUTTER BUYERS' PRESENT POSITION. (By Telegraph.—Special Correspondent.) , Auckland, November 11. 1 Inquiries made in dairying circles show that with New Zealand butter at 109s. per cwt in the London market, or just under Is. per lb., tho buyers who paid llid. for the output of New Zealand factories are losing, roughly, about Jd. per lb. freight. Insurance,. commissions, etc., may bo taken as being, approximately about Id. per lb., bringing the buyers' outr lay up to 12|d., or nearly id. por lb. above the present London price. The present market, therefore, is in favour of those factories which made contracts with thebuyers at or about llgd., and it is understood that a good number of Auckland . factories did this. Those dairying concorns that arc selling on consignment, anU that aro, therefore, bearing themselves the market risks, control, perhaps, two-thirds of the output of tho Auckland exports. Mining News and reports of Live Stock Sales will be found on page 13 of this issue.