COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1110, 25 April 1911, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

STOCK EXCHANGE. Tho Wellington Stock Exchange observed yesterday, St. George's Day, as a holiday. MUNICIPALITIES AND BANKS. Municipalities in Great Britain do a. certain amount of banking business, and the Scottish"banks have.been complaining for some time past that they are suffering severely from tho keen competition of municipalities which. advertise widely that they aro prepared to- accept deposits for fixed terms at a rate, of interest { pot cent, above the official deposit rate of tho banks. With a view to meeting this competition, it is understood that the Scottish .-banks have, resolved-to accept deposits made for not less than three and in sums of not less than £10.000, a,t J per cent, above tho official deposit rate. SUEZ CANAL DUES. . The "Egyptian Gazette" (published in London) of a recent date has the .following:—"lt was publicly stated'rtho'other day that the steamship fleets Controlled by Sir John- Ellermau pay over £3C0,C00 a year in Suez. .Canal dues; With reference to those charges tho Liverpool Steamship Owners' Association submits some interesting figures for consideration. It points out that Great Britain received last year ■in dividends its -Sues Canal shares a sum of £1,056,207, and , that it-has now obtained £16,000.000 of income from its original investment cf £4.C00,C00 thir.ty-fiva years ago. 'This extraordinary return.' says the reporti-'liae been obtained from dues which exceed.by 100 per cent.'the cost of working the- Cas'al. These.dues are, as to 60 per cent., collected from British ships, and, therefore, although, the whole of tho million received by this country is treated as .dividend;, it is derived.! as to 60 per cent, from a most onerous 'tax levied on our. trade with .ths . East.',/, "When the matter is looked at in that way, tho.case for tho.shipowner is easily understood.. There seems-an idea that the subject will bo raised at the approaching Imperial Conference. This woii'.d bo pinguj.arly appropriate, since Australia, i-s neculiarly" interested "in the ouestion. India,- however, is not a whit less keenly concerned.- The idea 1 ! condition, of course, would be a toll-free : waterway, but at present, it seems wholly impossible of attainment."-.

' • LONDON 'PRODUCE'MARKET: - New Zealand produce in London is ssllr ing.only fairly,'.well, and prices, when compared.- with those currant last' year,-, are generally lower. The mutton market is dull, and the lamb market is weaker, while the beef market is (juiot.. For some grades the Quotations .are lower than was tho case a week ago. For butter the market is. firm for choicest at 10As. Cheese is auieter owing::no doubt to. American competition..- Hemp" appears"'to be exceedingly dull at £19 to £20 per ton. It .is probable, however, that, with the improvements in machinery,.millers are earning a jiroflf at these prices. Taken all round, tho prices generally are not unprofitable, although they are somewhat lower than those which iuled a year ago.

WHOLE MEAL VERSUS WHITE FLOUK. The movement in .Great Britain in favour of whole : meal flour—that- is,: flour, made by grinding all .the wheat except tne outer , husks—as.. opppsed to' white flour, Irom which the" husks' and the germ of tho erain have, been .. removed—is growing. Thero are, however, influential opponents o! iho'whole-meal : theory, and'iamong them is Dr. Bostock Hill, medical officer of health and county analyst of Warwickshire. In the course of a speech Dr. Hill said that there was no doubt that by chemical analysis whole-meal flour and bread could ; bo shown to} , contain more proteid arid isfneral salts 'than' but that was~uot A' proof of "Us "superiority. The question, of digestion had to bo-taken into account. Personally he knew that this .broad was not eo digestible. From the accounts now 'being published it was made to appear that tho ordinary whitehead contained- no nourishment at all, that it was all starch, and that brown bread contained tho largest quantity of .every typo of food; but they had to look at' the ' question from a common-sense point of view. Tho tendency of a!! hiphlycivflised people was to got the whitest flour in preference. to any other, and side by side with tho change work had become better both mentally and physically. Tho present boom w?,s based entirely on chemical considerations, and not upon, the oqually important consideration of physioThe 'public should, have every, opportunity of obtaining brown or wholemeal bread if they wi-'hed it. but/their application for it should be founded on knowledge.and common-fense., .He objected himself to .beirip compelled, to buy a. standard flow.;.which ;he knew was not so pood for him as" that which ho was now setting. One would think from what was ■being, written that white flour wa3 impure. As a matter of -faot. it was not impure. Although.ho had not a. farthing in any mill or miller's business, ho was bound to say that tho miller had never treated th<» public batter than they wero being treated at tho Drejient time. coconut on; buttek. ' A now substitute for butter has been plaoed on the market ia Western Bohemia, it contains no anima! fats, but is manufactured, from coconut, bi!, tho yolk of eggs, and a small proportion 'of cream, ujconut oil has been used for some time in Europe in the:manufacture of oleomargarine- under various sames. but i- combination with lard, or ■ other animal fats. The "vegetable" butter is prepared in two and in flnn cakes. It is shipped , by palrcels post from the factory in packages, of U!b. /The claim is made that this 'butter substitute has an agreeable flavour,, is not.,injurious to health, and 13.■ excellent for-.cooking purposes. It retails at 7d. per lb.. Creamery butter is sold at 17»d. to 18(1. per !b., "land butter" churned on' the farm for 15Jd. to 165 d., and Iμ ''° St n imp -° r ' c ' <l Hol3tein butter for

. LINSEED, .OIL. . In its oil trade supplement of March 4, the "Groce."". points out- that phenomenally high .prices are cow ruling for lin-seod-hierher than they have' been for nearly half a century—azd the immediate future shows no , prospect.,of relief. It describes tho market as < being "hiehly sensitive and nervous, inflation and depression alternating ...with..startling rapidity, without showing much changes values." Wide estimates, ,t(io Review,goes oc to say, of the Argentina crop : havobecn circulated, but the.-outturn is oaly moderate, and about one-third is required by the United States to help make up-the deficiency of home, supplies.... Fortunately the Indian linseed crop promises well, owing to favourable atmospheric conditions, arid supplies. . will much exceed !;i'st year, partly compensating. for. the sliortago in the Argentina crop!- The world's-supplies, however, are. scarcely' sufficient for all re-qiiiremcnts-a, fact-which makes the situation serious... The United, States i 3 the largest 'consumer ..of linseed oil, and the extraordinary demand in-tlftt country for all fatty oils makes thT"position' awkward for-other countries'—ThereMs iust a possibility that manufacturers who have o, difficulty in getting supplies, of linseed oil s may be able to find-substitutes which are just now beizg pushed a, trood deal. In the meantime point and .varaich makers are considering the eucnitlor. of adjusting their selling prices to the increased cost..of ■ raw - matorials—turpentine and resin beine also uuusunlly high. The review concludes . by. stating that tho feeling of anxiojy which, has characterised the linseed oil market for some- timo ia in r.& way modified, and those peorte are fortunate who can temporarily dispense with that product.

NOTES. Oil engines' for motive power are to bo used in three largo vessels now beine built in Scotland. Thore_ i3.a constant and considerable increase in the exports of cattlo from Southern China.; to tho Philippines. The Paris Town Council's Budget Committee estimate the sum tho town will receive from the gas undertaking for tho present year at £1,024,000. In 1910 23,426 carcasses of Chinese pork were received at Liverpool, asd tho whole of these were examiccd. Of this number 343 wero condemned on account of unsoundness, which developed in transit, and 352 on account of disease or abnormal conditions.

Last year the United States received 1,071,885 immigrants from abroad, which number compares'with 957.115 for 1959 and 410,319 foe 19C8, the respective gainc, bcins 11 per .(■cut. and 160 per tent, It will bo recalled that 1958. wap n year of depression, and, , therefore, many aliens thought it wise to return to their original homes, pending the appearance of improved conditions iii the State?, while at the same time those who might have contemplated a. westward journey decided to remain in their own rountrice. On the other hand, last, year's immigration was by no means so heavy as it was in either 1907 or 1986, for which years the figures were ,1.334,166 and 1,215,689 respectively. .As regards the racial elements, Italians again predominated, but there was also a goodly increase in the number of Poles arriving. Hebrews, Greeks, and Mexicans came'in greater numbers than in 1909. A noticeable, development, however, concerned the,increased inflow of native? of the -United-Kingdom, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries. ■ Customs duties, collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £2355 • . . FEOZEK MEAT. By Tei.ecraph-l'n;sa Ass-jcialion-Cagjrletat. London, April 23. The Frozen Meat Trade Association's Smithfleld market quotations for the undermentioned classes of frozen meat are based on actual sales of not less than one hundred carcasses of mutton or lamb, or twenty-five Quarters of beet of fair average quality. The Quotations are not for. selected lines, but for parcels fairly representative of the bulk of the shipments now on the market. Tho nricc3 which follow are on an a-vcrace a farthing per lb. more than the value ex ship, this difference representing an averago Cost .in expenses, handling, conveyance, and selling tho meat:— ' April 15. April 22. Hutton— d. d. Canterbury, light 32 — . Canterbury, medium 31 — Canterbury, heavy 3} — Southland — — North Island, best 3J 3 North Island, ordinary ... 3 213-16 ■ Australian, light 211-16 2t, ' Australian, heavy 25 2$ River Plate, light 3 3 liiver Plate, heavy ....... 213-16 2J N.Z. ewes 23 ' 29-16 ' Australian ewes if, 29-16 ; River. Plate ewes 25 29-15-

Lamb:— • Canterbury, light 4J 45 . Canterbury, medium 5 5 Canterbury, heavy 5 5 Southland ..:...".. "fIS ' 4 5-16 North Island,-selected: 4J 4} North Wand, ordinary... 41-16 ' 41-16 Australian, best 311-16 3g Australian, fair Zk il Australian, inferior 3J 33 River Plate, first :.... 33 33 River Plate, cecond 30 3J Beef:- : Now Zealand ox foras ... 23 213-16 ■ New Zealand, ox hinds ... 4 4 . Australian, ox fores — — Australian, ox hinds — — ■ River Plate, ox fores 23 23 . River -Plate, ox hindr, 4 33 ■ River Plate, chiiled fores 215-16 215-16 River Plate chilled hinds 41 43 , WHEAT AND FLOTJe! . ' By Telegraph—Press Association-Copyriebt London, April 23. Tho wheat and fiour afioat for the United Kingdom is 3.935.CC0 quarters; for the Continent, 3,215,0C0 quarters; Atlantic shipments, 64.C00; Pacific Ehipincnts, IO.CCO. TII2 total shipments to Europe durir.3 the wesk amounted .to 1.315.CC0 cuarters, including 290,000 quarters from Argentina, 395,000 Russian, 117.000 Danubian, 57.CC0 from India, and 265,000 from Australasia. :HIGII COJIJIISSIONEE'S CABLE. The Commerce and Touriste Division of the Department of Agriculture, Commerce, and . Tourists h-v received tho following cablegram from tho High Commissioner for New Zealand, dated London-April 22,:— (Note— Quotations. un!es3 otherwise stated, are average price 3on spot.) r Mutton.—The, market is dull, owing to a; poor demand. Canterbury, 33d. per lb. (a small supply); North Islaud, 3d. per lb. (a largo supply); River Plate,'SJd. per !b. (is in large supply, and is being strongly pushed for sale). ... Lamb.—Tho market is a- shade weaker as a result. 0! heavy arrivals, • and law! shipments are expected. Stocks of lamb are accumulating. Canterbury.' 43d. per lb.; other than. Canterbury, -4Jd.; Australian, 3i!d.: River Plate, 3Jd. . ■•.•.' Beef—The market is quiet, with n, tendency in .favour of buyers. Supplies of ?■"!£ ?i ato are New Zealand hindsf, 4d.: fores, 2Jd. per lb. ■Butter.-The market remains firm. Choicest New Zealand'butter. 1C9 5 ;,; Australian, 1023.; Danish) ,1165.; .Siberian, 102s. per Cheese.—The market to quieter, but we nave a favourable opinion of New Zealand at C2s. 6d. per cwt. American offerings in moderate quantities, about 60s. per .- cwt.

Hemp.-The market is dull. New Zealand good fair, spot, nor ton, fair grade, £19. Forw.aTd shipment about the same price. Fair current -Manila, spot per ton, £19. Forward shipment, , £19 5s ■per ton. The output from Manila for tho ■ week was 29.000 bales. . Cocksfoot Seed.-Tho market is firm, and there is a. better demand: . Briuht clean Now Zealand cocksfoot seed, weighing 171b. per ■ bushel; per : cwt., 775. ... 'Pork, s*d. per lb. (nominal). '■ . ■'■ ' . EBgs.-The market is puiet but firm, and moderate supplies going forward. Italian ,7s. 9d. to 9s. per 120; Danish, 7s. 6d. to ,9s. 6d.: Hungarian, ss. 9d. to 7a.. 3d.; Russian, ss. 9d. to 63. :9d.

■-. Poultry.—The market i,<= quiet, but stendv American chickens, Bd. to 9d. ner !b.; Urnspan. 7Jd. to 8!! d. per !b.j ducklings, 6d. to 7d. per lb.; turkeye, 7d. per lb. Wool.—Tho market -remains firm. ,MALLEABLE IE0N: DROP IN PRICES. By Telegraph—Press Association-Copyrfcht London, April 23. The Anglo-Scottish Malleable Iron Combine is threatened with disruption, tho Scotch makers having decided to revert to free- sellinfc owine to the harassment of Continental, competition and sdicc undercutting. Tli,p price of malleable iron has dropped by 17s. 6d. a ton.