COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1196, 3 August 1911, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. No transactions were recorded iu investment shares yesterday. Wellington Gas shares were Quoted ex dividend. The buying and scllinc prices were a.:; under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. (1. £ s. d. National Mortgage 3 10 0 — N.Z. Loan and .Mer.-autilo 0 17' 0 0 18 0 N.Z. and River Plate 2 0 U - Wellington Investment ... 0 11 6 — Well. Trust and Loan ... — 7 11 0 Christchurch Gas 9 12 6 - Napier Gas 25 0 0 25 10 0 Well. Gar, (£10; 1310 0 Well. Gas (.£7 155.) 14 15 0 Standard Insurance 11l 1 — Chri:;tcin;;-ch Meat — 16 2 6 -Aleut Export (£5) — 6 8 5 Meat Export !.€4) — 5 6 0 Mint Export (f.2s. 6d.) ... - 3 5 0 Well Steam Ferry USs.l... . — 0 17 0 Kaiapoi Woollen fpref.)... 5 6 0 Well. Woollen (ord.) — 4 0 0 flikurnogi Ccal — 0 19 3 Tuiipiri Coil — l u o Westport Coal ISO 193 Lcylaml-O'Brien 18 3 - Jlonninß and Co — 4 6 0 NX Hi-nt? 2 9 6' - N.'/. Paper Mills — 113 Saarland's ordinary — 15 0 Khsirland's preference ... — 15 0 Tarunaki Pclrolcum 0 16 6 0 17 0 Tariusiniutu Totara 2 6 0 2 8 0 COMMONWEALTH TRADE. For the first six months of the vear, the value of the exports f r ,,„, the Commonwealth was &l2.m,n\-a. decrease of .£1,160,i'WW'' 11 '.?! 1 with the corresponding half of 1910. The drop in the vahn of cither the wool, or the wheat and flour exported, was alone more than enoiP'h to account for the total faUing-oIT. but their dehciencies were, to a larcc extent, countcrbalauced by increases in the exports of I other merchandise and or gold. The imports of merchandise are larger than 'those of the corresponding term in 1910 by C - 046,520, and, as movements of cold inwards were on an increasing scale, the total expansion was £4.715.546. The trade lullapce in favour of the Commonwealth i* now only .C1.3C4.32C. as compared with .£7,186/63 in 1910, and with .C5,8'(M22 in 19f;9, at the same period, or (he five nrin-' cipnl products exported during the first, mouths of the year, butter alone shows nil increase, and that In the extent <ii'£Bl3 477 in value and ol' 9573 lons in oiianti'lv Wool dcevoa.-ed liv -f;l.7Sl.Scl in value -iiid brcad-stulu. by .C1.2r0.t6a. nUlioncli, iii |be case of the latter, a slij:htl.y larger onantity was exported. IT.KKIIIT OX LAMBS. According lo Hie "Argus" (Melbourne* the new.-, that the rate or frciu-ht mi frozen lambs to the ruijed Kiiicilnni \- to be raised by I he steamship companies to l!-16d. per lb., acninst jd. lint yQ - lr and Ml. two seasons ago. is decidedly unwelcome Id those engaged iu the ir-id" Tlie advance on last year's rale is l-16d„ and ihe total ,'uhaucc as comnatcd with two seasons aeo is 3-l£d. per lb., or. say. 6d. per carcass, which on nearly two million carcasses, the sjiinnlity exported last year from Australia, represents an au-trre-t'.-itL' difference of nearly .CSO.CCO. It is understood that some of Ihe importers in London have nr< tested against the nrccnt advance of Mid . hut without result. It b.aj been that the subject is one

lor the Government to look into, though it is difficult to see what cll'ective action it can t:il;e in a nntlcr of this soil. What reasons have decided the jliipping companies to make Ihe advance have not lieeu announced, but there is an impression that the? ac'ilitional cost of labour is one- reason. The position of the .-hipping companies ap- ■ pears to lie strengthened .. by the large volume of cargo of all descriptions both exported from an:l imported into Australia, Hie volume of trade being now much creator than a few years ago. On the other hand, the supply of tonnage iu the Australian trade is also increasing. The advance iu the rate of freight will ronuire to ba taken into account by buyers in calculating what prices they can oll'er for lambs, on the basis of prices ruling from time lo lime for meat iu London. MATTi-I TEA. A great future is predicted for "hcrva matte." the "ilex Paraguay eusis." and some interesting information is given of this product in the "Brazilian Review." During the year 1009 Brazil exported no less than SS.tM.COO kilos of matte, of which the Stale of Parana alone exported 37.996,552 kilos. The rest, of the Hraziliin production comes chiefly from Ria firande do Sul. Santa Catharina. and Matlo (Irossn. Paraguay, which in 1893 exporter] 12.C35.CCfl kilos, in 1951) only exported 5.312.CC0 kilos. The great.-market, for the article is Argentina, where tome 40,(lf'C,C'M kilos are consumed every year, and so far the home production of that country only amounts io o.fIr.O.CCO kilos, but its cultivation in the Southern Republic is steadily increasing. As a- result of this threatened increase. Brazil is doing her best, to push the article in other markets anil especially in tho United States, Italy, France, and England. A short time ago we gave =>amc details as to the nature of the product, and its excellence as a beverage, something like tea with great blood purifying oualities and the merit of being marketed in Loudon at the low price of M. per lb. Matte does best at an altitude of between SCO and ICOO metres; it does not seem to be injured either by torrential rams or prolonged drought. It prefers a clay soil, and should be sheltered as much as possible from the winds. Cuttings should remain for some two years in tho nurseries, and be carefullv tended for that period before being nlanied out during the rainy season. Until it is six years old' the "ibx" renuire.-, the shade of other trees, hut after that period it is able to resist the sun's rays on its own account. As to bearing rapacity, some, people say that a tree three years old can produce one kilo of marketable matte, while others say that the trees should not be touched until they are seven or eight years old. As a. matter of fact, nntlo that has been cultivated under favourable conditions can be gathered at the age of four years. The crop is gathered from May to September, and not more than oneuuarter of the leaves are stripped from any one tree during the gathering. THE MEAT TRUST. According to the "p.ucnos Ayres Herald" the meat trust formed in the United States which lias already become the nronrietor of the La, Plata, and the La, Blanca Cold Star* ago Companies, has now added the Cibiis freezing works in ■ Monte Yidco to the possessions, the purchase price being staled to have been about 200,f00 dollars gold. The works are to be amplified sa as to be able to deal with several hundred head of caUlc per diem, a- large proportion of which wilt be transported thither from Argentina in vessels specially constructed for the purpose. It is stated that tne trust's agents in Monte Video have e-artc blanche as regards expenditure with a view to buying up shares in all the other Argentine cold storage companies, and thus ultimately, becoming masters of the situation.

PROPERTY SALES. Messrs. W. 11. Turnbull and Co.. report the following' sales of property made by their firm (luring the quarter April 30 to July 31, 1911 :-8 rooms, Kintoul Street, land 53ft. by 120 ft., £1800; 7 rooms, corner South Road and Blythe Street, land 55ft. by 130 ft., .£1200; 5 rooms, Brighton Street, land 39ft. by 110 ft., £600; 5 room;, Cornwall Street, land 40ft. by 110 ft.. £650; 6 rooms, Goldie's Brae, land 40ft. by 120 ft., £800; 5 rooms, Rintoul Street, land 40ft. by 90ft.. £670; block of shons, Brooklyn, on land 99ft. by 53ft.,'£3C00; 6 rooms. Frceling Street, land 40ft. by 120 ft., £750; two sections, 99ft. by 150 ft., Parade, Island Haw £725: section, 50ft. by 100 ft., Adelaide Road, .£3CO; two sections, 92ft. by 150 ft.. Cornwall Street, £360; 2 sections, 100 ft. by 3Coft. Houehton Bay Road, £180; section 40. Wilton Estate, £112 10s.; section 7, block 8, Ifataitai, £222 10s.; section 44 and 45, Wilton Estate, £225; 4 houses, Thorndon Ouav, land 60ft. hv 15f.ft„ £2175; section, South Road, 132rt. by 330 ft., £600; 5 rooms. Matai Road. Hataitai. laud 4011. by 100 ft., £500; section 15, Wilton Estate, £125; 6 rooms. Wnnvetu. Lower Ilutt. land 4Cft. by 132 ft.. £700; 9 rooms, Marion Street, land 1 rood 1.7 perches in area, £25C0; 6 rooms, Fairview Road, Kelburne, land 50ft. by 150 ft,, £700. Customs duties collected, at tho port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £2220 Is. 2a. WHEAT. By Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright (Rsc. August 2, 11.15 p.m.) London, August 2. Wheat—An Australian cargo has been sold at 345. THE METAL MARKETS. By Telegraph-Press Association-Copyright London, August 1. Copper—On the spot. £55 6s. 3d. per ton; three months, £56 17s. 6<1.; electrolytic, £53 10s. Tin.—On the spot, £188 ss. per ton: three months, £137. Silver-Bar silver is quoted at 24 l-16d. per ounce (Bee. Auc. 2. 11.5 p.m.! London, August 2. Copper.--Supplies, 36.644 tons; deliveries. 38,791 tons; stocks. 68,025 tens: afloat from Australia, 6250 tons. Tin—Stocks, 17,347 tons: on spot. 5350 tons; afloat, 4113 ton; deliveries, 2957 tons. TALLOW. By Telccrarh-I'ress Assoeialion-Cojyrieht (Rcc. Aug. 2, 11.5 p.m.) London, Aneust 2. Tallow.—Slocks. 6982 tons; imports. 4793 tons; deliveries, 5834 tons.