COMMERCIAL, ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1358, 8 February 1912, Page 8

COMMERCIAL , ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHARES. ' The gales recorded yesterday v.-ero Wellington Gas, preference, at 8?., and Union Steam at 395. Gd.' The buying and fcliiiig (lUOtations were as under:— Buyers. Snllers. £ s. d. £ 3. d. National Eanli — 515 6 Well. Trust and Loan 7 10 0 _ Veil. Gas (pref.) 0 8 0 - N.Z. Shipping — 16 0 0 Wall. Woollen (ord.) - 3 18 0 Tauniri Coal 110 — D.I.C. preference 13 0 — i Golden Bay Cement 13 6 Manning and Co — 4 12 0 N. 7.. Con. Dental — 12 6 N.Z. Drug 2 10 0 — Ward and Co — 6 5 6 FROZEN MEAT. Interviewed in Melbourne a few days ago. Mr. Jolin Cooke stated that the (',•■• mand in London for frozen lamb was steadily improving, but he regretted to say that the inclusion of a proportion of tlipj'e plain e.\.rcttsscs, which must be prevented, still gave the New Zealand lamb the primary place in this trade. It was not easy to buy .Australian lamb, as siHi, anywhere, simply because retailers almost invariably described all frozen lamb as of New Zealand or Canterbury origin. He knew cases where last season's sta',3 Canterbury lamb was saleable at higher prices than prime new season's Australian, simply because many retailors wanted the brand rather than the quality. This season's Australian lamb was somewhat irregular in quality, particularly owing to the dry season, but a good deal was due to carelessness in breeding. If Australian lamb was to take, and retain, its proper place in Great Britain, its sheep farmers must devote constant and skilful attention to crossing, and must carefully iolect the best rams and ewes suitable to their sur- ' roundings. During the past year nearly all Continental countries had been faced with a material deficiency in their supplies of fresh meat, and in several countries an agitation for the admission of the frozen article had been more or less successful. The High Commissioner's department had been very active in endeavourim: to get Customs duties reduced and restrictive regulations modified, and it was also satisfactory to bo abb to state that largo Australian men! ase.uts had not only been assisting in this direction, but had been endeavoui" ing to meet the demands for experimental consignments. Austria, Italy, Switzerland, and France had made various concessions, in order to satisfy the public demands for cheaper food, but it would take some time to overcome the prejudices and perfect the transport and selling arrangements. That those countries must import sooner or later was absolutely certain, and Australia must have a hand in the trade. At present the chief trouble was in regard to direct transport to Continental ports, at reasonable freights and for moderate quantities. Argentina had all advantage over Australia in this respect at present, owing to the freights being just about onahalf. He thought thj Australian shipowners should give some assistance in this direction. When questioned about the meat inspection methods in Great Britain. Mr. Cooke said that while they had been getting more drastic year by year, they had been the rever.se of uniform, and many of the inspectors had been ignorant r.nd carebss —chiefly in the provinces. This did not apply to the same extent to London and the largo centres. whoro great intelligence however, often a conflict of opinion between municipal, Board of Trndi\ and other authorities, which bore heavily on the importers. He was glad to say that a movement was now in progress to' brin" the whole subject of food inspection umter the control of an expert council with Parliamentary powers, and when tins wr.s accomplished he felt confident that we would have nothing to complain of. IT,' considered that the London inspectors w»re extremely fair men, possessed of good common seiiEe, and not infrequently of scientific knowledge, and as the Commonwealth inspection was now on a uniform and improved system, the errors of the past at both ends should be greatly reduced and shortly eliminated. BANNED BY THE WAR OFFICE. The prominent Chicago packers were recently lnd'.sk'd in America under the Shaman Act for conspiracy in restraint of trade. Thereupon the British Wor Office placed all firms so situated under a ban prohibiting them from tendering for' British Army contracts. The estimated annual loss to Chicago is £4,000.000 "The embargo means," wrote tha New York correspondent of the London "Daily Telegraph," "that ttore will be no market for millions of pounds of canned beef, a product found to be unsaleable in the United States, and is bitterly resented by America's greatest slaughtering firm? whn. since the revelations known as the •embalmed beef scandal.:,' have undoubtedly madu eariv.'t. and probably successful efforts to comply in every detail with'the requirements of the health laws. If tile exclusion order continues until tin final judgment in the Beef Trust cases, it umbo three or four years before the packer's rs-cnter the-British Array meat contrpc'i competition, with Chicago as the lias-' () f supply: but inasmuch a= the Chica») packers have been for some time mukin" arrangements 'to get a grip upon th- \r". genfine msat trade.' and arrangements with that end in view arc almost completed, it is cheerfully inlinntod by friends of the American packers that 'what they lose on tha swings they will probably make up on the roundabout*' Your Washington correspondent telegi-apbq to-day that the authorities are bcini; urL'-d in some quarters to follow the British example in refusing to purchase supnli'cs from trusts,'under prosecution, and representations will be made to the Inter-State Commerce Commission that the purchase of supplies from such trusts tends to di«c»2dit the American Government and rai« a doubt regarding it-; sincerity in the matter of the prosecution. The idea of British soldiers ::nd sailors being fed from Argentina, or even by the produce of the British colonies, is not relished here, and undoubtedly steps will be taken .to 'cxr.edit.? the trial of those indicted. Meanwhile, as Mr. Arthur Mealier, of the Armour Company, declares:—'Wo shall have on our hands a. product valued at millions of dollars for which thsre ie no domestic market.' " GERMAN. SHIPPING. According to the "Frankfurter Z"itunc" of December 10. all German shipping "enfrities have continued to appreciate in valu" during the last few weeks. German ship". ping companies havo had a splendid teason this year, and many of them will show greater profits than they have ever made previously. Emigration to the United States is the one branch of the shipping industry which shows only moderate r-. suit.-!. Freights during the year, and particularly during the second half, have been active all round. Freight rates are one and a half times and -.iven twice as high as what was previously considered satisfactory. Exports to overseas' countries have rc.iclH'd proportions scarcely commensurate with reports regarding tin condition of trade. Tin- congestion at the Hamburg docks during the past few months hae been so large that it has led

I" (treat iiii-on ven v-n.-i- hot li mi tlio wliiirves and lit the railway clcpoli-. Tile purclnising power of furiMgn countries has co'ir-iileralily iucreured ■ :i cimniistaiire which is racily cxplniiuMl -vlr. :i« hears in mind the i-mim! wliMi have ruled for I'oll'ee and nitrates, etc.nml lion- larce shipment< of erain and wool have lieeu. Shipments to the Far h'a.st declined somewhat, owing partly In the political >ituation in China unci partly tun falling oh" in Hie soya bean trade. A larce number of now ves-ch have been ordered diiriiiß 1911, and it is staled that the total carrying capacity (it prssent available by lio means correspond:; to the demand. Owners of tramp sleamcrs have also had an exceptionally good season.

SKIX AND IIIDK EKPOET. -Messrs.. Dalgsty and Co., Ltd., report having held their usual sale of wool, skins, hides, and talloiv at Daiinvvirlii! on Tuesday, when they offered a medium 2iitry 'if hides, and a large catalogue of wool and skins, to a big attendance of buyers. Wool: Crossbred, CM. to 7d.; cTosslned and locks, Hd. to id'.: pieces, td. to 7c!.; lambs, 53t1. to 7d.: dead, to 7Jd.; iji-iileliinps. JJtI. to 5d.; black, 53d. to 6d. Sheepskins: Pelts, Bd. to 2p. Id. eachHalted pelts, Is. 7d. to 2s. 7d. each; crossbred, short, 4\d. to 5d.; cr0.5315r.--d s'd to 63d.: crossbred line, to 7d.; crossbred, damaged, "ijd.: lirst dead, AJA.; second dead, 2JtI.; lambs, 3d. t<3 6d.; half bred, 7Jd. llides: Cow, medium, sid. to G'.d.; cow, cut, sjd.; ox, medium, sgd. "to 6Jd.; ox, slippy, 3Jd.; dry, 5 3-Bd. to 61d.; yearling, 7(1.; yearling, cut and slinpv, lid.; calf, 9d. to 9Jd.; calf, cut, 6(1. Tallow: In casks, 255. 3d. per cwt.; in tins, 15s. to 245. 3d. cwt.; bag, rough fat, 15s. cwt.; horsehair, Is. 6d. Customs duty collected at the port of uellington yesterday amounted to £7715 ADVANCE IN WHEAT. By TcleEraph-rress Associuion-CopyrighJ TOI . . . Sydney, February 7. Wheat has advanced to 395. 9»d, "per Quarter. SIIiVEK. „ ~ London, February 6. Bar silver 15 quoted at 27d. per ounce standard. ARGENTINE 3IEAT AND BUTTEB. The Commerce and Tourists Division of the Lepartniont of Agriculture, Commerce antl lounsts, has received the following ru'rr°?T U i9iz'"-i U JJucuos A - Vrcs > date(i FebT'nc following shipments of produce were dispatched irom tha Argentine to the United lungdoin ports during January, 1912 (compared with January. 1911):Fro7cn beef, quarters 145.050 147,684 Chilled beef, quarters 155.0C0 176,842 irozen mutton, carcasses 241,000 517,092 Frozen lamb, carcasses ... 89,000 60,937 Butter, cwt 3,120 720 HIGH COMMISSIONER'S C\BLED MISKET KEI'OET. The Commerce and Tourists Division of the Department of Agriculture, Commerce and lounsts, has received the followiim eaobgi-ain from the High Commissioner 7 Ol 'i«9 W lautl - dated London February 7. 1512. (.Note-Quotations, unless otheroif 0 , sp^od, arc avcra i'e market prices Eses-The martat is firm, owing to reduced suiiplies-from the Continent, caused by c-old weatlier. i'er 120: Home, 13s. to 155.; Dutch. 11s. Cd. to 15s. 9d.; French, Us. 6d to 16s. 6d.; Hungarian, 11s. to 13s. 6d.; Egyptian. 9s. to IDs. 6d.; Assyrian, IDs. 6d. to 125.; Moroccan, 11s. 6d. to 125.; Danish, 15s. to 17s. 6d.; Italian, 15s. to 17s. Poultry .-The market is quiet, hut stead v. Chickens: Home, Bid. to IOJd. psr lb.; Kussjan, Ed to 9id. per lb. Ducklings: Home, Bid. to 10il. per lb.; Jiussian, 7id. per lb. Turkeys: French, 9d. to lid. per lb. Continental. Bd. to 91(1. per lb. Baeon.-The market is firm, with hardening tendency. Thfro is more demand. Stock is small. .Sides: Irish, 555. to 65'< per cwt.; Danish. 50s. to 60s. per cwt • Continental, V-. to 58s. per cwt.; Canadian 48.5. to 555. per cwt. Hams—The market is dull, very little ■business doing. Tendency is downward. Irish, 00s. to 100s. per cwt.; English, 84s. to 102s. p2i- cwt.; American, 50s. to 565. per cwt.; Canadian, 565. to tC=. per cwt.