COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1394, 21 March 1912, Page 10

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

INVESTMENT SHAKES. A sale of Wellington Gas (£lO paid) at £18 7s. 6d. was the only transaction recorded yesterday. The buying and selling quotations were aa under:— Buyers. Sellers. £ s. d. £ t. d. Bank of New Zealand ... 11 0 0 — National. Bank 5 17 0 5 18 6 N.Z. and River Plato - 119 6 Ohristchurch Gas — 9 5 0 Well. Gas (£10) 18 2 6 18 10 0 Meat Export (525. 6d.) ... — 2 19 0 N.Z. Shipping 13 7 6 — Union Steam 2 16 — Wostport Coal 16 9 17 3 Wcstport-Stockton 0 10 - Taringainutu Totara 2 7 0 — C. M. Banks, Ltd - 10 0 Donaguy Rope and Twino — 12 6 Golden Bay Cement 14 6 — Manning and Co — 1 11 0 N.Z. Drug - 211 6 Whitcombo and Tombs ... — 6 11 0 W.F.C.A. (£5) - 7 5 0 UNION BANK SHARE REGISTER. At the half-yearly mooting of shareholders of the Union Bank, held in London, on January 29, the following resolution was passed unanimously:— That the directors bo and they are hereby authorised to increase from time to time the total number of the shares entered on the branch registers of members kept in the Commonwealth of Australia and colony of New Zealand, provided that the total number of shares for the time being entered on such registers shall not exceed 30.CC0. Thirty thousand shares will represent half the capital of the bank. Hitherto only 20.K0 has been the limit of the Australian register. RAILWAYS OF THE EMPIRE. Returns of tho railways in operation in the British Empire are made available up to the year 1910, in which the total miles in operation reached 114,426. Tho increase, in the decade was 29,061 miles, which was fairly largo, Canada and India being the leading contributors by a long way. Railways of the Empire. Ten ' 1900. 1910. years' Miles Miles inopen, open, crease. United KlngdOTU ... 21,855 23,387 1.532 India 24,752 32,099 7,347 Canada 17.657 25,700 8,1:3 Commonwealth 13,231 17,240 4,017 South Africa 4.943 9.779 4,836 New Zealand 2,3 M 2,782 482 Other Colonial ... , 627 3.351 2.724 85,365 114,426 29,061 NOTES. France is rightly regarded a- 1 ", one of the wealthiest nations in the world, at all event*, the number of small investors in that country U phenomenal. They eccm to prefer lottery sivurilic*. and a recent statement by the Credit Fourier illustrate:; both featnrw. The ijsue ivat one of the lottery securilio; for ,£2o,ttO,[Co, ami was covered nineteen tima* over, no less than £5K),C00,0C0 being offered. According to Ilambnrg sources of information, the new steam tonnage building or ordered by Hamburg lines by the beginning of this yea.r amounted to 412.CC0 tons, as agaiimt 197,500 ton? at the beginning of 1511, and 48.7C0 tons at the beginning of 1909. The Indian gold yield last year totalled 573,5250z., ik; ;:gniii;'t 564,2760z. in 1910 and , 563,8880z. in 1909. The capital of the new companies registered in 1911, says the Guardian" in its annual review, amounted to • £t53,700.K0, against £205.1C0,K0 in 1910, ■ whon, however, no less than X78.K0.0C0 re- > latod to new rubber and oil companies, the . booiua In which liavo now coUnpeed. These

two groups alone account lor all hut .£1,500,100 of the total decline in llio aggromile ea.nitalw.-ition. The minibu' of companies (KM) was loss tiian in WlO. but was considerably above the average of previous vears. 'i'hc groups which show the greatest development from 1910 are lhc~e associated with finance (bunking, investment, and loan), and with laud development, and building. Increased returns fur engineering and shipping reflect the pievailing activity in trade and commerce.

According to the return issued by the "Germanic Lloyd ltcgistcr," the orders for new construction given for German account in 1911, inclusive of warships, represented 1530 vessels of 1.180.346 grew register tons, or 355,567 tons greater than in 1910. Out of the total, the orders allocated to German shipyards comprised 1313 vessels ot 1.094.<68 tons, being an increase of 542.C00 tor,« over the previous year. The new ships completed were 463,GC0 tone, or 159,000 tons in excess of 1910. The orders brought over into 1912 were for 711,BCO tons, and it is assumed that the current year will be still more favourable for shipbuilders than 1911, which surpassed the previous record year of 1907 by 17,600 tO!!(5. Customs duties collected at the port of Wellington yesterday amounted to £1822 6s. Hd. SILVEK. Bt TeleZMß*—Pre«n Association—CoDTrliht London. March 19. Bar 6ilver is quoted, at 26 15-16 d. per ounce standard. BANK SHAKES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright London, March 19. The latest Stock Exchange quotations are:—Banlt of Australasia,, £116 (buyers), and £118 feellere); Banlt of New South Wales, £M 10s. and £44 10s. ; National Bank of New Zealand, £5 ss. and £5 10s.; Bank of New Zealand, £10 and £11.