COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1750, 15 May 1913, Page 8

COMMERCIAL ITEMS.

IS VESTMENT SHARES. A sale of Union Steam (new) shares nt 435. was tho ODly transaction recorded yesterday. The quotations were as under:— Buyers. Sellers, £ s. d. £ s. d National Bani (new) — 4 19 9 N.Z. Loan and Mercantile 0 10 6 - Well. Gas (£10) 15 18 0 16 2 0 N.Z. Insurance 4 19 6 — S.B. Insuranco 3 12 6 — Gear Meat (£1) 3 2 6 — Union Steam (new) — 2 3 3 Mosgiel Woollen. — 3 12 0 Well. Woollen (ord.) 3 12 0 Weslport Coal 17 0 — Golden Day Cement — 10 3 Manning and Co 4 0 0 Ward and Co 4 19 0 BANKER'S VIEW OF AUSTRALASIAN TRADE. In moving the adoption of the report and balance sheet of tile Hank of Australasia, at the annual meeting of shareholders in London, the chairman. Lord George Hamilton, said:—"Australia and New Zea:and are what is known as debtor countries. In the ordinary course of events a debtor country exports more than she imports, and this lias hitherto been the position both of Australia and Nciv Zealand; but during the paet twelve months, for the first time, the position has been reversed, and Imports have exceeded exports. Tho production of gold during that period has diminished. The demand for cash and advances, has, is conseauencc. increased, though rattw for money have been llrtii. Until recently the Rink of Australasia, in common with other banks-, had a power or note issue, and this note issue necessitated a special cash reserve. The Commonwealth Government have put. n prohibitive tax upon the note issue of all private banks. In consequence the noto issue bars been abandoned, and -.villi that abolition the portion of tlio coin reserve specially held against it has naturally disappeared. Our noto issue, however, rontinues in New Zealand. These two causes account for the reduction of our cash and specie baloney. and I believe a, eimilar sfirinttnge is common to nearly all (.lie banks carrying on business in Australasia. .Notwithstanding this demand for money, it is satisfactory to know that i.m- deposit's. amounting to nearly 18 millionn sterling, have practically held their own. The fact that the import trade has been so busy and large during the period under review is o conclusive oroof of Austi-.i-lasia.'s enterprise. At one moment there was a prospect of drought in certain States, but. liindv rains removed ihii-i onp-.elH'i:' «loi4. Of till* t think we may lie Mire, as rcsards Ujo future, that wherever largo

Quantities of 'edible material are produced mono partof Ihe world for which there is ait. incrcagtnp demand in another part. ECieneo and invention will ultimately ensure that, they arc conveyed where they are warned in a. iit condition for consumption. lam pind to jiotp that, the increasing productiveness of Aujtrflhwia has hern associated with a great expansion of omijrra.tioit to that country; in fact, the dilllculty of tlio emigrant has been to find •shippiiiK ;»c----coinmodution adequate to hk demands. Retrospectively, the review is ~at)«factory. and. although wo must n reduction in the ntmornril iinnort trade, .still there ore jio indications that a return to normal conditions will be disadvantageous to the cencrnl public or prejudicial to banUinp institutions." JJACON" FOU THE ENGLISH MAItKET. A' writer in an English trade journal re* centlv stated that there wan no reason wliy 'the JJrHtah colonies should not supply the United Kingdom with. bacon, a-iid pip products. At the present time the Old Country imports enormous uuantitics of butter from the Dominions, and as swinc-raisinß is carried on wherever i butter is produced, the one business is tlio natural corollary of the otncr. 4 ; The fihort-apo of pips in' Great, Britain lias led to new bacon factories sprinpinp up Jit different countries jn Kurope, notably an KusMa. There has also been a great development in hacou-curinp in China and in the Far Ka=t. all with a view to supplynip the Kntrlisli markets. Tho IlnM Knipdoni pays to oversea, nations £25,000,000.<mnuallv for pip products. Unfortunately for us, of all our rural industries tho pips industry is the only one that our termers ecem unable to handle , with conspicuous success.. liacon companies, co-operative and .loint-stork, have been formed, and after an' exislcnce of a year or two liu.ve fizzled out. Most of these concerns have relied upon supplyinp tho local market at- -a high price, and have -failed, because the demand at the hiph price has not been enfiicicnt to make lor success. Kop products arc. very dear in New Zealand, and yet they oupht to he tho cheapest. Tho business side of tho question has not received tho careful consideration. it deserves. SHORT-WEIGHT WOOL. It sccra* that cargo pilfcriup has extended to wool. At nil events it J0 impossible to otherwise account for tho heavy losseo sustained by pome shippers of New Zealand , wool. Account ?-ale3 received by tho last mail show that several shippers have lost money in this? way. One woolraait was short bv over 4cwt. in a small lot of 15 bales. "This i« the difference between tho weight when shipped nnd the weight whenmarked in London. The wool is wciphed carefully cnouph at this end, and there is no reason to suppose that, it is not .iusfc as carefully weiphed at the London end. How to account jor the loss Is tho problem. This iu not a usual occurrence, at least not on the larpc scale di. c colsed now, and the inference is that tho wool has been abstracted, probably in the London- docks. It if? to bo hoped that this new scheme of wool-thicvinp doo3 not develop into a regular practice.

WOOL AND HIDES SALES. Messrs. Williams and Kettle, Dannevirke, report on their usual wool, skin, and liido sale held on, Ticsday:—Our catalogue comprised 10 bales 46 bags wool, 2360 sheepskins, 250 liidce, 33 calfskins, and 237 tins tallow. Competition was keen for all lots offered. For a liuo of 1052 salted lialf-wools—which we believe to be a rccord number of salted skins ofl'crcd in Xcw Zealand ill; one lot—wo sold at tho satisfactory price of ss. lOd. cacli. Wo only offered four bales crutehiugs ftt this .Eale, holding all lots coming to hand for our crutchuig eale on Juno 24. Of tho lots offered at to-day's sale on account Mx. W. E. Simmons, of Jtansatoro, wo realised Bd. per lb. Our other quotations rule as follow:—Wool: ! crossbred, 6}d. to 93(1.; crutchings, 53d. to Bd.; limbs, heavy scsd, 6d.: black, 6id.; crossbred, dead, sd. to Brt.; soodv nieces, 61d.; locke, inferior, 2d. to 4d. Sheepskin's: Half-wools, 73d.; quarter-wools, 63d.; crossbred lambs, Bid.; crossbred, dead, 6M.; pelts, is. 7d. each; quarter to lialfwools. inferior. <-d. to 6}d.; salted skine, £d., 25., 2s. led.. 3s. .to Es. lOd. Hides: Cows. C«d. to 7»d.: damaged and out, s?d. fo ed.; ox, 6cl. to Sid.; wcancrs, 7d.; steers, 6*d.r bulls, sid.; cows, green. 235. to 275. 6d.; ox, green, £2 J;. 6d. Calfskins: Sound, Bd. to 10s.; cut, «d.; slippy, Jd.i dry, sd. Tallow, in tine, 25a. 3d. per cwt; horsehair, Is. 7d. per lb.; cowtails, Is. 6d. per dozen. Customs duties collected at tho poTt of Wellington yesterday amounted to £4536 os. 3d.

BRISBANE WOOL SALES. |By Tcleeranh—Press AfißOclatlon-OoDyrishl Drisbano, May 14. At the wool 6ales competition was keen compared with April tales. Prices for all better were 2J to 5 per centum higher. Prices for lowest qualities were firm. FINANCIAL CABLEGRAMS. London, May 13. yesterday's closing quotations were oa follow:— Rank of Australasia, buyers £112, sellers £114. Bank of New South Wales, buyers £38, 6elters £40. Bank of Victoria, buyers £4 2s. 6d., Eellera £4 t2e. 6d. Union Bank of Australia, buyers £58 Its., sellers £59 10s. National Bank of Australasia, buyers £5,, sellers £5 lfe. National Bank of New Zealand, buyers,/ £4 15s„ sellers £5 ss. Bank of New Zealand, buyers £10 10s.. sellers £11 10s. N.Z. Loan and Mcrcantilo Agency 4 per cent-, debentures, £94 lOs. City of Melbourne, 4 per cent, debentures, £98. Melbourne.Harbour Trust, 4 per ccnt. debentures, £9i. Melbourno Tramway Tru6t, 4J per cent, debentures, £100. Melbourno and Metropolitan Board ol Works, 4 per ccnt. debentures, £97. Australian Mercantile debentures, £9J 10b. Dalgcty and Co., 4 per cent, debentures.

£92. Dalgcty and Co.'s shares, buyers £6, sellers £6 10s. Melbourne Gas Oo.'s debentures, £99. City of Sydney, £99. Goldsbrongh, Mort and Co.'s debentures. £96 10s. WHEAT. London, May 13. Official quotations for wheat:—Soutli Australia, Now South Wales, Victorian, prompt delivery. 375. 9d.: on passage, 38s. 9d. The Liverpool quotation for American wheat, on spot, is 7s. Bjd. per cental; on passage, 7s. sid. (Ree. May 14, 11.40 p.m.) London, May 14. . Tlie wheat market is inactive, nnd shows a. holiday tone. South Australian March shipments aro offered at 3Ss. 3d. METAL MARKTTS. (Ree. May 14, 11.40 p.m.) London, May 14. Copper Is quoted at £70 to £69 17s. 6d. Electrolytic, £73 10s. Tin, £233 to £220 10s. Lead, £18 7s. 6d. SILVER. London, May 13. Bar silver is quoted at 28 3-16 d. per ounce standard.