COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIX, Issue 80, 6 April 1910, Page 4

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL.

E\eiung Post, Wednesday. Tho chief topic iv Imancial circles today is tho attitude of the banks of tho Dominion towards tho Commonwealth's now siher coinage. It is not too much to say that this hostility to "Kangaroo" silvor was not unexpected. What the end will bo it is difficult to foretell. It may end in the establishment of a NewZealand Mint, or, at least, a Dominion silver coinage. In this connection tho Insuranco and Banking Record of_ Australasia points out that the question is likely to present itself at some time whether it is wiso to circulate coins whoso intrinsic value is ridiculously less than tho faco value, as is now the caso with the Commonwealth silver coinage. Temptation to fraudulent imitation is freely offered, and tho imitation from tho intrinsic value .oi tho metal can be as good us the genuine article, and yield an ;im> mense profit. Tho difiiculty of finding employment for a fairly largo amount in tho"- aggregate • of privately-held monoy continues. There is an abundance of. what rflay be- called second, and third-class securities offering, but nothing but* t"he gilt-edged "article will bo looked at. There ia no- 4| per cent, money offering. Ono largo financial institution is reported to liave booked for months ahead all available "money that may be coming in on a basis of 5 per cent., and that seems likely to bo about tho standard rate for some time to come. Reports received by certain soft goods houses for tho month just closed tend to show that thero has been a much better turnover in tho country than that for March, 1909. This is particularly applicablo to tho Woirarapa and Manawatu. Trade on /tho West Coast of. the South Island continues steady, as is Usually the case, and is much about the same as last year. Trade iv the City of Wellington itself, however, is reported by no means brisk. "Furnishings" have been exceedingly quiet ; millinery fair, Manchester and dress also only fair; clothing and shirts and men's wear generally show an improvement over other branches. i THE RUBBER MARKET.—Wellington is too far away from the world's rubber market, London, to have any extensive financial interest in it. Nevertheless the astonishing rise in price of tho commodity cannot be viewed without some concern. New Zealand is not a heavy I rubber ueor apart from motor and cycle i tyres, but these must be expected to harden in price. Only last week Mincing Lane reported 11s 6d per pound for rubber, whereas it was obtainable a year ago at 5s 6d, and early in February of this year at 8s OJd. Premiums on rubber shares (as at 18th February) may be gauged by the fact that Rubber Trusts at 12s had gone to £2 ; Strate Bertams, from £1 17s 3d to £3 10s; Vnllambrosu Options, 11s 3d to £1 12s; Anglo-Manly. 2s to £1 Is; Batu Caves, £1 to £8 2s 6d; 13ukit Rajah, £1 to £11; Consolidated Malay, £1 to £8 10s 6d; Federated Malay. £1 to £9 10^. WOOL — There is not much to report in connection wirh the wool market, the cables from London t-peaking for theniaeives. Averages of well-known Now Zealand clips sold at the March sales show that some speculators who bought here in January and shipped homo for the March series must have burned their finJgefs. The advocates of local selling will, no doubt, point to the result of the March I&ndyj sales ne. conclusive' evidence of tho ianablencis" of "their " theories. Tho rerfahs, of course, do not prove anything ofVihe kind, for it is beyond tho power of*' mortals to foretell in December or January, with certainty of fulfilment, what wool sold then v.ill fetch in March. TiM local Wellington Woolforokcrs' As.ociftion will meet next week to discuss a number of details in connection with the trade. Tho \oxed draft question is not onJthe order paper, but tjioro is an impr«S3ion that if Australia is successful in *h#. abolition of the draft allowance. New Zeaiand may follow. In reviewing tho weekly series of Sydney bales, the Sydney Morning Heraid observed that in the paS it ias been unusual for Australia to { harro at *ouo and the samo time a heavy clip* «nd;a high level of prices. Although Australia to-day has as many sheep aa she** ever had, the flocks of ocher coun- ■ tries have boen so depleted that her increase has not compensated for the shortag*- elsewbcEe. Europe and America are gradually eating up their sheep, while the demand for wool is constantly increasing as population grows oti both sides jpi ,the Atlantic. The Ea^c, alco, < h*s h<s6rntrtntoh <$6rntrtnto thfe field as a new consumer of wool, and the demand fiiom that quarter -is likely to expand. I'he Continent Gas stuck to Australia "wonderfully; exports of wool alone to France and Germany* have largely exceeded in .value, all the manufactured goods , Jwjiich Australia has received from those countries. America aUo has boon an important customer, and is ever prepared to pay handsome prices for certain qualities of wool which are specially suited to her requirements t MEAT. — Prices for lamb and mutton continuo saliffac-iorj . Thero is a keen demand for beef, and Etockn iv London are privately reported to bo in full compass.- Thc< froe&ing works arc exceedingly busy, and aro e\pected to be » until tho middle of the month, when matters should slacken down comewhai. Tho stock ie not coming in in as good a condition as could bo desired. There has been an abundance of feed, bat it in thought to be wanting in nutriment, while reports of tho rape and turnip crops are by no means encouraging. I The Review of the River Plate, eummaxis- ] ing the meat freezing industry of 190y, ! quotes approximate figures showing that t#e shipments of mutton and lamb totalled i 2,723,000 carcase*, as against 3,265,379 in 1908 and 2,785,739 iv 1907. Of frozen bpef •scporte there were 1.510,000 in 1909, as akainit 1,503.101 in 1908 «nd 1,327,860 in »07. The frozen beef trade held its own, $it there was great expansion in the chilled beef trade, tho quantities exported fcr 1909 beinir 1,063,000, as against 789,343 m 1908 and 439.613 in 1907. The increase f« in large measure due to the entry of tho yorth American beef trust in Argentina, for the trust is largely interested in tho chilled beef trade. Attention has been «lled by Dr. Brown. Victorian Inspector of Food for Export, to the rough handling of meat cargoes. He recommended the abolition of net slings for nwat and tho H»e of properly constructed wooden trars. 411 workmen engaged in the holds should wear muffled bootn. Meat should be inspected on board the ships as to ctoware br » snperviging officer, and also on disSharge in London, in the interests of insurance companies, for carcases loaded and stored i? first-class condition at this end landed in that order in London formed iMVfrthclesE, the banis for numerous claims •gamrt insurance companies for alleged turn age HEMP.-The condition of the homp market continues unsatisfactory, miller* tofting employed upon contracts only Of •ler* have been received, however, of £23 Thi q ;°* , Lond «?' fo«"f o«" fair grade for July-September shipments, which is a hopeful sign that no further fall is cxpfcetpd. Tccally prices remain about tho •ame as last week. Cable advico from ""^ * hat . Jhird erado tow was quoted nt £10 c.i.f.e., London, for April-May •hipment, which would surest that the odit IS exceedin ? l y duIJ for that cor-n-DAIRY PRODUCE.-The butter and *rmg 122s to 123s per owt, and eheeso i per cwt. for whito and 619 for coloured. Factory owners appear to hare Wcat eonfidenco in, tho future, for one viisj factory in tho Auckland province has au>t offered its autumn-winter make at •J24d, other fTaranaki) offers aro ll|d; bat buyers' ideas are Jld If factories Ountinue to consign they will make the local Dries high, becauso now is tho timo when winter supplies, are laid in, and aomo difficulty is bein* experienced in getting them a> tbo prices buyers are prepared to pay. Tho factories are by so mnans easy to d**l with with London nrices wher« they are. The Loudon mar*«>t is generally very risky after about "14 IMb of. this month. The season is *<eeping up Well, howevei, and thero appears to be .plant) of feed. With rejrard *o che«se, it is not expected that there TfiH be much rise in tho pric* for home consumption, contract* having alroadv bo*rr made for them at well under od. trhich is the price to-day. lh« wreck ot

tho Pericles, and tho loss of 31,000 boxes of butter in tins diiaMer, is believed to have had a temporary effect upon tho market prices hardening in consequenco of tho disaster. Indeed, a New Zealand shipper recoixed fully 2s per cwt. more than ho expected shortly after tho news S( the wreck reached London. It is most imcult to secure any chee»e in tho Dominion to-day. " Buyers are offering Sid f.o.b. for good brands of South Island cheese, nntf some bubincss ha* been done nt that figure. Tho ex|x>rt for tho South Ihland this season is expected to bo fully 25 per cent, greater than last. Victorian butter factories now pay Is 4d for their boxes. A movement is on foot to manufacture them by a co-operation of factoiics at Is each. HAMS AND BACON.— Hams aro reported to be exceedingly difficult' to obtain, oven at Bid, and there is a tendency for them to rise. The supply of tirst-clttßß well-cured meat i» exceedingly short of tho demand. Bacon is hardening in price for the best brande. The Minister of Agriculture, New South Wades, is in receipt of a communication from Mr. J. B. Suttor, Commercial Commissioner in tho East for New South Wales, in which he says that some time, ago, owing to his representations, a leading firm of merchants in North Chin* write to Sydney, asking for tho prices of Australian hams, bacon, etc., and that the firm in question received a reply from Sydney .expressing surprise at such a request, as they were under tho impression that China was exporting pigs to England. It is evidently not known to the firm in .Sydney, adds Mr. Suttor, that English ham* are sent in big shipments to North China, and are sold there at prices with which Australian hams could compete very favourably. Mr. Suttor cays that tho trial shipment of pork from China to England last year (which is doubtless what the Sydney firm above referred to had in mind) is not likely to be repeated for some time to come. GROCERY.— There is nothing very unusual to report as to the grocery trado during the week. Pineapples have cased slightly, but they are still very high ; while tapioca, has advanced £1 per ton, medium pearl £1 10s i>er ton, and flake about the samo. There is a tendency for all Straits Settlement lines to advance. PRODUCE.— Reynolds and Co., Dunedin, reporting on the wheat market, opine that the New Zealand surplus available for export this harvest will be about 3,000,000 bushel?. A considerable portion of tho crop will not, however, be of first-class quality, owing to rain coming on during the harvest. Had the rains come earlier thw crop would have gathered exceptionally well. With regarrf to oatg, the samo firm hold that while 4,900,000 bushels were exported last year, there will not be moro than 2,000,000 bushels available for this purpovc this year.