COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 77, 1 April 1914, Page 4

COMMERCIAL & FINANCIAL

Evening Post, Wednesday. There is very little doubt but that the whole of the now shares i-sued by the Bank of New Zealand l.aye now' been taken up by present shareholdc-rc in No.v Zealand anil London ,'md elsewhere in tbo proportions to which they were entitled under the recent Act. In London, the "rights" were selling up k> £5 5s according to Ihe latest cables received. It is generally believed that speculator-., in New Zealand who had been rolling tlio "rights"' forward wero unable when ihe time- came to oblain I hem except at a nutih enhanced price. This ',t k understood, accounted fo! the rapid risk in price in London and in the New Zealand market, where they reached £5 10s. Prom all iippearntice the ioaiie will bo eh unqualified success. Ilorrod's Stores. London, made .6295,181 profitb for 1913, as against £2b9,124 for the previous yeai' On ordinar/ <<hnri.v JiO per cent, and 6 per cent, bonu 1 - vsi? paid: and on the fotindei's pharos a dividend I of 58 per cent, and a bonu& ot 6 pc? j cent, avis paid. By mail particulars are received of the amalgamation, of the interests of W. and T. Avei'y, Ltd., and Henry Pooley and Bon% Ltd.. the well-known weighing machine manufacturers. PICTURE FINANCE.— The o mount of capital registered in British Picture theatres has now reached £8.000.000. In 1912 the new capi+al Aiisnd for such enterprises amounted to £1.626.015, «md m 1913 it reached £2,954.700. There were 400 registrations in 1912 and 544 in 1913. The tendency is to erect larger and raoro elaborate and bettor appointed theatres of this class. The industry is still expanding, but there is a tendency to overcrowd certain populous centre;-. Hero 'lie competition for. business is exceptionally keen, and a uood many of the older and smaller houses are likely to suffer in the matter ol receipts. lIOULDER BROS.— The Tost* Loadon correspondent reports thai Mttilaztory Jesuits are again shown by Messrs Houlder Bros, and Company. Tbo company is largely interested in the frozen meat trade, and conditions during- trie past year have been sufficiently favourable to raise the trading profit of the company from £101,400 to £102,900, following a still larger advance in the previous period. The ordinary dividend 11 again 12i per cent., and a' sum of £50,000 i« ogam written off goodwill which lies the eit'ect of eliminating this item from the balance-sheet. This adjustment has been accomplished in two yea?*. It 13 proposed *o carry forward the balance of £13,000, whereas a year ago the corresponding sum of £11,800 vjas placed to general reserve. This fund is unchanged at £208,800, against which there are investments of £50,000. General investments stand at £383,300. MEAT.— Sales are reported this week of Canterbury lambs, for which there is a good demand, at sad per pound c.i.f., and North Island are enquired for al sijd, but are very difficult to obtain at that figure. Consignments have been very hea^'y this season. In mutton, sales of Canterbury's have been effected at 4£d to 4Jd c.i.f.'; for North Islands, longer prices are Übked, but buyers are / holding off. HEMP.— The condition of the hemp market, so far as London is concerned, show no signs of improvement on the week. Buyers are by no means keen to operate. Much, it is held, will depend Upon thß American crop prospects. From mail and cable advices received by local houses here it is learned that London is well furnished with fibre, Mexican and African bibal being in good supply, although the price of Mexican sisal is being well maintained. Prices to millers on Monday were rejjorted lib follow : — Good fair grade hemp, £21 5a per ton ; high point fair, £19 10s , low point fair, £18 10s. Tow: No. 1, £8 per ton; No. 2, £6 ss; No. 3, £5 sb. Production is exepecteel to he very small an the Wellington district for the rebt of th« season. BUTTER v. MARGARINE.— During recent months, observes the Grocer (London), there have been many complaints as to the position Australian butter oc'fcupies> on tho British markets, and the assertion has boen made on more, than one occasion that tho colonial producers are seeking to bolster up the prices of their butter in the United Kingdom by endeavouring to induce our Government to pass a Bill prohibiting the use of colouring matter in margarine. Such legislation, of course, is a matter of domestic concern, only, to bo settled eutirelj by the people of the United Kingdom without any dictatorial interference from the colonies ; tho sooner the colonial producers recognise this fact and realise that it is usleoß to _ rely upon any help such legislation might temporarily give them, the better they will further tho prosperity at thir industry. "We sincerely hope that instead of endeavouring to engineer a campaign for the abolition of the use of colouring matter in inargarino in the United Kingdom, they will act upon the suggestions made by Mr. H. W. Osborne, who has recently returned to Australia alter carefully investigating tho butter market conditions throughout Great Britain. He asserts that 'the inferior quality of a large proportion of the butter exported from Australia to Great Britain io bringing discredit upon tho Commonwealth,' and urges producers to realiw 'tho gravity of the position. 1 Tho quality of Australian butter as a whole should Le improved. This is the panacea for tho coloured margarine peril!"' HEAVY SHEEP SHORT AGE.--"\Ve pointed out in our last report," writ© Coldsbrough, Mort and Co., "a. large shortage in sheep numbors was anticipated, and, now that the figures for 1912 are available, we find that in comparison, with the previous year there is a shortage of close on 10,000,000 sheep, the total riumbor of sheep in the Commonwealth at the end of 1912 being 83.263,686, _ which is the- low est number lecorded since the year 1905." WOOL.— Gofdsbrough, Mort ' and Co,, in their annual wool report, make special reference to tho free admission of wool to America. "In view of_ the fact that Australia's prosperity is vitally,dependent on her primary _ products,' 1 tho report opens, "it is 1 pleasing to chronic's another successful year 'in what is " uutloubtedly the most important branoh — ■ her wool output. The clip of 1913 vrHi add some £32,000,000 to Australia's wealth. Outstanding features of the ee»son have been the inception of free woo! into America, and the greatly increased volume of exports, of -frozen mutton and lamb. The former is one of the most important events for 1 ina;iv years, and although it has beep much discussed throughout the trade, it is doubtful whether ite far-reaohing effects are yet sufficiently appreciated. Tho last free wool period was from 1894 to 1897, when imports into the United States jumped tremendously. Duties were again imposed in 1897, and remained effective until 30th November, 1913, but even daring that period America, imported, oil occasion, annually almost one-half of the wool she used. The population of the United States at the census of 1900 was . 77,256,630, which grew at the last census taken in 1910 to 93,402,151. In ihe same period the number of sheep had fallen from 61,735,014 to 57.216,000, the late&t estimate placing the figures at 51,482,000, the same authority giving the year's killings as 15,000,000 sheep and lambs. It ie reasonable to assume that the population of the States to-day cloeoly (ffiproximates one hundred millions. We have therefore an i/icrease in Jess than fifteen years of nearly 30 per cent, in population, ami n decrease of 15 per cent, in sheep. Small wonder, then, that America hus to throw open her ports to products essential to lifo. , VINEGAR "WAR"— London exchanges deal with a vinegar "war" in which it is alleged one well-known firm is being 1 "punished" by tho Association of Vinegar Brewers. The British consumption of vinegar is 22 million gallons per annum, of this about 20 million is brewed from malted barley, and the rest is artificial vinegar sold at half the price o r tho genuine article. Eighteen montha ago seventeen vinegar brewers combined, a.nd the pries was rained from S^d to &d Dei- gallon of malted viuestar, aad. &v

months later tho price went up to 7d per gallon, and that price was fixed for 19J4, and tlw Belling of artificial vinegar uas j but the linn that declined to cotne in continued to sell malt vinegar at Id per gallon under the combine price. They nl=o continued selling "uood" or artificial Miieg-ur. To meet this the »b sociated brewers floodoH the London market uith wood vinegar at 2£d per gallon, ove* 2000 ban els being; put ott io tho market in one week. There are some £1.500,000 capitni invested in the vinegar trade Tho fight was goins: on when tho mail left. STRAfTS BENZINE.— Tho Cyrona left Singapore on Friday last with a full cargo of "Shell" motor qpiiit for Now Zealand. She* will cull at Auckland, Napier, Wellington, Lyttelton, Timaru, nnd Dunedin tv that ore' or. 'FRISCO BUTTER TRADE —The following letter ha<» been sent by the Sun Francisco Dairy I3\chango to all the dairy factories in California: — "It is tho intention of the Sau Francisco \Vholcsalo Dairy Produce Exchange, and of the members of the exchange individually and collectively, to co-operate with tho «iu(horities in having butter sold in lho San Francisco markets comply with the laws now in ofEoct and those which will be put into effect, on 14th April, 1914. To do this it is imperative on the part of all manufacturers of butter to yee that their shipments of butter to the Sau Francisco market weigh full two pounds net to tht> square upon arrival in San Francisco, and that the Hjuaros be uniform in sizn and weight. Butter being subject to more or less shrinkage, it will be necpesary for shipments to leave, the shipping point :it half to one pound not content overweight to the case containing thirty two-pound or c >ix.ty one-pound square*. Ifc has also boon decided to adopt a uniform-sized cube for solidly parked butter, the dimensions of which ch-all bo 12Ji x 12i x 13J. inches inaide measurement. The some allowanco for vhrinkagc should be allowed at shipping point when weighed. All export shipments from San Francisco in the fu^ tur^ rnuet moot tho established rules oi thr* Australian and Now Zealand markets, if California dealers and manufacturers expect to siTcresfully <jomppte with those market* for ouHde business. A copy of this lctt-p - has. been mailed to every creamery in the Stai-e of California and is intended for the best interest ot all concerned." DAIRY PRODUCE.— SaIea' of butter for local winter requirements have been reported at from lid to Hid. Factoriea generally, however, appear to be disinclined to quit under llfd, but a little persuasion, it is understood, may induce them to sell for id per pound less. The downfall of New Zealand butter in London would indicate that supplies are pouring in. For last week the London import wns Bl,ooocwt of foreign and colonial butter as against 63,000cwt for the corresponding week of last year. A local hou&e was advised by cable as to butter that competitors are forcing salea With regard to cheese, a weaker tone _in London is reported, but prices are still upon a satisfactory level so far as producers are concerned. An early improvement in the situation is looked for, however. CHINESE EGGS-— Amorica is looking more and ,niore lo China as an egg supplier in consequence of the stiff rates ruling in the States. Hankow is a very large egg centre in China, and during 1912 eggs frozen, fresh, and in the form of albumen and yolk to the value of £168,859 were exported frbm Hankow alone, and of this amount £48,253 was assigned as the value of "fresh" eggs shipped in the cold chamber and suitable for table purposes. The eggs are purchased from raisers at £1 Is to £1 2s per peicul, of 133 1-3 pounds.