Finance Stocks and Mining

Free Lance, Volume XVIII, Issue 956, 7 November 1918, Page 6

Finance Stocks and Mining

AT the Conference of the Associated Chambers of Commerce last week a rather important remit . emanating from Canterbury came up tor consideration._ The remit was to the effect that all profit-earning Departments of the State should be made liable for income tax and land tax whei ?ie whole of the pwfite.ae not paid into the Consolidated Fund. And that all local authorities should be made liable for income tax and land tex rn respect of their commerGial activities. This seems, a very reasonable proposition. We hear a good deal about tJie State being able to conduct enterprises far better than individuals but if these enterprises axe to escape the taxation that private individauls have to bear the comparison is not a fair one. # * ® The Government life Insurance Department and the State Fire; Office r - tain their profits as m a orivate business and both are assessed for income tax and land tax like private concerns and the system should apgly to the State coal mines and other' Similar concerns. The Public Trust Office makes a. profit each year, which it retains and .does not pay income tax as it should.. Why should this office be exempt.- 3 It may be urged that it is doing useful work for the community, but then so does the Government Life Insurance Department and the Post and lelegraph Department. The first-named pays its share of the taxes and the other two pay the whole of their funds into the Consolidated revenue.

The State Coal Mines Department not only the income tax ana land tax impositions, but also escapes the wharfage which all other coal coin.panies have to pay. With all these advantages it would be-surprising if the State coal mines do> not appear to he more profitable titan the privately-own-ed coal mines. Is it fair to make any comparison between the two concerns ? Municipalities now own gas works, tramway services, etc., and there is no reason why these concerns should he relieved of taxation t any more than undertakings of a similar character m private hands.

It was urged that there should be a clear line of demarcation between what ■businesses State and • municipalities should engage in, and what should be left to private enterprise. This, no doubt, would be quite right, but that is not the point at issue. What is_ demanded is that whatever undertakings are taken up by the State or municipality the profits of those undertakings ■should, be subject to income tax the same as in the case of private undertakings. In this connection it_ was pointed out that no one would like to hand over our water-power resources to private individuals to charge what they liked for them. * * ■* » This is a popular statement but it is not a prudent one, or one that can be

fully substantiated. The history of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway is a case in point. The State after making some effort at building the line abandoned it to private enterprise. The private railway company that took up the responsibility built the line and worked it for a great number of years. And the company paid taxes, worked t othe same tariff as the Government railways, and after some years of struggle the company reached the dividendpaying stage. All through the State had the right of purchase, and also fixed the minimum freight tariff. •3fr * * The sooner the hydro-electric undertakings are turned over to private enterprise t-lic sooner slictll we "this new power. As matters stand now the scheme has to be brought into the political zone, . and it is _ only by agitation and continued agitation that we shall induce the State to proceed with the undertaking. A league has been started in the Wellington Province, and other provinces are likely to follow the lead. When the Government has three or four semi-political organisations pestering it for these utilities it may spend a little money on preliminary affairs in all the districts and then hang up "the scheme for another year or two. * » ® If'the undertaking were thrown open to private enterprise, the promoters would certainly want to know the prospects, and exhaustive enquiries would be made as to the likely _ demand for power, the cost of production, etc. At each point the closest economy would be enforced. Not so with the State. We have a sample of how the State can squander money in the construction, of the Wellington-Hutt-road, and various other undertakings. In this respect New Zealand is no different from any of the Australian States. * » ® s P. and 0. Deferred Stock is creeping up again, sales having been made at £410. The London quotation is £431, so that the New Zealand price is practically on parity with London. The quotation seems high, but then the Company is earning large profits, and will continue to do so for a year or two longer even if the war ends within the next two. or three months. The ship-ping-position will need careful watching when the war is over.

It was stated recently that the world's tonnage was now only about 7 per cent, less than it was in July, 1914, and as construction is now on a large scale, while the submarines have eeased to operate, the shortage should soon be made good. But shipbuilding cannot stop for some time; conseqeuntly the output of tonnage during the next six months should add something to the pre-war tonnage of the world. If peace is proclaimed by the end of the year, which is by no means impossible, then by the opening of the produce season of 1919-20 there ought to be plenty of shipping available for New Zealand, and the bulk of the produce in store will have been cleared out of the country before the season begins. With the building of new ships, the programme for which is extensive, there is a prospect that tonnage will, before very long, be in excess of the probable demand and freights should fall considerably.

At Burnside, the competition for fat cattle was keen and late rates were well maintained. Extra prime heavy bullocks made £26 to £29 15s, prime bullocks £23 10s to £25 10s, medium

bullocks £20 to £22 10s, light and unfinished £16 10s to £19, prime heifers £18 to £19 10s, medium heifers £16 to £17 10s, light and aged cows £11 10s to £14. The prices at Addington were: Extra prime steers to £37 15s, prime steers £21 10s to £26 10s, ordinary gteerg £11 to £21, prime heifers £6 to £18, ordinary heifers £9 7s 6d to £15 10s, extra prime cows to £24, prime cows £15 to £18, ordinary cows £9 to £14 10s. At Otalri., medium weight fat bullocks made £17 8s 6d; at Masterton, fat cows realised £15 to £15 15s; at Otaki, fat cows brought £12 10s to> £13 12s 6d; at Levin, fat cows made £11, and fat heifers £5 17s 6d to £6. At Westfield the prices were: Steers £12 10s to £24 17s 6d, and cows and heifers £8 10s to £18 ss. * ■ & ■» At Burnside, the entry of sheep exceeded the demand, and the sale dragged throughout, prices declining 2s to 2s 6d per head for prime and more for light and unfinished. At Addington, extra prime woolly wethers sold up to 645, prime woolly wethers 45s to s§s, lighter woolly wethers 40s to 44s 6d, prime shorn wethers 40s to 45s lOd, medium shorn wethers 35s to 39s 6d, lighter shorn wethers 31s to 34s 6d, extra prime woolly ewes 53s 6d, prime woolly ewes 40s to; 44s 6d, other fat Woolly ewes 26s to 345, prime shorn ewes 30s to 35s 6d, other shorn ewes 25s to 29s 6d, woolly hoggets 30s 5d to 40s. At Otaki, prime ewes made 45s 3d, and medium ewes 39s Id; at Levin, prime wethers sold at 47s to 51s 9d, and fat hoggets at 29s Bdat Palmerston North, fat ewes realised 38s. At "Westfield the prices were: Extra heavy prime woolly wethers 47s to 49s 3d, heavy* prime woolly wethers 43s to 46s 6d, shorn wethers 33s to 365, medium to heavy prime woolly wethers 33s to 42s 6d, shorn 29s 6d to 335, extra heavy prime woolly ewes 39s to 41s 3d, shorn 30s to 42s 6d, prime woolly ewes 36s to 38s: 6d, shorn 27s 6d to 29s 6d, prime woolly hoggets 36s to 41s, shorn 27s to 29s 9d. © «• •» * At Burnside, fat lambs made 28s to 35s 3d. At Addington, extra /prime lambs realised up to 355, prime lambs 29s to 335, medium lamhs 25s to 28s 6d, lighter lambs 20s to 24s 6d. The Westfield prices were: Best prime heavy

lambs 27s 6d to 30s 9d, good lambs 23s to 275, lighter 20s to 22s 6d. * At Addington, choppers made £5 to £11 7s, baeoners £5 to £8 13s, porkers £2 15s to £4 10s. At Westfield, pers made £5 15s to £7 17s 6d, baeoners £4 to £5, porkers 35s to £3l « * * aInvestment shares are generally' very firm, and buyers appear to be numerous. Bank of Australasia, buyers £120; . National Bank, sellers £6 13s; Bank of .New South Wales, buyers £36 ■ ss; Bank of New Zealand (old), buyers £13 10s; Union Bank buyers £59; Equitable Building, buyers £9 ss; National Mortgage, buyers £4 8s; New Zealand and River Plate, buyers 39s 6d; Wellington Investment, buyers 10s 6d; Wellington, Trust and Loan, buyers £5 15s; Wellington Gas (£10), buyers £11; Wellington Gas (preference), buyers 17s 3d; Gear Meat (£4), sales £21 ss; Meat Export (52s 6d), buyers 51s; Auckland Trams (ordinary), buyers- 19s; Huddart Parker (ordinary), buyers 40s; P. and O. Deferred Stock, buyers £405; Wellington Woollen (preference), buyers £4 16s; Westport Coal, buyers 31s 3d; Waipa Colliery, buyers 16s 3d; Leyland O'Brien, buyers 27s 6d; Sharland and Co., ex-div., buyers 28s 6d. * ' - * - •» «• In the mining section there were buyers of Talisman at 10s 3d, sellers of Waihi at 45s 9d, and of Grand Junction at 16s 6d. Westland Gold Syndicate shares were in demand at 395.