LONDON COMMERCIAL NOTES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 9816, 10 May 1895, Page 6

LONDON COMMERCIAL NOTES.

[from our own correspondent. 1 London, March 29. Wool.—Messrs. C. Balme and Co. say comEetition continues active for all classes, which nd ready sale at full rates, there being a large attendance of buyers at the sales. Other brokers tell me the prices are up fully 10 per cent, in some cases, and generally 7a. The rise seems to be well and steadily maintained, and likely even to increase. My latest news is in all aspects cheering. What makes the rise in wool all the more cheering and hopeful, as regards its permanence, is that it is clearly due to the marked improvement in trade in the woollen manufacturing districts. Bradford, Leeds, Halifax, Huddersfield, and all the " wool centres," tell the same tale of active demand, higher prices, and firm markets. Let U3 hope that at last the tide has turned, and that the New Zealand wool producer has another period of. good times belore him. At present it certainly looks as if this were to be the case. Frozen Meat. —Of frozen meat I cannot write so cheerfully. Trade is stagnant; the demand is slack, and the serious proportion of inferior sheep—such as stale, off-colour, old ewes, which should never have beeu sent home at all—lias had an exceedingly unfavourable effect on the market. It has given New Zealand mutton a bad name. These miserable wretches of old ewes will hardly fetch enough to re-pay freight and charges. Why are people in New Zealand so foolish as to send home these aged female veterans of the sheepfold ? Surely they cannot expect Londoners to buy them ? At all events the Cockneys won't. They know better; and the result is a lowering of prices all round, and the sale of the poor old things at a heavy loss. This year's lambs too are as a rule infer ior. The consequence of all this is that the best New Zealand mutton now is quoted at 3£d to 3Jd, and ordinary at2jd. A nice price, isn't it? But what can you expect? New Zealand lamb is at 4Jd down to 3id, or even lower. That is for lamb, mind ! Contrary to the usual idea, it is the opinion of some eminent authorities in the ftozen meat trade, that not more than 5 per cent, at the most of the imported Now Zealand meat is really sold as English, or as other than New Zealand meat. That may be the case now, but it certainly was not a short time ago. Then, almost the only meat sold as "New Zealand mutton," came from the River Plate ! However, the truth is always j " better late than never." In the opinion of the British Australasian, " There is nothing to recommend the debenture stock issue of the Otago and Southland Investment Company. If they are lucky enough to get subscriptions, it will greatly aid them in meeting the terminable debentures now falling due.' Butter. —Now as to butter. In the first place the mild weather has made the grass grow fast, and the Home production of dairy produce will soon 'be large. This is against the colonial product, and the season will soon be over. " The fall in the value of colonial butter (write Messrs. W. Weddel and Co. to me to-day) which took place last week, caused by the eagerness of some importing agents to try,s and clear their stocks at any price, has turned the attention of the grocers to the great profit that is obtainable by buying it at the present low quotation and retailing it at a shilling, and, in some cases, even fourteen pence per lb. There is, at present prices, more money to be made by the grocers and buttermen out of colonial than out of Dauish and Swedish butter, and consequently the demand tor Australasian butter has considerably improved during the last few days, though, unfortunately, there is no improvement, in prices. . Mr. Samuel Lowe, of the same firm, sends me the following memo, this afternoon : — " The Danish quotation is 4s 6d per cwt lower, but the increasing demand for colonial and consequently the falling off in the inquiry for Continental butter will most probably induce the Danes to again lower their price shortly, so that they may re-capture the market. The great difference in the prices ruling to-day between Scandinavian and Australian butter is not in accordance with their intrinsic values. Though the last few shipments of butter from the colonies have been deteriorating in quality, a similar falling off has also been noticeable in Danish and Swedish, and therefore the present wide gap in the prices between these two standard qualities cannot continue. As there is no prospect of colonial butter advancing in price the Continental must fall, so as to readjust their relative value. The quantity of butter imported from Denmark and Sweden last week was the greatest for the last three months, and consequently the northern markets, to which Australian has driven it, were unable to absorb the wnole supply, and large quantities are left over for next week's market, though the price was lowered 2s to 4s per cwt. to induce buyers to operate. Dutch butter is coming forward in increasing quantities, due to the early calviug season, which has become customary in Holland. Irish new season's creamery butter is selling in London at 88s per cwt." Giving evidence on Wednesday before the Food Products Committee of the House of Commons, Mr. James Hudson said that good New Zealand and Australian butter could now be obtained in London at 8d per lb. He objected very strongly to the mixture of butter and margarine, and thought it ought to be prohibited. It did a great deal of harm to dairy produce, and was a distinct fraud on the public. The same witness gave a nice account of the inspectors under the Margarine Act. He said they were known everywhere, and if they went into a shop and asked for a pound of cheap butter they would either receive a pound of "best fresh," or else half a sovereign would be put into the scale. This is a pretty statement ? Cheese.—As regards New Zealand cheese, Mr. Lowe writes to me this afternoon :— "There is a better supply, and those who are not pushing their goods on the market are realising from 44s to 47s for very prime Australian. The Arcadia's cheese was landed in good condition, but it is not yet on the market." The Gothic on her last homeward trip brought, it will be remembered, a consignment of cheese cold-stored ou the Hall carbonic-anhydride system, which is coming largely into use in London. The AgentGeneral has obtained from a firm of experts the following report on the Gothic's cheese : —" In reply to your favour of the 7th inst., we have much pleasure in stating that the cheese brought by s.s. Gothic arrived in splendid condition. From a careful examination of her chambers in which the cheese was brought, we fiud an almost entire absence of moisture. The trays fitted to catch any moisture that might condense 011 the brine pipes acted well. Owing to the suitable temperature at which the brine was circulated through the chambers, the cheese was not subjected to variations of temperature, such as are inevitable in the case of ships refrigerated with cold-air machines. In our opinion this is undoubtedly the best system in operation on board any vessels for maintaining a suitable and uniform temperature in cheese-rooms during the voyage." Investment Stocks. — New Zealand securities are up again. To-day 3 per cents, are quoted at 102.J and fours at 111. Of the Municipal stocks, Auckland fives are at 115, sixes 127 ; Christchurch sixes, 127; Dunedin fives 110, sixes 118. Of the New Zealand Harbour Board stocks, Auckland fives and sixes are both 110 : Otago fives 83, sixes 103 ; Lyttelton sixes, 125. As to colonial shipping shares, New Zealand shipping are quoted today at 3.i to 3i'; Shaw, Albion, sto 6 ; Union Steamship of New Zealand, 6h to 7iAmong colonial railway shares. New Zealand Midlands are at £4 to £6 ; Wellington and Manawatu, 17s 6d to 22s 6d.

LONDON BUTTER MARKET. A business circular issued by Samuel Page and Son, London, and dated March 28th, reads as follows "We have a large quantity of Australian and New Zealand butter, which we can offer at £ 10s, £2 16s, £3, £.i 4s, £3 Bs, £3 14, £3 18s, £4 2s, £4 Gs, and £4 10s, according to quality, all to be fresh landed, and we shall be pleased to send you Eiamples, or to see you at the Old Hibernia Wharf to inspect." The private letter which covers this circular says : —" Since our last communication, there has been afurther fall in the price of both butter and cheese, and at this moment it is possible to purchase good fresh landed butter here at £2 10s per cwt, whilst old stored butter can be bought as low as f rom £1 16s to £2.