COMMERCIAL

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10406, 2 April 1897, Page 4

COMMERCIAL

New Zealand Herald Office, Thursday evening,

The Stock Exchange continue! quiet and inactive. National Banks have sold at £1 19s and sellers aik £2. Sales of New Zealand Insurance are reported at £3 7e, and sellers now oak £3 8s 6<l. National Insurance sold at 18s. Buyers of South British offer £2 7s (id. Old issue of Auckland Gas sold at £14 12a 6d and sellers ask £14 15s. Buyers of new issue offer £8 ss. There are buyers of New Plymouth Gas at £6 ss. Sellers of Hikurangi Coal ask 9a 6il, and for Ngunguru Coal £12* Oil. Buyers of Westport Coal offer £2125. There are buyers of River Plate at 14s, with sellers lit 15s. Union Oil find buyers at 15s 6d, sellers asking lGs 3d. The mining market continues dull, and transactions are somewhat limited. YVaihi--Bi!vertons are offered at £12e. Numerous transactions in VVaihi Extended from 4d to 7d. Stanleys have sold at lid and Is, and New Albumins at 4s 6d. A fair amount ot business in Victoria from 2s 8d to 2a 10d. Royals have changed hands at Is 2d to Is Sd. Monowaia have sold at 'is fid; Tarnru Creeks at 4s 6d; Talismans at IBs. Barrier stock have received a considerable amount of attention. Great Barrier Gold and Silver sold at 53 9d and 6s; lonas from Is 8d to Is 4d; Aoteas from 8d to 9Jrt to 7Jd. For late quotations we refer our readers to the Stock and Share list published in another part of this issue. Business this week has improved as regards volume, but otherwise there is little difference between it and the previous week. Trade is quite uuspeoulutive, mid demand dull for the commencement of a new month, and confined to sorting up requirements with almost a stereotyped run of prices, all figured out as low as possible. Arrivals have again been free, and the import market is almost glutted with every description of goods, with rare exceptions, notably, Black Horse coarse salt, and cement. Trade reports received by the San Francisco mail give little interesting matter. The American demand keens poor, and the famine and plague in India, with the unrest in South Africa, are all depressing. a The activity of ship building and in the engineering trades are sots off in an otherwise pessimistic budget of trade circulars. Currants have hardened. London stocks on Ist February were only half the quantity of that of same date in 1890. The serious outlook in Greece inclines holders of goodconditioned to advance prices. Eleme raisins fit to ship were hard to find at apy price. The possible changes in the American new tariff are Riving much uncertainty about the market value of a variety of leading requirements, but leather rules firm, and the rinderpest in South Africa, and the Texas fever in Queensland appears to have generally stiffened the value of hides. The following extract from the market report of 19th February of the Colonial Consignment and Distributing Company will iliow how home opinion is going upon the deteriorated quality of New Zealand mutton, and should excite apprehension ac least :— " It. has beeh for months apparent to those -connected with the market how very much New Zealand mutton has fallen in public estimation, and how many butchers who have dealt in it for years have now given it up, The Indifferent quality of so much that lias been offered, its generally stale damaged, condition, and the difficulty that was experienced in ensuring a supply of really prime mutton, has driven, butchers on to other meat when they found their customer* complaining and their trade jeopardised." Locally, trade thought ia not concentrated upon goods, but upon money, and upon the sustained strength of the goldflelde trade, To the many who feel concerned in this latter it will he gratifying to know that the Home put-up money for working capital since the era of floating companies in London commenced, about 18 months or so ago. has been shown to us to total nearly 2J millions of money for the development of the Auckland mines. This includes the many finance companies that have been started into existence, but whioh are prepared to take over good mining partly-developed properties, only reckoniug the sums stated to be actually provided for working capital. The days of four-peg claims are over. Estimating that say half-a-million has been already expended, and another quarter of a million will go for machinery and other requisites to be imported, there is still left it large fund, which will .keep local things going for a longtime to come, added to which there la such reasonable probabilities of good discoveries, of payable lodes that an excellent Vade prospect is presented, much minimised at present. The most active trade is that of timber, in which everything is working most satisfactorily. The Kauri Timber Company , mill at Tairua is about starting, in order to keep pace with the great demand for cut stuff. A merchant visitor to the South, as far as the Bluff, has just returned, reporting that apart from some disappointments in Canterbury, the South Island grain and potato growers will have a very successful year, the crops, as a rule, turning out very prolific, and that the tone ot East Com* South Island business generally is consequently highly satisfactory. The seed market at prevent if rather flat for the time of the year, owing to the excessive rains we have been having, but the laic few fine days have livened it up a good deal, and a fortnight longer of inch weather will enable extensive bush-burning to take place, and make a brisk demand, . Cocksfoot is practically all in the bands of .merchants now, and the price will probably harden. Farmers'samples are worth 75,6 d to 7s 104

for prime ieed. Ryegrass ii offering freely at 59 9d to 6s for Poverty Bay; Canterbury. 4s 7d to 4a 9d; and Southland seed, 4s 3d bushel. Clover eeede are selling very cheap compared to present prices in England. Red can be bought at 7d to 9d; cowgrass, 8d to 10d; white, 9d to lid; alsyke, 8d to 10d. Of the natural Erases, dopstail, finest, Is Sd; inferior and dirty samples, Is 3d to U 4d; chewinjjs, fescue, finest, 9d: inferior, 8d; meadow foxtail, colonial, Is 4d; imported, Is 3d; redtop, 10d; ratstail, Is 4d; Italian ryegrass, 4s 6d bushel. There is more than meets the eye at first glance in the proposed preferential treatment of Great Britain in the Canadian tariff. An important economic principle is involved, and the idea will be watched to its fruition or rejection by every British colony. There U clearly some unfairness in treating highly protectionist countries like France, Germany, and the United States, which en* deavour to exclude our productions as far as they can, on the same level with a freetrade country like the United Kingdom, which opens her wide markets to every species of colonial produce with absolute freedom and encouragement, while foreigu countries tax it up to the hilt, except in auch goods that are necessary to their trade-such, for instance, as kauri gum is to America; but one of the first thing! that, any, the United States would do in retaliation of any differential tax against American products, would lie a similar tax on British tonnage trading in American waters. It would be a serious blow to British shipping interests, for the income to British owners as carriers of United States produce is now almost fabulous. Its effect would strike at the whole industrial trade of the United Kingdom, and might lead to an enormous national loss. Many other injuries could be inflicted, say a tax on British incomes from Americau investments, quite within reason as a counterplay to differential taxation by England. Canada is probably under the delusion that receiving British goods under a specially favourable tariff would induce the old country to start the idea so long advocated by Lord Dunraven, Howard Vincent, and scores of other able men, to weld the Empire more closely together by a more favourable tariff to all within than outside the Hag. This is not within the range of practical politics until the proportion of trade within the Empire is very largely increased as oompared with its foreign trade, now vital to the employment of millions, and until the vast wheat fields of Canada aud other producing lands under the Union Jaok are able to give Great Britiau an unlimited supply of food for her army of workmen at such a price as will enable her to keep to the front in all her manufacturing industries. The action of Canada, however, will naturally excite an immense interest as a distinct move on the trude lines travelling towards Imperial federation, and this at a time of conference with one of the most able men that has ever held office as Colonial Minister is interesting to all the colonies. In the produce section oats have been done at 2s Id, c.i.f., but have since advanced a penny on the strength of South island wires reporting considerable shipments to the Cape and West Australia, with the farmers showing more disposition to wait an improved price. Maize: A quiet demand ac last week's prices, viz., 2s 7d to 2s 7Jd. About 700 bags nave come forward. Potatoes: The trade in looals is over. What are now offering are only quittable at auotion at from 30j to 40s per ton. Southern kidneys and English Red varieties are selling at £410s ex store. Milling wheat: The marked continues quiet. Farmers are busy carting into local mills. Fowl wheat is dull of sale. . Bran and sharps: There is more enquiry. Flour to-day has fallen 10s per ton. In the local produce market the prices are unohanged, as follow: Best dairy fresh butter sd, second quality 4d, and third quality 3d per lb wholesale. Eggs are is 3d per dozen wholesale, and Is 6a per dozen retail. Messrs. R. Burrow and Co., house and estate agents, report having sold this day (in conjunction with Mr. T. P. Cahill) Mr. Lefliiigham's 14 roomed house, situate in Alfred-street, Albert Park, to Dre. McDowell and Somerville. KAURI GUM MARKET. The following are the quotations for the kauri turn market for the week ending March 31, 1897 :- Poor ordinary, which comprises weak and rough-coated pieces, pickings, and washed nuts, £25 to £27. Ordinary, meaning hard, rough-scraped gum, varying in price according to the quantity of washed nuts, £36 to £37. Good ordinary, meaning hard, unpicked range gum, priue varying according to size, soraping, and freedom from weak pieces, from £40 and upwards.

East Coast, £68. Re-scraped, £88 and upwards, Supplies for March: 495 tone. This in an exceedingly email figure as compared! with the production for tho same month in pre. vious years, but orders are io imal) thai the short supply has no effect in hardening prices, which are, if anything, weaker all round, especially East Coast.