FREIGHTS TO AUSTRALIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20152, 12 January 1929, Page 9

FREIGHTS TO AUSTRALIA.

PRINCIPAL ALTERATIONS. FULL DETAILS KEPT BACK. Australian Press Association—United Service. LONDON. Jan. 10. No official announcement of the freight increases will be made, but inquiry among shippers shows the following among tli9 principal alterations: —Roujli measurement is raised from 75s to 85s per ton; fine, 100s to 110s; lower classes of measurement, 60s to 65s and 70s; steel and iron remain unaltered. Other weight rates are raised 40s to 42s 6d and 455. The following remain unaltered:—Motorcars, agricultural implements, wire netting, newsprint, cement in casks, and also a number of other minor commodities. An extraordinary position has arisen owing to the decision of the Australian Merchants' Committee, which has advised against the publication of the details of the increase in freights to Australia. No reason is given for the step, beyond the fact that it might cause misapprehension in Australia in the absence of a full text. The shipowners have no objection of any kind. It was stated earlier that full details would be available as soon as they were prepared, but the Merchants' Committee at the last minute were of the opinion that publication was undesirable. Shippers to Australia are perplexed and bewildered by the complicated position which has ensued One result is that the shippers are compelled to make inquiries regarding everything they are shipping. Consequently orders are being held up until the necessary information is gained: The present position can oijly be described as absurd and a wasting dMimc. DAIRYING INDUSTRY. INCREASE IN PAYMENTS. THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANY. [BV TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] CAMBRIDGE, Friday. The Cambridge Co-operative Dairy Company on January 20 will advance for December supply the sum of £34,130 on the basis of Is 6d per lb. butter-fat for cheesemaking, and Is 5d for butter, against Is 4|d and Is 2£d respectively for December, 1927, when tj^total pay-out was £29,233 The company's supply for December showed an increase of 7f per cent, over that for December, 1927. Most of the company's factories experienced the flush period in November, but the 'supply, helped .by recent rains, is keeping up wonderfully well, and there is every piospect that this year's production will be a record. PROGRESS IN THE NORTH. NEW BAY OF ISLANDS FACTORY. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] WHANGAREI, Friday. The output at the Maungaturoto dairy factory for December amounts t0.77 tons, compared with 60 tons for the corresponding month of 1927. The output for the season to December 31 totalled 273 tons, compared with 209 tons in 1927. The feed is reported to be plentiful, and the supplies are being maintained. Over 600 tons of basic 6lag are on order for the • Maungaturoto district, and it is due to arrive during the months of February, "March, April and May. The manure should have a very beneficial effect upon the pastures. Arrangements are practically completed' for the building of an up-to-date dairy factory, and for transferring the manufacturing business of the Bay of Islands Dairy Company to a site on the railway line at Moerewa, near Otiria. Tenders will be called shortly. The intention is to have a new factory ready by next August. PRODUCE FOR SCOTLAND, * * DIRECT SHIPMENTS QUESTION. Support of the proposal to send direct shipments of Australian products to Glasgow is forthcoming from several members of the Australian Scottish Delegation, who h<>vo returned to the Commonwealth. Mr. J. M. Dorward, of Victoria, said that the Scottish people were eager to obtain Empire goods and several pf Australia's principal exports were very suitable for Scottish markets. Merchants in Glasgow and other -Scottish cities stated, however, that * rail freights to Scotland from Liverpool and other English ports which received direct shipments of Australian products made the importation of goods impracticable. Under existing conditions Australian fruit and butter could not be placed* on the Scottish markets at reasonable prices. Rail freights and handling charges for fruit from Liverpool to Glasgow, Mr. , Dorward said, were £3 18s 5d a ton., For butter the charges were £3 5s a ton and for frozen meat £6 17s fid. Partly as a result of representations made to the Scottish authorities by members of the Australian Scottish delegation Mr. Harold •M. Ford, secretary of the Clyde Navigation Trust and representing municipal and commercial interests at Glasgow, was sent to Australia to direct attention to the advantages 'of the Glasgow market'. LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES. A REMARKABLE INCREASE. Phenomenal growth has taken place in the number, power, and extent of limited liability companies in the last half century. In recent years the limited liability company has become more aqd more firmly entrenched as an efficient economic unit, mainly because it embraces such qualities as mobility of capital, diversity of control, and keen management. Giving „ an' indication of the progress made by these companies the" latest 1 annual report of the Board of Trade shows that the number »f companies having a share capital on the register in 1885 in the United Kingdom was 9344, and their total paid-up capital amounted to £494,909,862. Impressive as those figures are, they are overshadowed, when the totals for 1927 are considered. In England and Wales and Scotland the, number of companies • had mounted to 101,93 i, and the paid-up capital involved reaches £4,857,742,862. The net increase in the number of com- v panies registered in England and Wales during 1927 was 2981, while 8850 new companies with a nominal capital of £185,734,653 were registered during the year. These figures will probably be eclipsed by those for 1928, for there has been an unusual number of new issues during the boom period last year. ' -