COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XLV, Issue 7624, 6 November 1885, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Times Office, Thursday Evening, Business during tho month has been up to the average, and trade U fairly sound. Two failures of importance occurred since our last Summary—Messrs E. L. Humphries, of New Plymouth, and J. Crichton, of Feilding, The number of small failures is, however, on the increase, and the facility with which this class of insolvents procure their discharges under the present bankruptcy law is not calculated to improve matters. The number of bankruptcies and private compositions are out of all proportion to the trading population, and such action should be taken by those interested as will yield better results to creditors, and act as a deterrent to reckless and unprincipled traders. The .telegraphic accounts received regarding the wool market have been .confirmed by recent mail advices, The English wool market, says the Australasian Insurance and Banking Record of the 14th October, Is now as low as it £as been since 1853, and of the immediate prospects it is difficult to speak with confidence. vVJth the exception of one factor, which ha? in the past proved itself to be of great importance, namely, the slight revival in the United States, everything seems to point to continued low prices for some time to come. Trade in Europe, and especially in Belgium, France, and I4erc;any continues very depressed, and manufacturers complain that, low as the value of wool is,' it is impossible to obtain a reasonable profit on the goods c? a cte from it. The continually increasing supplies have proved to be greater than the trade cap absorb even at tha present prices, the stocks of wool in Antwerpt and London being utterly unprecedented. On the other hand, it is when things ! look the worst, and prices have fallen: abnormally low, that cautious and prudent men begin to lay in stocks, and a re-action sets in. The import market has been fairly brisk during the month. Ale and stout are both in good supply, and tha consignments of outside brands appear to increase. Buyers, are, however, unwilling to experiment with unknown brands. Bead’s, Porter’s, Griffen’s, and Burke’s sell freely at from lls 6d to lls 9d for quarts, ale and stout; and 7s Id to 7a 9d for pints. In bulk ■ there Is nothing doing. Candles —The sales of imported 3X3 restricted by the keen competition existing between New Zealand manufacturers. Colonial made candje? are now lower than they have ever been before, manufacturers stating that they are selling at a small loss upon the cost of manufacturing ; London sperms are quoted at 81d. D.B.’s, D.tt.J.’s and Brandon’s candies fre not inquired for. National sperms have a moderate sale at 9|d ; Imperials, 9.^1; Belmonts. 9Jd; Battersea wax, 9id ; paratma candles, fluted or plain, H.e.lios, Panther, or other good brands, are quoted qt 9|d to 9Jd. Cement— Early in the month paroeis were offering freely, to land ex recent arrivals, but no large transactions are repotted; ex ship, 14s 3d to 14s <Sd is quoted, and from store 15s to 15s 6d. The quantity now stored is in excess of present requirements, Woolpacks are selling freely at Is 9d and 2s for three-quarter and full size, respectively. There has been some inquiry for cornsscks, which are quoted at £a per dozen. Messrs F. W. Heilgers, Calcutta, 15th September, report as follows j—Jute goods : The only business dona ■ for the Colonies during the past fortnight ap-: pears to be a small lot .of woolsacks and bran bags. A good business has been done in other directions, however, chiefly for near ship-; raent, in standard goods of the lighter; descriptions at fixed minimum rates. At; tha weekly meeting of manufacturers, held on 2nd and Sth inst,, prices of twilled good* generally were unaltered, and He*-

sian descriptions advanced on each occasion I both for September, October, and later de- | livery. Oils—Kerosene has been selling at ll£d for 130 test oil; the Escort, from New York, now at Lyttelton, has 4550 cases for this port; sales to arrive are reported at lid and Is 3d, the latter for 150 test; colza, boiled and raw oils, are over-stocked ; castor oil in bulk is tinner, some holders now asking 3s 6d ; Messrs Hedgers report as follows regarding castor oil:—“Our market is steady, owing to the continued alvance in the price of pastor seed ; in the event of a good inquiry springing up there is little doubt that our market will experience a quick and sensible advance.” Dried Fruits—Currants are offering freely at 4M to 4% d, in casks and cases; eleme raisins are in improved supply, and be quoted at o£d; sultanas are considerably in excess of requirements, and sales are advised at s|d to 5;/d; muscatel raisins are in limited demand at Is 2d to Is 3d ; figs are scarce ; dates have slow sale at 4£d ; dried apples are dull of sale at Cd. Fish has been neglected; Cocktail salmon, 7s 6d; Pacific Coast, 7a 3d ; lobsters, 9s; sardines, Alberts, scarce at 9s 6d for halves; there is considerable variation In the prices of sardines, some brands are obtainable at Ss Cd ; Maconochie’s fresh herrings find business at 5s 9d ; red herrings are quoted at 32s 6d; Auckland mullet, 7s 3d to 7b 6J. Oilmen’s stores are well stocked, and there is no material alteration in values to report. Salt— This market is overstocked, and foring sales has affected prices ; a large quantity has been offering from South, but no business is reported; fine may be quoted at 755, and 70s for coarse. Hops are still unsaleable, and may be quoted nominally at 4d per lb for Nelson ; a small parcel was offering during the week at 4|d, Sugar—The Australian market has advanced j/2 per ton since our last summary, but the New Zealand market has not responded, and values are much about the same as this time last month, except for American granulated, which is in short supply, and consequently has improved in value. ; During the month 100 tons of China B.A. sugar arrived, and was sold at agents’ rates. The quality is much improved, and being now packed in 501 b Hessian bags, should find f&vor with purchasers. The quality of the parcel referred to was granulated, similar to the American. Further shipments are advised in Queensland sugars. There is nothing doing. The Rio Loge arrived at Dunedin about a fortnight ago, and her cargo of Mauritius white was quitted at equivalent to L 29 to L3O per ton, d.p. Hennessy’s case brandy is in fair supply, and quoted at 3Gs to 36s 3d for 1star, and 48s for 3-star; Denis Mounie, Bisquit Dubouche, Lucien Bellot, and C.V.F. in case and bulk, all have the usual trade demand at agents’ quotations. There is no alteration in whiskey, Thom and Cameron’s in bulk is lightlystooked. Geneva J.D.K.Z., ranges from 14s Gd to 16s 6d. according to contents and strength; Old Tom, Burnett’s sells, in trade lines, at 11s Gd to lls 9d. Tea —a good month s business is reported in teas generally, and small shipments continue to arrive from Foo Chow via Sydney ; the imports with New Zealand for season 1885-86, are considerably in excess of the two last seasons,the figuresbeing—--1885 86 2,307,3811 b 1884-85 1,735,5281 b 1883-84 1,741,0321 b Galvanized iron is in good supply, and prices range from Ll 9 10s to L2O 10s, according to brands. Fencing wire, No, 6, has had inquiry, and sales ex ship are reported at Lll ss ; for Nos. 7 and 8, Lll ss, Lll 10s, and Lll 15s may be quoted. Barb wire is in fair supply, and sales are reported at L2B 10s to L 29 10s. Colonial produce—Flour, New Zealand, sells from L 8 to L 8 10s per ton. During the month Allen and Bruce have advanced the price of their flour to L 8 10s and L 8 15s; less popular brands are still obtainable at LB. Adelaide flour sells very »lowly at Lll 15s. Hams and bacon are overstocked, and quoted at 7£d. Potatoes— Old are selling at 70s; new, LIO per ton. Butter—There is nothing doing, inconsequence of the low price at which fresh is selling (7d per lb) ; farmers are now salting, in anticipation of autumn demand. Cheese is very scarce at 6d, and stocks are almost exhausted. Oats are offering freely, and may be quoted at 2s to 2s 4d. Pollard sells at L 5. Bran is exceedingly scarce, and worth L 4 15s per ton. Messrs Charles Pownall and Co., mortgage agents, report the demand for capital on mortgage investment has been very limited during the last month, while the supply of money has considerably increased. The rate of interest has consequently declined fully one-half, and is now 7 per cent, for moderate, and to 6 per cent, for large sums. Special arrangements for extra large amounts might possibly be entertained at 5&, but there is no probability of any further" fall below these quotations. Already symptoms of a strong reaction in the Home market have occurred, with a sudden commercial rise of f per cent—namely, from U to 2 per cent. The continuous fall in our chief exports has given rise to a general unfavorable impression that over-production is the cause, and that any reaction is therefore improbable. With this irrational conclusion we must beg to differ, and our opinion is based ujjon the solid ground of very long personal experience. Since 1842, when stations in Australia were deserted and sheep were sold forGd per head, nearly ©very decade we have had somewhat similar transactions occurring, where, like the present one, there was apparently littleprospectof recovery. There are now certain prospects of China being opened out with a network of railways, developing a trade with 400 millions of people. Egypt, with a new loan of 10 millions, and Central Africa, are following in the same course, and before, therefore, we lend ourselves to the folly of hopeless despair we should recollect that the continents of the world are at present but barely half supplied, and that the age of improvement is now moving on with rapid strides.