FINANCE AND TRADE.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4307, 16 March 1901, Page 8 (Supplement)

FINANCE AND TRADE.

Some encouraging figures with regard to Canadian trade are to hand. The imports of Canada for the year ending June 30, 1900, amounted to 189,622.513 dols., and the exports to 191,894,723 dols., giving a total aggregate trade on the basis of 381,517,236 dols. Compared with 1899, there is an increase of about 60.000,000 dols., whilst compared with 1896, the increase is over 140,000,000 dols. As to the trade with Great Britain, the preferential tariff has resulted in largely increased sales of British goods to Canada. In 1890 the importations for consumption from Great Britain amounted to 43,390,241 dols., while in 1897, the last fiscal year prior to the adoption of the preference, they had fallen to 29,412,188 dols. In the first year of the preference they increased to 32,600,917 dols., the seaond to 37,060,123 dols., and tho third to 44,789,7.30 dols. The preference, coupled with the development of cold storage facilities, has also resulted in a wonderful increase in the exports of Canadian produce to Great Britain. Last year they amounted to 96,562,875 dols. In 1889 they were 35,114,551 dels.; and in 1897, which was practically the last fiscal year prior to the adoption of the preference, they were only 69,533,352 dols.

The profits in 1899 of tho colossal Carnegie Steel Co., of Pittsburg (U.S.A.), were over £8,000,000, For digging the ore in the open mines of Lake Superior region steam-shovels are used, one of which will load a 25-ton waggon in 21minutes, taking up five tons of earth with every stroke,-and filling the truck m live operations! Much of this mining costs less than Is a ton. The ore is shipped at tho docks at the rate of from 1000 to 1600 tons per vessel per hour. It takes six hours, sometimes less, to load a 6000-t.on vessel, equal to the capacity of 750 eight-ton waggons. During the year ’99 17,000,000 tons were so shipped. At the works of the Illinois Steel Co. last year in 24 hours (day and night shifts) 2677 tons of rails were rolled ! Another mammoth U.S. steel firm is the Federal Steel Co., a combine of several steel and iron syndicates, railroads and mines, with docks, barges, etc., and a capital of £40,000,000 sterling. Now the Carnegie Co. is about to build boats to ply from Lake Erie ports through the Welland Canal and the Gulf of St. Lawrence across the Atlantic with freights of steel for foreign markets.

Mr Gardiner Wilson, of Kumara Junction, states that the dredging industry lias led to large consumption of timber, so that prices have risen. If a railway connected Canterbury and Westland, the prices of coal and timber would he much reduced. Timber-cutting on all parts of the West Coast had only as yet touched the outskirts of the rich forest. Greymouth, Grey Valley, Kumara. and Hokitika were the chief centres, and large quantities were shipped every month, chiefly to Lyttelton. The usual price was 6s per 100 ft on board, but recently it had been as low as 4s 9d. White and red pine were the two timbersi chiefly cut, the latter used for building, and the former going to Melbourne for butter boxes. All connected with the industry were as busy as they cculd be, and many were refusing orders. Very little of the timber went to the North Island, some to Timaru and Dunedin, the rest to Canterbury. The price of timber has advanced by one shilling per hundred feet, so that trade on tli© coast will still further improve.

The “Times” report of the money market in London on the Ist February stated:—“The coincidence of the last day of the month with the conclusion of the Stock Exchange settlement made the demand for money very strong; 5 to 5.1 per cent, was paid fairly often for the night and a large amount was lent by the bank at, 51 nor cent, for a week. Discount rates were steady, with hardly any business in bills ‘on the spot,’ though fine paper was placed freely at 4 percent, for delivery next week owing to the firmness of the foreign exchanges, especially New York.”

With regard to the expansion .of the trade of Canada it may be noted that tlio Dominion is increasing her trade with Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. According to the agent of the Canadian Government in the last centre Canada shipped direct to the Clyde in 1900 30,708 boxes butter, 143,181 boxes of cheese, 82,168 cases eggs, 23,241 head cattle, 4852 head sheep, 202,98.') barrels of apples, 131,402 sacks of hour and 4071 cases cannedgoods. In addit'on, very largo quantities were sent indirectly through New York, Portland and Boston. Canada, it will be seen, is forcing a large trade with ports outside of London.

The dead meat imports into the United Kingdom during the past year show an increase in value from £32,636,210 in 1899 to £36,162,710 in 1900, and when it is recollected that the return of the former year was £2,653,876 in excess .of 1898, the extent of the expansion will be clearly recognised. Australasia supplied one-seventh of the total imports of fresh beef and 56 per cent, of the total of fresh mutton. The latter is about double that of what Argentine provided, but owing, to the stoppage of imports of live stock from that country their figures in frozen lines are expanding very rapidly.

Speaking of Australian Federation, Sir William Fanner is reported by the ■London “-Draper” to have said;. —I have been told that three American syndicates have been formed, backed by £1,000,600 sterling, to pounce down upon Sydney, and commence operations in the manufacture of tobacco, leather and soap. They look upon Sydney as being the distributing centre in the future, and that having all the raw materials at hand, or within reasonable loach, they will be able to create a big business. The establishment of three large, factories in Sjulney would create a demand for land for building purposes and for factory hands. These factorie would, of course, give a large amount of employment, so there will be one clement of compensation for our loss ot free-trade.

Messrs Jacomb, Sons and Co. writing on January 29th, state that the first series of sales of Colonial wool, which commenced in Loudon on the 15th inst , has now been in progress for a, fortnight, and it is possible to take a better survey of the position. When sellers and buyers met on the opening day it 'was manifest that there were immedia'.e wants to bo supplied, and a lively commencement was therefore made, prices on average being quoted 5 to 7j- per cent, dearer for merino descriptions, but in the case of scoured wools this improvement was further accentuated, so that in many instances these showed an advance of 10 per cent, on last auction rates. As soon, however, as these wants aro satisfied, and advices were received that wools purchased in the* colonies were on a considerably cheaper basis than is current here, onyers became daily more discriminating. The sales have, in consequence, of late shown considerable irregularity- »uch teing chiefly noticeable, in heavy wools, many of which have beeir held over for some months, and now present a sorry spectacle when opened for show,

and also in thos.e of the new clip wools which have been through a severe season, and are, in many instances tender in staple and in very wasty condition. At the present time there is seldom more than 5 per cent, advance in values of any class of wool over rates current in November, while heavy and ill conditioned wools do not always maintain the best prices of the concluding auctions of last year. Fine and medium cross-brcds are in fair demand and meet with occasional support from America, but coarse descriptions are irregularly supported at from par to 5 lie'- cent, reduction on last sales’ rates.

Competition at the present scries of London wool sales has become less active and general than it was in the earlier days of the auctions, and Messrs Charles Balmo and Co., the well-known wool-brokers, ascribe the change in tho position to tho fact that consumers have purchased sufficient raw material to satisfy the more pressing requirements of machinery, and are unwilling, in face of the large quantities available during tho next few months, to buy for stock. This cautious attitude of the trade has been accentuated by the sharp fall in the “spot” quotation for “tops” on the Antwerp “terme” market. The better grades of merino staple maintain the initial advance of 5 per cent.; the lower oracles have dropped to about 5 per cent below tho opening rates.

The Ottawa correspondent of the “Economist” says :—“lt is estimated that since 1896 about 100,009,000 dols. of American capital has been invested in Canada.” This money has gone into tho development of some of Canada’s vast store of natural riches. We congratulate the Dominion upon having some small part of her latent wealth developed at last; but we wish —and we arc sure that Canadians wish, too —-that the fertilising capital had come from the Mother Country rather than from the United States. Are English capitalists goinp- to let the opportunity slip, and only awaken to Canada’s possibilities whan the best places have been, occupied oy Americans? The Dominion Government gives handsome bounties to loc.u iron and steel makers, and it is an American syndicate which is taking advantage of them. The unique nickel deposits/ at Sudbury are almost entirely controlled by Americans, who, though trading under the name ot the Canadian Copper Company, had from Ohio. It is a. Philadelphia company which is about to build the railway to James Bay, and smelt iron and nickel and make pulp and paper in that region. England _is apparently too busy in spending her capital in the purchase of foreign imports.

The report of the meeting of the shareholders of the Union Bank of Australia, Limited, is to hand by the mad. After dealing with the. accounts for the half-year, which showed that, exclusive of £BOO,OOO reserve fund invested in Imperial Government securities, the liquid assets equalled 7s 3d in the pound of the liabilities. The chairman (Mr Arthur Fowler) made some interesting remarks relative to the growth .of the bank since the date of its formation in 1837, the year of the late Queen’s accession. He said-.—“A study of the Union Bank reports gives a fair criterion of the condition of Australian business from time to time. It shows its 30 and 32 per cent, dividends in the period of gold discoveries, its 18 and 14 per cent, in prosperous times, and, as we all know, its 5 per cent, dividends following on the crisis, of 1893 ; but, taking the average of 60 years, it has returned to its proprietors an average dividend of something over 12 per cent, per annum. And just as the bank has borne its share and taken its part in the events of the period now closing, so I entertain no doubt it will take i‘s full share in the events of the new ora now opening, and that it will reap its full share of the success and prosperity which we all hope and believe are destined to follow under the Federation era now commenced.”

An interesting case was heard before the Lord Chief Justice of Irelandjit Dublin in January in connection with the sale of certain Cognac brandies, which a merchant, the plaintiff, had purchased. It was contended for the defence, according to the ‘'Times,” that the plaintiff got in substance what he contracted for. Real Cognac brandy, made from the Cognac grape, would cost an enormous The* liquor was made up in Cognac from grapes which were not grown, in. Cognac and from other things as wet, and the liquor was known in commerce «s “Cognac.” How far it was made from the Cognac grape depended on the price that was paid for it. Such a thing as ‘‘Cognac” made from Cognac grapes exclusively did not exist on the markets, but to get such a brandy it would be necessary to. pay about 7s a bottle cost price, whereas this brandy was only 3s 6d a bottle. The brandy was bottled in London. Hcnnessy s, Martell’s and other brandies were made like this brandy. The jury found that the defendants contracted to supply Cognac brandy, which is a blend containing a proportion of grope spirit; that they did not do soaid! --that what they supplied was not -brassy nor what iV know;- iu the trade ns “Cignac” brandy. This case clearly si. 'ws that all vendors should be extremely careful as to the goods they sell. Goods not pure, even if it be 'the custom of trade to adulterate, should ho always stamped as such, which is the only means of escaping from the liability witch rests on vendors.