FINANCE AND TRADE

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4330, 13 April 1901, Page 8 (Supplement)

FINANCE AND TRADE

The proceedings instituted against a Dubiiii wine merchant lately for having soid as “cognac brandy” that which was not “cognac” has aroused a great amount of interest among members cf the trade all over the United Kingdom. “In some quarters the opinion is held, 5 says the ‘-Daily Mail,” “that pure cognac of a suitable age for present consumption, and without any admixture of spirit other than the produce of grapes' grown in the Commune of Cognac, cannot at present he obtained under a comparatively high price. Not only is this matter of importance to the trade, but it is of even greater importance to the general public, who pay a fairly substantial price at all times' for brandy. A wholesale wine merchant of great experience said that pure cognac should be the produce of the two Charentes. He added that brajjjly made exclusively from grapes of the Commune of Cognac floes not exist, or if it does to a very small extent indeed. The production of wine in the Charente in 1877 was about 15,000,000 hectolitres, and in 1878, when the vineyards were generally attacked, the vield was reduced to about 6,000,i UUu uectolitres. In 1870 and 1880 there I wa ■. a further reduction, and between and including the years 1881 and 1890 the yield was insignificant. If these figures' are correct it seems somewhat strange that in 1879, the year following the destruction by the phylloxera, there w.-.s a record exportation of brandy from Chi-rente of 500,000,000 hectolitres. This doubtless may have largely consisted of old stock, but at the same time it is curious that during the years 1881 to 1300, when the yield was insignificant, the exportation did not materially decrease, being an_avernge of about 300,000,000 hectolitres annually. The public, who pay a good price, have a right to know exactly what they are buying.”

Thu question of sugar bounties paic by Continental countries is still attracting great attention. A little while bad our cables referred to the action ol ti;e United States regarding the Belgiar bounties, and now mail advices state tha; the question of a countervailing duty ir the United States on Russian sugars tno imposition of which was suspondec last April pending investigation, is agair being discussed in Washington. The American expert sent to- Russia has now his report, which is not yet pub-u-i.,ed, but information to the following effect has appeared in the newspapers; The Russian Government farms oul to certain producers (or rather to a certain part of each producer’s crop) th< rhilit to supply the home market; ir their turn the concessionaires sub-leasi parts of their exclusive right. Now tin question arises whether the money re ceived by B. from A. as his pay for di verting a part of his product from tin domestic to the export market is an in direct bounty upon his exports. Ou exporters feel that there is danger o retaliation, not only on the part of Rus sin. if a duty is put on again, but als< on the part of Germany if Russian su gars are admitted free of countervailiuj duties, and the United States may thu find themselves in a double traiff wa before many months.” The Berlin cor respondent of the “Standard” throw doubt on an early reassembling of tin International Sugar Bounties Confer ence, owing to the probability of a se pa rate understanding being arrived at especially between America and Rus sia. , Great Britain’s trade- in boots an< shoes during 1900 made considerabh headway, mainly owing .to the large in crease in exports to Australasia am South Africa. The increase to the latter was due to the needs of the army The total exports of boots , and shoe; from Great Britain to various cclonie were'valued at £1,234,026, 1 against £l, 182,220,- or a gain of £51,806. Of thi total South Africa took £614,898, o: £23,257 more than in the previous year while Australasia took £381,241, or £52, 105 more. Referring to the latter, tin “British Trade Journal” says;—As re gards the increase in the Australia-) trade, this is attributed mainly to larg; speculative purchases on the part of cer tain operators in various* colonies, wher a fear is expressed that the importer goods will bo subject to a duty at ai early date, the,operators- have therefor; taken steps to be heavily stocked foi some long time ahead. There is n< '■oubt, too, that the new Commonwoaltl is enjoying an era of great prosperity and is therefore needing increased sup plies.

The United States, it seems, is adding very Largely to the great prosperity of Canada by investing immense sums in its leading industries, and largely developing its resources. The correspondent of the “Economist” says it is estimated that since 1896 about 100,000.OOCdol. of American capital have' been invested in Canada. Hitherto British capital has been drawn upon almost exI ei naively by Canadians!! not only for Government and municipal loans, for , railways, lo ( an companies, banks and so i on, but also for .such enterprises as mihi ing, lumbering, ranching, fishing and even farming. The recent American investments are due, I suppose, to the rapid growth of surplus wealth in the United States, and to tho fact that during the last four years prices' have been suffi-, rdently high to ensure a return frcmanv* kind of an industry that has been half decently managed. In one or two instances Americans have financed Canadian municipal loans, but they have not touched Government loans, which, whether federal or provincial, are held for the most part In England. But they I : are quite taking the lead of Englishmen j in* developing the vast store of natural i | riches which Canada undoubtedly possesses. As a rule, they are better quali- ■ find than Englishmen to prosecute such i w '-k, simply because they are accustom- 1 el J o similar work on their own side of, the boundary,-, and, so far as the ways i of the people and our manner of doing things are concerned, are as much at homo ip Canada as in Maine, Michigan, or 'Dakota. The of Canada’s iron, lumber, oil and fishing industries has of late years been largely duo to United States investors. i , • I At the Whitehall Booms of the Royal Colonial Institute, Air T. H. Whitehead, member of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, recently read a paper o" • “The Expansion of Trade with China.’’ ri o said that Lord Rosebery, when Prime Minister, had rightly predicted that the , Far Eastern question was one which, in. ' ( its essential importance and the magnitude of the interests concerned, bade ! f”’r to overshadow all other subjects of international debate. In regard to the < remc+ion of scientific industrial rivalry, ■ Y, r Whitehead said that America anf r Germany had trained enormous ground.. A ’o"ntime British capitalists and maun-1 facturers had-been content to rest se- ] reneiy on their oars, and to trust to j n'-e'tia'e gained in bvpone years. M' ( WHtehead suggested that the British Government should in co-operation with I America, Germany, and Japan take steps I to oruarantee that tho markets of Man- , chn- ; a now open to the trade of they world should not be closed against it bv f ’-■’•''lijbitive Tariff, in the event of there p being no further partition of the Cbi- r nose Empire, and provided that it was if possible to keep the door wide open to ei

the trade of the world on equal terms. I The share of the British Empire in China’s I foreign trade was about 62 per cent, of the total, or £43,000,000 per annum. Their commercial interests in the East stood in urgent need of the services of a special mission, headed by an Ambassador of the first ability, with an adequate staff of specially trained officials who had had experience in dealing with the Oriental mind.

According to statistics recently published, the world’s total output of coal for the year 1899 was 723,239,177 metric tons. To that total the British Empire contributed 239,995,148 tons, the share of Great Britain and Ireland being 223.626,774 tons. Other countries contributed 483,244,029 the principal producers being: United States, 230,254,076 tons ; German Empire, 133,824,427 tons. Tho iron produced by the world’s mines totalled 39,135,752 metric tons, the British Empire’s share being 5,230,063 tons. Other countries produced 33,"905,689 tons, the United States loading with 13,843,183 tons.