COMMERCIAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12647, 27 April 1903, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

Daily Times. Office, Saturday evening. . Abcoftiiug lb the Cape Times, tlie importation of frozen meat into Cape Colony in 1902 amounted in valua to £1,235.890; as against £657,259 in 1901, (he trade having thus almost doubled. The fallowing from the same authority is of great importance to New Zealand exporters:-""The Johannesburg piibliOj it is ntjiled,. is ijincll eoil» Geriled at (ho acquisition by (iie newiyformed Imps-rial Cold Storage. Company o[ a controlling interest- in the Transvaal Cold Storage Company, competition thus being killed The Transvaal Cold Storage Company was established before the war with the assistance of Government money, and for the ptitptee af. fellsUritig a. cheap moat supply, and noiv that the only ctiinjietiiig factor comes under the control of the larger company the public ia at the latter's mercy, all local sources of supply being practically non-osistent." ' BREADSTOFFS, The Sydney jtorniiig.Herald reporls under date 18th inst. •—"Tiio sleaiiief tforlll.&y sailed froin Aibalty yesterday, en route for Sydney, with the first' shipment of some ScilO tons of Argentine wheat. Sains of this grade of wheat have been made at 4s c.i. and e. for far forward delivery. In connection wil.li this ijraitl ali interesting advice lifts been received from London. It states that the. best gilaftiiitce of the quality Of Argejititiij ttlient Is .Us afettwl \V6igllt. tn London wheat from tlii? quarter going 631b per imperial bushel is_ regarded as being good enough for anything. The Rosso wheat is grown from Russian seed, and is considered as stronger than the Barlctta. Where strength is the chie'i consideration the Russo is preferred, but whero colour is lite prime desideratum a preference w given to the Bark-tta. Tt i? added, however, that shippers, iislirtlly l.iave tllo Optiort of siiippiitg wiiiciiever quality iiiey like., m It j is ilfiqSSHily impossible to fill a vessel with |

6no grade alonp. Local flour ruled qniot at £12 103, and Washington sold at fill delivered, and £8, c.i.f: and e. to arrive. JJanifohan Bii spot sold in small parcels at fii'a iOs to £13. and to arrive at £12 5s to £12 10s. Californian Starr's bakers' extra moved off at £11 15s to £12, and Adelaide flour at £1?. fts per ton." liffoOT MARKET. Tlie only noticcaWo movement In. the import hiarket is.it s%ht hardening in ifapnu rite; relieiit MtWb advice reporting ttit iictvilnCo of 7s 6(1 per ton. As, however, the stocks held arc ample for all requirementa, no alteration has been made in local quotations, which still stand at £16 15s for a line to £17 for smaller quantities. The dried fruit market shows some signs of activity in one or two_ lines. Currants, stlltaniH, And seeded raisins are eomparatlvfc'rf negießt&ii Ijt'.k : tliefe . is ,it .fidod lie* tfiisiUl for i;lrge\ raisins, particularly clerHca and lexias, which are in short supply. Last season's lexias are selling at 4Jd, and it is quite possible that, ponding the arrival of the new fruit, which is not expected until the end of May or the beginning of .Tune, this frice may show an advance, Australian advices .eport that the new season for Miktura fruits has opened. Prices Are etboUL thfe iiiiiie ii 3 at.the Wpeiuue of iafct j-t-hf, illltanaa ranging from B|tl to "id, and lexia? 4(1 to 5Jd, according to grade. The sultanae are reported as being of particularly fine quality—the best that have yet been produced' in Australia. The lexias are of fair quality. These fruils will not be available for distribution for some little time, S3 tliA river is yet t°n low to be liavigrtbls. , , , Roßartliiig tlie London siiltsna. iiiafltdt refftit ihail iid,vices are as follows: — '!Mclderilte stipjilieS. 6f Pei-sian sultanas continue to arrive, and are very we.e ( ;>me as a supplement to the small stock tit Smxrnjl fruit already existing. The selection of :ill qualities i 3 now most ample-, and prices are distinctly tempting. Now, if ever, is the timo for grocers lo push the article, and give it a new .into a popularity which it so highly merits. Stocks in Smyrna are reported to he reduced below 1000 tons, pf wltii-h oiliy illsisnineant quantities can he expccted to reach iis." It will be remembered that a cablegram published .some weeks liack made reference to some changes contemplated by .he Grsok authoritiei afTf-fting the growth and export of currants, and hint-irg at a "earner" in this market, which had called forth a protest from the British Government. The Produce Markets Review throws tome light on the subject in the following; paragraph : — "The Orcok market is to have risen Is to l-> 6d per cwt for provincial and kindred groWtlis, partly on account of agood export inquiry in the Patras market and parfcl> on the news that the committee appointed by the Greek Parliament to epnsidel- and, if neccssarj', revise the retention law iia>s advised the Government to remove the maximum limit and retain such 8. pro- j portion of future crops as shall ieave for I exportation only as much as the experience of the last few year., has shown to he necevsarv for tho world's consumption. In addition io tliis, severe rtetriotions are to be placed on the planting of new vineyards. It is expected that actual legislative action on these bases will lw initiated early uext week. Although 'lis proposed arrangements are- contrary to all accepted economic law and practice, it may Ire that the couisa proposed is, after all, reasonable and ncofsrarv. The article has suffered sevorely from protective trads legislation in other oountries, notably in If ranee, and experience has shown tho extreme difficulty of encouraging the consumption to keen pacc with the output. The experiment is, of ooiirse, a hazardous one, and can only.be brought to a Hicceß-ful issue by stringent enactments on the part of tho Government and loyal co-oporalicai. on tho part of growers and shippers. The hitherto limited operations have, however, shown the possibility of leaiing with monopoly in the majr.nei' indicated; and the Greek Government must certainly be congratulated on the promptitude and ability with which abuses, as they began, to creep in, were dealt with and defeated."

Commenting on this proposal, the Sydney Morning Herald remarks:—" It can be easily understood how important an effect (bis further application of tho retention law may have oil the currant market all ovor the world. The Greek Government seems to rely on the idea that Greece ha.s a natural monopoly of the currant business—tlmt is, that the currant vine thrives alone in the Peloponnesus. It has, however, hocn proved that at Mildura and Renmark currants grow to perfection, awl all that is wanted is for the Greek Government to reslirict production in tho way proposed to give tho greatest encouragement to Australian growers. No doubt the day is not far distant when Greek currants will give way' to tho Australian article, just a<3 Smyrna elemes and Malaga valcncias havo already deno, and sultanas are rapidly doing."

Despite the high prices ruling, Lhere is rather more inquiry for figs, whicli 'are celling in layers at fid and in l;:g.> at 7Jd. Cable advice has been received during the week that the new crop of Sicily almonds has been extensively damaged owing to a cyclone.

Supplies of kerosene have been replenished by the arrival of tho Jcseric with 10,000 oases for this market, nearly a'll ol which has been cleared direct from the wharf. The demand for kerosene, as is customary at this time of year, is improving. Tho Colonial Oil Company has mad© no alteration in the price, which still stands at IOJd ex wharf and IOJd ex store for 10-case lots and over.

Cornflour is in extremely short supply, and merchant; are finding it a difficult matter io fill their orders.

A small consignment of ,7uno blocks camo to hand by the Jeseric and has been all distributed, the market having been baro of this line of tobacco for some months.

Supplies of Symington's coffee eissnos aro now to hand. Tasmania!) Jack apples aro jo high in price this year a? to prevent importation. Keiiler's marmalade (21b) i? in short -supply.

The now season's Prussian blue peas aro now on the market, and in good demand nt Ms. Colonial split peas are offering at 16s for best samples and 15s for second grado. Sydney advices etat-o that Iv'ew Zealand hops aro gelling there at lb 8d to Is 9d, and Tasmaiiians at Is 5d to Is Gd.

Latest cable quotations frorti Calcutta state (hat conv-acks for immediate shipment are unchanged, hut for November shipment ap advaneß of id is asked both for 44's and 48'.'?. W T ool])ackfi are.unchanged.

Business is quiet in the iron and hardware market, and values remain without, alteration. The increased cost of storks coming to hand warrants an advance, but tlio keenness of competition hinders this from being established. The Strong and Trowbridge Company report under dale New York. March 28: — The metal markets, which aro still showing p,reat firmness in prices, aro reported as making holler deliveries, which is significant when taken into consideration with the lessened demand tor foreign pig iron. As ilto very favourable conditions of ilio general hardware trade in (Ilia country continue, it ia still having a bad effect upon all export business by delnying deliveries and encouraging many" manufacturers to increaso prices. The delay in deliveries is especially telt throughout the colonies at this time, and is causing manv companies, due, evidently, to the hand-to-mouth nature of tho buying, and the great desire to work on minimum stocks whilst the very general depression caused by tlio drought continues. .To give you comv idea of the general prospcrily. of tli.ir. country,, '.ve have only to draw

attention io the*hcavy tonnage of rails fid for delivery during 1903, and which can be taken as jit indication of tlie mileage of tracks to bo laid during, the current year; it is generally supposed this will exceed th» of 1902, when 5G84 iniies of'Veixl were constructed. The congested condition of the railroads in the Middle West still continues, although enormous shipments of grjin have been mado via New Orleans. It is reported, however, that there still are some 5,0®,000 bushels of grain in Chicago awaiting transportation East. The whole troublo is sitmmed up in the fact that mannffictilrerji of 'rolling stock lravo not kept pace ■with tho ilio'Jfiascd demand for transportation facilities, the freight to he moved being greater than the most jsangair.e anticipations of, say, 12 months ago. The only cloud on the horizon is tho possibility of trouble with fh<! various labour organisations, wlwso conditions a™ exactions lwve been'greatly strengthened by the finding of commission appointed to inquire into tho causjiof the late anthracite coal strike, and. which was greatly in favour of the miners, ivho sccurecL pwhapg about one-half of then' (Icnifllldg. .... Flour.—Lo'qal sales of flour aro limited owing lo tho goneral belief that lower prices will shortly bo named; v/hitst there has been a good demancj there appears to have been but little spoculjlion. Turps.—the market 'or this line atili occupies a very.'strong position, whicli is backed by il]o stciidily diminishing stock on hand. Holders arc very firm in their view of present values, ana even expect the price to increase before the'new crop can have any effect oil the market, as the latter is reported to bo coming in very sltiwlv, and its influence may not bo felt for some little time. Rosin.—Prices are still very firm ana slightly higher than quoted in onr last rnpoit. Co™won grades'are 1W scarce, and although tho demand present 'is limited buyers are compelled full priosa. Pole rosins are in less demand, andi should this continue it may lend to slight reduction in tho prwe on mo part of sellers, , ~,. , Glucose.—Wc have to report a. alill further advance of 'Is 8d per ton on both the "A" grades, making to-day's quotation £0 lGs and £9 (Is Btl per ton of 22(01b respectively, carload lot?, f.o.b, vessel. ROCK SALT. En»lisli rock salt is easily distinguished from German or Spanish by its dull red shade. J.his colour is given by those iron compounds which stock-owners find neeesary to add to the white salts—generally in the form of sii.phate of iron, an pxcoilont Moocl lonic and la-Utncr. in usually found in white rock ssitt, and as it acts as a. purge and cooler, thereby reducing iho condition of tl)£ stock, anything containing it in more than tho smallest percfntage should bo carefully avoided.

THE WANTWOOD ESTATE SALE.

(Fho« Oira OWN Cobmsi'OSDF.NT.)

GORE, April 25. The Wantwood estate was offered for sale at public auction at Gore to-day at the instance of tlie exectilors in the estate of the lnle Mr (I. Mi Bell. The greater portion of the estate comprises the best agricultural land in the district, and tkefe was a large attendance ot farmers at tlu sale. Messrs Dalgety and Co. (iu conjunction with Messrs Henderson and Batger) were the auctioneers. The oidding at the "sale was hardly as keen as was anticipated, nnd all tho lots offered, with tho exception of One, failed to elicit bids which resulted in sales. For some of the lols bids were fairly

numerous, but did not reach the vendors' reserves, intending purchasers evidently preferring is treat privately. The lot disposed of publicly was to Mr John Dillon, Otama, arid comprised 480 acres of tlie famous nine-mile block, a piece of rich cropping country of about 3COO acres. For all lots in the homestead block offers were made ranging from it 5s per acre down fo £2 10s, but these figures did not reach vendors' reserve. For the Matauva block only one bid wa3 made, which was also below the upset. Immediately after ft? sale.several lots were disposed of privately in tii6 nine-mile block. Mr Grant, of Clinton, acquired lot !fj consisting of 300 acres, at the owners' reserve; and Fnley Bros., Riversdate, lot 0, also of 300 acres, at the reserve. 'l'hero ard Oasor inquiries from other intending purchasers for the remaining block iu tho ninemile, and the auctioneers anticipate u sale of all of them during the coming week. Those present included many intending settlers from other parts of the colony, and that the greater portion of this fine estate will be speedily ilisnoscd of is beyond doubt.

DUNEDIN HORSE SALEYARDS. Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co. reportas follows:—There was.it medium yarding at last Saturday's sale, about 40 horses being entered, including eight from ?<lr Thomas Ryder, of Invercargill. The fact that Iho learn of draught horses from Miller's Flat, although advertised for sale, did not come forward to the auction was the cause of much disappointment to the buyers present. 'llic Southland horses were all young, but, unfortunately, no trials were given, and as the Jeinand is. mostly ior horses for immediat? shafting work the consignment did not sell so well as they might have done had they been offered with guarantees as to staunchness. In the lot a black eolt. four years' oldi by Duncan Gillies, broken to chains only, was disposed of at the very satisfactory pricc of £53 10s, and other horses in the consignment were sold at up to £33. A lray colt, lonr years' old, from the Tcicri, realised f((i, and foi a few other aged draughts up to £30 was obtained. About a dozen hacks and harness horses fetched from £7 to .f!9. As 111 the draught section, the light horses wanted are those with (rials in harness, nnd buyers bid far- more readily for such animals than for mere hacks, with which they have to waste a good deal of time in breaking them in. Yendors of horses which can be guaranteed stauncii need have not the slightest fer.; of sending them to th) 3 market, as in both heavy- and light classes there is very keen competition for sound, staunch young horses. Next week we shall offer sis first-class light harneso horses on account of Mr Thomas Crossland, of Waikiwi. We quote: Superior young draught geldings, £50 to £55; extra good, prize horses, £50 to £62; medium drought mares end geldings, £37 to £<8; aged do, £25 fo £30; upstanding carriage horses, £30 to £35; wellmatched carriage pairs, £70 to £85; cart and butchers' outer-cart horses, £3!) to £38; tram horses, £24 lo £30; light hacks, £15 to £'22; extra good hacks, £18 to £25;. weedy and aged hacks and harness horses, £5 lo £10.

COUNTRY SALES. Messrs Donald Eeid nnd' Co. (Limited) report having held a displenishing salo 011 account of Mr Andrew Stewart at his farm, Moggie! Bush, Tnieri, on Friday, tho 24th insl., wheh they submitted tho grand herd of dairy cows; also horses, young cattle,'implements, etc., for unreserved sale. The day proved remarkably fine, and- there was a large attendance of dairymen, grazier 3, farmers, and others. Tho dairy cattle, which were nil in firat-ciass condition, and very quiet, having been reared and trained under Mrs Stewart's personal supervision, were in great request; and, under keen competition, the lot wcro quickly disposed of, and realised very salisfaotory prices. The young heifers, being of a. good milking strain, quiet, and well-nurtured, secured go;d attention antl sold at full values. There were several buyers of horses present, but those submitted wore too light for their requirement!), and some were rather old. Nevertheless, they found buyers at fair values. The implements were somewhat out of date, but wcro nearly all disposed ot at low prices. Dairy cows, in milk or near calving, sold at £10 2s Gd to £7 10s; spring culvers, £6 15s to £5 ss; steovn and heifers, £i 10s; calves, £1 9s; buggy horse sold at £30 10s; aged and light, lo £8; implements making market value.

STUDIIOLME JUNCTION SALE. Messrs Guinness and LeCreii (Limited) report lhat at this sale on Friday there was nil entry of about 10 head of cattle and all overflow yarding of sheep, il being estimated that some 20,000 were offered for sale. The number of lols which were held outside were numerous, and many complaints from farmers wero heard at the delay in providing larger yard room. All classes of sheep were represented, including a very large number of ewes from the south, iseveral ol which had to be passed at auction, but most lines changed hands privately after tho sale. Only a small entry of lambs came forward, and ail forward sorts sold readily, the demand being greater than could bo supplied. Wethers sold well, and, taken throughout. Iho sale was quite equal to anticipations, in spite of the large entry. The small entry of cattlc met keen competition, and the whole yarding was cleared at the following prices;—Cattle—Fat bullocks, £G 15s to £7 10s; fat cows, £0 to £G 15s; store stears, £112s Gd lo £1 17s Gd; Iwo-year-old steers, £2103 to £3 8s; springers, from £6 10a to £10. Sheep—Fat cwos, 12s Gd to 13s; full and failing-mouth ewes, 7s, 7s 6d, 8s to 8s Cd; two-tooth thrce-quarferbred ewes, 13s 7d; six and eight-tooth do, 13s Gd lo lis 3d; twotooth do, 32s lid; fat and forward lambs, 9s 9d, 103 6d to lis 2d; cull lambs, 7s 9d; two, four, and six-tooth merino wethers, 10s; lour, six, and eight-tooth ewes (small), Us 4d; freezing lambs, 12s Gd to i:is 8d; s.m. croasbrcd ewes, lis Cd, lis 8d to 12s 3d; two and four-tooth wethers, 12s, 12s Gd, 13s, 13s Gd, and Hs; twotooth Border Leicester rams, 2gs; two-tooth Shropshire rams, ljgs to 2gs; old rams, from 10s Gd to 30s.

INYERCARGILL SALEYARDS COMPANY. Our Invercargill correspondent telegraphs that at the meeting of shareholders of the Invercargill Saleyai'ds Company, held at tho Prince of Wales Hotel on Saturday, a very satisfactory state of affaira wa3 disclosed, the year's operations having resulted in'iv profit, of nearly 9 per cent. After allowing £150 for depreciation, a dividend of 8 per cent, was declared, and the retiring directors (Messrs Walter Henderson, J. A. Mitchell, and John Stronscb) were reelected.

J. Kewburgh Lawson, stock and sharebroker, Stock Exchange Building, Water street, Dunedin. Communications tc investments invited; full' particulars of all share and debenture issues on application. Can advance on firstclass freeholds at 4J per cent.