COMMERCIAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1916, 10 August 1888, Page 18

COMMERCIAL.

Millers' lines have ruled during the week as follows : — Flour, £8 to £8 10s per ton ; oatmeal £8 10s per ton ; pollard, £3 10s per ton ; bran, £3 per ton ; chaff, £2 10s and £3 per ton. Mr Sumpter, in response to the request that persons would send to him, as secretary of the OamarurNaseby Road Committee, statements as to what they, would be prepared to give for laud in the Maerewhenua district that would be opened up by the road, received a statement from a responsible person that he would, if the road we're made, be prepared to give 10s an acre for 40,000 acres in that district. — Oamaru Mail. Messrs Dalgety and Co. have received the following satisfactory telegram from their head office, dated London, Ist August :— "New Zealand frozen mutton is selling at s|d per lb." JSr W. O. Buchanan, M.H.R.. shipped to Hngland in March, per lonic, 40 head of cattle^the bullocks averaging 9051b and the cow« 6551b. The account sales show the total cost of freezing, shipping, and selling amounted to 2'47d, or nearly 2id per lb upon the weight actually accounted for in London. The difference between the weight sent from Oarterton, where the cattle were slaughtered, and the weight sold in London was very slight, the deficiency being covered by l§d per cent., without any other allowances or deductions. The amount realised for the fat was unsatisfactory, and would probably have" been considerably more had the slaughtering been done under the auspices of the Meat Export Company. On the other hand , the price obtained for the portion of the fore-quarter not shipped— 3d per lb— was more than the company could have obtained. Returns have since been received of beef shipped per Tainui in April on account of the same owner, realising from 4|d to 4fd for hindquarters and 3fd for fore-quarters. These prices would have increased the net results of the cattle per lonic by 33s per head on the bullocks and 23s per head on the cows. In connection with these figures it must be borne in mind that there is a reduction of £d per lb on the charges which were made on the shipments above mentioned. This would make a further Aery substantial difference in the amount realised by cattle if shipped at the present time and sold at similar prices in London. U pwards of 200 head of cattle are now being frozen tor the Coptic— New Zealand Times. The Lyttelton Times of Saturday says:—Yesterday a private telegram was receiv4d in the city from London to the effect that wheat wes selling in the great mart of the world at 37a a quarter. The pleasing news will be all the more pleasing to farmers who have grain to Bell when it is added that the market shows an upward tendency. The cause of the rise in prices is to be attributed to the fact that a " St. Swithin's year " has Bet in upon Great Britain and the Continent, and that while France has suffered a failure in her cereal crop, England gives every indication of doing so, thanks to a long stretch of most extraordinarily wet weather, coupled I with frost and snowstorms, the Englhh farmer has had to face. In view of the disastrous effects of the season upon the milder districts of the European Continent, the wheat market is hardening, and although Russia has garnered au excellent yield, there has been a shortage reported from America, and the chances arc that there will be a still further, if not a very great, advance on the price of wheat. The Press remarks :— It is to be regretted that tonnage for wheat is so Bcarce as to prevent the holders in Canterbury from taking advantage of tho |. resent spurt in the wheat market. We hear that high freights have been offered by one or two operators to get their -wheat away during this and next month. All the wheat space in the Himutaka and Coptic is taken up already. In Friday's Daily Times appears the balance sheet of the Victoria Insurance Company (Limited), which has again had a good year. The fortunate shareholders of this company receive a 30 per cent, dividend, while £5000 has been placed to the credit of contingency account, and a balance of £9750 10s is carried forward to next year. The Customs returns for the colony for the last month give the month's revenue as £94,619, as against £9G,7f'7forthe corresponding month in 1887. Dunedin paid £28,587, Auckland £16,472, Lytteltonand Christchurch £16,464, and Wellington £15,377. The beer duty last month was £2960, as against £3454 for July 1887. Messrs E. C. Reynolds and Co. offered several Eroperties at their salerooms on Friday. Section 125, eatoun, Portobello, with buildings, and section 85, Seatoun, were lold to Mr H. Richmond for £100. The other properties were pasted. We learn that the warehousemen carrying on business in New Zealand have adopted the following terms of credit and diicount from the 3rd insfc.: — For cash payment* 3J per cent, discount on monthly sales (terminating on the 19th of each month) if paid on or before the 10th day of the following month ; 2J per cent, discount on goods paid for within one calendar mouth from the 3} per cent, terms ; If per cent, discouut oa goods paid within, one calendar

month from the 21 per cent, terms. For credit terms— Qoodß bought between 20th of one month and 19th of the month following (both inclusive), to be drawn for at four months from lßt of the following month (say 20th June to 19th July, will be drawn at four months from Ist August ) Shipping terms for all ports not connected with the shipping port by rail, five months from date of shipment. The ports of New Plymouth and U&pier to come under (he shipping terms. Drawing dates may bejaveraged, provided the total credit does not exceed the terms above staled. There shall be no dating forward, and no approbation book. Interest on renewals to be charged at not less than 10 per cent, per Annum, and a similar rate of interest upon all open accounts after expiry of credit terms. Bills may be rebated at a rate not exceeding 7J per cent, per annum. — Press. The North Otago Times reports:— "There has been a considerable hardening in the local market during the week, and in some products prices have perceptibly advanced. Wheat is firm. Millers hnve been pretty well stocked, but the tone of tho market is decidedly firmer for velvet, and best samples hnve advanced Id, and one line of 500 bags was on offer on Saturday at 2s lOd perbuthel. Oats are in more request at Is 7d,tols 9d for Danish, with short oats at Is 9d to 1» lid, according to quality, and several parcels have been placed at 2s 2d, f.o.b. Barley is in request, and prime samples will fetch as much as 4b 6d to ss. In potatoes a further advance on last week's quotations has been noted. The reports to hand during the week of the markets in Sydney and Auckland have had their influence on the local market. ' Holders of stocks are asking high figures locally because of the state of the foreign markets. At sidings potatoes are worth from £2 12s Cd to £2 15s, but 60s has been asked for. Town delivered are quoted at £3 to £3 10s, f.0.b." Some 20 tons of potatoes are reported to have been shipped for Calcutta from Auckland. The current number of the " Insurance and Flnanoe Journal " has an instructive table showing the losses and profits of the colonial insurance companies during the past 10 years. The following are some of the figures :— " There are only three offices that have made net profits during nine years- viz., New Zealand, B'3B per cent. ; Union, 3'll per cent. ; National', l"10 per cent. The other offices have made losses as follow :— Standard, in nine years, 6"52 per cent. ; Equitable, in five years, 3*38 per cent. ; Colonial, in 10 years, 236 per cent. ; South British, in nine years, 038 per cent. The combined revenues of. the abovementioned companies during the periods for which we have given the results of their separate operations was £7,257,570, and the expenditure £7,129,570, the net profit beiag therefore £128,346, or 1*77 per cent." At an extraordinary general meeting of the New Zealand Land Settlement Company, held at Auckland oa Saturday, a resolution was passed that the company be voluntarily wound np, and Messrs George- a. Kissling and J. B. White were appointed i liquidators at a remuneration of £100. The Perpetual Trustees sold on Saturday at Olinton pnrt of section 79, block IX, Pomahaka district, containing half an acre, on which is built the Commercial Hotel, to Mr Nelson, for £390. Tho company also report the sale privately of a 200 acre farm near Clinton, at a latisfautory price. Mr Sum pter reports having sold allotment 58 in the subdivision of the Ardgowan estate, containing 18n 3r lOp, to, Mr John Fallon, for the cum of J330. Thi3 is considered a very fair price for the pioperty, an<l indicates that where small holdings can be obtained land will sell at a good value.- Mail. Mr Donald Stronach will sell on Friday, at Oamaru, two well-known farms in that district, and ope at Hilderthorpe, which offer excellent opportunities for agriculturists in search of good properties. The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company have received the following telegram from their London office, dated, the 3rd inst. :— "The tallow market firm. Good mutton is worth 255, and good beef 23s per cvrt." An Auckland telegram states that nearly 90,000 shares in the Kauri Timber Company have been subscribed in the colony. The balance will be taken up by the syndicate. Messrs Goldsbrough's monthly circular states that "according to our latest mail advices the woollen industry was showing signs of revival, while stocks both at home and abroad were very bare ; consequently the prospects for the two remaining series of sales for this year, which must be small, are most favourable. Indeed, the outlook on the whole is more cheering than it has been for some time past ; and should the tame good fortune attend the Mills Tariff Bill in the United States Senate which has attended it in the House of Representatives, a new period of prosperity will open for all connected with our great staple. Our advices from the different pastoral districts, although more favourable than last month, are »till not so encouraging as we should wish. A large portion of western New South Wales continues very dry, and considerable apprehension is being felt as to the future nnless rain falls soon. The losses amongst the lambs on some stations already threaten to be serious. The returns so far, however, are highly favourable, the average for Victoria and Southern Rtverina, being from 80 to 85 per cent., decreasing gradually to the north and weßt. Shearing operations have commenced on some of the early stations, and in the course of a fortnight will be general throughout Riverlna. The clip promises to be sound and well-grown, also somewhat lighter in yolk and finer than last year." As to the distribution of last year's clip, it appears only 3422 bales were sent direct to America from Victoria, none of the other colonies sending any wool direct. The decrease in the number of sheep in Canterbury up te May 31 last, according to the returns now complete, is 216,000, as against 284,000 last year ; and Mr Foster, chief inspector, anticipates that from the number of additional breeders, and a probable good lambing, this will be reduced to a minimum next season. Up to the present the lambiDg returns are very satisfactory.— Lyttelton Times. The correspondent of the Lyttelton Times in Melbourne gives the following instance of the increase of values of land in Victoria : — " A gentleman told me that some years ago he bought land some 40 miles from Melbourne at £5 an acre. When a demand for land began to appear, he put the land into the hands of a broker to sell at £20 an acre. The agent assured the gentleman that the price was too high, and eventually the reserve was lowered irom £20 to 17, 15, and down to 13§ guineas. At this last price a customer was found. Within a few weeks the land again changed hands at £20, and quite recently it was sold at £120 an acre. The quantity was 270 acres, so the original purchaser must feel that he has lost a good thing. Another instance of a similar nature has been given me. In this, the holder of a small piece of land in the city retained it in spite of many solicitations to sell. He had given about £5 a foot for it in the early days. When, however, he wai offered £400 a foot, he let the land go, and congratulated hlmielf on having got the top price. His chagrin may be imagined when he learned that within a few weeks the land was resold at £900 a foot, and that quite recently it brought £1900 a foot. There can be no question that the enormous transactions in land now going on are simply gambling. The money is not invested, but staked for a further rise. Calculations show that in many cases the return for the investment would be less than 2 per cent. To make the most of the land, owners are now erecting. The Invercargill branch of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency In their last week's report say:— We note with much pleasure an improved demand for farms, an unmistakeable sign of returning confidence. We recently sold two small farms at a fairly satisfactory figure, and have other inquiries. A flock of some 800 sheep was forwarded hy Messrs M'Kdch and Robertson to the Burnside freezing works on Wednesday by road, in charge of two men. The cost of sending them by rail would have been £38, showing a large margin infavour of the former mode of transit, with the additional advantage of the sheep arriving at their destination in better condition, as they get bruised and knocked about considerably In the trucks. -

The Taieri Advocate states that Messrs J. and B. Ouddie have secured a site for a butter factory on Mr Kenton's farm, Factory road, and will establish one provided the farmers will afford the necessary amount of support. They will pay 3d per gallon for milk delivered at the factory, or 2§d per gallon and the skimmed milk returned during summer and an advanced price during winter. The plant which they propose erecting will be capable of manipulating 1500 gallons of milk dally.