Corn Exchange.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6437, 5 January 1889, Page 3

Corn Exchange.

THE ANNUAL MEETING. The annual meeting of this institution was held at the Exchange, Cashel street, at 2 p.m. to-day. Mr James Ganimack, Chairman, presided, and there was a fair attendance of members. The Secretary, Mr N. P. Meyer3, read the Chairman's annual report as follows :— The Chairman, in addressing the meeting, said : — In presenting this, the tenth annual report and balance bheet, I would congratulate members upon the improved prospects of the Colony generally. Wool, meat, corn, and all agricultural produce have participated in the rise that has taken place during the past year. The balance-sheet, which is before the meeting, J speaks for itself. Although it is satisfac- | tory as far as having a credit balance is j concerned, I must note with regret a falling-oil in members' subscriptions. OBITUARY. Congratulations are unfortunately tempered with sorrow at the loss the Colony and this and kindred Societies have bustained in the death of our friend and co-worker, the late Mr John Gebbie, which took place at his residence, Gebbie's Valley on Sept. 19. By his death we lose one of our most energetic members, and one who was always there when duty called him.. GRAIN RATE 3. Your Committee acted in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce in successfully opposing the proposal of the Government to increase the charges on the carriage of grain over the Canterbury railways. The proposals have now been withdrawn by the Government. WEIGHING PRODUCE. The system of railway weighing is still very unsatisfactory as between buyers and sellers, so much depending upon how and when the trucks are tared, and the state of the weather when weighing the produce. Often as much as 3cwt to Scwt in each truck will be the difference of the tare weight and that supplied by the Railway Department. Complaints are also numerous as to the carelessness of the railway people in putting clean sacks of corn into dirty coal trucks without being properly swept and cleaned. Ship masters take advantage of this, and in such casesdecline to give " clean " receipts for produce. STATISTICS. It is to be regretted that more reliance cannot be placed upon our annual grain statistics which are yearly collected at considerable expense by the. Government. It has been suggested that these yearly returns might easily be verified or otherwise, by a weekly statement from the threshing machines (which would, of course, have to be licensed) of the acreage and quantity of bushels threshed. The fall returns would of necessity be late, but it would aid in forming a reliable opinion as to whether the Government statistics are correct or not. The matter is worthy of consideration at the hands of the Government, whose interest it should be to place the most trustworthy information of all kinds before the Colony. THE GEAIN TRADE OP 1888. The following is a review of • the grain trade for the year 1888 :—At the date of our last annual review of the grain season we referred, with regret, to the low level to which the prices of all kinds of produce had sunk, and to the discouraging prospects before the farmers of New Zealand. The outlook at that pariod was as black as it could possibly be painted. At the opening of the 1888 grain Beason our forecase was fully verified, and many farmers, despairing of obtaining better prices, accepted the pittance that was offered them for the result of their year's labour?. Wheat opened at an average price of 2s Bd, . f.0.b., at which figure it remained almost steadily until about the beginning of August, when an uneasy feeling became ■noticeable in England as to the outcome of the harvest of Western Europe. So soon as it seemed probable that the French crop ■was"to be a - partial, if not' a complete, faUur^/thJß.jnarkpt ( hardj!nedjil.P3Empatfty}

with the rise in Mark lime. From Augußt 20 to 27 the price of wheat rose from a minimum of 33s to a maximum of 41s per , quarter of 4961 b, ex granary. From the latter date it steadily firmed till 44a was reached—the highest limit of the Home market for the season. THa rapid advance was due entirely to the inclemency of the I weather during 'the European harvest. ! {statisticians in' Europe have difficulty. in ' accounting for. this sudden rise, as they i 1^ d t>oen continually maintaining that the English crow was not a great factor in the world's supply of breadstuffs, nor was ! the Enghßh harvest the complete failure i that was anticipated, as the major portion of the damaged t whoat was still fit for I mixing with sound grain, and doubtless toundits way into consumption for human food. Be this as it may, the rise did take ' place (statisticians notwithstanding), and New Zealand has reaped a substantial benefit; and this rise has given colour to the irapreesion held for some time past that the value of this all-important cereal had been unnecessarily forced beneath its intrinsic value. It is an ill wind that blows nobody luck. Aa scarcely had we recovered from the surprise at the unexpected improvement in values at Home, when the bane of Australia once more, presented itself, .and a mo3t calamitous drought set in throughout the whole of that continent. Prices of all feed Btuffs rose to famine rateß, and the volume of our exports became bo large as to cause alarm in some quarters that the Colony would find itself short of food before the advent of the next crop. These fears, however, were absolutely groundless, and the magnificent food reserves of New Zealand easily stood the demand upon them which the, requirements of our neighbours necessitated, and so saved the inhabitants of the large towns from having to pay extortionate prices for the necessaries of life. Large orders for wheat speedily came, to hand from Sydney and Queensland, and prices rose another 6d per bushel. With the fall of rain, however, values again receded to 43, at which level they now Btand. Fair stocks are still on hand, but not of sufficient importance to cause any anxiety to holders. The area under this cereal w»b 237,557 acres, the largest yet sown in this Province, excepting 1883 and 1684, which were 249,163 and 240,616 acres respectively. Seasonable weather prevailed during harvest, and the quality of the yield on the whole was all that could be desired. OATS. The prices offered for this cereal at the opening of the season were poor in the extreme, and for some months they hung fire at from Is 6d to Is 9d, and there was not the slightest outside enquiry — no encouragement for farmers to ship on their own account, or for speculators to operate largely. But the unexpected always happens. With the advance of the season they slowly crept up to 2s to 23 2d, which waa the highest rate obtainable in the beginning of October, when Melbourne buyers forced the hands of their Sydney neighbours, and large transactions took place, resulting in prices reaching 3s in the middle of November, when the drought was art; its height.' One or two local speculators then appeared, and cornered stocks, forcing rates up to 4s, at which, point, however, only a limited business was transacted. Since then prices have come back to reasonable figures. The acreage under crop this season was less than that of several previous years, but the yield and quality were quite up to the average. BABLET. Throughout the season the prices ruling for prime malting were in favour of the growers, as high as 4a 6d being obtained For extra choice lines in the height of the season, while the bulk of the season's growth was quitted at from 4s to 4s 3d. The quality was generally admitted to be very good, but in many instances prime samples were, ruined from a malting point of view through bad threshing. The area under cultivation was small as compared with previous years, 1887 excepted. Stocks are now in a small' compass, and malsters should be early in the market to secure thelr'ndxt year's supplies. '" ; COCKSFOOT. The yield of cocksfoot last season was considerably in excess of former years, but the quality was scarcely up to the average, a large proportion being mixed with foreign seeds. So far as colour and weight were concerned there was nothing to complain about. '. The highest prices that were reported during th& year were from 3 Jd to Hi' The bu^bof the crop was, as usual, shipped to London, and returns that have been received show great disparity in prices. The crops of the Peninsula are of course more backward than usual, and we regret to hear continued complaints of rank undergrowth j it is also feared that the weight will be under the average. However, so far, the colour leaves little to be desired, and should the present warm weather continue, and rain keep off the crop should be safely garnered within the next three weeks. RYEGBASS. The out-turn this season was comparatively small, but as large quantities had been held over from the previous year, prices were kept at a very low level. The growing crop is almost a failure in many districts. Growers have turned on their stock, and it ia now certain supply must come from stripped seed. Prices have ranged from Is 9d to 2s 6d. POTATOES. In the early part of the season potatoes were selling from 20s to 22s 6d per ton, but in July it became known the crops in Warrnambool and Circular Head were partial failures, and prices rapidly rose to 50s, at which rate considerable businesss was done. Producers in many instances preferred to hold for higher values, and of course obtained them when the feverish demand for feed stuffs set in from Sydney. With respect to the prospect of the coming crop, the general impression is that it .will be a very irregular one ; checked by severe frosts in the early part of the season is sure to militate against the best returns. From what can be gathered, the acreage is estimated to be about equal to that of last year. DAIRY PRODUCE. Strong efforts have been made of late to establish what we should have had in full swing years ago— the long-looked-for dairy factories, and I am glad to say that one is now in active operation at Sef ton ; and as the management is energetic and intelligent, thero can be no doubt as to •the success of the enterprise. It is to be hoped, also, that the factory at Tai Tapu will soon be at work, and thus set the good example to other parts of the Province. I feel sure that, once our factory butter finds its way into outside markets, the New Zealand article will Btand quite as high in the estimation of consumers as the production of older countries. The multiplicity of our brands and quality have in the past been a great obstacle to the development of this very important trade. , . DDNEDIN EXHIBITION. It is highly gratifying to note the cordial and substantial support that is being . accorded by our . dif- j ferent public bodies towards the movement of holding a New Zealand Exhibition in Dunedin. There can be no doubt but that this Exhibition will be highly beneficial to this Colony, and following, as it does, on that now being held in Melbourne,, we may expect to have a large number of European visitors, who may think it worth their while to spand a week or two in New Zealand prior to their return Home. Under any circumstances it is imperative that we should keep the magnificent resources of the Colony as much a3 possible before the world, and there can be no more effectual means of doing bo than by the periodical holding of exhibitions. I am convinced that it is only the ignorance of our Australian friends . which leads them to hold our farming lands of the Colony in such low estimation. If we can induce a number of capitalists to visit us during the occasion . waoau confidently look forward to & large acquisition of desirable Colonists in the near future. 1 The Chairman moved the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, which he referred J to as a very satisfactory one. He congratulated the farmers on keeping their grain and participating in the increase. I "He had never known so much grain keptLuthanduntil^October, jtii.d^this. yftar^s.orpp i

looked, on good and poor land alike, as if it would be a better crop than usual. They had had seven years of famine prices, and now it looked as if they would have seveu years of good prices. He had great pleasure in moving the adoption of the report. ■Mr John Milne seconded the adoption of the report, and was glad to see that they would have a chance of good prices, as it would tend to. popularise the institution, and do good to the farmers generally; and the good prices if they came would give them a return of much needed prosperity. They should impress on farmers generally the desirability of supporting the institution. Mr A. G. Howland said he noticed that the Chairman mentioned the Exhibition at Dunedin, and he thought that the AbboI ciation, as representing farmers' interests, Bhould be represented on the Committee of | the Exhibition. He referred to the benefit the farmers had reaped through holding ■ on to their grain. He hoped they would be well represented by exhibits at the Exhibition in Dunedin — not as they had ; been at Melbourne, where he thought ifc ■ a disgrace that it should go out to the ! world that the exhibits there were a fair representation of New Zealand's resources. The report was adopted. Moved by Mr William Henderson and seconded by Mr James Fergusson — "That the Corn Exchange be carried on for another year." Carried unanimously. The following were elected the Directorate for the year : — Messrs R. Belcher, E. H. Banks, F. H. Brittan, S. Bailey, J. FergußSon, J. Gammack, S. Garforth, W. Henderson, J. J. Herrick, J. Miln, F. C. Murray, J. M'Beath, J, Osborn, J. W. i Overton, fl. W. Peryman, T. Smith, G. B. Woodman, T. Wilson, Coe, E. Blake, M'lntosh, — . Hancock and C. Louisson. I Mr James Gammack was unanimously , re-elected Chairman of the institution. Mr Gammack proposed the re-election of Mr N. P. Meyers as Secretary to the Exchange. Mr Milne moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman and to the Secretary, paying the latter officer a high compliment for the manner in which he had conducted the affairs of the Exchange. These latter remarks were endorsed by the Chairman. Mr Howland thought the Exchange being a body representative of farming interests, that its Chairman should be deputed as a member of the Exhibition Committee. Seconded by Mr Henderson, and carried unanimously. The Chairman would do his best to further the interests of farming at the Exhibition. A vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings.