COMMERCIAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8245, 10 August 1893, Page 3

COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company's Report.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company (Limited), have received the following London market cable, dated August Bth : — Wheat— Market is quiet. Quotations: New Zealand Zealand longberried wheat, 29s per 4961b5 ; New Zealand average wheat, 26s 6d per 4961b5; New Zealand wheat, f.aq.. is worth c.i.f., to arrive, 26s per 4801bs.

With this week's Yeoman, Mr P. Lundon is issuing a very important inset, relating to propertiei, hotels, and, businesses he has for disposal Tho list is revised up to date, and is worth the most careful perusal, and subscribers would do well to paste or pin to the wall for future reference.

Mrs Mitchell, wife of Mr J. Mitchell, mail contractor for the Nelson, Wosport, and Reefton overland mail, died on Tuesday afternoon at 4 o'clock. She w«s one of the victims of the late ooach accident at the Lyell, and was the worst injured of the party of passengers. A few days ago she was brought from Lyell to the Reefton Hospital, where she had been under the care of Dr Whitton. The dootor, from the first, held out no hopes of her recovery, and his fears were realised on Tuesday afternoon. Sne has been gradually sinking since she arrived there, and on Tuesday morning took a decided turn tot the worse. Great sympthy is felt for Mr Mitchell and the family, who were universally liked and respected.

A great convenience to the travelling public has just been initiated by Mr W. Moorhouse in laying on an omnibus to run between town and Aramoho. , The bus, which is a new one, will start running on Monday next, leaving Aramoho at 7.30 a.m. via Liverpool-street and the Avenue, returning to Aramoho from the Railway Station at 8 a.m. Leaving Aramoho again at 8.30 a.m., the bus will run via Plymouth and Bell-streets alternttely every hour up to six o'clock from town. On Sunday afternoons it has been arranged to run the bus to suit the Heads trains, and every hour till 8 p.m., the last bus leaving the Wanganui Railway Station at that hour. Bingle fares have been fixed at 4d, return 6d, and children half-price. Mr Moorhouse certainly deserves support in his enterprise, and it is quite probable that in the near future other town and suburban services will be arranged for.

Wedding Presents being the order of the day, to know where to gat one is the next consideration. Randal and Jones havo on hand some splendid Tea Sets, Toilet Sets, China Cups and Saucers,' Ornaments, Ac, which they are pepared to sell very cheap. — Adyv.

Make your homes more comfortable by replenishing your worn-out Brooms, Scrub Brush, Kettle, Saucepan, FryiDgpan, &c., &c, which you oan obtain cheap at Randal and Jones.— Advt.

If this should meet the eye of anyone about to settle ia the district, it will more than repay them by calling and inspecting It. Moults splendid stock of General Household requisites. The stock must bo seen to be appreciated. Call without delay. — Abvt^

There is no section of the public so extensively gulled and taken in as that portion comprising the musical classes. We rofer practically to piano-purchasers, although it occurs to some degree in thecaie of other musical instruments. The advance of music during the last ten yean amongst the middle classes of English peoplo has been a grand opportunity for palming off. worthless pianos to persons who, in the majority of cases, never had a piano before, but would like their children to " learn music"

In Germany, there is a very low class of piano manufactured especially for export to England and Australasia — a so-called piano which any fairly educated German would not attempt to get music out of. This " machine " is made by inferior workmen in their own private houses ; wood bought anywhere, irrespective of seasoning, and if it will hold together six months, it is considered quite satisfactory by the merchants, who bay them up and ship them to England and the Colonies to supply the demand for ■ a cheap piano. - " . * " Anyone would imagine that it would be a hazardous proceeding to retail these instrument--, but they are usually sold by persons trading under some name whereby the actual proprietors cannot be reached without a lot of Rouble aDd expense which the purchasers are not usually in a position to go to ; or they are palmed off on to furniture dealers sewing-machino dealers, or auctioneers, who retail them with every confidence. One cannot take up an English or Colonial paper without seeing pianos advertised under the most extraordinary-sound-ing foreign names, which even the most experienced man in the trade never heard of. In the case of firms trading as the Tiinbuctoo Piano Manufacturing Company head office Dresburg, or any other niee-eounding name, which keeps the actual proprietors of the concern dark ; and also leads the public to believe they are purchasing from the actual n.aker, when, as a matter of fact they are retailers of a very low class piano These fictitious firms, we understand, even go the length of guaranteeing the instruments for aoy length of time, their security laying in the fact that they cannot be easily found. Another favourite modo of selling them is m country towns through innocent but ignorant agents. Such trading a* this, we may mention, is not allowed by law in Germany.

It would seem that the best security the piano-purchaser hoB is to buy from established dealers, whose guarantee is of value, and whose interest it ia to sell genuine instruments.

There is also a largo amount of i_jury done to the trade by men calling themselves tuner 8, who travel the country and prey on the unwary people who possess pianOß. Three men usually offer to put the piano in order for a few shillings. If the publio wore only aware of the fact, it would pay them better to give the man £5 to leave the instrument alone. In some cases irremedable damage is do-ac, the piano completely unsettled, the delicate mechanism disarranged, and the tone almost spoilt. The injury done by these men to valuable instrumeuts is so great that come of the largest English and Colonial houses have greatly mcreaoed their tuning stnffa, and are undertaking the tuning of their own pianos throughout the country. If_ musical people were more conversant with the complicated construction of the modern pianoforte they would hesitate before allowing a valuable instrument to be tampered with by itinerant tuners, aDd would employ only legitimate tradesmen, whose effioienoy is guaranteed by the piano-manufacterer or a local instrument-dealer of standing. — Extract from the English and Colonial Pianoforte Gazette, January 1892.— Adtt.

Agents.

lIFIER