COMMERCIAL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3450, 30 September 1913, Page 3

COMMERCIAL.

BTOCKS AND SHARES. WELLINGTON PR IGLo.

LBV TELEGRAPH —SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT' W ELLINGTON, Sept. 29. Mr. A. T. Bute (Miv W-T.i&aht Clayton local agent) reports;— Sales:, Union Steam 455, Westport Oils, rStockton 4s Id, Ross 15s 9<l, Waihi 48s. Following are the closing quotations : Financial— Investment G as —• Christchurch ... .Fcilcling 12 0 Weli/n (Ist) 320 0 Miscellaneous— Standard Insur. ... Gear (2nd) Go 6 Union Steam ... ... • 45 6 Kaiapoi Wool (pref) 100 0 103 0 Taupiri Coal 21 6 Stockton 4 0 4 2 C. M. Banks (ord) 20 0 • Sharla.nd (pref) ... Murray Creek (old) 26 0 Sylvia 11 £ 1 1 Ross 15 6 15 10 Talisman 41 3 42 0 Waihi ... 48 0 48 6 Junction 21 0 22 0 Waitangi 8

LONDON MARKETS.

HIGH COMMISSIONER'S REPORT. [PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM] WELLINGTON, Sept. 29. The Department of Agriculture has' received the following cablegram from the High Commissioner, dated London, September 27. (Note.—Quotations, unless otherwise stated, are average market prices on spot): Meat.—The mutton market is firm owing to short supply. There is no change in prices, except that the price of ewes has declined l-16th of a penny. The lamb market is weaker, with a tendency downwards. Holders are more willing to sell. Canterbury is unchanged, but it is generally believed that prices will decline; other than Canterbury sfd. The beef market is steady, with no change in prices. Chilled; prices have declined owing to the Aveather being too hot. Hindquarters 4kl.

Butter and Cheese. —The butter market is firm, and prices continue to advance, but there is no change in prices for Danish. The supply falls short of the demand for choicest. The weather is more favorable here for production. The cheese market is quiet. Prices have declined Is for Canadian. The market is firm, with more inquiry for English, but there is no change in prices.

Hemp.—The Manila market is quiet. The demand for near position is easier, in anticipation of heavy arrivals. Fair current Manila, £3O ]os. forward shipment £3O. The output from Manila for the week was 19,000 bales. The New Zealand market is steadier, with a fair demand for forAvard shipment. On spot is quiet. Ncav Zealand, good to fair grade £29 15s to £3O, fair £25 15s to £26 for ail positions.

Wheat, Grain, etc.—The wheat market is quiet. NeAv Zealand longberried wheat, ex granary, per quarter of 496H>s, 35s 9d to 365. Business has been done Avith arrived parcels at London at 33s 6d to 33s 7ld, West Coast at 33s 3d e.i.f. per 4Solbs. The oats market is very quiet. There is nothing Gloing; 1500 parcels of old crop of Ncav Zealand oats are available. For linseed there is a good demand, seed selling at an average price of 46s per 4161b5, ex store. Wool.—The avool market remains firm.

MEAT MARKETS. Inquiries have been received in "Wellington for beef supplies for San Francisco on the basis of 3|d per lb c.i.f. for equal fores and'hinds prime ox. The iocal market will not-, however, look at these prices. There has been no inquiry for Wellington- mutton or lamb so far as can be ascertained for San Francisco. The tone of the London market for lamb is improving, and as the production is likely to be heavy this season, the prospects of the new season should be most favorable. In reporting on the London lamb market .at latest mail dates, Weddel’s states that for the fortnight ended loth August, arrivals amounted to 265,801 carcases from New Zealand, 33.111 carcases from Australia, and 20,721 carcases from -the River Plate. The trade during this i>eriod for frozen lambs had not been by any means brisk, and values showed a further decline of ad per lb all round. .Low values ruling for medium and heavy weights were proving attractive to buyers, and prices for these descriptions closed, if anything, firmer than those ruling for lambs under 36ibs, except for the very light carcases — under 28lbs —which were in short supply, and commanded high rates. Scotch lambs had been a little more plentiful, but they were not coming in in sufficient quantities to interfere to any extent with the trade for the frozen article.

ACTIVITY IN BUTTER. " There is now considerable activity in the butter market, and already several well-known factories have disposed of their outputs for the season. Among them are Okuta, Oakura, and Tikomngi, at ll;]d for London. It is understood that a well-known Wairarapa factory has sold for San Francisco at 12d per lb less brokerage. Stratford (Taranaki) sold at 12d per lb under special comcStions. There seems to be a general disposition to sell for London at lljd. Mr Crowe, Superintendent of Exports, Victoria, has heavily inveighed against the low quality of Australian butter shipped last season, due, in his judgment, to the fact that farmers do not realise the importance of careful treatment of cream. Better results, Mr Crowe adds, cannot be expected until a system of grading cream is adopted. The introduction of'The separator, in ins opinion, has tended to the depreciation of the quality of the butter. The exports -of Australian butter during the first seven months of 1913 totalled 37,019,19511)8, as against 33,120,5251 b s for the corresponding period of 1912, 3,298,670 more, but the return obtained for tbe butter was less. The value of shipments was as follows: Seven Months. *1913. 1912. ■ To £ £ United Kingdom 1,463,889 1,604,844 Other Countries 222,125 219,497

1,686..010 ,1,724,341 'Wellington butter to Vancouver .arc still unsatisfied with the Union Company’s arrangements for the season now offering. The recognise, it would appear, the value of the concession that the extra id per lb which it was proposed to charge on the freight for butter shipped from Wellington via San Francisco (American coastal freight), but- urge that the conditions under which this is to be remitted, or rather home, by the Union Company are such that it amounts to no concession at all. They still urge that Wellington and the south generally should be put on exactly tho same footing as Auckland with respect to freight charges, and not penalised by -Jd per lb coastal freight for butter carried in refrigerated New Zealand

coastal steamers; or, on the other hand, the steamers should call at Wellington for butter and meat for Vancouver, as the Canadian importer is not at all satisfied to have his butter passing through San Francisco and carired on the coast an unrtfrige rated cargo.—••Post.’’

LONDON WOOL SALES. How mu !i the London avool market has been affected by the sudden outbreaks of labor 1 troubles in England may be gathered: from the cablegrams referring to the opening of the London avool sales (remarks the “Post”). The market AA r as expected in some quarters to be fully 5 per cent better for crossbreds than the July rates for this description of avool, although private cable advices all tended in the direction of an easier" tone. However the Antwerp sales closed firm, and the sheepskin market Avas firm also. Local brokers are at present busily engaged in" perfecting preliminary arrangements for the local selling season. Private arrangements have been made for the more extensive and better display of wool to buyers’ attentions than last year, it being recognised that the local sales is hoav a firmlyestablished institution. Dalgety’s (Wellington) have received the following cablegram from their Adelaide Office: —“The sales here opened with a good attendance of buyers. Competition is animated. As compared with the same series last year good greasy avools are 2) per cent, higher, but inferior greasies are rather lower. Of

6200 bales offered, practically everything was sold.”

THE AMERICAN TARIFF. In anticipation of the alterations in the tariff of the United States there were huge accumulations of goods in bonded warehouses. At the end of the fijnaneiail year merchandise in bond' showed a larger - value than ever before, the total being £21,200,000, against £14,400,000 at the corresponding date last year. Of sugar, for example, there Avere 778,000,0001 b in bond on June 30, against 205,000,0001 b tAvelve months earlier. Of leaf tobacco the quantity in bonded warehouses Avas

52.000,000, against 31,000.0001 b, and o fwool the amount AA'as 78,000,0001 b, against 59,0()0,000)i>. Other principal articles of which the quantity stored Avas unusually large Avas manufactures of avool, fibre, silk, iron, and steel, and of the total in bond all except £30,000 Avorth AA-as dutiable. The value of the raAv aaool warehoused Avas £3,700,000, of which £1,800,000 worth Avas at Boston. The value of imported merchandise in bonded stores 'was more than double that in warehouses immediately prior to the enactment of the tariff laAvs of 1890 and 1894. five times greater than in 1897, and about 20 per cent, larger than in ISO 9.