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TRADE AND FINANCE
" Averages of the Commonwealth' Bank
in tho six Slates for the March quarter
arc a follow: — 1
Vf : ' : MX. Or. : Mir. Or.
. i- . .... 1020. I:r21.
. .Ourrco!. acrsnmtr.. .. .. 34,041,030
. Dn cvsiin at aRticist lO.BSB.Jil ., 10,jr-i,(l2
T.reirmsr douociU; .22). (-11 ... 21,1131,7.52
Kavlciai u-siorik; .. .. . ., V.gJBJj.Bb';
banks .. (-to.sai- . ..
. <>«-, Miiiat .. ijwws? --- v57Tt-l"V-5
ComHijclit nurra .. . ,1.402,704 .. . ...l.OUMiM
, 'IV-.l assll . "tTtisLV! 4 MS ".10
'I'Covl.l MnutlUn .. 17.2X1.242 .. AWll-tlNO
jVl.Lrr--;, Ac,..". .. .. .1 MSB, 1011 .. 10,tK>S. ,,1
. ; . Dili, ra,m oOia' bsral« .-.-OI ,'1 1. 3,007,075
; Tlte araoimt ol JcpoatB rcreived by tbe
, Slate -savings . banks throughout Aus-
,:. tr.ilia duiong Marrih was .-£9,314,412, acid
. iwymcnts made £S.75S,02S; -the excc33 of
: deposits over payments, . £41:6,384, raned
'too total amounl atcredri of depositors to
£110,962.259. Hie number of accounts
opened duiang the mouth was 34,625, and
s.ciosetr 2b,3<33; the itncrowi m the number
i remaining open, IMi; brought up the, total
i: ol open acuounte to 2,331,7.18. Those figures
<io not includo the (Tomumnn-crilth Savings
Bank.
The-report of the Mutual Ijife and Citr.
sens' Aasiraiiec Co. Ltd. for tihe year
. 3921), to .hand, yesterday, disctosoB assuto
mnountnig Ho £10.423,702, and distributed
as follows: — Government securities, muni
cipal accuritoes, ana loans to public bodies,
£13,602,421; loans on mortgage, jCl/iTU/Kl;
; loans on policies, £813,037; freehold Jiro-
. im-Ly, ._, £98,412: outstanding prc.nnu.ms,
,-;4u7%80i>;. interest outstanding 14(577 : interest
nccnied— but not vet due, £132,283; i1h.t
: 2 Mtets, £123,559; total, £56,423,702. Loans
, ou mortgage, .-unoimting to £561,067 arc
- , guaranteed bj- deposit of .War Loan sccuri-
ines for - £555,900, thus making the percent-
. age of the: company's aspto which wore
covered by. Govornmerft secuntiea, muni-
xspa .securities and loans to public bodies
...i cetuivalcnt to 88.21 per cent, of -tlis total
assets. 'Die average rale dim forest earnetl
t/n the funds was £4 10/3 per cent. . The '
a lutros of the oxpunaes to oncomo were: —
. Ordinary branch, on total income, 8.95 per
«ent.: on premiums, 13.70 per cent In-
clusti-ia.1 hraiicu, on total ; nicomc, 29.79 per'
i: vent.; on premiums, 36.92 per cent Claims
.1 under hfe .asniraucc policies less re-as-
suranees amounted to £793,244. New poll-
. vios uumbcrmg 12,-176 were issued in
. the ordinary braiiob, assuring the sum
or £3.0ti5,S4S (of which £42,000 "was re-
. assured with otlier offices). Newntiroa as
. ,- cored were ; greater by £510,053 than ' the
total of tho previous year, Remarkably
. advantageous results, the report states, have
accrued to polici holders of the Mutual
Life AsMiaaiion an/1 the Australian Widows'
: J- una through tlicir union with the com-
"'-" Tlmy i-ccisve on tins ' occasichi com
o . rnrcraonary bonuses at the rate of
, Ji/o, per £100 o9 sum assured, the ensh
.lalue or which exceeds m amount 72 per
coat, oi the premiums paid for tJie year
In the coniso of a. letter dalcd 23wl
..l.ireli to a Melbourne business man, Mr
.11. .1. Koberts, managing director of Henry
. al1" ho.il.til., /Singapore, refers to dis-
t .iU'_ani igvs confronting imjxnUrH of Aus-
, t,ra,'5m products. In regard to Australian
: ai'pies. Mr. Kobertv savs it would not. pay
to import tiieui.. .He finds it profitable to;
import lrom Patific ports in America, from
. which tlie_finn is getting first class goods
I'biRbt 29 per cent, below, the price from
Anstrnha. ,, If Australia is not careful all
l'1® trade, Mr. Iloberts says, that should
go to Australia will go to America, and- the
,t Austialuin people will Imil it very difiienlt
, to reai\ ,tr it. , He complains of bad'- pack-
ing in AiiStmlia; high freight and theft of
c,irB. l"io Muter states' that the market
seeuiswo-!l stocked with' flour and fcavB
llial China may at anv time ship large
- quantities. .High- ii-cight, bo eavs, - lulls
this trade, and, lie aslis whv the Common-
, . :: . wealth Government does not send its boats
. to Singapore. Be adds, "They come to
lavar .fjuiely the British nro entitled to
'ow ifrcights .-is well as the Dntelimen."
A . oweMihe. letter was- wnttcn certain reduc-;
y, t.mijs ms shipping .freight have )>een an
nounced, hut there has hccn a demand for
' a further dowprmg of rates- "
.. Kxtensions and additions made at the fac-
. toiyr of.Trufood of Austi-alia Ltd. nre re-.
.ported. by the directors to have resulted in
. considerable economy in working. Net pro-
- fits for the year 1920 were. £10,219. At the
, eleventh , annual meeting of shareholders
, bold at .the registered offices, 84 William-
, street, Melbourne. Mr. ,T.. Baker, cliairman'
- of directors, presided. Tlie ehait-nian stated
: . that 'the -oompany had expenenned a verv
, , nicwssfnl year, and (hat the product Was
ncTiwolI cstablishfed on-the market: a divi-
?) xl of 10 per celit. v,-as declared. The re-
t' lag directors, Messrs. T; Baker, S. (J.
. . Black; A. 8. Bloomficld, J. 14. Vines and
H. W. Granwade, were ro-elcctcd.
'The New Zealand Produce Association, a
, cable message from London etates, has been
I y rcipstercd with £10,060 eapstal. The dtrcc-
: . toi-B have been appomtcd by tihe Ciyoi»era-
: . tive Wholesale Society and the New , -/ea-
j land i'rodueens' Cooperative Marketing As-
Social, ion.
Very tuiiail quantities of tallow were of-
fimed at the Milboui-ne auctions yesterday -
, , Competition" was strong throughout, and
. thcrei.was a-n all-round advance of £1 per
. ton. in .values.. . Prime mixed tallow of good
. -. color realised £24 16/ to £25 10/ per. ton.
At the annual meeting of the Union
Trustees Co. of Australia Ltd.. held vestcr-
day, the chairman, Mr. J). Blder, "stated
, , ..that . satiiifactory progress had -been made
: during : tlie past year. Tlie numlier of
. : shareholders ,on the register- was 487. ft
was decided to -increase the remuueration
i of the directors. b.v an additional £700iper
: annum...- Dividend of 10 per cent.-por an
num for the half rear was made payable:
At, a meeting <>f:W. M. lliehards and Co
Plv Ltd. a resolution wns pans-ct for the
; voluntary liquidation . of tho company. Mr
- L D.' Giddy was appouitcd liquidator, anil
. -tho creditors: are to determine whether .'a p--
. i- phcation.shonhl be mado to the court for
the appomtinent of a liquidator in the
place of or to act jointly with Mr. Giddv.
oc for the appointment of a committee. oi
| nispection."
i i , ;? - All prime grades of tea were firm at last
Av;J-ates at the Colombo tea snlcs.on 'Ihicsday,
. uut- quulity: showed decline on account of
. heavy i-»m. .i Aeooi-ding to Melbourne vviirc-
housemen's advice. Jcaf- grades vvcl-o irrcgu-
, -. i. vv hir- for..,tlic_bigher, costing tcasywiiile lower
. : costing -leaf ,gi-ades: ivcrc rnllv firm. ;
$