655
THE ESTATES GAZETTE
April 22, 1899.
gove&tvQ :
ITS SCIENCE AND PRACTICE.
CONDUCTED BY
CHARLES E. CURTIS, P.S.I.,
Professor of Forest Economy, Field Engineering, and General Estate Management at the College of Agriculture, Downton, etc״ etc.
IMPORTANCE OF OAK TIMBER IN 1800 and 1899.
Nearly a hundred years have passed since a¡ Royal Commission reported on our oak supply. In this report it states that “ To meet the demand of the navy, 1,000 acres of mature oak, 40 trees to the acre, were required for each year’s use.”
If rve compare this with the demand now it will be realised that a change has taken place. Had it not been for the adoption of iron in ship building, and later in the use of teak, imported from India and Burmah, our oak supplies would! long ago have become exhausted. Teak is the most useful timber imported׳ from Asia., and has usurped the place of oak in the building of our armoured ships.
Although oak has had to give way to teak in this special respect, it still holds its own as our most useful tree; and where the soil is adapted to its full development, it should not be omitted in our plantings.
THE PLANTING O'F OAK.
One of the results of the various reports issued by this Royal Commission was the planting of large areas of oak in the New Forest, Slice Holt, and other Crown areas; and it will be found worth the while of students in forestry to visit there. From them many useful lessons may be gathered.
EXAMINATION IN FORESTRY.
The forestry examination has1 just been held at the College of Agriculture, Downton, and the results have been highly satisfactory. The work of the term has consisted of a course of lectures, and a series of walks through the neighbouring woods and coppices. The work is rendered as practical as it is possible to make it under the conditions available. As past students of this college hold high positions in the management of large estates throughout the three countries which constitute the United Kingdom, it is hoped and believed that the teaching will bear fruit.
THINNING OF PLANTATIONS.
It is depressing to walk through areas of larch and ,Scotch pine, ranging from 20 to 30 years of age, and to note the reckless way in which they have been thinned. There is not a “plant” left, and, therefore, under these conditions there can be no possibility of profit in years to come. Why will not landowners insist upon their areas being fully stocked? They have no control over areas already depleted, but they can at least see that newly-created plantations are not depleted at the outset.
QUERIES AND REPLIES.
Is it too late to plant up trees which have been eaten off by rabbits?—C. G.
Yes, it will be better to put this off until early autumn.
Should I employ men by the day to re-earth and tread in my newly-planted trees, or would it be better to set it by task work?—AGENT.
Men׳ should be employed׳ by the day or week at good pay (say Is. above the ordinary agricultural day wage) ; and the work should be done under the supervision of a practical forester.
THE TAXATION OF FLATS.
To the Editor of the ESTATES GAZETTE.
Sir,—As owners and agents of several blocks of the middle-class residential flats in London, may we, through the medium of your columns, call attention to the present unsatisfactory state of _ taxation for the inhabited house duty on this class of property? At present, instead of a separate assessment on each tenement for inhabited house duty, the whole premises are assessed together, whereby the higher rate of 9d. in the £1 is chargeable, and we understand tb ere is no redress as the law now stands.
Flats, on account of their convenience, are year by year becoming more and more utilised by the Londoner, and as the building of this class of property is rapidly increasing, we think that owners should hand together to see what steps should be taken—of course, we speak of property, the assessment of which is under £60 per annum. _ Perhaps, sir, you would be good enough to give publicity to this, and we should be pleased to hear from owners or their agents interested in the matter.
Tours, etc.,
JOYCE AND HALL.
the heart of the neighbouring State. An annual sum sufficient to pay a dividend of 6 per cent, is guaranteed by the Compania Huanchaoa de Bolivia, who at one time owned the railway, and we believe that payments have been hitherto regularly made. At its present price the stock certainly looks cheap.
* * *
If recent news from Rio de Janeiro he correct, Brazilian finances must be rapidly improving. According to the Treasury returns just published, the Government has redeemed the internal gold loan of 1889 to the extent of 18,000 contos of reis, and has also redeemed 22,000 contos of reis of Treasury bills on the ministers of war and marine. Owing to the suppression of the arsenals, the federal capital and the states׳ have effected economies representing 1,200 contos of reis. The disbandment of soldiers has rendered possible an annual saving of 7,000 contos of reis. All the ministries have cut down their expenses, and by this means the total expenditure has been reduced by over 17,000 contos of reis. We understand the Government i!s negotiating the redemption of the internal gold loan of 1868, which approximately represents 27,000,000 francs (French money).
* * *
Latest news from China with regard to the Northern Railway is not reassuring. According to the “ Times’ ” Peking correspondent, Chang Yi, the new director of railways, is the cause of all the recent mischief. Says our informant : “ Chang Yi purchased the appointment. No salary attaches to! the post. His profits are derived partly from the handling, through the native banks in which he is interested, of the freights and earnings of the railway. As a consequence of the present unsatisfactory regime, ■China has׳ failed to pay the monthly instalments of interest on the railway loan due on the 15th of February, March and April. On March 31 the British Legation formally demanded that China should make good her Government guarantee, and pay into the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank the sum of £19,000 ■that was overdue. This, however, has not been done.”
* * *
The chief effect of this news was to still further weaken the railway loan, until it stood at 1 discount on the minimum price of issue. It must be said, however, that the officials of ׳the Hong Kong Bank in London are not in the least perturbed. They have all along held that Chang Yi is at least no worse than his predecessor, and that the earnings■—not the interest, as׳ the “ Times ” states—will be regularly paid into the Bank as soon! ■as the proper arrangements are completed. In the meantime the Hong Kong Bank holds the proceeds of the late loan intact. They have, moreover, the right to take over the railway altogether, if necessity should arise. So that, after all, it would ■seem that bondholders need not worry very much.
One of the most remarkable features of the week has been the ■continued movement of copper and' copper-producing companies׳. Some people say a tremendous rig is going on; others, that the course of the market is quite regular and warranted by circumstances׳. All we can say is that, if there is no rig, then the movement is one of the most wonderful things of its kind that has happened for years. With regard to the metal itself, the supply has not for a long time past been equal to the demand. But there are already signs that this state of things is not going to last. Mines in various parts of the world are being opened out—mines that have been long closed down because the metal could׳ not be obtained at a profit. By-and-bye, some of these will be hard at work producing copper, and the only possible result will be a reduction in price. The prophets say copper ■will rise to £100 a ton. We fancy it will more likely descend to £50. It is only a question of increasing the visible stocks.
* *■ *
The prices of the shares of copper-producing companies, of course, follow the movement of the metal. Without exception they may all be considered to stand; at inflated quotations. Rio Tintos at 46 and upwards—50 is promised to ■us ;soon; Anacondas at 10 to 11; Utah» between 9 and 10 ; and Mountains at 7 to 8— all these are highly inflated quotations, and nobody but the veriest tyro in money matters would think of buying them to hold at such prices. It is possible, nay, probable, that they will go still higher, but the day will come when they will take a sudden plunge downwards, and a good many ■people will, in Stock Exchange parlance, be “let in.” The fortunes of Tintos are largely bound up with Spain. France has supported Spanish Government Bonds, and, with them, Tintos. If the Paris Bourse were to withdraw its support, one of the props sustaining the price of the shares would be snapped at once.
Surveyors’ Institution Examinations._____
We are requested to state that candidates can have back their preliminary plans׳ if applied׳ for personally, or by messenger, before May 1. After that date they will be destroyed.
The expert evidence on behalf of the vendor was as follows: —Mr. H. Clough Taylor, F.S.I., of Leicester, who valued the property at £2,913 5s. ; Mr. W. H. ■Simpson, O.E., of Leicester, at £2,156 18s. ; Mr. M. H. Mills, M.E., Nottingham and Chesterfield, at £2,854 ; and Mr. O. Sebastian Smith, F.S.I., of Shipley and Leicester, at £3,316. These figures included value of cottages, their site, and the remaining portion of the land for building purposes, together with the brick earth and granite lying thereunder.
The professional witnesses for the company were:—Sir John Rolleston, F.S.I., Leicester, whose valuation was £520; Mr. Horton, auctioneer, Kibworth, £45410s. ; Mr. John German, F.S.I., of Ashby-de-la-Zouch and London, £491; and Mr. J. B. Everard, M.I.C.E., F.S.I., Leicester, £542 10s.
The company’s surveyors contended that no value could be placed on the granite or brick earth underlying the lot, and therefore nothing should be token into consideration on this head” The Umpire was to include in his award a fair sum for compulsory purchase in addition to the foregoing values.
Mr. Woolley has recently published his award1, the amount being £1,310 2s.
[SPECIALLY CONTRIBUTED.]
Bank Rate 3 per cent, (changed Feb. 2,1899)
Without being particularly abundant, money has again dropped down to a fairly low level. The current quotations for loans range somewhere between l¿ and If per cent., and for discount about 2 3-16 per cent, has been the average rate ruling during the past few days. The market is free from indebtedness to the Bank of England, while that institution is making money more plentiful by a quiet and steady absorption of gold from abroad. The future, however, is uncertain. We are now well past the middle of the: month, and if a demand for monetary accommodation should set in near the end of April, rates, both for loans and discounts, will not remain at their present level.
* * *
Public business! in stocks! and shares׳ is of two kinds, viz., speculative and investment. The former is just now confined ׳to one or two particular classes of security, such as copper, and copper mining shares, a few of the “heavy” Y e׳s׳t Australian mines, as Lake View, Ivanhoe and Kalgurli, and one or two American specialities, as׳, for instance, Southern Preference, or New York Central. Otherwise, ׳speculation is absent from the Stock Exchange. This is a point for operators to bear in mind. It is one of the chief reasons for the recent dulness of the markets׳. To save them from absolute stagnation, however, there has been a fair show of investment. This is indicated by purchases! of railway guaranteed and preference stocks, and the debentures of dozens of industrial undertakings, as well ׳as of a vast number of what are known as trustees’ securities.
* * *
Mr. Crisp has come to the rescue of the unfortunate shareholders of Crisp and Co., Limited, with a guarantee of a ten per cent, dividend for the next three years. At least, this was hi® offer made at the meeting on Wednesday. The offer is a generous one, and proved very acceptable to the shareholders׳, who, no doubt, consider themselves cheated of a dividend. In our opinion, Mr. Crisp was quite safe in making the offer. No one knows better than lie where the faults lay and how to remedy them. He almost by his own unaided efforts raised the business from a small angle-shop drapery store to the proud position it now occupies as the Whiteley of North London. The plain fact is the master mind ha® been absent from the conduct of the company, and it is in so many words the reason of the ׳halt in its prosperity. We would not advise holders to sell their shares.
* * *
The ■issue of £1,000,000 East Indian Railway 3 per cent. New Debenture Stock was very favourably received. The tenders altogether amounted to just under two millions. The syndicate which has been formed to deal with issues such as this, tendered at a premium of 6s. on the minimum price of £100, and received about 23 per cent, of the amount applied for. Those who tendered ׳above that price got their allotment in full. The average price obtained was £100 15s. lOd., but there were many ten-ders at £101 and over. The stock is quoted in the market from 101 to 103A.
* * *
During the week there has been a good enquiry for the Ordinary Stock of the Antofagasta (Chili) and Bolivia Railway, and the price at the time of writing is about 96. Attention has been drawn of late to the traffic receipts of the line, which occupies an important position in South America. It is one of the chief trade routes between the two Republics, the line running from the port of Antofagasta right into
Camp^nsation Cas¿.
PROPERTY IN CHELSEA.
At the Sheriff’s Court, Red Lion-square, or! Wednesday, the case of “ Sayer v. School Board for London,” was mentioned before Mr. Under-Sheriff Burchell and a jury. Mr. H. F. Dickens, Q.C., and Mr. Moyses appeared׳ for the claimant, and Mr. H. 0. Richards, Q.C., M.P., and Mr. A. P. Longstaffe for the School Board. The property in question was situate in Chelsea, and held for a term of 84 years, at a ground rent of £12 per annum. It comprised stabling premises known as No. 55, Tetcott-road, let to Mr. Hogan, brewer, on lease for 21 years at progressive rentals of £52, £55 and £60 per annum, and Carlyle Villa, Upcerne-road, adjoining, let on three years’ agreement at £34 per annum to the West Chelsea Institute. At the commencement of the proceedings a settlement was arrived at, and a verdict taken by consent for £1,280.
The professional witnesses included Mr. Samuel Walker, F.S.I. (of Messrs. S. Walker and Son), and Mr. Percy H. Clarke, F.S.I., for the School Board ; Mr. Frank Boyton (of Messrs. Boyton, Pegram and Buckmaster, Broadway, Walham-green), and several local surveyors for the claimant.
AWARDS.
LAND AT KESWICK.
Mr. John Cross, F.S.I., of Manchester, has published his award in the case heard at the Keswick Town Hall recently. The case, which was reported in the Estates Gazette of April 15, was one in which the Umpire sat to determine a claim by the executors of the late Mr. M. Shearman, Station Hotel, Keswick, against the Urban Council, in regard to a piece of land acquired by the authority for the purposes of road widening. The amount claimed was £300. Mr. T. Birkett, F.S.I., Penrith, was the arbitrator for the claimants, and Mr. Bint-ley, surveyor to the Westmorland County Council, acted in a similar capacity for the Urban Council. Mr. J. Broatch (clerk) represented the Urban Council, and Mr. Lowthian was for claimants.
The award is for £234, that amount being in excess of the statutory offer made by the Keswick Urban Council. The whole of ihe costs, too׳, are to be paid by the Council.
LAND AT BEXHILL.
Mr. Daniel Watney, P.P.S.I. (Messrs. Daniel Watney and! Sons, 33, Poultry, E.C.), has now issued his award in the case of “ Squirrell v. Orowhurst, Sidley and Bexhill Railway Company,” heard at the Surveyors’ Institution, and reported ■in the Estates Gazette, February 4, 18, and March 4. This was a claim by Mr. H. T. Squirrell, the owner in fee simple of a quantity of building land known as the Work-ham’s Farm Estate, at Sidley, in the parish of Bexhill, and containing 18 acres, for compensation in respect of the compulsory acquirement of a portion of that property for the purposes of a new railway. The area actually acquired was 9a. lr. 29p.
Mr. W. H. Flint, F.S.I. (Messrs. Humbert and Flint, 11, ,Serle-street, Linciln’s-inn-fields, W.C.), valued the claimant’s interest at £15,029; Mr. Wall, Bexhill, at £13,667; Mr. James Woodhams, F.S.I. (Messrs. T. H. Wood-hams and Son, Havelock-road!, Hastings), £12,238; and Mr. George W. Vennis, at £14,240. On behalf of the railway company, Mr. G. Humphreys-Davies, F.S.I., 8, Lawrence Pountney-hill, E.C., estimated the value ai £3,197; Mr. A. L. Ryde, F.S.I., 29, Great George-street, !S.W., at £3,232; Mr. Alfred Bray, of Hastings, at £3,183; Mr. E. H. Bous-field (Messrs. Edwin Fox and Bousfield, 99, Gresham-street, E.O.), at £3,135. Mr. C. W. Willoughby (Messrs. Weatherall and Green, 22, Chancery-lane, W.C.) was also retained or! behalf of the railway company, and was prepared to support the above figures.
The Arbitrator has awarded the claimant £5,450.
Mr. A. Morley, the tenant of the land׳ above mentioned, has been awarded the sum of £390 12s. 6d., in respect of his interest, as the result of arbitration proceedings conducted by Mr. Henry Dann, F.S.I., surveyor, of Dartford, Kent.
GRANITE PROPERTY IN LEICESTERSHIRE.
Mr. W. Edward Woolley, F.S.I. (of the firm of Woolley and Holbeche, surveyors, Loughborough, Leicestershire), recently sat at the Bell Hotel, Leicester, as Umpire, to determine the price to be paid by the Croft Granite Company to Mr. John Swain for four cottages and 2,98*0 square yards of land situate at Croft, Leicestershire, and adjacent to the company’s quarries.
The arbitrators were:—For the company, Sir John F. L. Rolleston, F.S.I., Leicester; for the vendor, Mr. Horace Clough Tavlor, F.S'.I., of Leicester.