COMMERCIAL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 259, 28 October 1897, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

Auckland Star Office. Thursday. Business has been on the jujet side during the past month, as the weatl ci until the last week was f^^U^ the season of the year In fact, .the spun trade has teen lost by drapers meicer, and tailors. Distributing houses are now a little busier attending to orders for No vember delivery. S ma! shipments of ice irrived by the Taiyain tins week, but only sXiK relieve the scarcity and no enough to reduce the prices. Canned fruit? are exceptionaly scarce botnheie and in Australia. It is hoped that lar 9i shipments will be on board* the next maU steamer from San Franco A|ood advance is reported m the first cost or peppers. The new season's pack of Van LuVer salmon arrived during the^eek New season's currants and sultanas aie exnlcteTbv the next steamer from Sydney. flf :§T?S cable advices from Colombo no ify an *A vancein price of from H'^ toTleafS that market. A scarcity ot first crop leat is has caused, an advance of about 20 per cent, m the prime cost, of vermicelli and macaroni m Ita y according to advices recently to hand. Supplies°of coarse salt afloat from Liver--3 are small, and a better market is Fookedfor in consequence Adv^ crop reports were responsible for the still nse iKina recently noted, and mail, advices from Hongkong state that there is every probability of the market being sustained for some considerable time. . . The timber industry continues steadily brisk, export trade being especia ly good. With finer weather it is most likely that a number of dwelling houses will be. erected in the city and suburbs and thus increase the local demand for the timber. A feature of the land sale yesterday was that the majority of the purchases were building allotments in the Surrey Hills Most probably these were purchased with a view to the erection of private dwellings. I lie prices realised at the sale would seem to point to the fact that the demand for property is not so brisk as it was a few months a^o, when a sudden demand for dwellings had the effect of forcing up rents and also the prices asked for houses and freeholds. The kauri gum market advanced considerably during the past month owing to free buying for the New York market, and rates have been paid latterly that would seem to render the chances of profitable export problematical as far as London is concerned, when the rates ruling in England are compared with those actually paid locally. One result of this sudden advance has been to clear out all local stocks and also to find a market at comparatively low rates for several hundred tons of Aery poor quality gum that formerly failed to find buyers. As an outcome of this the exports for the present year to date appear to have been greater than the quantity of gum actually sent in, but as a matter of fact the amount of gum received is less than what came in up to the same date last year. At the time of writing the demand for the American trade still seems unsatisfied, but it is questionable whether the present high prices can be long maintained. The value of the kauri gum trade of the North Island may be estimated from the fact that last year there were 7,126 tons exported, the value of which was estimated at £431,323, or an average of £60 10s 6d per ton. In 1895 the export was 7,425 tons, value £418,766, or an average of £56 Ss per ton. The total quantity exported from 1853 (wheri 830 tons were shipped, the value "beino- £15,972) up to 31st December, 1896, was 183,929^ tons, valued at £8,114,852. Although business in mining shares has been dull duringthe month at the Exchange this is rather a natural result of the scrip boom of 18 months ago than from any falling off in the mining industry itself. As a matter of fact, the outlook for the mining has never been more satisfactory than at the present time, because a large amount of dead work has been accomplished by English companies during the past two years, and now that the batteries are getting to work the gold returns are steadily increasing. From the Upper Thames alone the output of bullion for the last four weeks totalled £27,802 5s 9d, which is in ore than the gold won from the whole Hauraki Peninsula amounted to a few weeks ago. Further increases should soon follow, as the Komata Reefs battery has already got to Avork, the Grace Darling has been started, the Royal Standard is approaching completion, and the contractors started this week the erection of a battery for the Alpha Company at Waitekauri. At Coromandel the Kapanga Company has once more started crashing, the Hauraki Associated Companies' new battery is approaching completion, while the output of gold from the Hauraki mine shows an increase this month, and that from the Royal Oak totalled £3,087. Parcels of rich stone continue to be got from the Hauraki Associated property, and what appears to be an important new find has been made on the Karaka Syndicate's claim, over 100 pounds of stone worth half an ounce of gold to the pound being obtained the first breaking down. Although very little is heard about Kuaotunu jusfc now, still an amount of steady development work is being done on several of the properties held by English companies, but, of course, the real results cannot be told until the new batteries get to work. The same may be also said of the lower Thames district, where the Thames Hauraki Company is slowly but surely putting down the shaft to test the value of the deep levels. Pending the completion of this work, the May Queen of Hauraki Company can do but little in the direction of opening up the next level. The Moanataiari Company's battery is now nearly completed, and has already a large tonnage of ore awaiting treatment. At Puru a new battery is being erected for the Puru Consolidated Company, and at Tapu the bhendan battery having been renovated and the number of stampers increased, has now commenced crushing, while the new mill of the Mahara Royal Company is now almost ready to commence operations. l

Wheat.—Large quantities of prime milung wheat arrived during the past week from the South for the Northern mills, per Hauroto and other vessels. Advices from London by cable state that wheat is 9d per quarter dearer than it was the previous week, and the improvement in the Home market caused rates to stiffen somewhat both here and in the South. A fair amount 01 wheat changed hands at last week's full pnees. Fowl Wheat.—Heavy arrivals of maize latterly has somewhat checked the demand for fowl wheat.

Bran is still dull of sale, and 5s per ton cheaper this week. ktteriy S haVG lmd rather more cniuiry Flour: Fair sales and heavy deliveries are reported this week. y uellvenes The Chelmsford is now Jf1 ?& Wai Pu" shipment. Only 175 1£ ue Wlth f n°ther bytheTerranora^heS WCTe brou§ llt That vessel hasnowlT|°™ notready' cargo. Seed mai 2e if°££( ™n f« mother demand as the supply and m strong equal to requirements y f p*?<lnt k nofc Motiti crop now goes tn 4 gS? d deal of the 1—«»w-4a%gf*g

Ordinary maize still commands 2s for lines ex wharf. Seed maize is worth 2s 4d ex

store. Oats: This market continues without change locally. In the South a weaker tendency is reported. Potatoes: Good samples of potatoes.are still scarce, as arrivals this week from the South were not so heavy. Shipments by the Anglian from Canterbury arrived in prime condition and commanded £3 15s ex store. There is still a little enquiry for Hobart seed, but there are none in the market and seedsmen feel it is too late in the season to ris importing. A few small lines have been sold in Canterbury for shipment to Sydney at from 43s to 42s 6d, f.o.b.

Onions are offered at ]fd lr> ex store. The Californians are not keeping so well this year. Grass Seed : A (c\v order.'? have been sent in this week for spring sowing.

Butter and Eggs are unaltered in price this week. Supplies of butter continue very heavy. Old keg is almost unsaleable, and prime new does not meet with much demand.