COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume XVIII, Issue 2668, 18 November 1871, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

Pbess Office, Nor. 18, IS7i

Business has again been resumed after the interruption causod by the Races and Agricultural Show. Several large orders have been executed, and, taking it all through, trade has been very active during the whole of the weelv. The Mcrope and Shun Lee are both loading for London. Wool is now coming forward freely, in fact faster than the above vessels can take it in. Breadstuffs remain very dull, few sales having transpired for some time past. The appearance of the crops for next harvest is splendid, but how to get rid of it is becoming a question of vital importance. Tonnage to England cannot be obtained, as the vessels refuse to carry grain as long as wool can be procured : 60s and even 60s per tori has already been offered to induce them to carry off some of our surplus stocks of old wheat ; but even these extreme rates will not tempt them. Really prime samples of old wheat may be quoted nominally at. 4s. while damaged and inferior sorts move with difficulty at 2s 6d to 3s 3d. Oats, remain in steady request at 2s 7d to 2s 9d, for superior milling, and 2s 3d. to -2s 6d for feed parcels. Butter is pfforiug very plentifully, fid to ss<i being extreme rates. Potatoes are very scarce, in fact it is impossible to get hold of a decent sized parcel. Stocks of teas are quite equal to requirements, as the nonarrival of the Wild Wave has euablcd Melbourne and Dnnediu houses to place several small shipments in our market. Holders of sugars are demanding an advance for best sorts of Mauritius. Melbourne 1.0. are placed freely at £.*>o 10s to £M. We note the arrival of the Venus in Duncdin, fiom Mauritius, with a, cargo of sugars for Dalgety, Nichols and Co. We understand the ■■Canterbury portion of this shipment will come forward almost immediately. A steady business is doing in building materials. At an auction held on the 16th ins't., Baltic deals fetched the, extreme price of 2Ss. Stocks of galvanised iron do not accumulate, as sales are made with great freedom. Fencing wire meets with a good euqniry, and an advance of fully 20s has been established. Twist tobacco is getting low in stock, consequently holders aye been enabled to place trade lots with advantage. Currants are rapidly going into consumption at ojd to 6d. Few enquiries can be noted for spirits ; quotations for brandy consequently have a down ward.tendency. Hennessy's pale and dark is quitted with difficulty at 7s 6d, and case ditto at 28s 6d to 295. A good business can be noted in woolpacks at os 3d. Cornsacks meet with few enquiries. Holders however, anticipating very full prices during the ensuiug season, do not care to quit under 14s 6d. Candles and kerosene are moving in small lines at lljd. aud2slod respectively. Boiled and raw oils are in good request: the high quotations however curtail operations. Oilmen's stores are meeting with improved support. C. and B. pickles, in pints, fetch 14s ; quarts are scarce at 245. C. and B. salad oil, in pints, are moving freely at 15s 6d, and half pints at 9s. Morton's do" are selling at a reduction of Is Id on the above quotations. Sardines are enquired for, but the high rates now ruliug curtails trade. Fine and coarse salt has been somewhat neglected, and values consequently are scarcely so firm.

Bird and Bennett report on the live stock market:— Cattle—At Tatfersall's on the 11th we submitted by auction, on account of Messrs G. Gould. J. Page, and others, a number of pure-bred' short-liorn buTls and heifers. The prices realised were not equal to our anticipations. Prices ns follows :—Young Cromwell, three-year-old, bull, sold to John Grigg, Esq.. £31 ; Plutus, a fine yearling bull, bred Iry Mr J. Page, was sold to Messrs Page and Co. .for £40. Cows and heifers brought from £7 10s to £17. On the 13th we sold, on account of the.Trustees of the Kieearton Estate, a draft from their well-known he;-d, prices showing a marked depreciation, incomparison to last year's quotations. The «tte.iida;ie-e was good, but th« biddings anything "but spirited. (he" Carlton, on Ww'. ui:&lay, 2.67 head yardod, a large numb'T of whicTvwerft fat, and brnnght—for pume beef, 20s; second quality, 17e 6d per IOOIbs. Sheep—l37o peooed fqr Wed.seedey'e sale,

which sold at fair prices. Horses—On Monday, ,the 6th, r ,we sold a draft of useful well-bifed. horses, on account of Messrs Stadholtne Bros., -which, considering their condition sold fairly\at from £7 to £2S 10s. At Tattersall's, on Saturday, the attendance was vefy- numerous. The sale in our yards was principally confined to thoroughbred and/entry stock. " The first offered was Peeress, for which .there was a bona fide bid of £525, the owner reserving her at £'600, wMclv, considering her performances, •unexceptional, breeding, and quality, we cousider very treasonable. 'Ijhe next lot, Laeenfoed, sold. for,,. £65,; -Expectation, £20; Prinia Douua, £53 ; Minx, £21. The well-known hurdieracer, Sir Tatton, £I'.>s ; Septimus, £35 ; Patch, £160; Ronald, £40; Border Lad, £14; chesnut colt, "2 yrs, by Malton, £ 105 r ynir ehesmife roan carriage hors'-s. by.Quicksilver, bred by Mr W Jackson, Prebbleton, sold for £52 10s. For the two Traducer fillies. Gossip aud Defamafioh; tliefc was a genuine bid of £:iSO ; the owners' reserve being £400. they were withdrawn at that figure. At TattersaH's, on the 13th. on account of the llev. W. J. G. Bluett, Mr R. Gillett, and others, we sold a mob of horses principally by the imported horse Quicksilver, which realised from £S to £25, averaging nearly £12 per head.

. Messrs H . Matson and Co. report on the liv;e stock market, as follows; —The stock yarded at Carltoa Saleyards, ou Wednesday last, cbmnris'd 2G7 head of cattle and 18(53 sh'jep. The attendance was large, and biddings for the most patt of the lots animated. The whole of both sheep and cattle .were disposed of at full rates. Our sales Comprised 129 head of cattle, on account of various owners, as follows: — Young stock, from £1 12s 6d to £1 16s per head ; store cows, from £3 5s to £3 15s per head ; fat cattle, from £5 10s to £5 15s per head, for liglit weights and for larger sorts up to £7. Cows, in milk and springing, £5 17s 6d to £6 per head ; 21 three-year old store steers, from £4 to £5 7s 6d per head. Sheep—The majority were only good stores, which soid at full rates, the few fat sheep which were penned sold extremely well, manifestly showing that prime mutton is wanted. Our sales were, 150 wethers -in wool, for Mr; !ohn Hoskius, at from 10s to 10s Gd per head. Several small pens of fat wethers from Mr John Grigg, from 13s per head. Store wethers at 4s, and ewes and lambs, old crawlers, at 4s per head. Saturday sales- at our establishment on Saturday last, but few live stock were entered for sale. In produce, we sold oats at 2s per bushel ; much damaged potatoes. 4s 6d to (is per cwt.; furniture, &c, &c, sold at our usual rates. .Landed properties—We have sold Mr W. R. Maddison's farm ou the Selwyq, comprising 520 acres of freehold land with run given, in. to Mr Charles. Hurst, at £5 5s per acre. Also, Messrs Collins interest in E. Hargreaves , store, Lyttelton.

Messrs E. Mitchell and Co. report on the stock market for the week ending Nov. 17th, as follows :—The market was-well supplied this week with both sheep and cattle. The latter is still very dull of sale ; the only class for which there appears to be any demand is good, fresh, tbree-year-old steers. Cows and young stock are difficult to place at any price. A good nnmber of sheep were penned off. but mostly of inferior quality. We yarded 700 sheep, 111 half-bred lambs and 43 head cattle sold as follows: — Butchers' lambs, 5s 6d, 5s 9d, 6s 3d, aud 6s 6d ; shorn merino wethers, os 6d ; do, the best in the market, 6s 3d j store wethers, good quality, 4s 6d. Good fresh steers, well forward, two-year-olds, £t; do, three-years-oldsi £5. . We also sold privately 30. steers about half-fat, at £4 17s 6d per head. Quotations—Beef, 17s 6d to 20s per lOOlbs; mutton, merino, lfd ; half-bred, 2d per lb. As most of the sheep now coming forward are shorn, our quotations are for sheep out of wool.

Mr H. E. Alport reports full yards and a brisk sale, at the Carlton yards, on Wednesday, at prices equal to the average of the last four weeks. He yarded fifty-four head of cattle, which sold as follows :—A pair of good quality fat bullocks sold from £6 2s 6d to £7 2s 6d ; do, do, £6 10s to £7 15s ; three-year-old store bullocks, £i 17s 6d; dairy and nearly fat cows, from £4 2s 6d to £o los ; calves six to twelve months old, to|22s 32s 6d. Altogether about 200 head of cattle were yarded. Prime beef remains at about 20s per lOOlbs. About 2000 sheep were penned. Fat Merino wethers (unshorn) brought 8s to 10s 6d (shorn) store wethers, ss. Nearly every head of cattle and sheep were sold.

DtrsEDlir.—The Daily Times of the loth reports : —The receipt of the European mail has not, as yet, m ide much difference to business, transactions in the import markets remaining light, and no class of goods showing anything special in the demand. There is a fair amount of up-country enquiry, aud trade looks as if likely to be moderately good during the next few weeks. The grain market has again a dull look, but the inconsiderable supplies coming to hand keep town prices without change. This afternoon the cargo of teas, just landed ex Honuie Dunkeld, from Foo-Ckow-Foo, were offered at Messrs M'Lamlress, Hepburn, and Co.'s rooms. The trade, principally, no doubt, owing to the full state of th" market, evinced little disposition to buy, aud the only line noted as quitted by the auctioneers, consisted of 140 chests of good medium congou, which realised ; privately, the sales of tea have been of little account. . .