COMMERCIAL.

Press, Volume XIX, Issue 2817, 13 May 1872, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

. «, Mr F. M. Rickman's fortnightly sale at the Kaikainui Hotel Yards, Kaiapoi, on Friday last, was well attended, aud the biddings for sheep very spirited. Horses were dull of sale. Young stock was disposed of at f a'isfactory rates. Fat stock sold from £4 10s to £6 ss. Old cows from £2 to £3. Merino ewes, 5s ; 500 half-bred wethers at lis 6d.

Wellington*.—The Independent of the Oth reports :—Messrs Bethune and Hunter's extensive land sale took place yesterday at two o'clock. There was a large attendance, and the bidding was moderately good. 1700 acres in the Rangitumau block realised 7s 6d per acre; aud 1000 acres of land in Manawatu sold for 20s per acre ; suburban sections at Grcytown fetched from 20s to 30s per acre ; and rural sections 22s to 40s. Two sections on the reclaimed land, adjoining Kirkcaldie and Stains* establishment, realised £1110s a foot. Town acre, No. 10S8, £uesell terrace, sold £oi t?3P.

Dunedin —Our files are to the 11th. The Daily Times of the 9th reports : —The grain market continues to rule with a great deal of firmness. In prices there is but little change to note, but generally there is an upward tendency apparent, and the tone of Australian advices is favorable to improvement. In wheats, there occurred in the early part of the month a fair amount of business, both for milling purposes aud otherwise, but latterly there has been an indisposition to concede holders' rates, and transactions have been fewer. The closing value for good Northern-grown wheats is Is 9d. First class barleys arc much in request, and owing to the generally indifferent quality of the produce of this province, full rates continue to be realised for Northern parcels coming forward. Quotations are made :—Superior samples, 4s 9d ; second quality malting, 4s 3d : feed, 3s to 3s tkl. In oats, no disposition to improvement is to be seen, and at present no indication of increased shipments, which, fo far as the season has advanced, have been small : the current rates obtained through the mouth have been from Is lOd to 2s. There has been an improved demand for town-made flour, and closing quotations are made at £12 to £12 10s. Rice has been steady at last quotations. Patna (uew) is worth £26, and dressed Java, £27—duty paid.

Napier.—The Telegraph of the 3rd reports :—At the sale of Nesfield and Boyd's horses and carriages, held on Saturday by Messrs Routledge, Kennedy, and Co., there was a good attendance, but the bidding was interfered with by frequent and heavy showers of rain. The hansom cab, with harness, sold for £35 ; the barouche and double harness for £66. A pair of grey horses, originally bought by Mr Nesfield for £40, fetched £9 15s ; one of the pair was knocked down to the original seller for £2, the other realised £7 15s. The highest price obtained for the horses was £13 10s. At another sale the following prices are quoted :—405 sacks oats, 3s to 2s 9d per bushel ; 20 bags grass seed (mixed), 4s to 5s per bushel ; 20 cheese 6s to 6fd per lb ; 12 cases apples, 3£d to 4d per lb ; and 12 cases American salmon, 12s to 12s 6d per dozen.

Auckland—The Herald of the 4th rereports : —ln breadstuffs and grain, we have nothing to add to our recent reports. The imports for April month have been—from Adelaide. 241 tons wheat and 200 tons flour ; from Sydney, 30 tons flour ; from Canterbury, 449 tons wheat. The imports of maize for April have been 5245 bushels, and 9845 bushels oats. The imports of potatoes were 320 tons, 150 of which either perished or were destroyed. Oneof themostinfluential meetings of the leading merchants of Auckland was held this day, with a view of taking into consideration the difference in freights existing between New Zealand and Australia. It was clearly proved that, under the present monopoly of charters to Auckland, goods can be landed via Melbourne at a cheaper rate and in a shorter space of time than direct to this port from the United Kingdom. It was therefore sought to establish a Freight Association, hereafter to be defined upon a sound basis of principles. The arguments were in favor of supplementing, upon a co-operative basis, a class of vessels that would deliver cargo in New Zealand at the same rates of freight as those delivered in Melbourne ports. The meeting unanimously coincided in the original resolution —" That a Freight Association should be formed." Nothing, however, was stated as to the class of vessels visiting this port for some time past. The best idea that has been propounded is that of a Freight Companj - , chartering out and home new first-class clipper vessels on the mutual principle, to be quickly loaded, aud to meet with equally quick dispatch. The wharf accommodation and the slow discharge of vessels appeared to be a bugbear, and some animadversions were entertained on this subject, which evidently might be construed that the introduction of one new system ought to be supplemented by an equally rapid discharge of goods.

Melbourne.—The Argus of the 2nd inst. reports : —ln the. import markets to-day, a large business has been reported, operations to a considerable extent having been carried through in some of the principal staples. Breadstuffs are steady at the advance lately established. For trade purposes flour is readily disposed of at £15 15s to £16. Inquiries for parcels likewise come before us, and £15 10s is offered for any quantity that can be got hold of. At auction £15 10s for Wangaratta was accepted this forenoon, and £16 was afterwards obtained for Benalla flour. Wheat is still saleable at 7s for prime; indeed over this was got for one line of a thousand bushels ; publicly some 500 bags were quitted at 6s 9d for fine; and 6s 6d for ordinary lots. Oats are dull; we have no sales to refer to outside the auction room, where good feeding brought up to 3s, and average 2s 7d to 2s 9d. Barley is very much wanted, but there is little or nothing offering. Teas have been extremely heavy for a long time, and difficult to sell at anything like remunerative prices. This fact has at length directed speculative attention to the market, and considerable excitement has been caused this afternoon, in consequence of its having transpired that Messrs John Everard and Co. have just closed sales to the extent of 20,000 packages and over, besides large sales having been made by other brokers. A considerable portion of the above has been bought on English account, in anticipation of high rates ruling in China during the coming season. A movement of a similar character has simultaneously taken place in Sydney, the market there having also been cleared. Wool packs still continue to meet with favor, fully up to 150 bales having changed hands to arrive at 4s 9d. . 126 packages Cameron's tobacco were sold by auctions, when eights brought Is l}d to Is Sid : pounds, Is 4£d ; fives (bars), Is 2£d ; fours, Is 2£d ; bars, 2s to 2s l§d ; sevens, Is 2d. Tens (all faults) were quitted at Is 2|d to Is 3d. Twist (likewise sold faulty) brought the extreme figures of Is sjd for Raven, aud Is 4fd for St. Andrew. We learn that the balance of the E. J. Spence's cargo of Patna rice, about 200 tons, has been taken up in one line at a slight concession on our late quotation of £18 in bond. In liquids we hear of the disposal of a line of 1000 cases Hennessy's at 265. A sale of wool was held this afternoon—23o bales were offered, consisting principally of fellmongers' parcels and balances of clips. The bulk was quitted at satisfactory prices. Greasy brought 9£d to 12£ d ; slipe, lid to 18Jd; and scoured, from 17d to26£d per lb.

Sydney—A telegram dated April 30 reports :—The Bank of New South Wales has declared a dividend of 12.*, per cent. A sum of £10,000 has been added to the reserve fund, aud £3700 carried to the credit of a new account. The Illawarra Steam Navigation Company has declared a dividend of 3s 6d per share. Malt is inquired for. Sales of Brandon's candles, ; five medal, lOij-d to 10£ d. Byass's porter, *>s; Devenish's ale, 9s fid. Maize is firm, with an upward tendency. Auother telegram dated Ist May reports:—Wool is slightly dearer; sheepskins are OJd higher. Martell's brandy has been sold at 24s 6d ; Hennessy's at 20s, with an advancing tendency. Wheat, 6s 3d to 6s 6d.

Adelaide.—A telegram dated April 31st, says: —Eight hundred bags of the Catori's cargo of Mauritius sugars were sold to-day, and the rest withdrawn for higher rates. Light browns brought £30 : yellow counters, £32 12s 6d to £34 7s (id ; brewing crystals, £36 10s. Wheat is firm at 6s, but no sales are reported. Bran has been sold at 11.Jd. Flour remains unaltered. Another dated May 1, says :—Kerosene has been sold at 2s lid*. Corusacks held for 12s 9d. About 40,000 bushels wheat sold equal to 6s l£d ; market firm.