COMMERCIAL.

Evening Star, Issue 12762, 15 March 1906, Page 6

COMMERCIAL.

BURNSIDE STOCK SALES. Yesterday. The following completes our report *:— Fat Cattle.—l 92 yarded. The bulk of the yarding consisted of medium to good quality!*beef, with seine medium quaJity heifers and cows. Anything prime was under brisk demand. Prices were about on a pax with last week's. Best bullocks. £9 5s to £lO ss; medium to good, £7 10s to £8 ss; best heifers, £6 5s to £7 10s. Pigs.—lo9 yarded. Suckers and slips met with poor demand, and porkers and baeoners were easier. Suckers, 5s 6d to 8s; slips, 9s to 15s-; stores, 20s to 245: porkers, 27s 6d to 346; light baeoners, 36s to 40s; heavy, 42s to 48s. OUR STAPLE EXPORTS. The quantity and value af pastoral and agricultural products passed tlirough the Customs for export from New Zealand during eleven months, ended in February, aro shown by the following figures, parentheses indicating the tallies for the corresponding period of 1904-05 .-—Butter, 254,193cwt, £1,226,004 (281,096cwt, 51,230,662); cheese. 83,918cwt, £200,037 (65.100cwt, £142,547) ; frozen beef, i43,192cwt, £169,451 (150,709cwt, .0183,240) ; frozen mutton, 1,277,307 carcasses, £919,004 (1,703,899, £1,163,789); legs and pieces, 9,9 newt, £i4,567 (20,847cwt, £28,942); frozen lamb. 1.533,887 carcasses, £949.478 (1,452,472, £822.182) : wheat, 933,293 bushels, £147,008 (551,696 bushels, £84,920); oats. 887.126 bushels, £83,740 (2,168.093 bushels, £178.146); potatoes. 247 tons. £2.177 (3.582 tons,- £9,358) ; hemp, 24,704 tons, £592,414. The 1904-05 figures for hemp are not yet available. THE MA.NAWATU RAILWAY. WELLINGTON, March 15. The balance-sheet of the WellingtonManawatu Railway Company shows the gross earnings for the year ended February to be £132,460, an "increase of £4,728 over last year. The compaaiv sold land to the value cf £13.548. The expenditure amounted to £75,280. leaving a. bal-a-nce of £57,180. The chief item;? of expenditure were :—Debentures interest, £34,000; rates and taxes. £5,148. The net profit for the year was : On the railway account, £11.264; and the land account, £5,701. The principal liability is debentures, £680,000. The value of rolling stock and the railway, after writing off £202,086, w pkoed at £821,393, and the freehold of lands £25.598. The balance due by land pnrchaeexs is £55.227; deposits and accrued interest, £88,796; railway stores, £17,149. The company pay 7 per cent, dividend for tin? year. THE MARKETS. LONDON, March .14. (Received March 15, at 9.30 a.m.) At the tallow auctions 885 casks were offered, and 639 sold at 3d to 6d advance. Lead, £ls 17s 6d. The imports wore 13,630 tons; Australian, 3,862 lons. Exports, 5,385 tons. Copper : Snot. £79 15s : three months. £7B. (Received March 15, at 10.8 a_m.) The American visible supply of wheat is 70,618,000 bushels. THE WOOL SALES. Dalgety and Co. report having received the following cable from their head office, dated London, March 13 :—Wool sales oi>ened good selection, large attendance of buyers, competition very animated. As compared with closing rates of last series, prices for merino wools are 5 per cent, higher, fine cross-breds 5 to 7-g per cent, higher, medium cross-bred wools 10 per cent, higher. WELLINGTON, March 15. The Industries and Commerce Department to-day received the following cable from the High Commissioner, dated London, the 14th :—" The wool sales have commenced. There is great competition amongst the buyers. Prices have slightly advanced in all grades. Merino has risen id, fine cross-bred ij-d, and coarse Id per ib." LONDON, March 14. Messrs Buxton and Co., Charles Ba.lme. and Co., and Jacomb and Co.'s joint catalogue comprised 7,866 bales, nearly half being New Zealand. It was an excellent selection. There was a very large attendance and keen general competition, Americans buying freely. Fine medium cross-breds (compared with the January closing rates) and line cross-breds advanced 5 per cent, to 74 per cent., medium and coarse 10 per cent,, and merinocs fully 5 pea- cent. (Received March 15, at 10.8 a.m.) At the wool auctions there was a good sale. Prices are very firm. THE A.M.P. SOCIETY. Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright. SYDNEY, March 14. The following was the result of the ballot taken after the confirmatory meeting of the A.M.P. Society :—ln favor of the extension to London and South Africa. 114,056; against, 45,048. RAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS. The following are the railway traffic returns on the Hurunui-Bluff section for the fcur 7 weokly period curled February 3. with those of the corresponding period of last year: — 190 C. 1905. Passengers— S. K. S. K. First class 15,8-SS :W.<!S2 15,271 38,146 Second class 79,112 '200,101 72,521 201.456 Total ... 95,000 243,396 !)7,75'5 239,026 1906. 1905. Season Tickets 5,234 4,912 No. No. Parcels, etc 40,535 38,564 No. ' No. Goods, Live Stock, etc. ... 180,755 213,302 Tons. Tons. Grain, Wool, Merchandise, etc ... 14?,525 140,891 Revenue— Passengers £3O,6'U £31.087 Parcels, luggage, and mails ... 6,181 .5,023 Goods 54.680 52,75fi Miscellaneous ... 1,3i>9 1.17.S Rents and commission ... _. 1,300 1,250 Total £94,072 £91,296 The revenue earned by the Lake Wakatitra steamers was £752 15s Bd, as against £679 6s 8d last year, 4,594 passengers having been carried as against 3,773. The comparative statement of the traffic on all the sections of the New Zealand Railways from Ist April, 1905, to 3rd February, 1906, shows an increase over that for the corresponding period of the previous financial year in all branches, except that 175,713 fewer sheep were earned, and there was also a slight falling off in the carriage of goods classed as "merchandise." There was also a slight decrease in the number of first class return passengers carried. Tfae revenue for the financial year to February 3 was £1,943,327 2s- 2d, as against £1,839,480 14s 7d for the corresponding period of last year, and the expenditure £1,353,459 5s Id as against £1.248,382 23 9d.

THE FROZEN MEAT MARKET. NAPIER. March 15. The G.C. and D. Company have received the following cable from London : Canterbury mutton, 4jd; Napier, Wellington, ; a.ud North Island, Lamb : First quality, 54; d; second, 4-|d. Beef : Hinds, fores, 2|d.