COMMERCIAL.

Grey River Argus, Volume III, Issue 177, 2 March 1867, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

Grey lUyer Mgusl Oglcc,

Friday evening. • The business of the past week has not been marked by any change calling for particular notice ; purchases have been confined to in% ■mediate. vantft. Pri<?es on the whole rule pomewhat low, and foi- many articles leave very little margin for profit to th.q, Messrs F. Fisher and Co., offered at auetipn on Thursday an extensive lot of goods, when the following prices were obtained ifor someof _ t ■ the leading articles :— Stout, iv bottle, varijgtl,- jpna...brands, 13s to Ins.; brandy, Martell's, M > Henneasy'a brandy^ 52s j tea, in '' *l)6xcs, 403 Gd : half-chests, L 5 ; Worcester pauces, 10s 6d per dozen ; champagne, 33s Cd; geneva, 54s ; Mauritius sugars, crystals, . L 46 10s ; shen-y and port, Ho per qr-.cask ; Tasmanian jams, 9d per lb. We learn by a telegraphic report in. the Sydney papers of the 22nd ult., that in Melbourne, tUe prico of Adelaile flonr was Ll3 15s per ton. Candles were bought in at Is 7d. : Pakama, Nkw Zkalanu and Australian ■ RoYAii. Mail Com"paxy, (Limited)— The half-yearly general meeting of this Company was held on December 14 at the Londou ! Tavern ; Mr Colville in the chair. The report was taken as read. The Chairman, iv moviiiff the adoption of the report, congratuJatod the shareholders qq the successful commoucement of the Panama service. Their vessels had fully borne out the anticipations of, the directors v and had performed .their -voyages with regularity, aud, as it was a'conilnencement of a service by a new route, it certainly promised to be very prospirous. The amount received for cargo and pi s :age money had b«en extremely satisfjictory. The •fist ship, the Ruahine, started from Milford Haven, went rouud Capo. Horn to Panama, and crossed the Ocean from Panama toSydaeyj makjng a voyage of 20,000 miles, at a speed of over ten knots an hour. Tliis was' the first ship from Panama, and had ..core', pleted five voyages. The Rakaia took fifty . passengers and fifty tons of cargo on her first voyage, and there waaa considerable increase of traffic, which he was certain would cm« tinue so long as the ships hopt their time. They commenced with fifty passengers and had carried on the average fifty-five in- each ship. The iasfc ship brought L 40 ,000 specie - from the banks at Sy^ney» which would be a very important item in their rfcceipts| ; ..' If their> ships kept their time as purietually as \ -.'.*■- they: had doiie they would undoubtedly get the bulk of the specie freights from New . iZealaiiid. ;^ It was estimated that in the. com-' '■\ o-Sing year they -would have L125.,f10Q. f0r subsidies alone ; .that the passage-money and , • freight would amount to h\ 20, 000 on Panama i serwee ; bpt if the Pana-ma steameTS hatl full complement of passengers and 250 tons of cargo, eaclivoypge the ycceiptswpuld be about L 240 ,000 per annum. They expected at least about LI 20, 000 for the passage money and freight, and for tbe local service L 150 ,000, being L270,00Q. Tuey wojild have an estijnated snrplus of L55^250, o-ul; of which 'a dividend of ten per ee-pt, on 1435,000 would ■ jibsorb L43,5(1Qj leaving a balance pf J<11,750. v The receipts for the fifsttjuarter of tlib year} '■ weregqba.bwt'jnt^ : .^adtp^be : wade; consequent upciii the dpen^; ' ■■' :: ing-:'<>^tt|''- : :^^'^*'-'^y^*.- I^ l^ *Ue :vetui?is: s<)^ large '^.bvita^ tfie date of thelast idvwea ibty-w^ they coirliuued so they would have L 2,. r >oo wore tluin estimated , They did not propose

io pay the dividenddeferred pnthe laWt occasion, neither ditV.ihey proptise.to pay any diviile'nd on that'/occasipri. At a previous meeting th e-direptor8 t were authorised to borrow on debentures,. li3dO, 000, of which only LS3,ooohad been taken up, bearing interestat sixperceriti 'and they were kow prepared to raise debentures forL7o,ooo, Avhich would enable them to pay the dividend. The directors had. determined not to accept any ! fees,-«ji^tii a dividend had been paid. The raport'was ufianimously adopted ; and a vote, of thanks to the chairman terminated the proceedings.