COMMERCIAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2605, 11 May 1869, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

Lyttelton Times Office, Monday Evening. The Customs revenue collected at Christchurch and Lyttelton to-day amounted to JtUI 11s 4d. The following were the items : —!Sine, 49} gals, 19 19s 2d; spirits, 147$ gate, £6B 9s 7d •, sugar, 25,633 lbs, £lO6 16s Id ; tobacco, 325 lbs, £4O 12s 6d ; cigars, 69 lbs, £l7 5s ; light dues, £4 12s ; merchant shipping fees, 6s ; arms fees, £7 lls. The laud sales to-day amounted to 7S acres, namely—sß acres in the Malvern district, and 20 in the Waitangi district, realising £156 •, 270 acres were granted as compensation. Timarc.—The Herald of May 8 reports : — A very quiet month has passed since our last monthly report, and there is no material alteration in values. In the grain market, wheat is quoted from 4s to 4s 6d per bushel, but very little doing, and a downward tendency is shown by buyers ; oats remain at Ss 6d to 2s 9d, and bariey is quoted from 3s 6d to 4s. The Melbourne grain market is not so firm as it was a few weeks ago. In station property we hear of the sale of Baukapuka, Mr Alfred Cox's property, in the Geraldine district. Full particulars of the sale have not transpired, but we believe the following to be an approximate statement of the properties included in the sale, viz : 20,000 sheep, 4000 acres freehold, a good deal improved, 45,000 acres leasehold, and a firstclass residence with grounds. The price we understand to be £28,000. Delivery is to be given after next shearing. The purchasers are Messrs Hood and "fancied. We hear of a sale of about 200 mixed sheep at Is 6d each, which is considered the lowest price yet taken, as only a moderate proportion were old sheep. The following grass-s eds report is from the Artnis of April 29 Mr A. Lincolne reports great activity in the seed, grain, and small seeds market. Large orders are daily arriving from np-country, and were not the imports rather in excess, the prices would have gone up materially. The large supplies from other colonies and coastwise have prevented any important rise in grasses. White clover and cow grass are scarce, and the latter may be quoted fully a penny higher. White clover is Is 6d ; cow grass and lucerne. Is 4d ; cocksfoot, a trifle easier, at Is 2d ; fog, €d. Perennial rye grass and prairie are both very firm at last quotations ; in fact, a few prime samples of the former have been retailed at 10s ; but good lots of both these gnuae* may be purchased at from Ss to 9s. Tarw are going off fast at 12s ; and rye at from 6s to Ss, and rather scarce. Manures. —Bonedust and phosphoric potash manures, at the uniform price of £6 I Os per ton, bags given in. The following live stock report is from the Argnt of April 29 Fat Cattle—l 437 head were entered as the supply for the week, 915 of which were penned and sold to-day, consisting for the most part of good, with a few pew of prime quality. There was a good attendance of both town and country buyers, hnt, in consequence of the large supply, prims may be quoted at It's per head lower than last week. As the balance of the cattle which will be sold to-morrow are from Gipps Land, we do not anticipate any material alteration in quotations. Best bullocks, £lO to £li 12s 6d ; second quality do, £7 les to £9 ; inferior, £5 to £6 10s ; best cows, £7 IQs to £9 ; second quality do, £5 10s to £6 lo> ; interior, from £4 10s. Fat Calves—A very short supply, and of indifferent quality. Tney sold at f om 2o« to 6s >s. Fat Sheep—--14,660 were penned, a very small proportion of which were of good to prime quality, the Wk, consisting of middling and interior

sheep. For the best descriptions there was a rery active demand, and an advance of fully 1 s per head was obtained ; whilst for other classes there was no change. Best wethers, merino, 14s to 17s ; second quality do, 8s 6d to lls6d; inferior, from 3s 6d upwards; prime cross-bred wethers, 22s to 40s ; do. ewes, 18s ; good merino ewes, 12s ; inferior, from 3s 6d upwards. Fat Lambs—so 3 were brought forward, more than sufficient for the demand. Except for really prime, low prices have to be submitted to in order to clear out. Best sold at from 9s to 10a fid ; inferior from 3a upwards. The following agricultural report ia from the Art/its of April 29:— Our farmers are now taking full advantage of the late beneficial change in the weather. There has been rain enough to render'the land mellow for ploughing and sowing. If the weather continues showery, the wheat now sown will be very quickly above ground. So far the autumn has been one of the most favourable experienced for a long time, and before another month is over a very wide extent of land will have been sown with wheat and early oata. Although the last harvest manifestly gave us much more of the former than we could consume in the twelvemonth, the growers, somehow or other, took it into their heads that they should receive more than export prices, and therefore held back their produce, keeping the markets so barely supplied that prices were forced up materially, and kept up surprisingly long under the circumstances. This unnatural, and, as the farmers will find before the year is over, injurious state of the markets was caused apparently by the Adelaide exporters offering less for wheat after harvest than they could have afforded to give, according to the relative prices in England. The farmers found that by clubbing together and shipping on their own account under an advance they could realise more, but instead of shipping largely when this discovery was made, the majority of them held back their wheat until prices rose above what it would pay to export it at. Thus valuable time was lost when the markets were in a more hopeful state than they were at the time of our last intelligence, and now that the surplus is becoming too apparent again, we do not know what to do with it. Although we can have but little to export from Victoria, prices here are ruled more or less by those in South Australia, and must fall with those of a colony that can glut our market whenever it may promise to be beneficial to do so. Even in a favourable year, no small quantity of Adelaide flour is sold here, in consequence of its long-established character for the possession of extra strength. This it undoubtedly has, but the Victorian flour is this year unusually good, after the hot and dry summer. Prices are now declining again in all the colonies, and where the decline will stop it is hard to say at present. With the prospect of breadstuffs continuing to fall in Europe, none will be inclined to resume shipments from Adelaide or here without a wide margin for chances, so that we are likely to be left at the end of the year with a large unavailaple surplus on hand. Oats were a short crop, and continue relatively high, but whenever a further rise is attempted, supplies come pouring in from New Zealand and Tasmania, although we were told at harvest time that neither colony would have any to spare. The Pastoral Times of April 24 contains the following stock report:—There is a large amount of activity prevailing in stock matters after the late fine and general rains. Notwithstanding that boiling down sheep is extensively carried on in Queensland, making the returns very low, stocking vacant country is going on there at a great rate. From Cleveland Bay to the Gulf of Carpentaria the best of the country is overstocked and sheepowners are letting their surplus sheep on terms for fattening—“ on terms very favourable to the runholder taking charge of them.” From Sydney we hear:—“ We notice a large number of station properties coming into the market for sale by auction, the owners or mortgagees of which appear determined to realise at market r nines. We also notice more inclination to invest in properties of this class, if well situated, and possessing evidence of the probability of a fair return.” Store sheep—There is more inquiry for store sheep than we have noticed for many months, and prices are rising. From Adelaide we hear that the stock markets are steady, and good beef was getting scarce; good quality fetched from 30s to 35s per lOOlbs ; inferior, 25s per lOOlbs ; prime bullocks, 200 s to 310 s; inferior to good, I2os to 180 s ; prime cows, 150 sto 2405. Supplies of fat sheep were light and medium; there seems every prospect now of light supplies for some time. Quotations:—Best wethers, 11s to 12s ; medium, 9s to I Os. There were numerous inquiries for store cattle and sheep. The Macquarie is rising to an unusual extent, and all the rivers to the north are running, some bank high. Victorian markets were generally firm at good prices for first-class meat. In Deniliquin and the surrounding district prime beef is very scarce and dear. Mutton of first quality is rising, but a large supply of fat sheep may be expected soon, the season being most luxuriant for grass and water.