COMMERCIAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2608, 14 May 1869, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

Lyttelton Times Office, Thursday Evening. The Customs revenue collected at Christchurch and Lyttelton to-day amounted to £149 14s Id. The following were the items : —Spirits, 84J gals, £SO 14s lOd; tea, 978 lbs, £24 9s ; sugar, 11,200 lbs, £46 13s 4d ; rice, 14 cwt, £1 8s ; pickles, 10 jars, 15s ; biscuits, 9 cwt, £1 7s ; split peas, 8 cwt, 8s ; currants, 28 lbs, 2s 4d ; gunny bags, 10 bales, £l7 5s ; light dues, £4 Os 7d; spirit licenses, £2; arms fees, lls. The following is an abstract of the quantity of land sold at the Waste Lands Office this day: Ellesmere district, 23 acres; Banks Peninsula, 40; Oxford, 23; Waitangi, 46. Total, 131 acres ; realising £262. The monthly committee meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, was held at 3 o’clock this afternoon. Present: —Messrs. Aynsley (chairman), Cobb, Coster, Gould, Hassal, Palmer, and Richardson. The_ Chairman drew the attention of the committee to two communications —one from the Auckland Chamber of Commerce as to a proposed new postal route, and the other from Mr Robert Toothe, suggesting the Queensland or Torres Straits route. The matter was not gone into, it being agreed that the committee should adjourn until Thursday, at 2 p.m., the Secretary, in the meantime, to circulate printed circulars of both routes amongst the members of the Chamber. The quarterly meeting was fixed for Thursday, the 20th instant.

CUSTOMS REVENUE. The following table exhibits the customs revenue collected in the several provinces for the quarter ending March 31, with that collected in the corresponding quarter of 1868:

Wellington. —The Independent of May 8 reports :—Messrs Bethune and Hunter’s sale of the stores belonging to the Panama Company, has monopolised the attention of the tMdc during the past week to the exclusion of most other matters ; the catalogue com. prising nearly a thousand lots of wines, groceries, ship chandlery, linen, Ac., in larger quantity than has ever before been offered to public competition at one time. . The prices realised, considering the present depressed state of trade, and that it was a cash sale, the amount of which cannot be far short of £20,000, may be considered more satisfactory than was anticipated ; although in many cases far below the invoice cost, as in the instance of 270 tons patent fuel—said to have cost the company 90s per ton, which only realised 25s for the major portion—a lot of buttons, costing £ll9, which were knocked down for £ls 10s, &c. The wines in bond, comprised 1200 doz port, in cases, and fetched 15s to 18s per doz.; 2000 doz sherry, 1 Is to 19s per doz ; 1500 doz claret, 8s to 11s 6d for quarts, 5s 6d to 6s 6d for pints ; 750 doz Moselle and 800 doz champagne, at 11s 6dto 16s 6dfor quarts ; 75001bs sperm candles in bond, 7d to 9Jd per lb ; coffee, 6J4 per lb ; white pepper, 9d per lb ; assorted sauces, 7 s per doz; pickles, 8s; bottled fruits, 7s 9J ; Worcester Jsauces, 10s 6d per doz ; Valencia raisins, 3Jd per lb ; pearl barley, 14s per cwt; rice, 19s per cwt; biscuits, 3s to 6s 6d per tin; Barcelona nuts, 4d per lb ; French plums, in bottle, 48s per doz, &c. The duty paid groceries realised fair comparative rates. The marine stores and ship’s furniture excited a fair amount of competition among a very large attendance of buyers, and considering the large quantities of some the lots sold well ; the crockery, being.iqarked with the company’s name, fetching less than it otherwise would have done. The Company’s offices, and the new warehouse, with the land, costing originally £4245, was put up at a reserve of £2400, but the highest bid being only £I7OO, the lots were withdrawn. An allotment on the reclaimed land, having a frontage of 40 feet to the harbour by 40 feet, was sold to Mr Compton, for £360. The chain cable used for mooring the large steamers, realised £8 10s per ton; 25 tons patent fuel, 31s per ton; 340 tons do, 25s to 27s per ton; a large steam crane fetched £75, original cost £3OO ; a steam washing and drying machine, £10; 3 iron safes, £l3, £l6, and £3l. Upon the whole, this may be considered the most important auction sale that has been held in Wellington, and it would be impossible to speak too highly of the busi-ness-like regularity with which it was managed, or the courteous demeanour of the auctioneer, whose patience and voice must have been severely taxed during bo lengthened an operation. BANK OF NEW SOUTH,WAJES. The following is the thirty-seventh report of the directors of the Bank of New South Wales to the half-yearly general meeting of the proprietors, held at the chief banking house on Wednesday, the 28th day of April, 1869; “ The directors have the pleasure to place before the shareholders a statement of the assets and liabilities of the bank on the 31st ultimo, duly certified by the auditors’ report and declaration:—The net profits for the half-year, after deducting, rebate on current bills, interest on deposits, providing for bad and doubtful debts, reducing valuation of bank premises, and paying taxes on note circulation, amount to £75,376 1 11 To which is to be added— Undivided balance from last year 4,507 15 0 Giving for distribution ...£79,883 16 11 Which the directors recommend to be appropriated as follows: To payment of dividend at ; the rate of 15 per cent, per annum £75,000 0 0 To balance carried to profit and loss,new account ... 4,883 16 11, £79,883 16 11 “ Within the last six months agencies of the bank have been established at the Spring Creek and Eldorado diggings, in Victoria, and the branch at Hamilton, in that colony, has been withdrawn. The Stafford and Brighton gold agencies, in New Zealand, have

been discontinued, and agencies of a like nature established at Greenstone and Grahamstowa, in the same colony. The dividend will be payable at the head office tomorrow, and at the branches on receipt of advice.—For and on behalf of the directors, Thomas Walker, President." AGO REBATE BALANCE SEHpT OF THE BANK OF NEW SOOTH WALES, MARCH 31, 1869. (Including London Branch to Slst December, 1868, and New Zealand Branches to Ist March, 1869.)

1869 1868 £ £ Auckland 41,823 27,249 Taranaki 1,251 1,912 Wellington 18,347 19,444 Hawke’s Bay ... 6,261 5,973 Marlborough ... 1,138 1,697 Nelson 11,603 16,454 Westland 25,989 33,714 Canterbury 23,449 25,924 Otago 53,479 64,404 Southland 6,164 7,489 Chathams no ret. 13 Totals.. .£189,584 £194,273

Dr £ S. d. To bank stock 1,000,000 0 0 To reserve fund 333,333 6 8 To notes in circulation ... 630,364 0 0 To bills payable 2,293,976 9 1 To deposits and other liar bilities 5,083,826 18 0 To profit and loss 106,162 16 9 £9,446,653 10 6 Cr By coin and cash balances 2,161,363 17 11 By bullion in hand and in transit to London ... 668,798 15 8 By Government securities 26,216 17 11 By notes of other banks ... 19,749 0 0 Bv bank premises ... 175,906 16 4 By bills receivable, bills discounted, and other debts due to the bank 6,212,532 8 1 By insurance account ... 2 ; 085 14 7 £9,446,653 10 6 PKOFIT Aim LOSS, 1USCH 31, 1869. Dr March 31, 1869. To rebate (at current rates) on hills discounted not due at this date ... £28,268 19 10 To dividend at the rate of 15 per cent, per annum 75,000 0 0 To balance carried to profit and loss, new account 4,883 16 11 £105,152 16 9 Cr Sept. 30, 1868. By amount from last account £4,507 16 0 March 31, 1869. By balance of half-year's profits, after providing for bad and doubtful debts,and including recoveries from debts previously written off as bad 100,645 1 9 £105,152 16 9