COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 4731, 15 January 1877, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

New Zealand Herald Office, Saturday evening. The amount of duties collected by the Customs to clay was £20S 15s 2d. The following is the amount of duties collected at the Customs for the week ending January 13 : — £ d. s. Duties ... 3,110 4 3 Lighthouse I-nea 15 12 10 Merchant Shipping fees ... 11 11 G ■Arui3fees 2 12 G " Other rtcipts ... .. 554 12 9 '" . Gold duty ... ... -242 0 6 Total.. .. .. .. £4.233 13 0 Since the departure of last mail business has been completely unsettled by the festive season, and up to the present it has not assumed anything like its usual proportions. In one or two lines, however, animation has prevailed, but more of a speculative nature than legitimate business. This is particularly" so in sugars, of which there is a considerable stock in the city, and is further augmented by the arrival to-day of the schooner Pioneer, from Mauritius, and the brig Transport, from Sydney, the former having on board 230 tons and the latter over 100. Since the close of business on Saturday advices have been received from Sydney to the effect that the Victoriau Sugar Company have xnade anotheradvanceof £2 per ton on the Ist, and £1 on the 2nd and 3rd qualities. This, of course, will materially affect the quotations given in our prices current, which will be found in page 7. Company's JS'o. 1 was then quoted ac £30 10s to £37; best whites, £3S 10s, which, with the advance spoken of, would bring prices current here equal to those of Sydney. In ales and stouts the supply is large, with little doing, and prices have undergone little or no alteration. Brandies still maintain great firmness, and although the stocks have been increased by recent arrivals ex Mendoza, Jessie Osborne, &c. there is no desire on the part of holders to push the trade even at the high rates now ruling, as the general opinion appears to be that a further advance in the principal market is imminent. Hennessy's case is quoted at 10s, andMartell's a fraction under. Candles still continue in fair demand, and prices may be said to be a shade firmer; Brandt n's worthlOJd, and Price's 10 Id to lOf d. Fine salt, which was so scarce a few months ago, is reported to be very bare in the market, and holders are asking £5 per ton. There is : very little coming forward ill the Loch Urr and Glenlora, and it is therefore possible that higher prices may be attained. Kerosene is going rapidly out of shippers' hands, and the market is very firm, with little coming forward for some time, and there cannot be more than 1000 cases in first hands. Devos's is firm at 3s 6d per gallon ; diamond 3s 3d to 3s 4d; and other brands within a shade of this figure. In teas the stocks arc moderately heavy, and quotations are nominal. Oilmen's stores are well nupplied, with more afloat, and the demand not so active this month. The wool sales have passed off remarkably well, and good sound " Lincoln and Leicester fieeces have realised on an average 14 ; £d to I4.jd, and in exceptional- Hocks lud per lb. has been realised. The kauri gum trade has been exceptionally brisk, and the month of December saw a larger, quantity brought into market than ever known in Auckland before. The low prices that have been current for. a few inontli3 previous had caused storekeepers and diggers to hoard up their small lots and when the shippers went into the market to complete their orders, an advance of a pound or two per ton, induced, in conjunction with the holidays, the country stocks to be brought forward, and it is computed that at least 1200.t0n8 were stored. 'Prices are now a shade easier than last month, £20 10s to £27 per ton being the ruling quotation. Since our last, close upon 1200 tons have been shipped, as follows :— E. J. Spence (for New York), 470 tons; Oiari, for London, 293: Rapido, 183; and City of Auckland 200 tons, to be fol-. lowed by the Loch Urr and. Glcnora. Business in the sliaremarkot has been confined principally to,bank and insurance -shares, and tho following are the sales: Bank of New Zealand, £19.-5s : National Bank, 675;, Colonial Bank, 343 Cd ; New Zealand Insurance, 92s GJ, ex-dividend; South British Insurance, 70s ; National Insurance, 25s OJ. For.full details as to prices current our usual lists will be found on pagr, 7.

Subscribers in England to the summaries of the New Zealand Herald aud Daily Southern Cross, will observe-that these journals have been amalgamated, forming the most powerful and widely-circulated morning journal in the colony. The Cross, although the'oldest established paper in the colony, , was not financially successful, owing to the vigorous opposition of the Herald, and was only recently sold to Mr. A, (Jr. Horton, formerly proprietor atid editor of the Timarti Herahl aiid Thames Advertiser, who immediately joined Messrs. Wilson in busiuess, and amalgamated the Cross with the Herald. Such a scheme had been under discussion for some years, as it was felt . that by this means only could a really efficient and well-conducted newspaper bo supplied to the public. The weekly issues of tho two papers, the Herald and News, are also almalgamated under the title of the Weekly News, which now enjoys a circulation of 5000 copies— the largest iu New Zealand. The general public—and especially the advertisers—have hailed tho change with expressions of general satisfaction.' The proprietors of. the Herald are about to introduce now printing and folding machinery for cheap and speedy production, to meet their steadily-increasing business.

Ho hart Town.—The Mercury of ths 22nd ult. reporU : Oats, of which there is a large quantity in the stores, are immovable except at a ridiculously low price, and holders, prefer waiting to sacrificing what they have; Small lots aro selling at 2s 3d to 2s Cd. Barley is without the least animation ; Capo is quoted at 2s 9J, and English at 3a 6d, but these quotations aro ouly nominal. Southern wheat is firm at 53 Oil, and though holders have been asking more for some time, we have not heard of any changing hands at a higher figure. Northern is steady at 53 Gd. tlour is firm at £13 to £13 10s. Bran sells at Is Id to Is 2d, and sharps at £6 to £6 10s. * Potatoes' are rather acarce; there are few Victorian new ones in the market, offering at about £5 IO3; Tasmanian are worth £5 103 to £6. Good loose hay readily brings £3 15s. ______^