COMMERCIAL SUMMARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5371, 3 February 1879, Page 7

COMMERCIAL SUMMARY.

SALES BY AUCTION. January 9. Messrs. E. and A. Isaacs report the following result of their drapery and piece goods sale to-day. The attendance was not very numerous, but the bidding was spirited. A larger quantity of goods was quitted than expected, but as they were not quite seasonable, the buyers will get the advantage by holding on. £800 worth was dis- - poßcd of. January 21. Mr. Edward Lewis held a sale this morning at the Albert Hall, of imported furniture (English and American), toilet glasses, vases, clocks, &c. There was a large attendance of the public, and a good many articles sold, but the prices realised were only moderate. January 22. Mr. 6. W. Binney sold, this morning, the Freeman's Bay Saw-mill, situated upon the reclaimed land, and subject to a rental of £03 10s per annum. The price was £750, and the purchaser Mr. Marshall. January 30. Mr. L. W. Eaton sold this morning a large quantity of fruit, ex Tararua and Hero, from Sydney. The following prices were realised : — Grapes, 5d to 6£d per lb. ; pears, 2d to 2f d; plums, 4£d; apples, 83 to 8s 3d per case. Mr. George Sibbin also held a sale of fruit, received by the same steamers as the foregoing, when apples realised 2d per lb., and grapes sd. January 31.

Mr. K. Arthur's sales were well attended throughout. A fair demand for poultry and produce. During the week a fair amount of business has been done. Potatoes have gone off freely, and there is a good demand for cheese. Fruit has come to hand rather freely; there is a drop in price. Fowls brought Is 3d to 2s 9d; Spanish, 3s 3d; turkeys, 3s 9d; ducks, Is 5d to 2s Id; geese, 2s 3d to 3s 9d; small pigs, 5s 6d to 12s Gd; potatoes, 5s to 6s 6d; onions, gd to Id; apples, l£d to 3d 5 pears, l£d to 2d; plums, 2Jd to 3^d; cheese, 4d to 7d; bacon and hams, in cloth, by the case, B£d; bacon, sundry lots, 3d to 7d; confectionery, Melbourne-made, 8d; oats, 4s to 4s 9d; sharps, 9a 9d to 10s per sack; flour, £11 to £12 10s; candles, 9£d; sugar, 4£d to sid ; biscuits, 6d; soap, 16s to 17s; raisins, 5Jd ; English confectionery, Ud; box tea, 23s to 25a.

The furniture department sale was well attended, and passed off satisfactorily* WOOL SALE. Messrs. Hunter and Nolan held a wool sale at the Durham Yards on January 9. There was a good attendance of buyers. The staple in washed and grease were inferior to sample? previously offered. Prices for greasy wool ruled from 7d to 7£d, aud for washed from 9£d to 12d. The buyers estimated that taking the quality of tho wool offered and the prices obtained, there was an average rise of from id to to £d per lb. since the previous Bale. SHEEP FAIRS. Mes&rß, Hunter and Nolan held the firßt Bheep

fair of the season at the Junction Sale Yards i on January 18, but it could hardly be considered to be even tolerably satisfactory, for prices ruled low, the competition was by no means brisk, and out of the lots catalogued a considerable number were withdrawn. Owing to , holders being so busily engaged harvesting, a much smaller number were catalogued than ; last year, and there is a prevailing disposition in stock-owners to direct their attention to cattle rather than sheep, consequently neither supply nor demand was calculated to give the auctioneer satisfaction. Mr. A. Auckland held a sheep fair of ewes and lambs at his sale-yards, liemuera, on Jan. 20, but the same depressed feeling in regard to stock of this class which we alluded to in referring to the sheep fair held at Messrs. Hunter and Nolan's Junction Yards was very apparent. There was a great disinclination to purchase, I bidding was slow, and the number of bidders, J as well as the number of sheep penned, bore no comparison at all to previous years. As regards the class of animals, especially the hoggetts and lambs, they were exceptionally good, and the former fetched fair prices—from 10s Cd to 19s. Older classes were at a discount, but it must be acknowledged that several lots were very low in condition. The pick of the lambs was a lot of 25 Lincoln ewe lambs belonging to Mr. J. Barr Brown. They were greatly admired, but the price offered, IDs, did not reach that fixed by the owner, anil they were withdrawn from sale. A splendid pen of ten two-tooth Lincoln ewes, belonging to Mr. Joseph May, were also deservedly appreciated, and the fact that the highest price of the day was offered for them shewed in what esteem they were held by competent judges, but 19s each was not sufficient to purchase them. In opening the Mr. Buckland said that there had never been at any time so uniform a class of sheep offered by him, although there had never been so small a number. There were only 55 lots on the printed catalogue, but a considerable number of others, making in all 77 lots, were subsequently penned and sold. There were comparatively few of the lots withheld from sale, although the prices could not by any means be considered satisfactory, but, as before stated, farmers now hold cattle in great favour than sheep, as being more profitable. Mr. A. Buckland continued the sheep fair at liemuera on Jan. 21, the stock penned being entirely rams. The attendance was meagre, aud the bidding languid, although some of the animals on exhibition were of splendid quality. In fact, it may be taken for granted that all the rams that fetched £4 and upwards in the annexed list were of the highest quality, but there were some in the pens which would not be calculated to improve any stock. Indeed, it may be said that the rams penned might be divided roughly into three classes—good, indifferent, and bad, —but in no case did the prices approach those obtained last year. Mr. Middleton's pens were deservedly admired. Tho animals were not large, but they were active and healthy, and the flossy, fashionable character of their wool attracted attention. His shearlings were especially admired. Mr. May's rams also had a considerable number of admirers. Messrs. Maclean and Co. had a large number of sheep catalogued, but a good many were withdrawn, as the prices did not prove satisfactory. As usual, the greatest demand was for young stock, but the sale, ou the whole, must have been very unsatisfactory to sellers.

10a 6d old issue. +£l Ida new issuo. _ t£4 10s new idauo. *£5 other issues. $£10 other issues. FRATER Sharebrokers and Land Agents. Insurance Buildings, Auckland, and Albert'Sireet, Thames, Feb. 1, 1679. CUSTOM 1 ? DUTIES. The following arc the full returns of Customs revenue for December quarter : — Auckland ..£53,746 3 3 Kaikoura .. £32111 C Thames .. 2,1'->5 2 9 Nelson .. 7,526 511 Russell .. 438 11 4 Westport.. 2.BSD 1< 8 Mangonui.. 82 17 2 Grermouth 8,479 16 11 Ilokianca .. 4'»7 9 7 Hokitika .. 6,015 17 4 Kaipara .. 415 10 8 Lyttclton .. 60,347 2 » Taaranga.. £64 1 0 Akaroa .. 66 18 0 Poverty Bay 2 299 5 G Timaru .. 5,525 15 2 N. Plymouth 2.120 911 o»miru .. 4.184 8 0 Wanganui.. 6,276 0 9 Runcdin .. 84.314 8 7 Wellington 47,880 10 4 Jnvercar*ill 12,440 16 7 Napier .. 9,803 2 0 Riverton .. 908 8 9

Wairau .. l.M'i 510 Picton .. 353 11 9 Total £310,782 14 8 H&volock .. 107 13 3 The revenue for the corresponding quarter cf 1877 was £302,792.

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The following ia the total value of imports and exports at the port of Auckland from and to each of the undermentioned places for the quarter ended December 31, 1S78 :— Countries. Import*. Exports. United Kingdom .. £204,449 .. £'83,000 Australasia — N«w South Wales .. 39,521 .. 34,572 Victoria - • • • 43,5G2 .. 18,481 South Australia .. 3,959 .. — Tasmania .. •• 3,123 .. 450 Islands in the Pacific— Norfolk Island .. 10 .. — Uew Caledonia .. 40 .. 704 Fiji Isles .. 1.403 .. 1.944 Tonga 1,253 .. 6,011 Navigator .. .. 48 .. 3,345 ''ook'8.. .. 2,000 .. 1,932 Gilbert .. .. 8 .. 210 Marshall .. .. 874 .. — Sandwich .. .. 1 • • 652 Solomon .. .. 251 .. — 8avage .. .. 512 .. J 273 Rotumah .. .. 1,087 .. 145 Suwarrow .. .. — .. 619 United States of America— On the Atlantic .. 11,420 .. — On th« Pacific .. 8,405 .. 214 China.. .. ... 614 .• — India— JB«ngal .. .. 700 .. — j Totals.. .. £323.160 .. £152,661 I "December, 1877 ..£206,630 ..£212,206