COMMERCIAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12602, 4 March 1903, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

Daily Times Office, Monday evening. . The. amount of revenue collected at ilia Dur.edir. Custom House tn-dny on goods cleared for consumption was £1881 7s 4d. Following tho sale, of tho American rights of the "l'aipo" explosive, reported some time ago, comes tho news that the South African rights lutvn hecu purchased by a Durban syndicate. Tho sum mentioned is £110,000, of which a deposit of £1000 has already been paid. It is understood that the sale was negotiated by Mr Harman Reeves. A powerful syndicato lias ateo been formad in Australia, with representatives in icach State, to purchase the Commonwealth rights, and a company to manufacture tho explosive is about to bo floated. This intelligence has caused considerable inouiry for shares in the local syndicate, and several Bales have recently been made at a good premium. Arrangements for manufacturing the explosive in Dunedin are going on apace, and the article will shortly be placed upon the mar-et. THE FLOURMILLERS' ASSOCIATION. It may be remembered that some months ago the Fiourmillcrs' Association mooted a project to buy up and close down the two mills in Timaru and Dunedin, owned and run by Messrs Evans and Co. (Limited), trading as the Atlas Milling Company. It was proposed mat each of the associated millers should contribute a proportion of the purchase money, they being reimbursed by an increased output of flour as the result of these two large mills closing down. The project fell through owing to the unwillingness of some of the millers to take up their shave of the purchase. We are informed that a new scheme is now on foot, which has every promise of success. A private syndicate, composed chiefly of Canterbury millers, have approached Mr W. Evans with a view to- Durchase his two mills. It is stated that Mr 3<lvans has definitely placed his mills in Timaru and Dunedin under offer to this syndicate, tho price'.mentioned being £33,000. It is stated that a deposit of £1001) has been, or is about to be, paid as a guarantee of good faith, and the purchase is to be completed within three. months. One of tho probable results of this operation will be the closing down at an early date of Messrs Evans and Co.'s Crown Holler Mills in Manor place. It is nimoiired that the syndicate hope to recoup themselves in the following fashion. At the present time (he Flourmillers' Association dispose of,' in tho aggregate, 60,000 tons of flour annually, and it is estimated that the purchase of these two mills will enable the .association to net an average of 10s per ton more on the total output, and thus clear the bulk of the purchase money within the first year,' It is anticipated that as soon as this purchase is completed the remaining Timaru mills will come into line with the association, and thus the Canterbury market will be completely controlled. In Dunedin', it is asserted that the bakers'are pledged not to purchase flour .from non-associated mills, whilst Invereargill is to be a frco port—that is to say, it will be used as a dumping ground for the surplus output of any of the >sssoeiated milla. It will thus -be seen that the New Zealand Flourmillers 1 Association have made fairly complete arrangements to commence a new and successful campaign. 'BREADSTUFFS. No business in new wheat is reported. It is assumed that tho drop in the price of flour is a move on the i/art of the millers to regulate the. price of wheat, as they are still working on their old stocks. Current quotations, remain at the same level—vizis 2d on trucks Canterbury for Tuscan, and 4s 3'.t to 4s 4d for velvet: but millers do not feel disposed to pay more than 4s. Oats remain depressed in the ab'enee of any confirmation of the rumoured South African orders.' Plenty of Danish for immediate delivery are offering at Is 8d on trucks (eouivMent to 1- IfUrl delivered), and offers of Is 7d would doubtless load to business ' . GORE STOCK SALE. (From Our Own Conw.spoNnr.ST.) GORE. March 3. There was a fair attendance at the Gore sale to-day, when about 2500 sheep were offered. Pci&'a were good, and showed an improvement all round, atid everything offered changed hands. Fat wethers, medium, brought up to 133; fat ewes, from 7s 5d to 12s Gd; twotcotli ewes brought- 10s fid to lis 4d; two-tooth withers, 9a Get to lis Cd; two, Jour, and eixtooth tM; 12s 8d; fotir, six, and eight-tooth c\VSs, medium quality, 7s Gd to 8s lOd; fttll-

i mouthed cv;cs, 6s to 7s (id; full-mouthed merino ewes, ss; cull ewes, Is 5(1 to 3s lOd; , lambs, good, up to 8s 6d; culls, -Is to ss. . Cattle: About 80 head penned. The demand was poor, and tlife quality not good. Fat bul- \ locks sold up to f3; tat cows and heifers, ft j 103 to £G 10s; two-year-old steers and heifers, up to £3 10s; yearlings, £3 4s to £2 12s Gd; calves, 15s to £1.