THE WEEK'S BUSINESS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1419, 1 February 1879, Page 22

THE WEEK'S BUSINESS.

Witness Office, Thursday Morning. KcroiGAO is but littlo ii u,uircd for, as the long daj.s we are now er>j"> t \imj have a v^ry pppieciable dfect upon tie uiMisiiui^tun. Piiccd ol the v..iioud hr.tiuis in tho ma Uet are unchauijeil since our iast quotations Omd es are tileodull cf sule for the same reason, and iho pneca of imported manufactures continue very niro tiunemti\e. Dd lloubvx J-nar's we quote 9d p<r )b, d.p. In tea and sugar there is littln tnisi tsi doiiif, rs the suppiion bought at the begi Diiii}.' of tbo month wire amply sufliccrt for tho requirements of all the tra';e. Ale continues in very modeiate supijly, a.id blocks of f.ivourite br.i n\s In itnportsrt,' lunds are almost nil We quoto Temiant'a lls ; Bulldog, 11s 31 ; ai'E van's, 10s 9d to 11s. Stout moves off mor.- slowly at— for Burke.*, ll.i 9d lo 12s ; Juhiißt'.n'a, lls; Buudotj, lls 3d; Piif, lls 3'l. In w.nes businias ia cof.flutd to ode purclnte of clarets, hocks, and other light se^sjiinble sort?. Hennes<y's brandy mainia'ns its advn.c*, and 33s b'd is now refused for oidinaiy parcel.-!. The high prices luting iv Melbourne, and the shortness of the supply in the Home maikuts, arc actina; favourably on our own, and the present tendency v to hold for better pr.cts. Bulk ib not s>tf>'C ed to the same extent, but hi lders lo >k for an advance in this line also, and ask ior 9> 9d ptr gsillou. uihar biauds maintain their respojlive positions in the market, according- to the fiv> ur shown them by the trade. In whiskit-s there is a mtle more movement, and we henr that the agents are iilnnst cleared out of Dunville's cate. Geneva is 111 better dtnihud, and Old Tom cm ia in very Iwie aupph. Butter is not plentiful, and commands 10il t) 10.V1. \ heese U tlio nther scarce at 7j I to Bd. Ualbs and hoc .11 are in fair supply, at B V I p u .r lb all round. Diie I fruits have unuer,'Oi>c nc chmge, aid jinci s i.re as last reported. American silm >n is tinner intone, und best brands cuminuiid Si Dd per iio/eu. Lobsters c mtinue scarce. I'yateis ;vu 111 moderatii >upply at is 3d per d zsn. Some consideiabl • sihia of v.aicutta snoods, ex Amelia ai d L.iweswater, have been nude during the week The la'jjri supplies by iheue vessels, und the repo.ts of otl.eis on tl.e way, have operated unf ivourably on the price of cornsackd, and pveeh tf these are now > ft'ering at 8d per dizjn. A thlpmont of castor oil has been taken up during the week at about 43 Gd ptr gallon, dut.ypaid ; holders now ask 4s 9d. Hops are selling at Is and Is Id per lb for C diforniaan ; Is (id for Hew Kents«, ana Is 9d f.r new Ooldmus. Gdlvanis^d iron keeps low in pries, and quotations for fencii.g wire are a little unsettled. Markit rates we quote £13 10s and £U for No 6; £!4to£l4loi for 7, and £14 10j to £15 for No. 8. Whett is) almost neglected, and pricts have a down war tendency. Wcqiibti nomiml rates, prime milling, 3s 91; ordinary, 3s 6i; fowl's feed, 2^ 6J to 3s 3(t. Oats are hu littleinquired for at 3s 6d to 3! 8d for f«"d, aud 3s 7d for milling. Iv barley there is nothing doin?.

iNVEttCARGiLL, January 24 h. Consequent upon tho railwiy opening, imitations during the \v«wk have been somewhat limited Breadstuffs ru eat last week's iate ; flour goes off at £10 to £11 for tiado parcels; baa is "orth about £5; pollard £5 15) per ton; "atmeM his a slightly upward tendenuv, and prices now rue at £20 per ton, at the luillt.. Wheat ia worth 4sto4> 3d for fowls' feed. Uat3 have a downward tr-ndoney, and are no* offering at 3< fid to 3-i 9". Bnrl°y is still scarce Mites (fiountos) we bringing £10 per 1000 i<or Spirits theie has been a brisk dtminri, stocks bcinc extremely low. Ale has been salrnb.a sit 11s od, and Blood's j-t'uit at the sania rsite. In brandie3 a good trade has been done. Bisquit's has brought 8a 3d in r> u ik, an^ 28<5 iv caso ; while Denis Jlouiier'.-> has leen moving olf (in cisi-) at 325. Of the lit'.er lino ihero is no bulk in the market, except daik, which is unsaleable Stocks of cam-nt are law, ami piices ni'o at from 19j to 20s perc>slc. Ktrosci.e (D amond) 2a 2'l. ppeini oandJoa, about 9i ; nnuket fu 1. Cunants, 4} 1 ; bt nki good. Corns-icks. 9* : market Wl-11 supplied. Hice, £28 ; P.una, i3l. Brown pup»rs realise .180 10j ; yel.ow crystal, £10 ; white, £,li ('luty [laid). Wco picks uri* selling fieri v at ii, i''niscr,U'jut upon shcarii g' beinK very genenl ihrou.hout 'lie 'lintrict. th.iivmarkft — Vlr < '. W. Browa icp irts «,ho state of thestuienuikttfor week "iidii'tr Fridiv, ?4ih January, as follows: U«nkH-New Zaalind(witn ri.ht of new issue) £21; without ntht to now i sue £23; new issue, £3 premium ; National, £3 17s ; Colonial, £2 10s and £2 IK Insurances-New Zealand, £4 ; National, 25s 6d ; Colonial, da ; Union, Ids Cd ; South

British, £3 8s; Na'ional Mortage and Agency Co» £1 4 • SeottWi and New '/ea'and Investment Co, 18s ; Unio ■ FUeam Shipping Co, £8 : New Zealand Shipping C\ £4 5s ; Mosgiel Woobn Factory, £3 8-; Guthrie and Lan men's Wood ware Fa"toiy, £5 ; Otago and Southland Invcvtiieiit Co, 30*. The demand for noises ia somewhat slack. Ordinary hacks hivj bici fold during the wck at from £5 to £12 ; mperior do, up to £20 ; lu'ht draughts, £20 to £'5; medium draughts, £30 to £35; heivy driti«hts, £50 to £02 C\ttle cont'inis in tooddetnun.l. Oo^l sourd-monUied merino ewos have bf-on sold at 4', and shorn l.eice-! er do at 10s, with lamb? at foot, li).i 31. There his been cons-deralile ei.quiiyfor properties, but no very important sales have oeen effected. Macrone and Ouihbo-t-ion held their first wool s*le of the c eason tu-d.ty. Tho cirupstiticn was not bri'.k, but rates fully equal to late Dunedin quotations were reil aed. Mr Martin, en belnlf of the National Mort?a<re and Agency Co., to-day sold about ]90 bales. 'IheaUend me? wu good. Cross-breds wool ranged from 8d to 9JJ, and merino from i- to Og. Oam mv. January 24th. Theie is nothing doing in the, strain .-ml bread-ituffa market, and prices remain aa bcfoie quoted. Mr A. H. Maude ropotto that at ilia monthly sale there was very languid competition, and prices wore decidedly lower than at tiie pievbuj rale, and the mij >nty of tho 1-us offered wero p-used in. TneffiW lotH 3' - >lu raali'ied f'om Of to 7^ sd for cto-s-breds. For the ukina he quotes pncj^ as follows :— Crosi-bred, 4d to 8d ; merino ewe slii:is, ii f -rior, la 5 1 to Is lid. MrT 11. Brown reports: Cr< B-bred wool at from Cgd to 7d prr )b ; do merino, 6Jd ; cross bred skins, 4a 5d to 4s Cd ; mer no, inferior, 2) 9d to 3s ; lambs' skins, Is Id ; pelts. 7}d. Oamaru, January 25th. A firm in town is offering fi iur ao £9 per ton. 'Jiiiaru, January 24th. Harvesting operations are now in full swing in most pirfcs of South Canterbury, aDd crops, as a rule, are lokinsf excellent, deliveiie3 of new grain worth spe.ikini of have t-ikon pl«.co, and prices are nominally 8s 0d to 3s 91 for wheit, and 2a 9d to 3s 3d for eats. Barley will open at a high pi ice.