COMMERCIAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 972, 5 September 1889, Page 18

COMMERCIAL.

The customs duties for the past month were as follow :— On goods, £38,692 Is 9d ; primage, £1601 6s lOd; beer, £852 8a sd.

The customs revenue for the whole colony for August amounted to £142,683, against £136,625 for the same month of last year and £126,015 for July last. The principal ports returned as follows : — Auckland, £37,674; Wellington, £23,560; Christchurch, 23,100; Dunedin, £38,692.

The beer duty for August was £4096, against £3623 for the same month of last year. Auckland contributed £856, Wellington £494, Ghriatchurch £919, and Dunedin £852.

Millers' lines |have ruled during the week as follows :— Flour, £8 10s to £9 10s per ton ; oatmeal, £13 to £13 10s per ton ; chaff, £3 10s 1o £3 15s per ton ; bran, £3 10s to £3 15s per ton ; pollard, £4 10s to £4 15s per ton ; pearl barley, £18 per ton.

The following shows the number of bags of grain and produce received at Dunedin for the week ending 31st August:— Oats. Wheat. Barley. Potatoes. Flour, bran. Total. 1096 391 259 616 1433 3795

Messrs Dalgety and Co. have the following cablegram from their head office, London, dated August 24 :— " Public sales of wool In Antwerp : 1000 bales of Australian catalogued to date. Prices show a rise of from par to a in general." The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company have received the following cablegram from tneir London office, dated 30th August : — Wool. — The Antwerp sales are higher. Australian haa advanced |d par lb.

Wheat. — New Zealand wheat (f.a.q., c.i.f.) off coast, has declined 6d per 4801b since last reports. The weather is all that can be desired. Market has a downward tendency.

Frozen Meat, 'lhere is little demand ; supplies fuller. Mutton market has a downward tendency. Canterbury mutton is worth s§d per lb. Wellington mutton is worth sjd per lb. Beef market depressed. We understand that Messra Simon Broß., the enterprising firm of boot and shoe importers and mannfacturero, of this city, have purchased the Continental Boot Depot, late Lightband, Allan, and Co , of Princeß street.

Believing that there is a profitable market for horses in India, a number of Taieri farmers have decided to make arrangements with an Indian firm of im porters for the forwarding of a considerable number of draught and hack horses. Their information, howover, scarcely coincides with that given in a letter from a penon who took a shipment of horses to Calcutta, from which the Clutha Leader extracts the following:—" This is a pretty market! When we landed there were 12,000 horses in the Government depot, all waiting for a show, as it was rumoured the Government were wanting 100 more horses. They did take on a hundred, but would not look at New Zealandera. Up to date we only sold 101 horses, and have just managed to pay the freight, so we have 90 left, and they have to pay everything else, of which lam doubtful. If you were to put up the best horse in iDdia he would not bring more than £30, so we must wait till buyers come. The Indian market is glutted with horses this year." The writer then names a New Zealand shipper who has lost £3700. another £1500, and another £300, and says : — " I think our loss will be more. I have only sold one Bnlolutha horse, Patsy ; ho took the high jarop We have slid hor es from £2 up to £100. The Melbourne horses vv^re a lot bigger and stronger than ours. This is not thw market I thought it was. We were ver.y lucky in nob losing many in the ship, but it would have been betler for us if more had gone over the side. You 1 avo gofc to learn the way to tio when you on-ne i ere. This is a very unhealthy country, people dying with the heat and apoplexy every day." The farm at Chatton sold on Saturday by Messrs Simson, Elsworth, and Co., was knocked down to Mr P. Ford for £955. This was £20 more than the same farm brought about pight months ago, when a growing crop valued at £2UO was included in the sale. — Gore Standard.

James Samson and Co. report having sold by auction sections 7, 8, 9, 11, and 12, with buildings thereon(the residence of the^late Mr George Fowkes), Calton, North-Hast Valley, to Mr Wardlaw, for £600 cash,

Messrs Cnrswell and Co. report having Bold sections 1 and 2, subdivision of Birchwood estate, Mataura Island, containing 152 acres, at £3 10s per acre; alao section 67, Wairio district, containing 200 acres, at & satisfactory price. The purchasers were Messrs Alfred Coster and W. and H. Calder respectively.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company have received the following cablegram from their London office, dated 3rd inst. : — " Wheat : The market is very weak. New Zealand (f.a q., c.i.f ., to arrive off coa-t) has declined 6d per 4801b since last report. There is no demand. Frozen meat: Mutton market dull. Canterbury is worth sgd per lb; Wellington, s^d per Ib. Beof market quiet."

Victoria New South Wales... Queensland „. South Australia ... Western Australia Tasmania New Zealand bshls. 7-10 4-76 •89 385 10 50 20-16 24-22 I i o bshls. 1420 13-77 5-65 6-00 23-42 27*97 29 89 6 bshls. 13-55 1103 22-94 7'oo 14-70 23-55 31-15 i o 1 tons. 3-04 2 39 2-84 2-00 410 4-88 508 i_ tons. •75 •64 1-54 •50 1-00 I'll I*4l Total Australasia ... 18 23 3-60 I "68 7-31 24-22 The following table sho\ held in the different colon! s the live stock is: — Horseo. Cattle. Victoria ... New South Walea ... Queensland South Australia Western Australia ... Tasmania New Zealand ... 323,115 411,368 344,326 170,000 41,390 29,238 187,382 1,370,668 1,622,907 4,654,932 430,000 93,822 142,019 853,358 Total Australasia 1,486,819 9,167,698 Sheep. Pigs. Victoria... New South Wales ... Queensland South Australia ... Western Australia... Tasmania New Zealand 10,818,575 46,501,469 13,444,005 7,150,000 2,112,393 1,430,066 15,122,133 245,818 218,583 68,994 170,000 25,083 43,227 277,901 1,079,6°6 Total Australasia 96,580.640 The following table indicai death, and marriage rate in colonies, and also the natior. taxation per head :—: — ;es tl eacl lal c birth, of the 3t and Per 1000 of the Population. ta v m .a p n V 1 B o 1 1 P Victoria N.S. Wales ... Queensland ... S. Australia ... W.Australia ... Tasmania New Zealand ... 32-49 36-20 37-77 3306 35-88 33-10 3122 15-34 135 14-66 11-83 15 91 14-11 943 8-42 7-37 8-63 6-56 7-18 6-59 5 97 £ s. d. 2 19 2 2 10 5 4 3 8 3 6 6 4 5 1 2 16 3 3 12 8 £ s. d. 31 14 10 40 12 4 «6 13 10 60 3 1 30 5 3 30 0 11 d 6 4 7 Total Australasia ... 34-03 1339 7-47 3 0 6 46 2