AUSTRALIAN COMMERCIAL SUMMARY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2210, 9 July 1896, Page 7

AUSTRALIAN COMMERCIAL SUMMARY.

Sydney, July ♦. Investment Stock. — A review for the halfyear affords an excellent criterion of returning confidence. In local investments, excluding the additions made during the period .under review, and comparing with the previous hilf-je&r, there his been an increase in the value of stocks quoted on the Sydney Exchange of no lessthan £2,851,000. Throughout the whole range of investments eich seotion exhibited a sustained advance avsragiDg 6J per cent. Victorian companies show nn equally subitantial expansion. While the volume of business and the aggregate increase in value is considerably larger, still the difficulty in providing investments is increasing.

Mining Market*.— Both silver »nd gold are dull, and the declining. volume of business on the intercolonial exohanges, especially in Westrali&ns, shows a great contraction. Prices fluctuated considerably withouti thout anything in the shape of slumping. Silver were slightly better at the close, but gold wei'e we*.k and depressed. The following closing sales give an idea of the position : — Broken Hill Proprietary, 463 6d ; Block X, 6&i. Australian gold : Great Boulder mine, £12 ; Bank of England, £6 15s ; Ivanhoe, £7. Great Mercury sold from 7s 7|d to 8s 2d back to 7s 9d, closing with buyer* at 7s 6d an 'l sellers at 7s 9d.

. The total quantity of wool offered daring the season just ended was 441,400 bales, a decrease of 47,000 bales on the previous year. The quantity sold was 414,500, a deorcase of 10,580 bales. The shipment* from Sydney and Newcastle beyond the colonies totalled 681,380 balei, a decease of 68,633' bales. The first; official sale of the new season's clip took place on Thursday. The offerings, chiefly remnants of clips, included a tew lots ot: new Queensland wools. Prices were somewhat firmer throogooufr, excepting an occasional lot of scoured, when a fraction better was realised. No advance in values was recorded.

Taken aa a whole, the half-year has been pro* ductive of a satisfactory volume of business. The position is distinctly better than in January. The imports for the six months totalled £7,736,000, an increaie of £1,611,030 on the corresponding half of last year. Th« exports totalled £5,805,000, a deorease of £755,000. The removal of additional duties caused a> flutter in the import markets, and merchants werfl fully occupied making heavy deliveriesheld over pending the removal. Generally spelling, prices to consumers were reduced to the full extent of the duties. Butter, however, is an exception. Almost coincident with the disappearance of the duty merchants raised the price Id per lb. Breadstuffs are firm. A sale of a fair line of New Zealand at 3s 9d is re* parted. The imports of breadstuffs for the half-year was 1,730,000 bushels of wheat and 29,500 tons of flour. America and Canada together supplied 1,133,000 bushels wheat and 11,800 tons of flour. This still leaves an estimated storage of 937.000 bushels, against whioh there are wheatand flour afloat or under charter from America equivalent to 995.000 bmhels. The closing of the half-year affords an opportunity of gauging tho growth of tho New Zealand produce trade with Now South Wales. During tbe six months New Zealand supplied 106,500 bushels of wheat, 331 tons of flour, 16,000 bushels of maiza, and £2600 worth of bran and pollard. Each item shows a considerable increase. Iv oats, compared with' the first half of 1895, shipments increased ; from 306,000 to 408,500 bushels. Theimpqrts of onions reached 18,000owt, while the .value of potatoes sent jumped from £650 to £3500. Of hay • and chaff New Zealand supplied £7800 worth. The development, however, is most marked in butter and cheese. From a modest £107 worth in the first half of 1895 the butter bill for the period jußd ended increased to £7127, representing 184,7b0ib in weight ; while from £189 worth of cbesse the bill swelled to £4576, representing 241.5001b weight. Melbourne, July 4. The half-year closed quietly, in the import market, notwithstanding tbe quietness of trade for the past six months, the result was fairly satisfactory. The movement is decidedly towards the eßfcablinhment of -a sounder basis, and the outlook is hopeful. The breadstuffs market is still without life.

At the annual meeting of Goldsbrougb, Blort, and Co., the report (whioh was adopted) stated tbat the company only had the full benefit of reconstruction since last March. After providing for bad debt*, interest on borrowed money, and all other expenses, tho year cosed with a credit balance pf £215. The capital now amounted to £800,000. It is expected that during the next few years the total paid in by shareholders since reconstruction will reaoh £1,800, 000,. making the position* of the company better.

P. S. Casstdy (manager) and Ashbolt (printer), of the New Zealand Times, have been committed for trial on a charge of criminal libel on account of an *r!icle last month accusing JKirby of beinx -iiilcd with gatnbltjrs in this town.

ENO'S " FRUfT SA.LT."-A lady writes :-" I think you will b'n glad to hear that I find your 'FRUIT SAM" a most valuable remedy ; and I can asßure.you I recommend it to all my ft'iends, and the resultisalways satisfactory. Everything— niedicine or fpod— ceased to act properly for at least three months before I commenced: taking it ; ths little food I could take generally punished me or returned. My life was one of great suffering, so that I must have succumbed before long, lo ma and our family it has been a great earthly bleismfr I feel I cannot say too much for it.' Sold by all Chemists and Stores.