NELSON.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1998, 19 December 1863, Page 3

NELSON.

The Examiner of the 12th. inst. gives the following intelligence in its monthly summary for home : — The dulness, advised for some months past as pervading every class of business, still continues. Sales are effected with extreme difficulty, transactions partaking almost entirely of a retail character. Stocks, which were heavy at date of our last summary, have been largely increased by the arrival of the Magna Bona, on the 21st ultimo, and the Napier on the Bth instant, both from London with lai'ge cargoes. By these arrivals all the wholesale warehouses will be filled to overflowing, and unless a large addition to our population takes place, as is anticipated, we do not see how present stocks are to be reduced to moderate dimensions, unless a heavy loss on importations is submitted to. The arrivals, in addition to the usual intercolonial steamers, during the month have been : — November 16, brigantine Elizabeth, from Melbourne ; 21st, barque Magna Bona, from London ; December 8, barque Napier, from London ; Bth, brig Yibilia, from Melbourne : 11th, ship Cashmei'e, from New Plymouth. The departures have been: — November 14, brig Thomas, for Newcastle (N.S.W.) ; 15th, schooner Bonnie Lass, for Otago ; December 2, brigantine" Elizabeth, for Port Fredrick, Jamaica ; 28th, ship Cashmere, for New Plymouth. The Napier, commanded by Capt. Petherbridge, who is well known in the New Zealand trade, made the passage in eighty-three days, being the fastest passage made for some years to this port. The next vessel from England will be the Annie Dymes, which we do not look for before February. She was to be succeeded by the Great Britain, but as orders latterly have been countermanded to a great extent, we trust to see a large diminution in imports during the next three monnhs. A public meeting has been held during the month to consider the means to be taken to develope our gold-fields. The receipt of gold, during the month, as reported at the Customs, has considerably exceeded 1,200 ounces, but this does not represent the whole of the actual receipts. The export by the outgoing steamer will be 1,000 ounces, Union Bank of Australia ; 500 ounces, Bank of New South Wales. This still leaves a considerable quantity not sent forward, and brings up the declared exports for the year to nearly 11,000 ounces. The provisional prospectus of the " New Zealand Coal Mining Company (Limited)," formed to work the rich coal-fields of the West Coast of the province, has been agreed upon, and we trust, ere long, the attention of capitalists in New Zealand and Australia will be attracted to the scheme by the reports which the Provisional Committee will doubtless take immediate steps to obtain. The last English mail brought us information that the late Postmaster-General of this colony had just completed arrangements with the I.C.H.M. Company to establish a line of steamers between New Zealand and Panama. We arc at present ignorant of the details beyond that the service is to cost £80,000 a-year. Doubtless the line will be continued on to Sydney. We may therefore look forward, at no very distant date, to a realization of this long-dreamt-of scheme, which will give us a fortnightly post to Europe. The Nelson steamer, according to last advices, was expected to leave England about the beginning of November, and cannot, therefore, be looked for before March.