COMMERCIAL.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3196, 11 May 1871, Page 2

COMMERCIAL.

•—* Auckland.— The "Herald" of the 6th reports : — The arrival of the Nevada is an event calling for comment commercially. _ Her freight on this trip was small, consisting chiefly of preserved fish. She also brought a consignment; of American brooms, bufc no Honolulu sugar. Tho short stay of the vessel on this occasion at Honololu would no doubt militate greatly against the forwarding of goodB ; bufc we are convinced that, with regular steam communication, a trade of very considerable importance will spring up beween Auckland and the Honolulu group. At the flax and Bkin sale hold yesterday, skins brought from 3d to 4d the lb ; wool in grease, 6^d to 8d the lb : washed wools, BJd to Hid. There was less than fche usual quantity of flax offered. Inferior brought from 7s to 13s the cwfc; best quality £17 to £21 the ton. One parcel was withdrawn, £22 being required for it. Shabe Mabket.— Mr J. T. Garlick reports . — « I have sold to-day Caledonians afc £115 and £116 ; Thames Gold-mining Company, £22 10s; Central Italy, 20s; Whaus, 26s 61 ; Moanataiaris, £3 7s 6d, £3 10s, and £3 15s ; Tookey, £12 10s and £13 ; Poverty and Charleston, £2 12s 6d ; Una, 21s 6d ; Kelly, £2 19s ; Red Queen, 8s ; Junction, 355 ; Alburnia, £2 8s ; Otago, 355. Caledonians held for £117 10s ; Central Italy withdrawn. Thames in demand at £22 10s; Eureka, sellers 6s 6d ; Moanataiari, Union, 16s ; Prince Imperial, sellers at £4 ; Cures, sellers 225 ; All Nations, sellers £5 ; Tookey, £13 ; Junction, buyers 355. Belfast inquired for." Mr Vickers reports : — Moanataiari ab 60s ; Otago, 30s to 355 ; Central Italy, 20a ; Red Queen, 8s 6d to 10s ; Cure, 20s to 30s ; Nonpareils, £4; Kelly's, £2 ss; Imperial Crown, 60s ; Long Drives, £15 10s ; Shofcover, 5s j Tookey, £12.

[AtJSTEALASIAN TEADE REVIEW.] The rates now offering for freight as under : — For London — Wool, washed and greasy, id; tallow, 455; bark (ground), 40s per ton; bark (chopped), cannot be engaged ; measurement goods, 32b 6d to 35s por 40 cubic feet. —From Newcastle— Hong Kong, 27s 6d ; Shanghai, 36s ; Singapore, 18s ;' Java, 14s ; Honolulu, 20s j San Francisco, 31s 6d ; Galle, 21s — Large quantities of sheepskins continue to come forward, but tho demand has been sufficient to sustain past prices ; the increase being accounted for through the increased growth of wool. — Full-woolled skins, flcarce ; worth 2a 6d. Station skins, worth from 3£d to 7£d per lb. Late sales of tallow havo been well attended by buyers for both local and shipping interests ; but such an unusual quantity coming forward, a slight reduction — say from 20s to 30a per ton — from last quotations has had to be submitted to. Mutton realised from £3. to £35 por ton ; beef, from £32 to £34 ; mixed, from £32 to £34 ; inferior, from £29 to £31. The following are fche weights of the wheat exhibited at the agricultural shows this season : — The heighest weight was 661 b 12oz ; at Ballarat, tne second prize sample went 661 b loz ; at Cnsfclernaine, fche first was 65£lb ; at Newbridge, 66) b; and finally, at Hamilton, a sample is reported to have weighed 691 b 4oz ! The highest weight ever attained in these colonies was only 4oz in excess of tho above, and that was by an Adelaide sample, which beat the highesb Victorian one by 2oz. The Paris correspondent of the "Telegraph" mentions a report to the effect; fchafc in view of the financial necessities of Franco resulting from tho treaty of peace, it will be necessary to levy a tax upon the raw material employed in manufactures, especially on all textile fabrics. It is calculated that a tax upon cotton alone will produce from sixty to eighty millions a year. Foreign manufactures will be subjected to a heavy duty, proportionately heavier than that imposed upon the raw material. The " Economist" expects on tho whole— judging both from probability, and from such information as wo can obtain~-that the French will bring out a considerable loan in London — or rather partly in London — within a reasonable period, and as soon as fchey can • and a larga part of this, though not the whole, fchey will pay over to Germany. Somo they must keep for their own purpose. As to this loan, one thing, and perhaps only one, may bo said confident l ?, and that is fchafc the French will get very iittle abroad unless they subscribe very largely at homo. If tbey themselves show a discouragement as to the state of their finance, or a distrust of their present Republican Government, no one elso can be expected to lend. If those most interested, and those who ought to know beat, in the least shrink, no others can be expected to aid. The moment is indeed very perilous fco French credit. The new chargo, taking what thoy will have to borrow for themselves, and what they must borrow fco pny the Germans, cannot bo less than £17,000,000 or £18,000,000. And this they will have to meet either by a reduction of expenditure, which on a hugh scale is always difficult or by an increase of taxation oufc of tho peculiar and inelastic resources whioh a short time since we elaborately described. And they begin it with the worst omens.