EUROPEAN & AMERICAN NEWS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVIII, Issue 3532, 24 June 1872, Page 2

EUROPEAN & AMERICAN NEWS.

THE EARTHQUAKE IK SYRIA. SMALL POX IN HONOLULU. [..•DJfl GREVILT-b'S IBS-CO., EBXJISL.'a AGENTS^ BOME. • . . The Italian Government has sent a protest to the Government of Prince Charles of Roumania, protesting against ihe persecution and oppression ofVthe Jews in that countrj. :' BYJRIA. " Particulars of the late earthquake in . Syria are coming to hand. The fatalities were not greatest in the city^of Antioch. A letter from Antioch says : — "'The American Protestant Church " was severely injured. All the members of the families of the missionaries are safe. The number of persons killed in. the city of Antioch is Jess than 800, but 1600 perished in the surrounding towns, where the shocks were very severe The distress of the people will be only temporary. , . HONOLULU. The newspapers announce the odcurence of a case of small pox. They say the disease was brought' there, by the - Nebraska on her last trip. Leprosy. is also 7 raging fearfully, ' • wool. • The New Zealand Loan & Mercantile Agency Company's circular says " the decline ifi price- established at the commencement of the series, amounting, in all descriptions, save Cape produce, to an average of Id as compared with February .and March, has during the progress of the' sales become increasingly marked, and may now be quoted at from ,2£d to 3d, the reduction applying more especially to lower un- , washed descriptions,- and, makes the fall expressed therein re«expressed in per centage proportionately heavier. In searching for reasdns why buyers should have declined to operate, during the present series unless at a considerable discount on the previous rales, we think they may be found in the fact that there has been little competition exhibited by French operators, while the home trade when uot absolutely compelled to purchase with the knowledge that the sue ceeding series of June and July wiU probably comprise 200,000 bales, continue to operate with extreme caution, while the imports to date compared with last year shew an excess by reason of the present clip having been shipped earlier than the one preceding. It is now a matter of faot that the production of the year 1871-2 directed to this market will shew little if any increase on 1870-1. With this feature in viewit cannot be supposed that during the remaining series of the K year lower . prices will continue to rule, although they may .be subjeot to fluctuations in value/ 1 FLAX. The Home News of May 2nd reports "supplies continue limited, but have been coming forward with rather more regularity lately. The market is still strong, and sellers obtain extremeprices_ especially for fine qualities, which at the sales last week were eagerly bought at a further advance. Sales for the month amount to 1000 bales, chiefly good medium to, fine sontß. Tow is in improved demand ; about 200 bales were sold at £15 to £16 15s per lon according to quality. The following list comprises the principal marks sold : — Per Queen of the South, from Lyttellon. S.S. 8.8., £42 155 ; 0.C.H., £42 ; K'owai A., £39 to £39 10s; Ko\yai, £37; Waikato, £35 ; Kowai, .L. E., £32. The Some INeios, of 2nti May, reports: — Sales of New Zealand tow, per Halcione, from Wellington, E.G., £89 15s ; M.0., £38. LOs to £38 14s"; R. and J., diamond A., £37 10s : B.M. and B;, . sorted, £30 10s ; R, aud J., diamond 8., £35 10s. Per Merope, from Lyttelton : — A.B. 6, £37; H. and 0.0., £.37; S.H.F., £30 ; M.A.E., £35 10s ; S.H S., £33. Per Penthesilia, from Melbourne :— • H.F.M., £00 10s ; 0. EL; £35 ss. The arrivals of flax comprise Queen of the South, from Lyttelton ; Electra and Annie, from Wellington; and Penthesilia, from Melbourne, with a total of about 1100 bales of hemp and tow. The stock on the Ist instant was about 320 tons against 1120 tons last year. TALLOW. The Times of May Ist says : — According to the circular of Messrs Colchesiers and Woolner, the market has been inactive during the past week and a decline has taken place in all positions for forward delivery. The public sales on Friday met with ready buyers, and the price of tallow under the hammer advanced 3d per cwt. 2800 casks were sold out of 2900 offered. To-day the London markets are quiet, with sellers at Ms 6d, fine 42a 0d; October aud December, 1870, re-weighted, 47s 6(1 ; Australian rriut* ton, 42& 6d to 48s 6dj beef, 1 42s to 42s 6d ; South American mutton, 42s Od to 48s 6d ; town tallow, net, 435. At the close the market is flat with sellers at 54s for April and June. PRESERVED' MEATS. ' '."", .The New Zealand Loan Mercantile Agency circular says: — The.. transactions in preserved meats have been confined, in the absence of publiei sales? during the month. Transactions r .hafe; been confined to a supply of, /t^acle requirements % private contract. These '.. have been only to a limited extent, |he sales effected having been chiefly; for smaller sized tins, for which ihere continues to exist the greatest demand. Shipments of the article now Afloat amount in the aggregate to 20,0d0 cases, and the arrivals during the month have been about 7,000 oases. HIDES AND SKI'RS. > ; ■>'••''' The British Trade Circular, of; Ist May reports r-^-Sheepskins ham geneV rally ruled very dull throughout, aud prices show an average decline of £8

15s per dozen on all descriptions of weighty, heavy averages showing the greatest fall. Ox and cow are in small supply. Fatted Australian sold at l|d to l^d per lb below the last rates. 5255 Sydney first heavy fatted sold at. 6|d to*6fd; firsts, 6fd to 6*d; seconds, 6sd. MONEY MABKET. The Some News of 2nd May quotes New Zealand Securities: Sixes, 112 to 1U; Fives, 102 to 103; Conso'idated, 101 to 102; Sis per Cents, 1891, 111 to 113. INVESTMENTS. Loan Mercantile Agency shares, 1 prern. ; Trust and Loan, 1£ to If prem. ; New Zealand Bank,. £18 to £19 ; Bank of Otago, 3J dis ; Otago and Southland Investment, £prem. ; Dunedin and Port Chalmers Railway Mortgage Debentures, £86. SHIPPING, Arrived — Annie, from Wellington, May 23. Sailed — Halcione, May 26. Passengers : Mr Lawson and family, C. T. Brown and family, Mrs Bell and child, Mrs Robinson, Masters Henderson (2), Miss Htould, Mr and Miss Ware, Mr Griffiths, Dr Popham. The schooner Mercury is loading at New York for Dunedin and Wellington.