AGRICULTURAL, COMMERCIAL, AND MARITIME REPORT.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume II, Issue 6, 30 June 1856, Page 15

AGRICULTURAL, COMMERCIAL, AND MARITIME REPORT.

FOR JUNE. The prices of all sorts of Agricultural produce continue to recede in all the Australia, markets, and are becoming du iof sale. This is owing to two or three causes :—the abundmt harvests that have b*en girnered—the veiy large importations from abroad—and the inability of the consumers to pay the famine prices which have so long prevailed. The Auckland markets have been compelled to follow th ; s example; and best flmr has declined to £lB and £>o per ton at the several mills. The prices curreut will show the rates at which produce is at present quoted ; but our readers will do well to keep it impressed upjn their memory that sales are often of a very arbitraTy character, depmding much upon the necessities of the moment, and that, therefore, exact figures can rarely be given. We can see no prospect of an early revival: nor is it, indeed, desirable that the extreme prices which have so long ruled should be longer maintained. The prices of provisions have had, and still have, an injurious influence upon the progress and prosperity of New Zealand. Thev have driven away many of th e artisans and labourers who s>ught to establish themselves amongst us to the other colonies where the necessaries of life are purchasable at much less cost than here. This is a matter of much regret; but if our readers will consider the lists of passengers now arriving and departing, they will discover that the balance is against us. The only way to prevent this is to render New Zealand what a few years since it was, the cheapest and most abundant of all the colonies*. We have insisted again and again,^-

and event) are proving that we said truly.—' that it is only by underselling every Australian colony, in grain and all aorta of agricultural produce that the New Zealand farmers', whether Native or European, can hope to thrive. Extreme prices are all very legitimate upon extreme occasions—hut it is ruinous to hold back produce in the hope of forcing a market which cannot be at ell influenced by our feeble means. Let the native growers consider. High prices make high, wages And though prices are now slowly falling here, they must fall lower if the labourer is to live and the farmer to earn the means of employing labour. The present season is a most important one. If the agriculturist shall relax in his energies. If the soil be less abundantly worked,—the country will assuredly suffer. And. if Australia should be subjected to a season of drought and her harvests in consequence should fail, in what a sad position would not New Zealand be without the means to supply a customer and enrich herself. We say then earnestly and urgently to every grower,—Speed the plough ! The last month ha? been an exceedingly tempestuous one, and shipping of al I classes have been severely tried. The brig Ocean, on her passage from Mannkau to New Plymouth encountered a terrific gale, from which she succeeded in escaping, but so stiained and worked that she has since been abandoned to the insurance. On the East Coast, many mishaps have oc curred ; the schooner Undine has been wrecked in Mercury Bay, and tire Adah in Hawkes' Bay; boih of these fine vessels being, we regret to say, native property. The schooner s St. Martin and Antelope were, likewise, lost in the same heavy gale ; and the s hooner Wave, which sailed about the same period, is still missing. We congratulate the enterpnVng natives of the East Cape on their rerent purchase of the fine schooner Henry. She is, indeed, a noble vessel, one of the smartest of the Auckland coasting fleet. The arrivals during the month have been the br'g Prima Donna, of 136 tons, with horses and cattle from Sydney :—the brig Sporting Lass, ]B3 tons, from the same port with a general cargo, 81 tons coals, and 4 passengers :—And the William Denny, steam ship, 600 tons, with a large cargo of merchandise, II horses and 21 passengers, also from Sydney :—the brig Gertrude, 120 tons, with 134 tons co Is, from Newcastle ; —the schooner Sybi', 108 tons, with sundry merchandise and 8 passengers; the schooner Flying Cloud, 46 tons, with goods j

and the schooner Eliezer, 56 tons, with goods and 2 passengess from Melbourne. The Eliezer is a smart vessel, and has been purchased for the New Zealand coasting trade. The only arrival, from London has been the barque Chatham, of 540 tons, with merchandise and 12 passengers. The Auckland brig Drover, 178 tons, has likewise arrived with 220 tons of guano from Peru. Guano is one ot the greatest fertilizers of the soil, and is employed with the utmost advantage in enhancing the product of the potato crop, in enriching grasses, and in promoting and enlarging die growth of most crops. The exports of the year from Kaipara appear to be considerably on the increase. There are many large vessels loading, and about to load, with spars and other timber. One of these, the barque Prince of Wales, 582 tons, is at present in Auckland harbour, on her way to England, with 553 loads of navy spars, 22 loads sawn timber, and 14 tons kauri gum. The departures have been the brig Prima Donna, 136 tons, with sundries; and the schooner Sybil, 108 tons, with 800 pieces timber, 57 bags oats, 25 kits onions, 62 bags kauri gum, and l 3 passengers, for Melbourne. The William Denny, steam ship, 600 tons, with 600 bags wheat, 200 bags bran, 6 bags onions, 193 hides, 5 bales sheepskins, sundry merchandise, and 50 passengers; the brig Moa, £36 tons, with 1280 bags, 5 cases, and 27 casks kauri gum, 146 bags wheat, 12 tuns polar oil, and 34 tons copper ore; and the schooner Pacific, 60 tons, with 12,000 feet timber, 30 tons kauri gum, 30 hides, 1 ton onions, and 9 bales wool, for Sydney. The Sydney whaling brig Phantom, after having refitted and refreshed, has sailed for the fisheries ; and the brig Sporting Lass, 183 tons, has gone to Hokianga to load with timber for Sydney. Forty-eight vessels of 1481 tons, with 119 passengers have arrived coastwise with 6080 bushels wheat, 420 bushels maize, 146 bushels apples, 1680lbs. onions, 7£ tons and 300 kits potatoes, 10 tons flour, 3 horses, 61 pigs, 57 casks and l£ tons pork, 30 casks slush, 2 casks oil, 568 packages, and 17£ tons kauri sum, 2570 posts and rails, 27,000 shingles, 33,100 feet sawa timber, 496 tons firewood, i

ISO kegs butter, 75. tons copper ore,; 10 tons toi bark, 1300 paiiDgs, 1 boat, 10 geese, 1 cask lard, and sundry, merchandize. : FiHy»f<rar vessels, of 141 l tons, have de- . parted-toastwisr, vHth 80 passengers, and the customary supplies of goods \

The following are the Auckland Market Prices Current, corrected to date: Bread Stuffs* Flour, fine, . . . . . 181. per ton. Flour, second quality, . . 1 61. per ton. Biscuit (prices unsteady) at from . . . . . SGs.to2os.per cwt. Bread per loaf of 21bs. . . 6d. Bran Is. Od. per bushel. Butchers Meat. Beef and Mutton from . . 7d. to 9d. per lb. Pork and salt) . . sd. to 6d.ditto Farm Produce. Wheat, (scarce) . . ss. 6d. to6s. 6d.per bushel Maize, (plentiful). . 4s. to ss. per bushel. Oats, .... ss. per bushel Potatoes, . . 3?. 10s to &l. per ton. Onions . . . . to 2d. per lb. Hay (plentiful) . . SJ. to 6J. per ton. Dairy Produce, Butter . . . . Is. 9d. per lb. Eggs .... 3s. per doz. Poultry . . . . ss. to 6s. per couple. Ducks . . . . 6s. to 7s. per couple. Geese .... 9s. to 10s. each. Turkies . . . . 10s. to lis. each. Hams and Bacon . lOd. to lid. per lb. Groceries. Tea .... 5?. 10s. to 6?. 16s. per chest. Sugar .... Sid. to od. per lb. Coffee . . . . lOd. per lb. Rice . . . . 2d to 2J per lb. So&p .... 355. per cwt. Candles .... lOd. per lb. Tobacco . . . . lOd. to Is. per lb. Live Stock. Horses from . . 15 J. to 60?. per head. Working Bullocks 50?. to 40?. per pair. Sheep from . . 20s. to 28s. a head. Dairy Cows . . 10*. 10s. to 15/. each. Calves from . . 255. to 40s. each.