AGRICULTURAL, COMMERCIAL, AND MARITIME REPORT.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume V, Issue 8, 15 April 1858, Page 5

AGRICULTURAL, COMMERCIAL, AND MARITIME REPORT.

From the Ist to the 15th April. The Flour Markets of the other colonies are not only firm, but there has been a slight advance of 20s. per ton. On the stability of this rise, there is a considerable difference

of opinion among commercial men. Some point to the fires and droughts that have burnt up and destroyed much of the harvestings. Others contend that this will be compensated by the larger quantities or land that have been put udder cultivation; and are therefore persuaded that prices will go even, lower than before. For ourselves, judging from the information before us, we incline to think that there will be neither any great rise or fall in the price of wheat; no remarkable fall for the reason that the stocks of imported flour are rapidly diminishing, that in South Australia and Tasmania wheat was coming slowly into market, and reports of defective harvests continued to prevail, and because, at the prices going for flour, it would not pay to import from the Chilian growers. The arrivals since oar last have been the schooner Kate Kearney, 95 tons, Captain Dixon, in the Manukau* from Nelson and New Plymouth, with 360 sheep, 190 lbs. butter, 245 bushels grass seeds, 2 cwt hairs, 4 passengers;—Eliezer, schooner, 56 tons, Captain Kean, from Napier, with 4 bales wool. 2 passengers;— Spray, brigantine, 108 tons, CaptainH.F. Anderson, fromLyttelton, with sundry merchandise ;—Tyne, schooner, 84 tons, Captain Aked, from Melbourne, in search or cargo;— Gertrude, brig, (2) 217 tons, Captain Grange, front Otago and Lyltlctou, with sundry merchandise, and 10 passengers;— Gil Bias, brig, 175 tons, Captain Nicol, from Otago, with sundries;— Swan, brig, 150 tons, Captafn Anderson, from Wellington, with goods and 6 passengers;— Gertrude,brig,(l)l20tons, Captain Dunning, from Sydney, with a full cargoof merchandise, and 2 passengers;— Sarah, brig, 121 tons, .Captain Firth, from Melbourne, with goods, and 25 passengers;—Agnes,brigantine, 104 tons. Captain Robertson, from Melbourne, with sundry goods,and 18 passengers;— and the barque Isabella Hamilton, 238 tons. Captain Wittleton, from London, with a general cargo of merchandise, a fine thorough bred mare, (a thorough bred horse unfortunately died on the-passage,) and 4 passengers. The departures have been as follow; Emily Allison, brigantine. 99 tons, Captain Rnston, for Napier,with 19,000 feet sawn limber, 28,000 shingles, 700 bricks, 69 tons firewood;— Esther, schooner, *4 tons, Capt. Blair, for the Chatham Islands, with sundry merchandise ;—Ann, schooner, 37 tons. Captain Williams, for Napier, with 80 bags lime, 3000 bricks, 50 tons firewood;— Kate

Kearney, schooner, 95 ions, Captain'Dixon, from the Manukau for New Plymouth, with 50 soldiers of the 65th Regiment, 5 artillery soldiers, 2 officers, and military stores;— Sporting Lass, brig, 183 tons, Captain Cellum, for New Plymouth, with sundry merchandise, 30 passengers; Spray, brigantine, 108 tuns, Captain 11. F. Anderson, for Lytlelton, with 60,000 feet kauri timber;—Acis, schooner, 94 tons, Captain Thompson, for Lyttlelon, with 60,000 feet kanri timber, 10 cwt. onions;—Elicier, schooner, 56 ton"!, Captain Kean, for Napier, with 85 tons firewood, 8 passengers ;—William Watson, barque, 48a tons, Captain J. R. Brown, for London, with 96,940 lbs wool, 219 tons kauri gum, 128 A tons copper ore 69 tuns sperm, 72 tuns oil 18 barrels slush, 2 casks tallow, 2 bales flax 2 bundles wliale bone, "bundles bark2bags horns, 105 hides, 1 bag gold dust, 45 passengers ;—Gazelle, schooner, 212 tons, Capt. P. Jones for Sydney, with 1424 bushels bran, 1325 bushels oats, 10 cwt onions, 75 tons potatoes, 4 tons kauri gum, 516 lbs wool, 9000 feet sawn limber, 12 cases cheese, sundry merchandise, 24 passengers!— Gil Bias, brig, 175 tons, Captain Nicol, for Wellington, with 10,000 feet kauri timber, 5 tons potatoes ;—Osprey, schooner, 47 ions. Captain Hunt, from the Manukau, for New Plymouth and Nelson, with goods 10 passengers;— Leveret, brigantine, 147 tons, Capt. Benedict, for Sydney, with Rowe and Marshall's Circus;— Swan, brig, 150 tons, Captain Anderson, for Lyllleton, with 5000 feet kauri timber, 5 tons flour, 10 cwt onions. We are anxious to diiect the attention of our native readers to the large and valuable cargo stopped for London 4>y the William Watson; more especially to the considerable quantity of wool,—an invaluable article of export which we rejoice to perceive is steadily on the increase, and which cannot be too carefully or.perseveringly cultivated. It is to wool that Australia and Tasmania owe all their prosperity. And it is wool which is advancing the middle island of New Zealand with gigantic strides, enriching the settlers, and drawing the largest and finest of the English ships, into the Southern ports to carry it away. In the Northern part of New Zealand, sheep are only just beginning to increase. The natives are unfortunately more attached to the breeding of miserable, profitless, horses than to the feeding of valuable sheep, and the culture of gold producing wool. This is a.sad mistake, for wool is gold, and sheep are the best of food;

besides, ships that flock to load with wool require and consume large quantities of the farmers stocks, enriching the country in every way. Sheep cannot, therefore, be 100 generally propagated, or grass too extensively sown; and some idea may be formed of the rapidity with which wool may be grown from the simple fact that only 500 lbs weight of wool went from Auckland to London in 1836-the quantitv had increased to nearly 50,000 lbs in 1857—whereas by the single ship William Watson, in the first quarter of the year 1838, the wool shipped amounts to 96,940 lbs, whilst at least as much more bas been shipped to England by way of Sydney. Wool is the gold mine to which the natives in the North should direct their attention, if they desire to insure their own wealth and the prosperity of the country. There have arrived coastwise 29 vessels of 731 tons, with 72 passengers, 4370 bush, wheat, 251 bushels maize, 434 bushels apples, 600 bushels shells, 3 cwt onions, 23 cwt salt pork, 3 kegs butter, 8 fowls, 31 head cattle, 377 sheep, 10 cwt flax, 4 tun sperm, 6 tuns oil, 9000 fept sawn timber, 25£ tons kauri gum, and 360 tons firewood. The departures for the coast have been 33 vessels of 705 tons, with 88 passengers, and the usual assorted cargoes. The markets are without any noticeable alteration. The following are the prices current corrected to date. Bread Stuffs. Flour, fine, ... . . 46*. per ton. Flour, second quality, . . 141. per ton. Flour of native manufacture from 10/. to 12 Biscuit at from . . 20s. to 255. per cwi. Bread per loaf of 21bs. . . 4d. to sd. Bran Is. Od. per bl. Beef and Mutton from . 6d. to 7d. per lb. Pork (fresh and salt) . . sd.to6d.diito Farm Produce. - mea * ...... ss. per bushel Maize .... 6s. 6d. to 7s. per bushel oats 7s. per bushel Potatoes ..... 6/. to 7J. perton Onions . . 2d. ta3d. per lb. Hay (pleitiiful) ... . 51. per ton. Kauri Gum . . . 91. to 10*.