MELBOURNE COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

New Zealander, Volume 9, Issue 770, 31 August 1853, Page 2

MELBOURNE COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

August 10th, 1853. Gold comes down in very considerably increasing quantities, but the price still remains at £3 17s. 6d. \V. M. Tennent and Co. sold yesterday the cargo of the Eucalyptus, from Hobart Town, at the following prices :—Scantling, 4x4, 575. per 100 feet; joisting, 6x3, from 535. to 595.; do 5x3, from 525. to 545.; quartering from 475. to 565.; bat ens, 485., to 535. per 100 feet; shingles 675. to 745.; laths, 425.; paling, 655. and u'6s.; a two-roomed house, 24 x 12, for £9B ; and lead 525. per cwt. Ross and Co. sold yesterday English houses, oneroom, £55 each ; lime, 15s. and 16s. per bag. J. A. Hay sold, yesterday, Brown's River potatoes, £l6 to £l9 per ton ; Cork butter, Is. 9d. to Is. lid.; Manilla cigars, £-1 per 1000: V. D. L. hay, £ls to per ton; crushed sugar, 6d.; grooved and tongued boards, 6 inch, s|d. 6£d. A three-roomed brick-cot.tage at Collingwood, iu GreaveH-street, was sold, yesterday, by W. M. Tennent and Co , for £IOOO. E. Gilbert and Co. sold, at the Victoria Mart, yesterday, gunpowder, Is. 3d. per lb.; iron bedsteads, 235. each; bluchers, ss. 3d, per pair ; Baltic oats, 9s. 6d. per bushel; port in octaves, Cs. 6d. per gallon ; brandy, 60s. per gallon ; Goschen butter, Is. 6d. per lb. J canvass, Is. Id. per yard ; corks, 25.9 d. per gross slops, 10 per cent, on invoice. August 11th. E. Gilbert and Co. sold yesterday, at the Victoria Mart, ch-ese, Is. Id. per lb.; porter, 14s. doz.; pale brandy, 425, doz,; sherry, £9 per qr. cask ; oats, 10s. bushel. Stubbs and Son sold yesterday, at their Rooms, QueeD-street. fifteen wooden houses, ex (Jem, from Singapore:—l-roomed wooden houses realised £l90; 3 do. do. £135 ; 2 do. do, £BS ; 1 do. do. £3O. In the Flour trade, notwithstanding tbe further receipts of American descriptions, above noticed, the firmness whch prevailed last week continues to improve ; and we have heard of sales of sweet barrel flour at 505., (equal to 26/. 10s. per ton,) while Colonial meets a steady demand at 28?. to 30/. The large arrivals of oats have not affected the price of good qualities, which remains at last week's quotations. Potatoes, of good quality are improving in value ; sales have been made of Circular Head descriptions at 20/. per ton. Paling and some other kinds of building timber, which gave way slightly, a few days back, have nearly gone up to previous rates, although the receipts of house frames and otter prepared building materials, have been large. BENDIGO PRICE CURRENT. July 30th, 1853. Since last report, L. MacpheKon & Co. have sold at tbe stores of Mi. Bird the whole of bis stock of Mer. chandiae ; also tbe entire stock belonging to Mr. Kirk-

land, and the stock and store of Messrs. Ross & Co., Seventh White Hill, and the following prices have be»n obtained :—Mauritius sugar 9Jd. per lb. ; Sydney pieces, 10$ d per lb.; wrapping paper, Is. 6d. per lb. ; ground coffee, 2s. (id. per lb. ; congou tea, 2s. tid. per lb.; negrohead tobacco, ss. 3d. per lb.; tartaric acid, 7s. 3d. per lb. Oats, from 335. to 38s. per bushel; bran, 16a. per busbel, dried apples, Is. sd. per lb.; butter, 3s. 9d. per lb.; cheese 2s. per Jb.; tallow candles, Is. 3d. per lb. ; flour, £65, £7O, and 75 per ton. Also, at their horse-bazaar, 73 horses, at prices, for draught, from £l6 to £*i4; inferior do., from £22 to £33; hacks, from jf 11 to £35, 4 small bullocks and dray, £65. The many aud apparently well-founded reports of fresh discoveries in tbe neighborhood, have had the effect of unsettling the whole of the digging community and prevented parties from taking advantage of the present opportunities of laying in supplies ; but the still coniinued rains.acting upon the at prespnt awful stale of the roads, will prevent the arrival of any quantity of stores, aud prices must advance. Gold, £3 15s. to £3 15s. 6d. per oz.

SYDNEY COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE, 6th August, 1553.

Manufactures, and consumable'goods maintain very high quotations in Britain, owing to a redundancy of money, and the healthful state of commercial interests on the continent. Meantime, with us a'l speculative demand ceases, and prices rapidly recede—our consumption i* rapidly increasing, and as prices become easier, the increasing absorption becomes more perceptible : the influx to our population is great, and old residents consume more largely. Beer has de< lined considerably for the past fevf months, but it still leaves a large margin for first hands, say £8 per hogshead, and 13a. to 14s. per dozen. The decline on the-e prices for second or unknown brands is fully 28 per cent., in which case the old colonist greatly benefits by bis knowledge of our Australian prejudice. Dried fruits are in brisk dpmand, at a profit to importers of about 25 per cent, on legitimate invoices. Currants alone have varied as much as 4d. per lb. for consumption and for speculation. Spirits still leave a very large profit, say 30 per cent, fully on cost and charges. Our importations of brandy and geneva have been heavy, and prices have declined for incoming parcels ; in f.ct, it is only for speculation at a cheap rate that sales are effected for floating parcels. Certificates realise fuily 30 per cent more. SYDNEY MARKETS. 6th August, 1853. The Mills.—Messrs. Barker and Co.—Best samples of wheat are worth 10s. per bushel. Flour remains at £25 for fine, and £23 for second quality. Bran 3s. 6d, per bushel. Mr. Breillat—A fair supply of wheat has reached the market, for which previous prices have been fully supported, lOs. to 11-. per bushel being given for best samples. A steady demand exists for flour, and the Jprice now quoted at these mills is «£25 per ton for fine, and £23 for seconds. Bran 3s. per. bushel. Bread is generally sold at 7d. the 2-lb. loaf. Biscuit at Mr. Wilkie's is at last week's prices—say for cabin, 365.; pilot, 305., and ship, 265. per cwt. meat biscuit, 20s. per tin of 3olbs. Campbell-Sthkit Market.—The roads having become more easily traversable, a rather tinsk market has existel throughout the week, at the following rates: Hay, £l2 to £2O ; straw, £5 to £6 10s. per ton ; green food Is. 3d. to Is. 6d. per doten, by the load; wheat 10s, to lis.; maize, Bs. to Bs. 9d. per bushel; bark, £8 to £8 10s. per ton. Stock for Slaughter.—Very few sales have laken place this week. The eagerness of butchers to pur chase last week ran up the prices of stock to an artificial figure, most of which is now selling at a loss. A lot of bullocks sold by Mr. Walker at £7 )ss. averaging about 800 lb. after slaughtering, is selling at 12s, 6d. per 100 lb. Messrs Hamilton and Wall purchased 120 head of Mr. Diuitt at £6 per tread ; and Mr. Sullivan purchased of Mr. Lee 170 head at £6 ss. Houses.—Mr. Burt reports properly-broken horses of every description to be in great demand. Well-con-ditioned draught horses have been sold at unusualh high figures since last repoit, CuiiS'-quent upon the incteasing demand for Melbourne. Draught and coach ing 6tallions are much sought for. Light thorougnbreti and low-conditioned hoises are wholly unsaleable. The prices fo.r draught hoists, since last report have been per head, £lO3, £100, £99, £B4, £7O, £67, £6l, £6O, and a great number from .-fe'4o to £57. Light draught and gig horses, from £2O to £3O; first-class backs £2u to £4O l various horses, ilO to £lB. VAN DIEMEN'S LAND MARKETS Hobart Town, Ist August. The general tone of the markets here indicates an increasing degree of liimuess, and the recent arrival of late Melbourne commercial news per Acis, has contributed further to establish this. Fair supplies of wheat have arrived and sales are readily affected at 10s, Flour, the prices are firmer. English Birley—the prices have rather an upward tendency. Cape Barley very dull. Good samples of oats have been sold from 10s. Cd. to lis. The supplies of potatoes have not been so great for some time past, and consequently prices have rather a tendency to rise. Peis, beans, and tares, are in great reques'. Wheat 9s. 6d. to 10s. per bushel; English barley, 1 (js. to 12s. per bushel; oats, lis. per bushel; bay, loose, £l2. to £l3 per ton; do. pressed, 18/.; straw, do. 5/.; potatoes, do., 12/. to 13/.; flour,do., 2-1/. to 28/.; joists and quartering per 100 feet, 355. to 425. 6d.; battens, 375. 6d. to 395. 6d.;inch boards,very scarce, 525. 6d. to 605.; half-inch, scarce. 455. to 50s ; 5 feet pailings, per 100, 55«. to 605.; 6 feet do., none, shingles, per 1000. scarce, s<3s. to 655,; laths, per 1000. 325. b'd. to 375. 6d.; posts, aud rails, scarce, per 100, 110s. to 120s.

ENGLISH COMMERCIAL AND MONETARY NEWS. (From the latest Liverpool Papers.) 16th May, 1853. The maiden financial operation of Mr. Gladstone, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, for reducing the interest of the National Debt, does not appear to hare been as successful as was anticipated. His plan was the compulsory conversion of the South Sea and otber three-per-cent. annuities, to the amount of abont ten millions into three new kinds of stock, severally distinguished as £3 10s. per cent., £2 10s. per cent., and Exchequer Bonds bearing interest at £2 las. per cent., with the addition of accepting 1 a further voluntary conversion of other stock limited to thirty millions in the two lastnamed descriptions. It was believed that the plan would meet with general favor, as during the dicussion the funds maintained their value ; hut within the last few days they bave been slightly depressed, and, notwithstanding the publicity which has been given to the Finance Minister's scheme, it has been very coldly responded to, and, for the present at least, must be considered a manifest failure. Up to Saturday night the whole amount of new stocks wliich had been accepted were : £ s. d. £5 10s. per cent. Stock .. 47,074 8 6 £2 10s. ditto .. ~ 1,193,466 16 6 Exchequer Bonds 3,500 0 0 Total £1,244,031 5 0 The last item is but a miserable fraction of an issue which it was deemed requisite to limit to Thirty Millions so great was to be the demand for it, and shows tho resd on which they leant, when the Ministerialists concluded that they had cecured in Mr. Gladstone the fountain of financial wisdom. Another point worthy of observation is, that by fur the greatest preponderance of choice is given to the £2 10s. per cent, stock, which was the most objected to, on ths ground that it increased the nominal capital of the National Debt, and thereby rendered future reduction of extinction more difficult of operation. Money during the last week has not been so easy, and as the returns from the Bank ot England show a decreasing stock of bullion, notwithstanding the continued receipts of gold, it is evident that the excess of imports over exports is having a sensible effect upon the balance of trade, as is further shown by tbe unfavourable state of the rates ot foreign exchange. It has so long been tho practice to attribute all our commercial prosperity and industrial activity to free trade po'icy, that it was difficult to disabuse the public mind of an impression so strenuously persisted in ; but the truth is every day becoming more apparent* that while to tbe gold discoveries in Cali fornia, and especially Australia, may be attributed the great impetus which has been giren to our home trade, he same cause has operated to mitigate, if not avert, the monetary disarrangement and commercial distress which would inevitably have resulted from excessive importations, had there been no counteracting influence. Some elaborate statements have recently been published of the yield of gold in Australia, from which it appears that in the year 1851 it amounted to £i ,105,825, while during the year 1852 it had increased to £12,440,199, calculating at the Mint price of £3 17s, 1 U\. per ounce. Tbe same authority states that the prospects for the future are equally good; for, although there may not be the same extraordinary discoveries .of huge nuggets, the reports of which gave such an impetus to emigration, the steady application of scientific skill will more than probably yield an ample return. Wool—The business of the week has not been so very active as ja generally tbe case here for a shor.

.„ ti.« nnpninf of the colonial sales in time previous to the i« „, j f London, the actual business being on the " hand to znoutir'p inc.ple, manufacturers only supplytng themreive- for pnUing and immediate requin-ment; yet bo ZJlUinue v'ry 6rm,snd the few been at v,ry full rafs, with ev*ry prospect of being firmly maintained: The next s.rio, of P u>>hc sales „ London, being the first of the new clip from Australia will commence on Thursday next, when about 40,000 bales of foreign and colonial will be brought forward As the demand is pretty active, and the market generally very bare, a satisfactory result may be anti-'''tlu-'ow.—Tallow is inactive at 475. on the spot The stock is 24,364 casks, against 45,239 last year. The deliveries are ICOB casks, against 1375 last year. Since the last auctions, 25,000 bales have arnved, but the quautity expected to be offered at the sales which commence next Thursday is 25,000 bales. The imports into London last week were 3786 bales, of which 11 bo were from Port Phillip, 1825 from Sydney, 291 from Germany, 274 from Bombay, 109 from Belgium, and the rest from Egypt, &c. The sugar market continued firm, with a good inquiry, both from grocers and refiners, the sales, including Saturday's business, comprising 120 hhds. Barbadoes at. 33*. oU to 38s. 6'L, 100 barrels Antigua at 3os. to 375. 3d., 70 hhd. Demerara at 335. 3d, to 355„ CSO bags Pernams at 18s. 9d. to 19s. 9d., in bond, and 750 b:igs at 325. per cwt., duty paid. 70 puns. Demerara rum brought previous prices. Of coffee we have only to report 100 bags St. Domingo (all faults), without change. The tea market was less active to-day, but pricas were supported. The late advices from Ceylon state positively that the export of coffee from that important place of pro duction will this y-ar fall off at lens, twenty-fiue per cent., as compared wiih the export of 1852.