COMMERCIAL.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 266, 27 October 1862, Page 4

COMMERCIAL.

Dailtt Times-Office, . . , ■ ~ , Saturday Evening. Arrivals from Melbourne continue to take place and a very considerable amount <-f cargo has recenily come forward from that market. Of Flour, Bran Oars and Maize the imports have been considerable' Ihe low rates ruling in Melbourne for Sugars have induced considerable ventures to our market. Tiiere fas also been a good sprinkling of general merchandise. Adverting to ivcont importations of Tobacco we notice that the Aldinga, on her return two'to Melbourne, took back a considerable parcel. Passengers from Australia continue to arrive, but at present the departures are about equal to the ii'iw comers*. Experience would aeein to prove to us that ot those coming to this province from ttie neighboring colonies we can only look to retain a proportion, and that we must not regard arrivals thence as the same vonafide settlers that we #et from the home country. ihe unsettled weather that has prevailed durin" the former part of the week has checked business very much, and but little has been despatched for the mines in cons<;cruence. There is a deckled indisposition amongst st Tfkeepei-3 to forward merchandise at the high rates that are demanded by the carters, and until a considerable reduction is made in this'i'-em, up-country houses will only purchase from hand to mouth.

There were no export entries for gold passed at the Customs to day. Tue Customs revenue for import duties collected to-day was LMS9 15s Bd, the following beiu-r the principal items :—Brandy, L 147 Ws 6d f whisky, LSI ros (id; gin, L 46 5s sil; wine, LSI 8s; beer, Ll4 12s; tobacco, L 249 17a Gd ; sugar, L 245 Is sd; mo'a/jses, L 2 18i 4d; tt:a, LSG (is B,i. The Customs revenue from import duties for 2-lth October amounted to L 4-26 12s 10J, the fullowinir being the principal items :—Brandy, 235 tjals LIOS lls ; srcn*»va, 30 gals, Ll3 10s 4d ; whisky, 103 gals, LbO 14s 5.1; coffee. 840 lbs, LlO 10*; tea, 840 lbs-. Ll4 ; wines 147 gals, L 22 is ; tobacco, GiO lbs L 43 • drapery. 133 feet 10 inches, L 27 19 4d: hardware' 6i cwt, Ll9 Gs; beer 461 gals, L 23 la.

C. A. Itoss and Co. report having sold Kauri timber, undressel, -£ inch, l(h 6! to 18s. Toly kauri timber, dressed, 1-inch, 27s (SJ. Scantling, 4x 2, 4 x 3,15s to 231. Palings are at present scarce, other timbers plentiful.

DUNEDIN LIVE STOCK MARKET. Driver, Maclean, and Co.'s report for week endinc 25th October, 1862:—

I'AT Cattle.—The supply has been quite equal to the demand, about 130 head offered. With the exception of a lot sold to go to the diggings, most of those offered were taken by the trade.

The mob from Messrs, Holmes and Morton's station, mentioned last week, wer<; sold at an average of L2B to

We will sell on Tuesday a mob from the station of Messrs. Lockha-t and Dalzall very prime heavy weights. We quote first quality rows a d bullocks at 65s to 70s per 100 lb; ordinary, 50s per 100 lb. Fat Calves continue in good demand, at L 5 to L 6 for best quality. Store Cattle are saleable if of good ages and condition, say two to seven years' old, at Ll2 to Ll4; mixed a<»es, at L 9 to Lll 10s, according to quality and condition. We have sold a h»rd of 500 head, mixed ages (very good), at Lll 10s, delivered in northern part of the province. Working Bollocks and Daiky Cows.—There is a good demand for bullocks fit for immediate use at L 55 to L6O per pair. Quiet dairy caws are saleable at Llo to L2O, according to age and condition. Fat Sheep are in active demand, if of good quality in the wool at 0.1 per lb. We expect a lot of vei-y prime wethers in on Monday. We have many inquiries for fat sheep for the diggings. {store She up.—We have numerous inquiries for young ewes, both Australian and Provincial bre.l. We have also buyers for wethers delivered after sheaving, but holders are expecting higher prices t'.ian buyers are at present wilting to pay. Station Property.—We liava repeated inquiries for both socked and uustocked runs. Desirable properties would find ready sale. JElorsks. —By the Samuel Appleton, from Melbourne, we are in receipt of 130 first-c'a-ss draught hordes and hackneys, which are much wanted ; our market being bare of good stock. Driver, Maclean & Co., Stock aud Station Salesmen.

Messsrs Wright, Robertson and Co.'s report'for the week ended October 20, 18G2 :— Owing to the inclemency of the weather during the past week, little or no fat stock has come to hand. The butchers, however, bava been pretty well supplied from previous weeks purchases. We anticipate a brisk demand during the ensuing week for both sheep and cattle, of which some fine lots are known to be close at hand.

The very large nninber of both sheep and cattle now advertised" for sale in this province during the next two to three months has had a must depressing effeJt ou the market, purchases of sheep especially being only made for immediate requirements. Fat Cattle.—We have sold a mob of 120 head fat, from the runs of Messrs .Han-is and James anil Leslie Thomson, Esq., on their way to this market, at LI9 per head, cash. These cattle are now on the road to the Duustan. We quote best beef at 653 and 70-?. Inferior to middling, 55s to GOs. Stoke Cattle.—Little business has been done in this class of stock during the week, buyers holding off. We quote well bred mixed herds over two years old, at LlO to Li-2. Inferior, L 8 to L 9. Young stock, from 6 to 15 months, L 6. Working Bullocks. —Much required, and worth LSO to L 55 per pair for good well broken-in teams. Fat Sheep.—Several sales during the week at 3?s 6d and 34s after shearing, accordiug to weights guaranteed.

Store Sheep.—Two, four and six tooth ewes in request. Provincial we quote as worth about 30.5. Oflers for imported lot, 23s to 255. Aged wethers, after shearing, are also wanted. Station Pkopkriy —For unstocked, . and light stocked country, inquiries still continue. There are also several buyers for first-class runs in the market.

The 300-Pou>:i>br Armstrong. -The 300 pounder Armstrong gun, which since its proof with 90lb of powder,_ has been in a "dangerous state, was on Monday again used at Shoeburyness against iron plates, at a range of-iOO yards. The target represented a portion of the side of the new class of steam frigates to which the Minotaur belongs In these frigates the armour is 5^ in. thick> instead of 4^ in., as in the Warrior, but the thickness of the teak backing is reduced from 18 in. to 9 in. The inner skin and iron framing are the same as in the Wnrnbr. For the first three trials the shot was of cast iron, and the charge was 501b as usual. No. 1 struck and pierce'dthe centre plate, damaging but not passing through the inner skin aurt framing. No- 2 struck the upper plate, and went completely through armour, timber, and skin and framing. No. 3 was directed against the lower plate, and, like No. 2, passed quite through the target. The four h shot was of wrought iron, and the charge was 501b as before. At this round, however, the gun gave way, the breech plying backwards to a distance of 30 or 40 yards. The gun did not break into fragments, and no one was hurt. -Observer, 25thJuly, .-. ,-V.'\ v : .: ■-r ''''"v ■'"' * '■' :/;

Th 3 New Confederate Ironside.—The Londou correspondent, of the Dublin Evcninr/ Mail is responsible for the following description of •' 290:"—-" She can steam from Id to 18 knots an hour; is perfectly seaworthy, for ail practical purposes invulnerable, and will prove to any vessel she may encounter as formidable an antagonist as our own Warrior, the boa.-t of the British Navy. This is the ' No. 290,' a* to whose whereabout Federal cruisers have wir.ii reason betrayed such anxiety. It had been known for some time that a Inrxe and powerful iron vessel was being con-trueted at the dockyard of Messrs Laird, Birkenhead; but monsters of the rle^p are so much the order of the day at that establi hment, that no one troubled hi* b^ad much about this new production, or cared to remark the extra thickness of the plates which were b?intr used. At the very Jhst moment the Federal authorities seem to have had their suspicion aroused, for the Tuscarora was dispatched to keep watch in the neighborhood of the dock where' she lay, and the southern coast of Ireland w..s also strictly guarded, 'No. 290,' meanwhile, appiised of all that was . going oh. dropped down the river quietly one day, and steamed out into-the bay. nominally for her trial trip, with a.party of ladies and musicians on board. Instead, however, of returning to moorings at Birkenheadi where she would have, been kept in durance vile by thy Tuscarom, she quietly landed her passengers at.Hulyhotal, und proceeded oh her voyage, avoiding the harbors of Gork, Waterford, &c, in the neighborhood of which she might have heard of somet!ii"g not at all' to Her advantage. ' No. 290' steamed round by, Londonderry and Donegal, and was joined ofFtho w>-st coast of Ireland by the steamer which had previously utiirted, having on board the armament intended for the gigantic Ironside. Had she even met the Tuscarora whilst still unarmed, it was the intention of her captaiti to try the fortune of war by running stem on. at full speed into her antagonist. It needs no extraordinary powers of discernment to discover wha excitement must be caused at the other side of the Atlantic by the arrival of the * No. 290.'»

DAILY TI-MBS BRANCH uFFICE. Tjlolt the further convenience of our Advertisers -*- and Subscribers, we have opened a Brauch Office of the Daily Times & Wbkkly Witness hi Manse-street, the first door from the corner of Princes street.

At the Daily Times Branch Office, Adver-tisements-will-be received from 7 a.m until 9pm and will meet with the same attention as if brought to the Chief Department. '

Subscriptions to the Daily Times & Weekly Witness will also be received and the papers delivered by the runners in town, or forwarded in any manner directed to the up-country districts.