COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 99, 9 October 1863, Page 4

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE.

'<■' MELBOURNE COMMERCIAL, (From the Argtis, 24th Sept.) '■■- Tho markets have been tolerably supported, ':[■ nHhoagb. tho day has been ligidly observed as a ;!;• fast bj one largo section of the commercial com- :( munity, while tho weather has been unpropitious i for business. Toe mail steamsh'p Northam will proceed to eea with the mails for Englund on it Saturday, 26th instant. Tho rate at which the ■■■] banks are granting sixty da3's' drafts fur transK mission by this vessel 13 one per cent, premium. :'• The arrangements for remi;tances are not likely ,; to be heavy, but the Banks are, notwidistnndinir, t, -very cngcr purchasers of gold, the prices paid for ' which are higher than they have been for many ;■■ months past. In the import market, t)i ere have \r liecn few transactions calling for notice. Tho cargo U. of.teas ex Energie has changed hands in bulk, *but [ Si the prices have not- been disclosed. Messrs Gem■i mell, M.Caul and Co, sold at their rooms — i;i Galvanised plain iron, all faults, L2(5 ; yellow ft slieatlrng, 16oz andlSoz, all faults, 8d per 1b ; '} do, 20oz, all faults, 7?dperlb; cotton waste, all I faults, 7£d per Ib. '■ House Mabket— Messrs George Kirk and Co report as follows : — "Business has been excessively '■. dull throughout the week, owing to the very - rucagre supply of stock to hand. There are a good I many buyers in the market; and almost all classes ! of hoi-Bcs, if fresh and in faL* condition, are in ' • brisk demand at 'paying rates. First-c lass heavy draughts arein good request; but none offering. Goocf upstanding .saddle and light harness horses ■ nte also very.' scarce, and in "acrive demand at imprpving'figutes. ' Inferior were deposed of at about lato quotations. Tfce inquiry for good active - pack-horses; suitable' for New Zealand, continues brisk, and full rates are freely offered. O/ily one mob of unbroken stock came to hand this week ; they were of , a fair description, and in good con- " (lition, and realised very satisfactory prices." Mr Olwrles Brown supplies the following report : — "Horses — There is no changeP'to report in the - market for tbis -description of stock ; the supply, if anything, has been more scanty than last week. One Jot of unbroken horses has been disposed of ; they were, however, inferior, and in very low condition, and the prices obtained could not prove remunerative. Good heavy and jcedium draught horses, also good hack and harness horse 3, would do well, just now." The HqulTi Australian Register reports : — Flour remains unchanged in value. Prices arc Ll3 10s to Ll4 for silk-dressed. Wo have heard oi a sale to-day oi om of our best brands at 'the litter fijurev SAILING DIRECTIONS FOR ENTERfNG THE PORT OF INVERCARGILL. From the Provincial Government Gazette, Aug. 7 , VesMels bound for New River should steer for the north end of Point Island, around which, to wiihin a cable's length, there is not less than five faihoms water. „ A small patch is said to exist about a quarter of a mile oiT in a westerly

:directioi>jbut*the -pilots have not bfeien able tb' find less than five fathoms water on it, hard-sand h'o'ttoin. l Outside the Bar; in six fathoms, is moored a spiral-shaped "black Ittioy. beririnfrfVom the north end .of the;lsland npcth -half a mile. Steer for this buoy, and as you approach it the leading beacons, painted white, will come dn with each other bearing 'frond you 15. f S. Keep the" beacons in one, leaving tlieblack buoy en your port hand, which will Oead you over the bar in -fifteen feet at iow water, spring titles. The breadth of the bar is about a good cable's length, a«d InSi-te of it, in four fathoms, is a spiral-shaped white buoy, marking the south side of the channel. ; The course from this buoy, to about two cables' length above the Pilot Station, is E £ N, and from thence, to about'i'ouvcables' length farther up, Eby N. Thechanne! then gradually* bends to the northward until. past thcßombayj Iloclc. The Pilot Statibn is 'si tutted "between, the | leading beacons, End, except in heavy gales, a ■pilot will ioardfhe vessel abreast of the station ■but, should the wind and sea be too strong for ' him to put off, the shipmaster, by attending to j the following directions, may be able himself to conduct his vessel to a place of safety : — The channel is marked by white buoys on the starboard or south side, and by black, buoys on the port or north side. Keep midway between tlie black and white buoys. About three cables' length below the Bombay Rock lies a small rock called the " Guidis»g Star Rock," with only four feet water over it. A white buoy has been placed on the west side of this rock, in twelve feet water The Sand Spit, on the opposite side of the Channel, has been advancing into it during the last six months, and at present the breadth of the passage between the -S pit and the rock is so narrow that it would not be prudent for a stranger to run through. It would be safer to anchor abreast of the | second black buoy, above the Pilot Station, where a vessel with good ground tackle could , ride in comparative safety. The leading mark to pass midway between the rock and the Spit is: — Keep the high hummock on the extreme end of Sandy Point a sail's breadth open to the eastward of the iron white beacon on Bombay Rock, bearing N E -J N. When abreast of the white buoy, keep off a little, so as not to shave the point of the Spit too close ; a N by E half E course will then lead you through between the Bombay Rock and the black buoy on the opposite side of the channel. On the west side of the Bombay Rock is placed an iron beacon, surmounted by a barrel . painted white. The top of the beacon is fifteen i'uet above low water mark, and the rock pro- ■' jects from the beacon twenty feet W N \V into the channel ; immediately beyond there is eighteen feet water. The course from abreast of this beacon to the second white buoy as you proceed upwards is N E by N, and from thence to the third white buoy N E, but allowance must be made for the set of the tide, which runs through the blind channel and strikes across the ship channel, between the Bombay Rock and the first while buoy above it. The flood setting east, the ebb west. The best anchorage for 3 stranger to take is abreast of the third white buoy from the Bsmbay Rock, letting go the anchors nearest to the S W side, as it is pretty steep, too. The depth of water near the shore is three, and, in midchannel, five fathoms — good holding ground. It is high-water full and change at the Pilot Station at 12h. 30m., and the rise of tide from six to eleven feet, according to the winds and state of the tides; westerly winds setting the 1 tides up. A flagstaff has been erected on Steep Head, on which will be hoisted, on and after the 15th August, 1SI)3, titM signals, nearly the same as shown at Lonsdale Point, Port P-nilHp 7 viz. ; -.— BETWEEN SUNHISK AND SUNSET. During the first quarter Wood, a blue flag half-mast high. During the second quarter flood, a blue flag at the mast-head Duringthe third quarterflood, No 7 Marryatt's, half-mast high. During the last quarter flood, No 7 Marryatl's* at the mast-head. EBB TIDE. During first quarter, a blue flag half-mast high, with a bal) underneath. Durmg second quarter, a blue flag at mast-head, with a ball underneath. During third quarter, No 7, Marryatt's, halfmast high, with a hall underneath. Last quarter, No 7, Marryatt's, at the masthead, with a ball underneath. When the sea is high on the bar, a black ball will be hoisted at the north yardann, in addition to the tidal signals ; but, when it is unfit for a vessel to enter the harbor, the tidal signals will not be shown, but two black balls will be hoisted at the north yardann. -CoinniEnication may be "had with Vessels at •sea, 'by means of' Marryatt's signals, at the south yardann. Marryatt's signals, at the north yardann, will be intended for the pilots at the station. Masters of vessels should not run for the harbor during the ebb tide, unless with a good commanding breeze, smooth water, and with a vessel easily steered. The bearings and courses given are by compass, and the soundings at lew water spring tides. 3. B. GRETG, Harbor Master.