Tikes Office,

Southland Times, Issue 578, 15 October 1866, Page 2

Tikes Office,

Saturday Evening. The following are the Customs Returns for — Fkiday, Oct. 13. Brandy, 29 gals £17 8 0 ♦ "We are in receipt of our Canterbury files to the 3rd of October. We din the following items of commercial intelligence from the Press : — Less than the usual average of business has been transacted during the past week, and wholesale houses complain of the difficulty of quitting goods at current rates. Stocks of most descriptions of goods are held in sufficient quantity to do a much larger trade than is to be done at the present time ; this, coupled with the want of confidence in trade generally, causes a very depressed market. The new tarriff has come into force, and'although in some specified articles it is an improvement on the old one, still considerable difficulty will be felt in fixing the duties on some articles, such as drapery goods in general We are glad to find agricultural implements specially mentioned, as great dissatisfaction was occassioned by the Customs here charging duty on them, when at Wellington and Southland they were landed duty free. The Sir Ralph Abercrombie is discharging her goods in fair order, and a large shipment of Bass's pale ale has been already placed ; other brands of ale, however, meet with but slight enquiry. The flour and grain markets are very- quiet, and nothing of consequence has taken place during the week. Prices remain nominally as quoted last week, large orders being supplied at low rates and on easy terms. Offal is also easier in demand, at last week's prices. Wheat is hardly quoted, and is nominally 4s 6d to 5s per bushel. Oats are clow of sale at os to 53 6d. Hay, £4 to £4 10s per ton, delivered. Carrots, £2 5s ; and potatoes, £2 to £2 10s per ton. The Saturday's market wa3 moderately well attended, ard the cattle yarded were all sold. One very old pedigree cow brought £15 10s, avd her two-year-old heifer (by Stentor)., £21 ; ordinary milch cows, £16 each ; two-year-olds, £10 to £11. No change can be quoted in the horse market, the animals offered bringing very low prices.