Commercial.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 240, 5 September 1872, Page 6

Commercial.

Sept 31.

Breadstuff's are firmer. Flour this week has been actively enquired after, and several large lots have been placed at Ll3 in tacks. Ttade supplies are metatLl3s 10s. Inferior flour is only in limited demand. Oatmeal is quiet at LII 10s. Bran has a good sale at L 3 10s town stocks are low. Pollard, L 5 108. In grain prices have hardened. For best samples of milling wheat, 5s 3d to 5s 6d is the value. The millers stocks are becoming low, which • will probably strengthen the price ; second class samples are offering at 4s to 4s 6d. Fowl wheat is scarce, 3s. In oats, there is a slight improvement, fine regular nulling sorts find purchasers at 2a ; and good feeding at Is lOd. There is no malting barley offering ; the price is firm at 5s 9d to 6s ; feeding -lots at 4s 6d. Hay, L 3 15s ; straw, L 2; chaff, L 3 15s ; potatoes, L 7. ".i A. Mercer reports for the we*>k ending August 31 : — Retail prices only— Fresh /bntser, in £lb and lib prints, best quality, i« 4d to Is 6d. per lb ; second quality, Is 4d ; fresh butter in lumps, Is 2d ; powdered and salt butter, best quality, Is 2d ; second; lOd to lid. The supply of fresh butter U; still on the increase ; in all probability, ere my next report, a fall in price will have taken place, as a tendency that way at 'present exists. Really good samples of salt butter are not te be had, and may be quoted from lOd to Is per lb. Cheese is in good request ; geod samples are however scarce, aud worth 8d to 9d per lb ; second* quality, _6d pjsr lb. Side and rolled bacon is fetching 9d to lOd. Eggs are very plentiful , - storekeepers are overstocked, and th> price per do^en may be quoted at Is. ,

The Shipping Monopoly. — The Agent-General suggests the expediency of the Colonial Secretary asceitaining the rate of freight at which railway plant could be conveyed from Melbourne to the chief ports of New Zealand, as it can be sent to Melbourne, at from 17s 6d to 25s a toD, while the freight from, English ports toNetrZea* land is ftoni 45s to 50a a ton. ;. *

Wl draw attention to the sale by anction to b^leSa on Sijtarfiiy, at Wethenfcbhes,; by .Mr.' Ha>i <tf fa^Jtai^tijtoei) ironmongery, *c, &<».' . ~ ',' F4*nm Lamju evidently understand! the arik ta do W When the Romao totholiciSdhoflt id Ctffdnftty-street wu' erected, He prevailed on his parishioners to give a week's work gratis each; for the purpose of improving and beautifying fee grounds surrounding the edifice. 'At intervals, detachments of the volunteers have been busily engaged, under the ■ personal' 'supervision of Fa.ther Larkin, in the work of removing, fillipg^up, an.d levelling $he ground ; fencing, <fee, The effects of the large - : ajiasvmt of labour bestowed are now perceptible, jipd; show that when operations are finished' """the Roman Catholic School grounds will be an ornament to Lawrence.

- The '"heathen Chinee" mustered strongly in the Lawrence Courthouse on Monday last, the attraction being the prosecution of the agents of the Chinese lottery by the police, under the

Town and' Country Police Ordinance — a report of which appears in another column. The culprits— three in number— were intelligentlooking men, and appeared, to have come into Court, prepared to be fined. In each instance

the fines inflicted were paid. The lottery has

been in existence some time at the Chinese V^Camp, and is the property, of a company of A description of tho mode of drawing appears in our report of the proceedings before the Resident Magistrate. The " bank," of course,, has a considerable advantage ; but the drawing appears to be conducted lairly: The capital of the bank is £300. Should prizes amounting to more than that sum be drawn, the bank " breaks," and the capital is distributed among the holders of the winning tickets, in proportion to the amounts due them. The bank has been broken on several occasions. A drawing took plaoe every day. The bank has agencies all over the province where there are Chine.se; and when the police interfered a very flourishing business was being done. Many Europeans purchased tickets, and several have -won good prizes. The agents, we believe, receive ten per cent, from the owners of the concern for selling tickets ; and also, a certain percentage on the amount of the winnings of tickets passing through their hands. The action taken by the police will have the effect of deterring Europeans from purchasing tickets extensively ; but we doubt whether it will be possible to prevent Chinese from indulging in their dearly beloved gambling.

We understand that before the gammer sets iv, an enterprising resident of Lawrence intends to construct a swimming bath in some suitable place. If lie carries out his intention, he will be a public benefactor.

The Dunstan Spring Meeting takes place on Friday and Saturday, the 20th .and 21st inst. There are four events "the first day, and three the second. AN accident, -which very nearly resulted in several valuable horses being killed, occurred last week, to one of Owen's teams. While on the Hound Hill, the leaders went over the bank, the other horses got frightened, and in the their struggles to escape the pole was broken, a&d the waggon toppled over. The waggon was considerably damaged, but fortunately the driver and horses escaped scot free.

' TAPAXDI is honored "with the presence of a spectre eight feet high, and of a groaning disposition. It was seen on the night of the 26th inst,, by two well-known and estimalbe gentlemen, but has not since been visible to mortal gaze. On the night mentioned, the two gentlemen went to an outhouse, which has had to do service as a deadhouse, to look at some oats, one carrying a candle. On the door being opened and "the light thrown on the inside, on the exact spot which the last corpse had occupied, there lay a ghost eight feet long, and, of course, clothed in white. It rolled over and uttered a most unearthly groan, which had the effect of causing the visitors to drop the caudle, and beat a precipitate retreat. They met with various mishaps in ther haste to get away from the dreadful spot, and when they arrived at a certain hotel they were in a state of terror beyond description. When they had related what befel them, those in the room subscribed £5 for the purpose of getting somebody tp attack the goblin, but no one was bold enough to accept the money. Later in the evening, however,, after the whiskey had been circulating ve.ry, freely, half-a-dozen of those in the room armed themselves with such weapons'as could be 'extemporised, and went to the outhouse. Their visit was fruitless, for the ghost had disappeared. This is supposed to be the same ghost that appeared' ''some time ago on the wooded hill. The two individuals, who saw the. apparition, have not yet recovered from their fright.' ' '< .' . Captain, Baldwin lectured on Government Assurance on Saturday night' to the largest public > meeting ever held in Roxburgh. Mr. Bejghtpn, : J.p., . occupied .the chair, and the audience, .at the conclusion of the meeting, gave. the gallant Captain a hearty vote of thanks:,. >i '-'-' ''

THE movement to purchase the Horseshoe claim,'. Havelock, with the view of forming it into "a limited liability company, is meeting with- -considerable favor,. .,£lßo, was. subscribed in one r day .towards. the project, and there is ey^ probability that it will come to a sueOWMf ul iuue- r ' A MOMBEB of people have worked themselves into a atki* til great excitement regarding the recently idi»eover«d Devil's Backbone *e«rf - We kliieWiafd of 'n'oWung to justify more sanguine »tttioipfch»jui thin have hitherto been enter-

iAbnreTXNG b£ t3i» tharehoWers of the proposed Pena^atnt Bonding Bociety, to reoelve the rep6t*s6t ■fcb'e JpVovSional Directors, • wti be held o'clock femorrow'e^hirfg. at the ComJseroial Assembly Room.

By our advertising columns it will be seen that- Mr. George Ayers has commenced business in' Sow Place, Lawrence, aB hajrdremr, perfumer, &«. We draw attention to the auction sale by Mr, Hay of the Lawrence coalpit, brickyard, plant, Ac, to take place, at 2 o'clock, to-morpovf. Particulars .appear in our advertising column*. Mr, J. O. ABpoCKLE has been appointed agent in Lawrence for (the Norwich Union fire Insurance Company, Two Chinamen are reported to have been lost in the snow on the Lammerlaw. They were last seen just before the last snow storm. Constable Boyd and IVJr. Blewitt went out to lood for them last week, '.but the search proved resultless. It is certain that the missing men have perished. Dpring the frosty weather which recently prevailed, all the blue gums growing on low- . ying ground perished. Some of the trees destroyed i had attained the age of six years The blue gums on elevated localities, such as the Blue Spur, escaped withput injury. We! have been informed, on what we consider reliable authority, that the expenses of Mr. Anthony Trpllope, while in Qtago, were paid by the Provincial Government, We presuoie I the provincial authorities by this means sought ! to secure the good opinion of Mr. Trollope ; and, as an equivalent for the sum expended, to get a glowing description of the province published in some British newspaper or magazine. Considering the, circumstances and the way Mr. Trollope rushed through Otago, we do not thi«k their object likely to be accomplished. At anyrate, Mr. Trollope can not be in a ppsition to write more accurately of Otago than he did of Queensland. Ordinary people cannot see what I olaims Mr. Trollope has to have his expense? paid by the countries he visits. • If he contracts to write upon them, of course it is a different matter. We hear that at Table Hill the old reef, know as the Oxford reef, is to have a fresh trial. A tunnel was, at great expense, driven into this reef at a low level (120 feet) to drain and prospect it! A trial crushing at this level showed between fi and 6 dwts. per ton -the reef being very large, A well-timbered shaft had previously been sunk to 80 feet from the surface, and from it the reef, more or less, worked to 60 to 70 feet depth. Mr. Bennetto and party have now commenced to further sink this shaft to strike the tunnel, where a fresh level will be at once available. The Table Hill Company are, we understand, contributing a portion of the necessary outlay in sinking the shaft. Mr. Murphy,late in charge of the Company's battery, has been engaged to act in the same capacity at the' G.G.Q.M.Co's. claim. . Thb following memorial to the Chief Post_ master is being numerously signed in Tuapeka and Waipori :— We, the undersigned residents of Lawrence and Waipori, desire to draw your attention to the great necessity which exists for a bi-weekly or at least weekly mail service between these townships, and to humbly request that you will take steps to establish mail communication at an early date. The two places are situated only 15 miles apart, and, as you are aware, the only postal communication is via Dunedin, a distance of 100 miles, entailing a delay which is inconvenient and detrimental to business, both private and public. We believe that a mail could be conveyed at a comparatively small cost to the Government, as several business people of both Tuapeka and Waipori, who would in all probability tender for it, have occasion to travel over the ground every week. When it is considered that direct postal communication exists between places of far less importance than these referred to, we trust you will comply with our wishes without delay. ON Thursday, the 15th inst., a lad, the son of Mr. Stevenson, had his leg broken close to the ankle by the kick of a horse. Dr. Halley was called in, and under that gentleman's care the boy is progressing favorably. On the road between Lawrence and Clyde, a distance of 75 miles and a pretty bad road, there are two surfacemen employed. After this, who will dare to assert that the provincial authorities are extravagant. A MEETING of the Railway Committee was held on Saturday night. Present : Messrs. Bastings (in the chair), Ferguson, E. Herbert, Meyer, Sheath, J, P. Herbert, Harrop, Hayes (Secretary), Williams, and Dr. Stewart; The Chairman stated that he had received a communication from the member for the district relative to the railway, in which sanguine hopes • were expressed of its speedy commencement. The Secretary reported that 11 copies of the petition had been returned to him numerously signed. It was resolved to adhere to the original determination to send delegates to Wellington ; but -it was decided to defer their 'departure till the want of confidence motion had I been r disposed of. Mr. Bastings expressed his readiness to go, and Mr. Herbert stated that he could not possibly start before the expiration of 10 days. A Sub-Committee, consisting of Messrs. Bastings, Mouat, Adams, E. Herbert, and Ferguson,', was appointed to review Millar's report, and to collect all documents and information necessary for the delegates, A vote of thanks to the chair brought the proceedings to a close. A HFETING of the Licensing Bench was held on Tuesday. Present: Mr. Tyke, R.M., arid Dr. Stewart, J.P. The following applications for transfers of publicans' licenses were granted : — V. Bastings, Commercial Hotel, Lawrence, general and night license,^ to Alexander Armstrong; executors of J.. Donovirb, Shunroelp Hotel, Lawrence, general license, to Margaret Donovan ; T. Higgs, Duke of Edinburgh Hotel, Beaumont, general. Kceuse, to A. M 'Donald. . THE body of ona of th& Chinamen lost on the Lammerlaw daring the late snow storm was ' found on W«jdntsd»y, near Timber Gully. The remains of his oompanion are expected to. he recovered to day; .',,,"■. ( Tse arbitrators in- tip Clark's paddock case aWdid W. 'Olaj-k £90 ' coffi^nsatwn, ' '

Ths Wetheratones Headings on Thw»d*y ]*»t were, at turaal, ■aoeeMftl. Tat Treasurer*; the Ttwpeka Qc*p4teld«elree to acknowledge Jhe receipt of tjie proceed* of the Wetbentonet Variety Perforpj^n^e, amounting, to £23 155.

Thb Masonic Jlotel, Rost Place, Lawrence, narrowly escaped destruction by fire on Monday night. Shortly after retiring to rest on that night, Mr. Clark, the landlord, heard a peculiar . aound, as of something burning, and got up, and searched the premises without, however, finding/ any trace of fire: On the following moaning, on the top of the cupboard, in the kitchen, was found several pieces of cloth half burnt. It is very providential that the fire burnt itself out, without communicating with the walls pf the building. Had it been otherwise, the hotel would inevitably have been destroyed. How the piecea of cloth bepame ignited is a mystery. The most feasible supposition is that it was caused by rats.

Br an advertisement which appears in another column, ladies and gentlemen willing to assist in a concert proposed to be given in aid of the Church of England, are requested to meet at eight o'clock to-morrow (Friday) night, in the Athenaeum.