The Sun.
London, England, 1859-05-09 00:00:00

AUSTRALIA.

LIVERPOOL, MAY 8.
The screw steamship Great Britain, Commander
Gray, of the Black Ball and Eagle line, has arrived
with adviCes from Melbourne to the 2d of March,
32,000 ounces of golddust on freight, 55 saloon, 32
second cabin, and 239 intermediate and steerage
passengers.
Markets of all descriptions were without im-
provement. Flour for consumption had moved off
steadily, but prices were without change. At
public sale low to good Mauritius sugar brought
£37 lOs to £3B lOs ' • fine yellow crystals, £3B 17s
6d, and good white ditto, £44 per ton ; Patras cur-
rants, 6d per lb. ; Price's Belmont candles, is
lid per lb. ; 1-tins sardines, '6s 4d; salmon, is
5d ; 2-Ib. salmon, 94d ; Bally's salad oil, half-
' pints, 6s. 11d. • Whyhous pints, lOs 6d per dov:Ai ;
Cross and BlackwelPs pint pickles, lOs 3d ; 'oottled
fruits, 14s 6d, lib jars ; in tins, 13s 3;; '2lb jars,
26s ; Manilla rope, 2 to 3 inches, ,4:,0 per ton.
The only report of the Mel'Journe market is as
follows :—" There has no;, been any improvement
in the markets of any description. Flour for con-
sumption has mo*.;ed off steadily, and prices have
continued unrAanged. Low to good yellow sugar;
£37 lOs to £3B les; fine yellow crystals, £3B 17s 6d;
Patras currants, 6d per lb ; Price's Belmont candles,
131 d per lb ; /,-tins sardines, 6s 4d."
The traffic returns for the Victoria railways for
, the week ending Feb. 24 exhibited the following
results :—Passengers (11,882), £962; parcels and
live stock, £29 ; merchandise, £6OO ; total, £1,592,
being a very considerable advance upon previous
weeks.

An extraordinary amount of activity prevailed
among the ruiners. Prospecting parties without
!umber were being rewarded by the discovery of
most promising fields.
Mining associations were on the increase.
Destructive fires had occurred at Melbourne and
Ballarat.

At the Ballarat diggings general dulness pre-
vailed in trading circles.
In prices there was little alteration. In the flour-
market some stir had been caused by the appearance
of a considerable quantity of American flour in
barrel, which was selling at lOs a ton higher than
Victoria. Thb prices for Adelaide were £23. Vic-
toria, £2?, lOs.

It;:e had reached £26 to £27 per ton.
At Castlemain mill flour was quoted at £23 10s.
At Kilmore fine flour was £2l.

At Melbourne sugar was selling by auction at
£37 lOs to £3B lOs for low to good yellow ; fine
yellow crystals, £3B 17s 6d.
At Adelaide the produce market was steady—
flour, £l5 15s to £l6; wheat, 6s 6d. Copper, £9B
per ton.
At Sydney Bank of New South Wales shares
were quoted at from £47 ; Commercial Bank, £45
10s. ; Australian Joint-stock Bank, £l2 7s. 6d. to
1;12 10s.

Government Debentures firm.
Martell's brandy, 9s. 6d. to 10s. ; rum, 30 over
proof, 4s. to_4s. 4d. ; over proof, 3s. 6d. to 3s. 9cl. ;
Geneva steady, at 14s. 6d. for first-class brands;
bulk ale firm ; sugar firm, at £3O 10s. to £3l.
For oilmen's stores and dried fruits there was a
moderate inquiry, without alteration in price.
Dairy salt, £5 ss. to £5 10s.
Wool was not quoted so firm, owing to the buyers
not being inclined to operate, except at reduced
prices. Inferior and low wools, more particularly,
had slightly declined. Holders, however, of first-
class clips did not seem disposed to submit to any
reduction, and in the meantime prefer shipping to
selling.
The following were the auction rates :-Fleece,
171 d. to 231 d. Grease, 101 d. to 1 lid. Clippings,
I ld. ; scoured, 20d. to 221 d. ; mixed, 7d. to 11d.
Sheep skins, 31d, to 101-d. per lb.
Tallow not quoted so firm, owing to lack of de-
mand. Quotations, 43e. 3d. to 555. 6d. per cwt.
Hides firm ; heavy, 14s. to 14s. 3d. each. Horns,
21s. 9d. to 28s. 6d. per cwt.
Advices from Adelaide at Melbourne to the 26th
report the produce markets steady, with the excep-
tion of wheat, which was less firm than flour. Teas
and susgars had gone off at satisfactory prices.
Advices from Sydney to the same date report the
receipt during the week ended the 25th February
at 2.799 ounces of gold into the Sydney branch of
the Royal Mint. The Western escort had taken
down 1,917 ounces. Brandy was without material
change, but low rums, which are getting scarce,
were in demand. Geneva was steady. In wines
there was a little more doing, and a few inquiries
for small parcels of middle and better class sherries,
Bulk ale was firmer; bottled ale and porter un-
changed. Drapery goods, in the face of heavy
shipments, were tolerably firm. Good assorted
boots and shoes from first houses were worth from
sto 10 per cent. advance on invoice prices. Gro-
ceries were in good demand by the wholesale
houses, but the demand from dealers was inactive.
Tea was in good demand, small lots having changed
hands at .1:8 6s. to £8 10s. Sugar was in large
demand, and holders firm.