The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo. SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1888.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 23, 28 January 1888, Page 4

The Evening Star: WITH WHICH ARE INCORPORATED The Evening News, Morning News, and Echo.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 28, 1888.

For the cause that lacks assistance, For the wrong that needs resistance, For the future in the distance, And the good that we can do,

While there is, generally speaking, a more hopeful tone in commercial and industrial circles throughout the colony, and a firm assurance that the longdelayed revival of trade has at least fairly set in, there is not much in the colonial statistics of the last quarter of 1887 to indicate that the period of depression was about to give place to one of progress and prosperity in 1888. Still, when it is considered that the holiday season causes a certain amount of disloca-

tion in business matters, the returns for the December quarter show a very gratifying volume of trade, while the comparison with the same period of 1886 is fairly satisfactory. The following are the returns of imports and exports for the quarter ending December last :— Imports. £. Auckland «. ... 298,905 Wellington 284,262 Lyttelton 398,357 Dunedin .- .- ;.. 343,563 Total .- ... ' ... 1,325,087 Adding to this the business done at lesser ports, a total for the colony of ;£!,579,266 is obtained, which is an increase of on the imports for the December quarter of 1886. The following are the last quarter's returns of Exports : £. Auckland « ... 315,720 Wellington „ -. 393,517 Lyttelton... « - 271,367 Dunedin „ « . - 213,127 Total .« .-' '_ 1,193,731 Including the exports from the whole of the colony, the total for the quarter is swelled to which is ;£!78,000 less than the total for the last quarter of 1886. In sympathy with this falling off, the statistics of shipping for the quarter show a slight decrease in the tonnage arriving and departing. The vessels that entered in during the December quarter at all colonial ports were 165 of 121,130 tons, as against 193 vessels of 132,091 tons in the corresponding quarter of 1886, and the shipping cleared outwards last quarter comprised 163 vessels of 111,993 tons, against 165 vessels of 114,771 tons in the December quarter of 1886. Tttrning to those statistics which bear more directly on the internal trade aud industrial activity of the colony, we find more room for congratulation. The savings banks returns show the depositslastquartertohavebeen^346,994 5a Id, and the withdrawals only .£282,341 18s id, against 10s 3d and 14s respectively for the closing quarter of 1886. These figures show that the working classes have saved ;£ 100,000 more during the past three months than they were able to do during the corresponding period of the previous year. The value of money orders issued and' paid last quarter was a slight increase over the previous year's December quarter, when the amount was There is, however, a marked increase in the postal note business, showing that these are coming into more general use. During last quarter postal notes to the value of .£12,602 Us s|d were sold, as against ?9 820 12s 6d last year. The amount paid was ;£12,422, as against 12s 6d for the corresponding quarter last year. During last quarter gold duty was paid on 44,8930z5, produced from the gold mines of this colony. The postal and telegraphic receipts for the quarter were and respectively. These figures are nearly equal to those for the quarter ending December, 1886. Statistics of population show that the colony is more likely to grow in this respect by natural increase than by the influx of immigrants. As a sample of how "young, colonials" arrive more rapidly than " old identities" shuffle off, take the following figures, showing last quarter's births and deaths in the four leading cities of the colony:— Births Deaths Auckland «t <■. 67 .«< «, 15 Wellington .- L. 65 _ — 19 Christchurch -. 32, _ -. 18 Dunedin ... ... .48 .*. '« 23 The superior salubrity of Auckland is proved by the fact that her deaths are only 0-42 per 1,000 of the population, while the percentages for Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin are 0-70, M 5. and 0-95 respectively. The returns of immigration and emigration for the whole -year are now ready, and they show that the colony has during 1887 gained 977 souls by the excess of arrivals over departures. The following are the figures :—Arrivals from the United Kingdom, 4,906; Queensland, 11; New South Wales, 3,520; Victoria, 3J781; South and Western Australia, 4; Tasmania, 499; Fiji, 230; other British ports, 122 ; Hawaii and South Seas, 383; other foreign ports, 13: total, 13,689. The departures were : To the United Kingdom, 2,086; Queensland, 54 ; New South Wales, 4,726; Victoria, 4.472; South and Western Australia, 6; Tasmania, 342 ; Fiji, 147; other British ports, 121 ; Hawaii and South Seas, 751; other foreign ports, 7: total, 12,712. This is not a bad record for a year of depression, during which the Government gave no assistance

to immigrants. Altogether, the retrospect of 1887 is fitted to inspire confidence in the prospects of the new year, which promises to be characterised by increased production of wealth, enhanced activity of commerce, and very decided strides in manufacturing industries.