NEW ZEALANDS FOREIGN TRADE.

Press, Volume LIII, Issue 9365, 14 March 1896, Page 7

NEW ZEALANDS FOREIGN TRADE.

Tl-e following figures bear upon the information nsked for by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, copii'3 of which have been sent to the various Chambers of Commerce (or further information and details, aud for their opinion as to the possibilities of trade in the nature, aud to the cautes of increases aud ilccreiV-es in the past. Tt.e table (says the Xcw Zealand shows the amount of imports into New Zealand from British nouessions and from foreign countries durfog tne years 1884, 1839. and 1394 :-

COLONIAL TRADE RETURNS. The trade returns for the following four colonies for the past year are to hand. Both in imports and exporte the largest increases were in New South Wales, and the largest decreases in South Australia :— IMI'OItTS. IS9-1. 1895. KSW. .. £15,301,611 £15,992,415 Inc. £190,774 Vie' .. 12,470,599 12,472,344 Inc. 1,745 g K .. 6,226,690 6,5&5,599 Dec. 641,091 T*l. « 979,676 1,094,456 Inc. 114,780 EXPORTS. 1894. 1095. V B.W. .. £20,577,675 £21,934,785 Inc. £1,357,112 Vie. .. 14,026,546 14,547,732 Inc. 521,166 BA. .. 7,301.774 7,177,033 Dec. 124,736 Tm. .. 1,489,041 1,373,063 Dec. 115,978 THE AMERICAN WHEAT CROP. Ths final official estimato of the American wheat crop is 467,103,000 bushels, as com. pared with 460,267,000 bushels for 1894. This is an advance of no less than 42,000,000 bushels upon the quantity indicated by figures published earlier in the season, which, like those of the lour years preceding, were utterly mule-ding. Apparently the error was nuinly due to the under-rating of the ares, which never appears to be known by the Department of Agriculture within two orthrOH million acres. The area is now retamed alt 34,047,332 acres, or 835,104 acres leu than that of 1894. Tho yield per acre comes out at 13.7 bushels, as compared with 13.2 for the preocding year. vVe showed recently (says the London Standard) that the money returns of corn per acre in Great Britaiu were very low; but in tho United States they are miserable iv the extreme, tho prices of all kinds of corn except wheat being oven lower than those of last year. Tho official statement of average l»rm prices as compared with thone of 1894, are as follows, in cents per bushel:—Wheat, 50.9, against 49.1 ; maize, 26.4, against 45.7: oats, 19.9, agaiust 32.4; rye, 44.0; •gainst 50.1 -and barley, 33.7, against 44.2. I Vat: ing the three principal cereals, the I figures* work out as follows :t- j

Barley is a comparatively insignificant crop, ( being grown on only 3,299,973 acre*, while rye covered no more than 1,890,345 acres tut harvest. Potatoes were grown on ( 2,954,952 acres, and hay on 44,206,453 acres. . CUTTING BANK RATES. '' A disagreement between some of the < bank* is attracting attention iv Melbourne, i and requires explanation. For a consider- ( able time banking rates were much higher in ' New Zealand than iv Australia, partly on \ account of the circumstances of the Bank of , New Zealand, and partly on account of the Mcentvely high rate offered by the \ Government through the Post Office Savings < Bank. Bttt the second re-arraugemenb of | the affairs of the Bank of New Zealand, ; followed by the absorption of the Colonial t Bank o! New Zealand, brought a new factor , into play. For tho Bank of New Zealand, t intent upon extending its business, recom- x nwnwd Ua old aggressive policy, and t Yn* 0 .V-taka basthess from the" three v i *?l?' tne Bm * of Australasia, the s Bank of New South Wales, and the Union _ ,v., • A «tor_iml__f J - thereupon these in- ] •'Uatfone determined to reduoo rates to 3_ t per cent for twelve mouths' fixed deposits, fc O per cent, for discounts, and 6 per cent, for 8 overdrafts. Although these rates aimply

■word with the Conditions of the times in Which we hve thoy do not appear to have cpramended themselves to the Bank of New ft A. ' in( *i bootless, in order to coerce JM three old Banks into again hardening weir rates, it has begun a war of reprisals, __t c ,pg t0 for the Melbourne '» customers of its competitors at, wo understand, as low as 3J per cent. It has ■•» aconred the business, however, for 5J*A ,I7 >P' 8 "awn that tho three Banks have wwttled to retain their customers, even at a Hr* ryloM * They may go further, and tht? V' (ll » ooni, fc for the oustomers of !__» -of Kew Zealaml in New Zealand Si' « ,* per ctmt ' ami in that case they JJJI inh.ct more injury than they now suffor. «P»rt from the war/are between the Banks twT 1 hol P thi »king (remarks tbo_ro»«) m« the Government of New Zealand /•ft mOWi nOW reali - v owna Bank of New «•«»_<!) i, fto ting i a an ungenerous and in*Wwm spirit. If or it should not confine its «w to discount at 3i per cent, to the _^n ,W * ° f tho threa old Banks, but wonltt. undertake to discount for its own wstomers, as well as for the whole of the fjoitra'-tian colonies, without discrimine*»n »t that rate. But whether it would «"»k» the business pay after paying interest ■P°n the capital ib employs and defraying ««charges, is another matter. Yet it would •»• refreshing to see the New Zealand GoT f n " n * nt * iv its manifestation as ths Bank 01 ««w ZBaland, aoting in an altruistic •nanner for once in a wbilo. We expect, j W,v «*", that the necessity of making profits *llj lead to a settlement of the existing "imeulties before long.

Whence imported. | I 1834. 1839. I 1894. British possession* fort-iifn coUn ' ir>*— figure .spin •• portu;,'*! Italy Au»:ri.» •• {jiviuerlamt •• tireece •• Uerraany •• .swwJtri tiflt-iuui Holland -• i;„it«d States Wttl Indies.. Canary Isla""*' (,'hlna Japan Ptiillipp'.ne In. A»in .Minor .. Java Paoifio Islands \Vha> r'Uiicrie* Other countries — £ 7,fX©,541 £ 5,729,479 j l I | £ } 6,183,630 l 12,542 1,759 164 8 7,231 800 350 346 085 1,592 866 13,893 1.867 1,100 2,937 5D7 4,010 966 645 68,163 4,400 17,743 6,072 394,691 t-57 1,453 3,133 5,656 17,526 5.450 2,553 85 52,197 711 I 6,547 j 18,964 2,420 653 342,436 973 2,222 34(1,567 -., 1.980 _ i 67.736 I 10,393 1,471 ! _ i 133,639 j 57.423 j i 83.233 8,297 19,239 1,110 44,026 26,213 2,763 2,426 161 13 386 !£7,665,338 i :£6.297,097 1-6,788,020

' "9 'f c53«__ °*. —'c H° S 4, y c j > S Wheat Matt .. OaU .J 34,017 82,076 27,878 476,113 2,151,139 824,441 I 13.7 26.2 29.6 Cents. 50.9 26.4 19.9 | 8. <1. 29 0 26 8 24 6