MONTHLY SUMMARY FOR THE ENGLISH MAIL. GENERAL SUMMARY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3342, 2 April 1868, Page 5

MONTHLY SUMMARY FOR THE ENGLISH MAIL. GENERAL SUMMARY.

Since tha publication of our last summary 'edition, for Europe, few things have occurred kn this province demanding special notice. His Excellency, Governor Sir [George Bowen, £ndJLady Bawen> arrived here from Wellingjton on the 25th liltimo, and met with a most jenthusiastic reception. A 1 full report 'of the 1 {proceedings appears elsewhere. Addresses, (expressive, of loyalty and.- respect,^ were (presented from the Provincial Council, the inhabitants of' Auckland, and various public l bodies and.societies, and, by the 1 Maoris. The news of the attempted assassination of the Duke 'of -Edinburgh at Sydney created the greatest excitement here ; and 1 the public 'feeling .wasr not allayed until after the arrival of the mail from Sydney, containing-,theih-'itelligerice that his Koyal Highness wast convalescent. Public meetings have been held in several of the Southern provinces expressive of sympathy withhisßoyalHighness and detestaItion of the crime. Thefeeling of indignation in 'New Zealand.is universal; and although a number of misguided men at Hokitika were induced to take part in a Fenian demonstration, and mook funeral in commemoration lof the men executed at Manchester, by an •imbecile priest and an unscrupulous I journalist, we believe every man in •the colony reprobates the great crime ■which has been committed at Sydney. However, owing to the injudicious exercise of authority by the local magnates, a collision is not improbable ; and the "Volunteers have been armed by the Government. One thousand special constables have i been sworn in ; and a company of the 18th lEoyal Irish from Auckland are to sail to-day in the 'Falcon,' for Hokitika, to suppress anything like a riot. They are to be joined by a company of the same regiment from Wellington, and the detachment of Mounted Police from the Patea. Priest Larkins and the Editor of the New Zealand Oelt have been arrested on a charge of sedition, and two other men have been taken into custody on a charge of riot, the Celtic cross erected in the cemetery by the Fenians having been forcibly removed. A rescue is apprehended. [ , A public meeting of the inhabitants of Auckland, is to be held on the 3rd April, to adopt an address of condolence to his .Royal Highness the Duke' of Edinburgh,' on his providential escape from* the murderous attack iTipon his life in Sydney ; and to express their abhorrence of the crime. Fortunately, the disturbance on the East Coast is suspended for the time being. The large expedition which started some time since to> trace the hostile natives returned to , camp at Opotiki without encountering re- 1 sistance. This combined force of natives and! Europeans has been disbanded, we trust no I more to be called together. The Provincial Council of Auckland has; been prorogued. Amongst the measures passed • was an Act empowering the Superintendent to sell or mortgage the railway works andi land' to any Company willingc to complete it i to Onehunga, or other- terminus to be determined upon by the Superintendent. The Thames goldfield is slowly but surely I developing its auriferous stores. Machinery j for crushing the quartz has been erected, but, a proper amalgamator is required. Owing t to the defective means for saving thei fine gold there is a large per-centagej of loss. Steps are being taken, how- 1 , ever, to supply this want, and local in-, ventions are being tested, with what success : we cannot as yet say. "W"e understand that i the most improved machinery procurable in . Australia will soon be erected at Hunt's ! Kuranui claim. Trade in Auckland continues dull. Thei Thames diggings find employment for a large | proportion of our surplus labour; but we regret that agricultural operations have been ma- <, terially interfered with by the diggings. "We have now to place before our readers ' the result of the late Census of the province, , furnished to us by the enumerator, Mr. E. j B.'Lusk, with the sanction of Mr. Stafford. The following is the. paper :—: — :

CENSUS, 1867. ! Population of the prbyince of Auckland, 27,063 males, 21,258 females; total, 48,321; beiDg an increase since December, 1864, of 6,189, as per) statement below.* 1 The population included in the above, and returned j as on the Thames goldfields when the census was I taken in December, 1867, was 2,155 males and 284 j females; total, 2,439. !

" This- .return is moa?e satisfactory than we anticipated.. Auckland has made - steady progress since the, close of 1864,' when the } former Census retunuwaa made. To' be sure, j the. progress Jhas oiot been very^ rapid, but it wasusteadyJi As conteadted- with Otago, the mast prosperous of the -Middle Island pro- j vinces, Aucklandhas reason to be satisfied, j "Whpreas Ofcago..,has f decreased s since 1864! byis39 souls*! Auckland has increased^ by no few'er4han 6;1 89 souls.' And r what is ( more remarkable still, Otagq, during the thtee y'eaijs from 19,.,18]64, to December '19, 1867, lost no fewer than 6,000! European statute adult males ; whereas Auckland had an increase, of 1,377,ma1es. L The increase of females in Auckland during, the same, period "wias 4,8 i& Th^- increase of, female^. in Otago, wa»- 2,334. "We cannot \ state what| is the proportion of children and adults ) but | 4t is 'satisfactory to know ( that on the 19th, jof^December la^, the ,total Europpan pppula- 1 jiafc.of Ike province of^ckland t was 48y32J. ,»s*gftinst42il32.in 1 18(54.-

It is not too much to state that these numbers have not been diminished since then. The Thames goldfield anfl immigration have more, than compensated for the drain by emigration ; and there is a pros,pect, were the price of money lowered, and [capital, which is now locked up, investedin 'industrial , pursuits, of finding remunerative •employment for all who appear on the Census return, and as many more as may cast in their lot with us in Auckland. But ! a great deal depends upon this..^ If the populjtion we have got is to be retained, and .our (numbers are to increase, it follows that the rates of interest must be reduded, ! and the system of Government simplified and cheap-,! ened. With the prospect we havernom ! before us, and unless some unforseen calamityf I occurs, we may fairly estimate the European population, of Auckland, at the close of the current, year, at fifty thousand souls. I The Thames goldfield appears, on i^he 'return, to-have had a population of 2,439 souls on the 19th of last December. The 'numbers have doubled since then, and ', although many families have removed from ' the city and suburbs, and other places within I the proviuce, there 1 have been many additions from places outside the province and colony. The population of the. city and suburbs was ' 17,606 in 1867, showing an increase of 461 since December, 1864. There was a decrease of 549' males. and an increase of 1,010 females. ! The total number of males in the province was 27,063 ;• females, 21,258 ; total, 48,321. If we add 20,000 aboriginal natives, this would give a total of 68,321 souls, showing that Auckland is the most thickly populated province in the colony. The work of settlement would likewise appear to have made steady progress during the last three years. In 1864, the number of acres fenced was 129,148; in 1867, there were 207,994 acres fenced ; giving an increase of 78,846 acres. The number of acres under crop in 1864, was 87,556 ; in 1867, 130|t>37 ; giving an increase of 42,481 acres. This is satisfactory, because it shows that during i the last three years there has been half as much land reclaimed as was reclaimed in the twenty-four preceding years from the foundation of the colony. The increase in live stock is likewise considerable, as compared" with the Census return of 1864. The • increase stands thus : — Horses, 1,954 ; cattle, 10,772'; sheep, 98,879; goats, 118; pigs, 12,742; poultry, 39,818.

Males. Females. Total. I December, 1864 ... 25,686 ... 16,446 ... 42,132| December, 1867 ... 27,063 . ... 21,258 ... 48,321 j Increase ... - ... 1,37-7 ••• 4,812 ... 6,189 orrr of Auckland and sußtraßs,' viz., parnell i AND NBWTON. | Mali's. Females. Total. | December, 1864>... 9,378 ... 7.767 ... 17,145 December, 1867... 8/829 ... 8,777 ... 17,606 Decrease-... 549 1n0r'.... 1,010 T0ta1... 461 1 December, 1864.^— Number of acres of land ' fenced • 129,148 December, 1867.— Ditto 207^994 ' ■■■ — j Increase 78,8461 December, 1864.— Number of acres under ■ crop.. 1 .. ... ... 87,5561 DecemberyjlSe?.— Ditto 130,0371 Increase. 42,481 l Hones. Cattle. Sheep. , December,, 1864.:. 7,482 4&,294 . 73,151 December, 1867 ... 9,436' 93,066 172,030 Increaie. 1,954 10,772 98,879 - _ . Goat*. Pig«. Poultrj. Debember, 1864 ... 3,264 13*>72 • ' 105,404 De-eembJri : 1867 ... 3,382 25,814 ' 145,222 Increase 118 12,742 39,818

COMPARATIVE STATEMENT. '