IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3342, 2 April 1868, Page 8

IMPORTS AND EXPORTS.

The last Neva Zealand Gazette, to hand by the mail per 'Ahuriri/ contains, amongst other things, comparative returns of imports and exports, during the Quarter : ended December 30, 1867; also theurtotal values for the past year. From these returns we compile the following summary :—: — (

Thus, it appears that the* estimated 'ralue of imports on the last quarter of 1867 was £425,831 less than, for ( the ' jcojire'spdnding quarter of 1866, whilst'ithe 'exports on the last quarter of 1867 exceeded jthV exports for the corresponding period of the; previous year by £30,814. The figures Remonstrate the fact'that fhejcqnsumption of imported, goods was nearly half-a-million less in the last three months of 1867 than in the last quarter of 1866, although the population had not decreased, or at the rate :,of £2 per head of the population. Whether this, result is a proof of .actual prosperity it is not for us to say. There' 1 , ,Mve been so many 'disturbing causes in operation of late as to render it next .to impossible to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion 6n-the point ; but if we admit the principle in political economy that a nation's wealth is to be/ jtfjagjtesd by it consumes, not by what it iproduces,!we need have nolhesitakon in saying j that"the decrease noted in the value of imnort&jTejpfeSents a less prosperous condition of \}fe> than formerly amongst the bulk of the population. t that is a national gain, we leave it^to those who constantly clamour about the balance of trade to say. The comparison for the years 1866-67 is likewise given in the returns. Thus :—: —

Thus, although the imports on the whole of last year were lss by considerably over half a million sterling fthan 1 for, the , previous year, the value of exports yw greater in 1867 by over £120,000 than in' 1866. Trbm this comparative statement it would appear that the falling off* in imports lasfc -year,, as contrasted with 1866, was confined almost exclusively to the December quarter-inasmuch, as about. £120,000 is to distributed over the remaining nine months. In round firambers, the excess of imports dyer v ', lexpbrjsl expbrj$ od the past year, may be set down at one million sterling. ! , yfe shall now cpn^pile,a;cofiparatiye statement showing'what'the variousrjprovinces have been doing for 'the quarter^nd for the year. Thus:— r r _,

These figures are singularly suggestive. They prove that all the old settlements exoept Whanganui and Napier retrograded during the quarter. The greatest increase was at Westport. Indeed, the imports on the last quarter of 1867, at the three Westland ports, amounted to over a quarter of a million, and so helped to keep up the magnitude of our foreign trade. Thefalling-off at Auckland on the quarter, as compared with the same period of 1866, was very great, the decrease being £142,422. New Plymouth stands even worse in proportion. Whanganui shows a large increase, and so does Napier. Wellington has fallen off more than a third ; £iqtqn, one-half; Hokitika, £40,0Q0 odd ; Lyttelton, £71,0Q0odd; Dunedin, £15G;67& We need not, pursue this comparison. The tables speak 'for themselves, and the conclusions are easily drawn. We shall now make a comparison of the years :— , u

It "will be ieety. therefore; on* a comparison of the imports 'foreign, f&r I;he two years unflfcr review, ,^bhat "Auckland .shows, on the' year's trading, a decrease on the value of im-, ports of £300,000. The comparison of* years is favourable to Auckland as con-! trasted with several of the other provinces ; but there is no getting over the rapid and ' large diminution noticeable on the statement ! for the quarter. . The export return for'the year, and for the quarter, is slightly favourable to the' colony. The total export from Auckland \ for,, the December quarter of 1867 was £62,652, against £60,763 in the correspond- ; ing quarter of 1866 j and for last year the ' total export was £291,557 aga,inst £215,393 j in 1866. The export table. shows an increase on the year at Whanganui, Napier, Picton, Havelock, Nelson, Westport (over £300,000 ' gold); Brighton (£177,826, gold); Qkarita; (^38,000, gold); Lyttelton (over £23,000);! Timaru(£ls6,ooo, wool and produce); Oamaru , and Invercargill (over £100,000 r ) . There wks a ' falling off at the following ports, amongst; other: — Mangonui, Hokianga, New Plymouth, Wellington (over £20,000) ; Brighton (over £335,000, gold); Hokitika (about! £40,000, gold); Dunedin and Bluff (£61,000). ! As might be expected, the principal item' 'of export, is gold, which , v amounted .to £720,676 for the last quarter of 1867, against

£649,173 for the corresponding quarter of 1866. But for the gold export, and the foreign, trade which the diggings foster", the state of the pxiblic finances in New Zealand would certainly be %x from encouraging. The grain export' for the last quarter- of 1867 was a little .over £4,000 ; kauri gum gave a total of £13,330 ; and wool, £,26,055, against £81,613 in the last quarter of 1866. Looking' at these returns dispassionately," think they indioate pretty plainly .that' for some time to come at least an extension of ountrade cannot be looked for. The people appear to ibe poorer ; consumption is falling, off; and although' the' p/dpulation may not have decreased, the ability of the people %c buy.is grqatlylessened. (>i .

Quarter end Dec. 30, "1867. led Jujtrter end Dec. 30, 1866. let Impobts. Luckland ... £140,880 ifangonui ... 39 Jokianga lew Plymouth 5,312 Vtanganui' ... 18,468 Vellington ... 112, 660 fapier ... 34,285 Vairau ... 2,, 902 'iclon ... 1,151 lavetock .., 116 Jelton ... 112,899 Vestport ... 47 307 Jreymouth ... 53,223 Jokitika ... 154,313 )karita Jvttelton ... 106 507 Lkwoa ... 1,221 Pimaru ... '4512 )amaru ... 3,345 Duoedin ... 395,628 nreroargill ... 33,085 Jluff ... 13,537 liyerton ... 3,593 Imports. £293,302 , 1,V71 13,864 . 11,673 164 291 23,480 3,110 2,028 1121*083 2,857 56,767 197,213 4.173 177,359 3,390 5,795 6.875 546,290 38,024 ' ,7,143 5,234

Ijip6r;ts. 'oW, 1866 ... £5594,863 'ofcal, 1867 ... 5;344,607 £4.520 074 4,644,678

Imports. ' [uwter ended Dec., 1866... £1,6^-814 ...'£785.140 •uarter ended' Dec, 1867... 1,250j983 ... 815,954

Imports, 1867. Auckland ...£776,667 BtuseU ... l>o6B Mangonui ... 780 Hokianga ... 3,221 Kaipara ... 15.710 , Mew Ply mouth 31,847 Whanganui... 56.359 Wellidgton ... 504.862 Napier 77,683 Wftirau ... 11}672 Pjctpn ... 4,697 r Hav'eiock ... 121 Nelson ... 383,469 Westport ... 66,040 Brighton ... 1,596 Greymouth... 223,703 Hokitik* ... 654,191 Okatila ... 3,223 Lyttelton ... 690,868 Ak.roa ... 4,081 Timaru ... H967 ' Oamaru ..'. 20,896 Dunedin , ...1,576,247 JUveir&rnll... U7ißsl Bliiff .* 25','cr86 Eiverton ... 16,451 1m IPORTS, 1866 C 9 ,p99 1,362 ■ 617 5;761 64,305 75U25 684.33P S2/482 •t(<295 t,53^1 - , , 420 437r27^ 2-857 221.916 591,882 7,354 763,884 7,£42 32,559 10,923 1,615,805 ,133,982 '22,881 29,714 6.^