The New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1872.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IX, Issue 2543, 20 March 1872, Page 4

The New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 1872.

It is always desirable that our leilowcolonists should be made aware >>i what is done in other eouutrk?, as well a.-s with the view of stimulating to greater enterprise as to inform tlieni of the direction in which the trade and commerce of neighbouring Static, having similar natural productions to our own, are tending. The Mta f e <'t California has been, from its c-::rhc>: foundation, intimately conuecied with Auckland, ami the establishment ot the ocean mail service, via Honolulu and I'raneisco, is expected to dra'.v still closer the commercial bonds whica unite the two communities. "W'e shau, therefore, on this occasion, take California as an illustration, although m extent and natural productiveness ;r for exceeds 2vew Zealand. Turning to the Commercial Herald and Jlarfot Review, published in San Francisro, we find ample material for the in hand.

Wo shall take the imports and exports at San .Francisco as an illustration of the nature and extent of the foreign exchanges of that great centre of trade on the North Pacific coast. The total import value of merchaTulis , - , of all kinds in IS7L was 25,73(3.0Ji| dollars, or in round numbers rive ai"' three-quarter millions sterli:i£, ; ,5 against three and three-quarter niiilions sterling in IS7O. The aggri'S' l ' 1 ] declared value of the past lour years imports at the Customs district <'t San Francisco was 53..905.235 dollars of which twenty-five million collar* represented the value of free goods. Tho export value for ihe year IS7L, exclusive of treasure, anwunteil to 13,9-31,1-19 dollars, as again*' 17,5J5,100 dollars in IS7O, -™' 1 20,551,091 dollars in LSG9. Iu o' her words, the imports of foreign merchandise at the port of San in IS7I exceeded the imports for I^' l by 9,002,790 dollars, while the export

♦ T.ilue of merchandise iVll oft' during tl>'p same period hy I? 807,011 dollars, Sto tocher dollarn- nearly two million six hundred thousand' pounds sterling. T; may be interesting to omnner.-iU-the print-ip:il markets lor California.! prothli-e and moiviirmiliso. They were, as uiulcr, during IS7I :— >'ew York ;;.S2-I.f:OX dollar.Great Britain 3(M t.t 7." ~ Jlexieo 1,1<'2.-H;<; „ -■ . til A-merica 508,172 „ Hawaiian Islands ... 570 T. 17 „ China 1,n51,H03 „ British Columbia fir>7,lGo „ Japan 529,5t0 „ Australia 200,000 „ Other countries 1,1-I-2,53S ~ The Treasure report Tor IS7I amounted to 17,"25:5,0 17 dollars, bcini; moiv than three niiilion dollars in excess ot the export, tor IS7O. The eoiiiiiinei! treasure and merchandise export for the past three ye-irs illustrates the fallacy of the " balance of trade" tlipon" of Protectionists, thus : — Htfi sS.l7fi.ins dollars 1570 50.831,300 „ 1571 31,931,110 „ .-uvordint; 1.1 this record, California jj.miil be steadily to the bad. inasmuch as the imports are relatively t,i exports, iiK-rea?]?!:: annually in nearly the same proportion as" the cxjuifie are decreasing; in value; but wo ill I know that the Pacific Slope is. 3K>;wiihsrandinp:, advancing in wealth ;;:;,! population. Tiioi'c was a decrease of near!}- half a uiiliion dollars, as compared with I>7i>. in tin. , i-xporis to Xew York, ami a .iccrease o{ 4.-3 U.oM! dollars in the e\:ii-'-.-t? ;o England, as contrasted with tiii> pivvious year. "When it is eonfi.!ere..i, however, that (Treat. Britain n..'k in exchange for coal, merchandise, a:;d railway iron, 1,:>i30."2!)"J centals ;-.*' Californian wheat, an idea may be formed of the magnitude of the trade with Hni;]a::d, whiwh would be destroyed in the event of a. war. as threatened over the Alabama claim. This i'act likewise suggests the reflection that Canterbury and < 'tago have cot far to look i'or an outside market, seeing that Great Britain is open to i!ic:n for their surplus produce as return freight. The East is also open to them. The domestic trade of Pan Francisco is represented by the interior movement of merchandise by railroad of the value of -iU.IOT.'JT!) dollars during IS7I, being an increase of 20,701,633 dollars as compared with IS7O. This is an extremely healthy and encouraging sign. If is n remarkable fact, which may be mentioned in this eonn?ction, that the exports by steamer to Panama was one-third more than that by sailing vessels round the Horn. Xew Zealand figures lower on the returns than anv other countrv.

The exports of bivacUtufis for figure as follow: — barrels flour. 1,311,079 centals wiu-iir. 1'2.07 1 centals barlt-y. 7.j>32 c--;itiils oats, of wliicli 500 barrels of tliuircaiiio to NewZealand. T!ic supply fell s!:o:t of that of IS7O, but the enhanced price more than compensated i'o: - the deiieien.-y ol" vield. Of timber. 312.570 cl->ilars" worth was exported in of whieh 2.0-jl. dollars represented a shipment to New Zealand. 'J'tie tuta' wonlclip. including <;reL r "ii wnui. was 2-i-.-7> J -.'((10 lbs. The wool exjior'.s atnounu-d to 2,130,511 ]b< Th'e balan.-e. cxeept about 7-jO.i'OO lbs. on hand, was used by local manufactuivr.s. llie price ranged from 25 to 32 cents per lti. The grape crop of California in IS7I was not less than G0,00<( t.>:is : and the -.vine made is estimated at seven million dollars. The estimate i>, that it takes a run of grapes to make 130 gallons of thoroughly fermented wine. Other descriptions of fruit, exclusive of oranges and le:nons. exceeded oue and a half million pounds in 1?71.

The nature and exu-:;t of the shiping at the port of-San Francisco will be perceivci! at a gl.ir.ce from the iollowing recapitulation fi-r ls7L : — Amrricm vessels arrived from domestic ports GO-ifi-i5 tons American vessels arrived f.-u:n foreian p-.-U 2SG,7Oi „ ve-eU arrived from foreign p orU llfi.OOS ~ Ameri'jiiii v> sr-.-Is from ti=livoyages 2,0-1-3 „ Foreign vessels fruin fishing ™.«S« .-, 170 „ •Aiiieric.iii winders 207 ~ Thus it will be seen that more thr.n half the shipping frequenting the port of Sau Francisco during the year l>7 1 were engaged in what is technically known as the coasting trade. Hence, the large proportion of American shipping employed. if we contrast the. result of the foreign trade of California with the ioreign trade of Saw Zealand for the past two } ears, we find the following figures : —- IMPORTS. £XrO!iTS. Cii:fn,ia, 1870 ...£-l,7o')fin r XcxZ:'iU:ui,\fi~o... -1.fj:j0."70... -iSJJ,7SiJ CUifunjui, IS7L ... 5,717,' iii; .. GM'.IO.-Jl'J X<.".vZ._'aWl,lS7l... •l : <J7S,ltt:;... s>S2Oo:j The domestic interior trade of San Francisco was further represented bv -£5,000,000 in iS7I; the domestic trade of New Zealand amounted in round numbers to about liaif a. million sterling.