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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9065, 28 May 1888, Page 4

The Parliamentary papers lately issued, showing the Customs and shipping returns of the year 1887, are full of interest, as exhibiting the effects of the depression on the different classes of articles on which Customs duties are levied, and how they are. .likely to stand tJie additional duties that seem likely to be imposed. The total amount collected by the department for Customs and Excise duties during the year wai £1,406,379, whilst that fur the yea! ending 31st December, 1886 va» £1,437,503, being £31,124 less in las', than in 1886. The.following is are casting of Table IX, being a generd summary for the year 1887 :—

Am'ntColl'cWfor Ciis'ms Duties in TKff,If*". 1887. enw Articles. £- ' £.. i' Spirits .. « ~ • 84-1,354 836,992 7ay Wines .. -. M -' 32,884 31,408 l'm Ale and Beer .. .. 24,000 82,151 z\d Goods ad valorem 25£ '*™ and 15% .. .. 838,374 291,901 Mm Other duties not sped- ■ • • ',s fled above .. .. •• 71,403 65,908 5Kg Tobacco. .. .. ■• 609 445 o^, Bonded -wareho'se duty , 5,097 5,443 2M Oyster Act fees . . .. '6 3 3 Gold duty .. .. •■22,70T 20,3*3 2319 Pilotage and port •• ■• charges, <ftc .. ... 20,492 25.E98 6M Distillation Act.. „ •- 24 ■ 16 g Amount of decrease. . ■ • • ■ £67,022 Cigars, snuff, & tobacco 224,724 220,550 13 Tea, at 4d per lb . . 67,425 80,252 12,827 Sugar and molasses, Jd pcrlb .. .. ... \ 94,287 107,007 12.72 C Coffee, cocoa, <fcc., raw, at 3d . 7,537 7,758 2fl Coffee, cocoa, &c, roasted, 5d .... 22 33 10 Opium - 4,367 4,427 60 Goods by weight .. 101,755 100, 4 40} Beer ' 63,047 53,302 255 Cigars and cigarettes .. •• 34T • ■ 'M 97 Rent seizures .. .. 119 628 505 Merchant Shipping Ac* fees ..?? 81 5 Shipping and Seamen's ' "■ Act fees .. .. • 2,288 2,361 73 Lighthouse dues .. . 7,222 9,509 2,347 Chinese immigrants M 4&0 1,000 i>o Other receipts .. ... 6,531 0,000 45 Amount of increase .. £35,915 Net decrease .. *. ~ , \ *31,1tt Totals.. „ ..£i;457,503 £1,400,379 The most noticeable item showing a decrease for 1887 is the item under the head of goods ad valorem, on which 25 per cent, and 15 per cent, duties aw collected. These exhibit a falling of) from the amount collected in 1886 oJ £46,473. Large as this decrease is, it u no sudden fall, for the; difference between 1885 and 18.87 is no less than £97,040. It is quite obvious that the depression in trade has enormously affected goods imported under o<? valorem rates. "We may mentioi a few of the principal articles imported in this class.-—Cotton manufactures not otherwise enumerated, and all articles made of cotton mixed with any other material, drapery, floorcloth, engravings and prints, firearms, fruit preserved in syrup, furniture, furs, glass polished ' and coloured, globes, chimneys for lamps, grindery, haberdashery, hardware, harness, hats. hollow-ware, hosiery, ink, japanned and lacquered metal ware, jewellery, leather manufactures, linen " manufactures, matches, millinery, '. paper, paperhangings, portmanteaus, shirts, stationery, woollen manufactures. As respects the large' falling off in spirits, wine, and beer added together, say £11,232, the more temperate habits of the people may .partly account for this, but no doubt.it is also partly owing to the want of means to purchase these luxuries. The balance to make up the heavy decrease between 1886 and 1887, of £67,022, is caused by other goods not specified, £5585; gold duty, £2319; pilotage and port charges, £894; and excise duties on tobacco, £254, and bonded warehouse duty, £254; Distillation Act, £8 ; and lastly, Oyster Act fees, £3. We now turn to those articles on which there has been an increase of revenue during last year, as compared with the preceding year —1886. The largest advance is on tea, £12,827, and on sugar, £12,720; together, say £25,547. . The duty on tea is 4d per lb, and on sugars, *d. Last year's quantity on which duty was paid was 4,815,1201b, and 61,363,3601b sugar. Not so bad for a population a little over 600,000 people. ; Cigars, snuff, and tobacco increased £1826, whilst coffee only exceeded the former year by £231, but our Chinese friends added £60 tor opium duty. Goods by weight gave £4403 more; our local breweries contributed £255, and cigars and cigarettes, £97 additional revenue. Customhouse officers were more zealous, and seizures with rent, added some £509 in excess or the former year. Lighthouse dues gave us £2347. Shipping and Seamen a; Acs fees, £73; with other receipts, *>»>> added up, made a total of increase for 1887 of £35,918, reducing the total of tne falling-off in the year 1887 to £31,124. We may notice that an error ocean in the figures in the Parliamentary return. In page 22, under the last column of amount collected, the figures, when added up, did not agree by £20, for instead of the total being £1,437,503, « would only give £1,437,483. We .found on reference to the Gazette for the detailed items, that * other receipts, pu* down as £6561, ought to have been £6581. It is very strange that tn» mistake was not noticed before wo paper was presented to Parliament