PROGRESS OF THE COLONY

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1685, 15 June 1904, Page 22

PROGRESS OF THE COLONY

FIFTY YEARS’ ADVANCE.

STATISTICS OF A STEADY GROWTH

A statistical review of fifty years’ progress in New Zealand—from 1854 to 1903 —has been issued from the office of the Registrar-General. It shows the steady march, onward of a young people, and the record of their diligence makes interesting reading. In 1854 the population of the colony of Maoris) was 32,554 ; ten years later it was 172,158; another ten yearsand it stood at 341,860; ten more and it was 564,304; ten more (1894) it had reached 686,128; and last year the figures were 832,505.. In the fifty years there were 674,313 births, 150,441 marriages and 223,656 deaths. The increase

of • population for the fifty years is 799,951. So much for that. What have the people been doing in s the half-century? Take the land first. The number of acres under cultivation (including sown grasses) is not given Until the year 1857 and it stood then at 121,648 acres. Gradually the land . was attended to until with the beginning of the Seddon Administration the acreage under- cultivation ran into* tens of millions. Last year the figures’were 13,504,004 r—an increase of 18,382,356 acres in cultivation. With the taking up of the land the stock, of course, increased. The first figures given are for 1858, and they show 13* 7 ,204 horned and 40,734 pigs. The last returns show 1,593,547 - horned cattle, 18,954,553 sheep, 298,714 horses and 226,591 pigs. Next are the exports of produce. In r . 1854 there were 1,254,415!) of wool, valued at.. £70,103, sent tway; last year 165,123,3311 b, valued at &4,041,274. were exported an increase of 153,868,9651 b and of £3,971,171. Grain next, and in 1854 there were exported 93,700 bushels, valued at £41,019. The

last returns, which, by the way, are less than for the four previous years, showed that 5,361,728 bushels, valued at £553,596, had been exported. As showing the fluctuations of the prices in grain, it may be stated, as an example that in 1883 6,723,303 bushels were exported and valued at £1,286,724, and that in 1901 13,373,515 bushels were exported and valued at £1,285,811. The figures of frozen meat are given first in 1883, and that year 15,244 cwt were exported, valued at £19,339. In 1903 2,378,650 cwt were exported, valued at £3,197,043 —an increase of 2,363,406 cwt and £3,177,704. One of the greatest growths is shown in the dairy industry. In 1854 there were sent from the colony 807 cwt of butter, valued at £7399. and last year there were sent away 285,106 cwt valued at £1,318,067 —an increase of 284,299 cwt in quantity and £1,310,668 in value. Cheese exported

in 1854 amounted to 169 owt., valued at £975; last year the exportation reached 74,780 cwt, valued at £194,998 —an increase of 74,611 cwt and £194,023. The exportation of flax has improved wonderfully, top. In 1854 only 48 tons, valued at £1563, were sent away, while last year 22,653 tons, valued at £595,684, were exported—an increase of 22,605 tons and £594,121. From 1861 to 1860 the industry tottered dangerously. In the former year only two tons were exported; the following year there were 13 tons; next year there were again 13 tons; the year after only 7 tons; and in 1865 three tons. After that matters improved. The first figures shown concerning the exportation of gold are in 1857, and that year 10,4360 z, valued at £40,442, were exported. Then from 1862 to 1880 the value of exported gold remained steadily in the seven figures, but it fell away again until a good year is shown in'lß9l. From 1898, however, the value is shown at seven figures, and last year it was £2,037,832, or only £806,685 under the best figures the colony can show. Kauri gum exporta-

tion has been steadily-on the increase. In 1854, 1660 tons, valued at £28,864,. left the colony, and last year 9356 tons, valued at £631,102, were sent out—an increase of 7696 tons, valued at- £602,238. Provisions, tallow, timber, etc., have also grown in exportation from a value of £170,967 fifty years ago to £2.288,590 —an increase of £2,117,629. The totalvalue of the exports from the colony during half a century has increased from £320,890 to £14,838,192 —a jump of £14,517,302.

Now for the imports. Their total value in 1854 was £891,201,- and last year the value had reached £12,788,675. From 1872 to 1886 the imports were in excess of value compared to the exports, but since 1886 the exports have kept steadily above the imports in value. Shipping transport—ln 1854 the tonnage inward was 74,831 and outward

76,718; last year the inward tonnage was 1,102,064 and the outward tonnage 1,113,165.

Railway transport —The first complete figures given are for 1874. That year there were 209 miles of railway open for traffic, 621 miles under construction, and the receipts amounted to £21,198. The information as to last year’s operations are not included, but the figures for 1892 show 2291 miles open for traffic, 194 under construction, and the receipts amounted to £1,974,038.

Electric telegraph returns are shown from 1886. That year thei*e were 699 miles of line. 48,231 messages sent, and cash and cash values (including telephones) were £9114. In 1902 there were 7749 miles of line, 4,569,304 messages were sent, and the cash and cash values (including telephones) were £222,495.

Substantial increases are shown in banking. In 1857, the first figures available, the deposits in the ibanks (averaged on four quarters) amounted to £343,316, the assets to £419,860, and the liabilities to £432,494. In 1903 the deposits amounted to £19,011,114, the

assets to £19,913,546, and the liabilities to £20,563,879. In the Post Office and private sayings banks the number of depositors in 1858 was 715 and the balance to credit at the end of the year was £7862. In 1902 the number of depositors was 261,948, and the balance to credit at the end of the year was £7,876,877. These figures are mere statistics. They show only indirectly the opening up of the country; they show nothing of the improved social conditions—the betterment of the worker generally—show nothing of the education of the people in politics, general and municipal, and the advances in a hundred and one matters that go to make the carriage of the State easier and more rapid.