COLONIAL NOTES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4195, 31 August 1874, Page 7

COLONIAL NOTES.

NEW ZEALAND FORESTS. Tho New Zealand Forests Bill, as amended consists of sixteen , clauses. Its short title is “The New Zealand Forests Act, 1874.” It provides that a sum of £IO,OOO shall he paid annually, in quarterly instalments, out of the Consolidated Fund to a special fluid, to be called “The State Forests Account ;” all receipts from the forests shall be paid into the same account, and the laws relating to the issue of public money shall be applicable to it. The money appropriated by the General Assembly for the forests may be expended in and about their management, including planting, road making, bridge building, rents, purchases of land for forests, education in forestry of persons employed in connection with them, establishment of institutions for teaching forestry, formation of nurseries, and otherwise in the creation, improvement, and extension of State Forests. These forests are to be in the care of one of the Responsible Ministers of tho Crown, who is called “tho Commissioner of State Forests;” a Conservator is to be appointed (or removed) from time to time by the Governor, the engagement of the first Conservator to be for four years, at a salary to be fixed at or prior to his appointment by the Governor, and after that period to be the subject of on annual vote. There are also to be two Assistant Commissioners, engaged in the first instance for three years, at a fixed salary, and after the expiry of that term to be paid as the General Assembly shall determine. All salaries are to be paid out of the State Forests Account. The State forests are to consist of such lands as the General Assembly may from time to time determine, and of such lands within any province as the Superintendent, on the recommendation of the Provincial Council, may recommend to be set apart for tbe purpose. Should it be desirable to take up any lands now under lease, tbe Commissioner is empowered to arrange with the holder of such lease or license for its surrender, any rent derivable from land so taken to be paid into the Forest Account; but if the holder refuses, the land so set apart is to continue in his occupation until the expiry of his lease or license. Portions of the forest may be leased for a period not extending beyond the year 1884, and towns may be proclaimed within their bounds. Surplus revenue from the forests, not required for expenditure within thirteen months, may be invested as the Governor in Council shall direct, but not for a period beyond the year 1904. By-laws may he made by the Governor-in-Council for the management of the forests in every particular, and for facilitating the carrying out of the purposes of the Act, or of any one of the forests; and penalties may be imposed not exceeding £SO in each case, by any justice, for breaches of those regulations. The forfeiture of leases is also provided for, and power given to Conservators to apprehend offenders against the forest laws without warrant, and for the recovery of penalties. THE RESERVES ACCOUNT OF THE COLONY. A return has been - laid before Parliament showing the state of the" Reserves Account of tbe Colony for the financial year 1872-3, showing the sums reserved under each vote, the sums expended during the financial year 1873-4, and the unexpended balances on the 30th of June of the present year. The amount reserved and charged to the Consolidated Fund was £19,120 ; the amount expended, £13,403 ; leaving the balances at £5717. The whole amount voted for public works had been expended, and also those for the geological and meteorological, land transfer, and deeds registry departments ; also for Petty Sessions Courts, criminal prosecutions, conveyance of mails by sea, and inland customs and distilleries, and marine. Of the reserve for the militia and volunteers in the North Island £3195 remained unclaimed ; of that for the same forces in the South Island, £1599. There was an unexpended balance of £292 in connection with the Inspector’s and £239 with the stores department of the force. For the San Francisco mail service there remained unexpended an amount of £122; and in the reserves for salaries of European and Native officers, £B2 ; and in that for Native Lauds Frauds Prevention Act, £74 ; banks’ commission, £BO. The other balances were small. The reserves under the Defence and Other Purposes Loan Act, 1870, were £34,610, the amount expended £11,453 ; and the balances unexpended, £23,187. ME. HOLLOWAY’S VISIT. The visit of Mr. Holloway to the Province of Taranaki is thus noticed by the local Herald of Saturday ;—-Mr. Holloway arrived in New Plymouth on Thursday evening last, by Cobb’s coach. He was accompanied on his journey ■ from Hawera by tbe Civil Commissioner (Mr. Parris), from whom he bad an oppoi'tnmty of learning the . history of the whole district through which he travelled. Several influential gentlemen of the place waited upon Mr. Holloway yesterday morning ; and in the afternoon he, in company with the Deputy Superintendent, drove as far as Waitara. To-day being market day, Mr. Holloway will doubtless have an opportunity of making the acquaintance of several, who, a few years hack, arrived here (as they are not ashamed to own) “ with scarcely a shilling in their pockets,” and are now well-to-do farmers. The manner in which Marlborough Pro-

vince has been- “settled” seems to have “ made as forcible an impression upon Mr. Holloway as it has upon every person who has - visited it and realised its great resources now almost exclusively, and indifferently, utilised by the runholder, instead of being, as they well might be, and ultimately will be, an attraction to thousands of an industrious population. While at Patea, and in an interview with some of its settlers, as we learn from a correspondent of the Wanganui Herald, Mr Hollow-ay “ made some remarks about the way the Province of Marlborough is situated. He found that the land was in the hands of large capitalists, who owned from 40,000 to 100,000 acres each, which he considered was a very bad state of things. He would much rather see a class of small farmers who would improve what land they held, instead of large runs which only required a man and dog to attend to a large extent of country.” Mr. Holloway, the representative of the Agricultural Laborers’ Association of England, proceeded from Wanganui to Patea, and at Daniell’s Albion Hotel he had an interview with a number of the residents of the district, regarding which a correspondent of the Herald says :—“ln the course of conversation Mr. Holloway stated that he considered the Patea district the best part of New Zealand he had yet seen, and he hopes that at no far distant date he may be able to arrange for a special settlement in the district. I believe the Waimate plains is the spot that he would like to see surveyed in small blocks, and sold on the deferred payment system to a number of persons whom he would send out from England. He also made enquiries from those present as to whether wheat could be grown in the district, he having been informed in other Provinces that it would not grow in this Province, In reply he was told that before the Europeans settled in the district, the Natives grew a largo quantity, and had several mills in different parts of the district ; that the European settlers had not yet gone in for growing wheat; that from the time the district had been populated by Europeans grazing had been the principal pursuit followed, the abundance of natural grass in the district having enabled tho settlers to get a quick return for capital invested in live stock, but that now tho district was more thickly populated, settlers aro expending large suras of money to improve their properties. He was informed that a large quantity of wheat was grown every year at the New Plymouth end of the Province.” Tho same correspondent says : —“ Mr, Holloway intends to have an inter- , view with Tito Kowaru on his way up the coast if possible : ho will then bo able to tell his friends in England that ho visited the rebel chief who in IBGB drove tho Colonial Goveniment forces from tho district, but who has now settled down and is cultivating tho land. Mr, Holloway was informed that tho Native difficulty was considered settled in this district, and that even when there was_ a disturbance the settlers residing in the district did not trouble themselves so much about it as persons living a hundred miles from tho place.”

DISTILLATION IN NEW ZEALAND. Attached to the report of the Select Committee appointed to take evidence on the subject of the Excise Duties, there is a statement by Mr. R. M. Robertson, one of the partners in the firm who entered into the business of distillation in Dunedin, which is worthy of being quoted, as exhibiting the extent of the industry which they initiated, and the 'difficulties which they had to overcome at its commencement. Much of Mr. Robertson’s statement, however accurate, is written of course with the object of illustrating what effect the proposed alteration in the excise duties would have upon their enterprise, but we quote only what relates to the past, and to the gradual development of the Dunedin distillery up to the present time. Mr. Robertson states, on behalf of the firm, that by reason of their own inexperience in the business, the impossibility of obtaining in the Colony experienced hands, the inferior quality of the barley and other grain at that time obtainable, and other causes too numerous to particularise, they at first made heavy losses in the business, amongst which he enumerates the spoiling of 22,000 gallons of spirit, in consequence of their having attempted to utilize “ kauri ” in making vats, the gum from which tasted thg spirit, and rendered its re-distillation necessary at a considerable loss, besides delaying business for nearly a year and a half, by postponing for that period the time within which they could bring into consumption a matured and marketable spirit. Owing to the discovery that colonial woods were unsuitable for vats, and partly to the fact that, having been deceived as to the thickness of the copper of which the stills should have been constructed, they wore out in less than three years, instead of lasting for over ton years, as they should have done, and necessitated having others made in the Colony at a cost of over £2OOO. The whole expenditure, including the new vats, &c., was upwards of £6OOO, besides the expense incurred in keeping the men idle during a period of over three months, and the loss involved in the stoppage of the business. Since tbe renewed plant has been in working order, the firm have been able to produce a superior article, and in larger quantities, at the same expense of management, and have thus accumulated a stock of spirits over and above the quantity required to supply the demand ; and this stock is gradually increasing, so that in the course of two or three years they hope to be in a position to send out nothing but a fully matured spirit. From the tune they commenced business in October, 1869, up to the last balance in December, 1873, they had manufactured about 179,000 gallons of spirits from 08,743 bushels of malt and grain, all of which, except about 2000 bushels of malt made from barley imported from California (and on which a duty was paid), was grown in this Colony. Of this quantity they had up the end of the year 1873 sold 144,386 gallons at an average of about 7s. per gallon. Mr. Robertson mentions that tho reason, of their using Californian barley on the one solitary occasion on which they did so, was that the entire stock of barley in the Provinces of Otago and Canterbury became exhausted, and they were obliged, in order to prevent a stoppage of the business, to send to California for a consignment of 10,000 bushels, 8000 of which they sold, partly to farmers as seed barley, and partly to brewers in the shape of malt. The above-mentioned quantity of 144,386 gallons was sold in the proportions following, viz. ; From Oct., 1869, to Dec,, 1870, 20,990 gallons ~ Jan., 1871, to Dec., 1871, 27,757 „ „ Jan., 1872, to Dec., 1872, 40,639 „ „ Jan., 1873, to Dec,, 1873, 54,999 „ Showing an annually increasing demand for the spirits manufactured at their distillery. The annual returns from the business (including sales of malt manufactured) have been as follows : £ s. d. From Oct., 1869, to Dec., 1869... 773 6 0 „ Jan., 1870, to Dec., 1870...10,371 19 9 „ Jan,, 1871, to Dec., 1871...17,360 18 2 „ Jan., 1872, to Deo., 1872...28,034 H 5 „ Jan., 1873, to Dec., 1873...41,038 13 _8 Of the 200,000 bushels of barley mentioned in the firm’s petition as having been consumed in their business as distillers and malsters, above 100,000 bushels were converted into malt, and sold to brewers, Mr. Robertson explaining that it is necessary to carry on tbe two businesses of malting and distilling in conjunction, for the reason that, although malt may, for certain reasons, be unsuitable for brewers, it is yet available for distilling.

IMMIGRATION ESTIMATES. Tub estimates to defray the salaries, contingencies, and expenses of the Immigration Department, in connection with the Immigration and Public Works Loan, for the year 1874-5, were laid before the House yesterday by the Premier. Tho total amount of the vote proposed for the year is £481,161 in round numbers, and £270,396 for 1873-4—a sum which includes £250,000 for the introduction, location, &c., including liabilities for immigrants now on the way. The vote proposed for the Agent-General’s Department for the year is £12,065. Among the items are £4OO for a private secretary for the Agent-General ; twelve clerks, £1590 ; a shipping officer, £400; a shipping agent, £3OO ; an assistant shipping officer and travelling agent, £3OO ; a medical officer, £SOO ; advertising and stationery, £3OOO ; the chief agents office in Dublin, £2OO ; for six agencies in the United Kingdom, £3OOO ; and for travelling expenses, £IOOO. For the introduction and location of immigrants in the present year, £275,000. The Immigration Officer at Auckland is set down at £3OO, and it is proposed to vote £BOOO for country depots in that Province, and £9OOO for advances for works in connection with the location of settlers, including advances for cottages, £9ooo—total for Auckland, £17,858. The salary of the Immigration Officer at Taranaki is £IOO, and it is proposed to advance to the Province, for depots and for works to assist settlement and the other purposes contemplated by the vote for Auckland, a sum of £20,000. Taranaki, therefore, stands for £20,125 for the year. The officer at Hawke’s Bay has the same salary as the officer at Taranaki, but in that Province an “ interpreter and collector of hills” is necessary, who will draw £l5O from the Immigration Fund. A sum of £2OO is to be given for the purchase of a site for an office or depot, £IOO for two schoolmasters in the Seventy-mile Bush, and £458 for repairs to the depot at Napier ; and it is proposed to grant £2OOO for depots, and to advance £9OOO for works. Tho total for Hawke’s Bay is £12,136. Tho Immigration Officer at Wellington will receive £375, the depot-master and matron £IBO, a cadet £6O, the Quarantine keeper and matron £l2O ; and it is proposed to vote £2OOO for country depots, £3OOO for advances for cottages, and an advance of £60,000 “ on land for public works in connection with settlement on terms provided by the Provincial Public Works Advance Act, 1874.” The total for Wellington is £66,283. The Nelson officer will have £l5O ; in the construction of a depot at Nelson and country depots, &.c., £3OOO is to he spent, and £BOOO is to be advanced for works to promote settlement. In Marlborough the officer receives only £25 ; contingencies are set down at £SOO ; for depot, &c., £2OOO is asked, and it is proposed to advance £14,000. Total for Marlborough, £16,535. To Westland, £2OOO is tube voted for depots ; and £12,000 as an advance for the usual purposes. Total for Westland £14,175. The immigration officer at Canterbury is salaried with £400; his assistant has £2OO ; his clerk, £IBO ; and his messenger, £62 12s. The immigration officer at Tirnaru will have £125 ; and it is proposed to vote £BOOO for depots, &c., but nothing for advances to promote settlement, Canterbury having employed a portion of her ample funds in that direction, and not requiring the aid of the General Government. The total for Canterbury is £9317. Tho Immigration Officer for Otago is set down for £825 ; his two clerks, £2OO each; his cadet, £6O ; and tho visiting surgeon, £SO ; £6OOO is to bo voted for, country depots ; and tho Province desires an advance of £IO,OOO on tho terras projjosod by tho Government in connection with tho location of settlers, erection of cottages, &c. Tho total for Otago is £17,395. There is also a vote to bo proposed of £I2OO, as tho moiety of tho cost of four steam launches—one each for Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Dunedin.

CENSUS NOTES. A series of “preliminary tables,” compiled from the late census of New Zealand, have been laid before Parliament. They relate to the numbers of tho population, and of their dwellings, and to land and live stock. In presenting them to the Colonial Secretary, the Registrar-General, Mr. W. B. E. Brown, remarks that the returns ho submits are incomplete, as no returns have yet been received from the Chatham Islands. As a general observation, ho states that in the North Island houses of wood or iron and raupo appear to be most numerous ; of coh or sod in the Middle Island ; and huts on the West Coast. The total population of New Zealand, including Chinese and half-castes, hut apparently excluding Maoris, is 299,385. It is localised as follows Otago, 85,113 ; Auckland, 67,451 ; Canterbury, 58,775 ; Wellington, 29,790 ; Nelson, 22,558 ; Westland, 14,860 ; Hawke’s Bay, 9228 ; Marlborough, 6145 ; and Taranaki. 5463. The males numbered 170,903, and the females, 128,482. The Chinese numbered 4815, included in which there was only one female. There were 931 male and 929 female half-castes. The inhabited houses and huts were 59,355 ; there were 3967 uninhabited, and 535 in course of erection. There were 1967 tents, or buildings with canvas roofs. There were found 1898 houses of brick or stone, 50,087 of wood and iron, 2533 of cob, sod, &c., and 572 of raupo. On the night before tbe census was taken, 277 Europeans and 10 Chinese were sleeping under drays or camping out. Of electoral districts, the most populous was Dunedin, with 18,499 persons on shore, and 23 on the water ; the Thames followed with 12,278 ; Wellington had 10,547, and 181 on board shipping in the harbor ; in Christchurch City West, 9194, in Christchurch City East, 7765 ; Auckland City West, 8892, in Auckland City East, 4109 ; Hokitika, 7079 ; and Napier, 5762. The total number of persons on board ships when the census was taken, including immigrants just arrived, was 3367—a number composed of 2856 males, and 511 females. The total extent of the acreage of freehold holdings was 7,029,354 J. These lands were held in the followingproportions proviucially:— Otago, 1,686,576 j; Auckland, 1,025,4584 ; Wellington, 1,000,552 f ; Hawke’s Bay, 954,9675 ; Canterbury, 877,9705 ; Marlborough, 704,5184 ; Nelson, 653,762;|; Taranaki, 79,934 ; and Westland, 15,324. For pastoral purposes only, 14,192,553 acres were rented, and 3,070,6724 acres for other than pastoral purposes. Otago, Canterbury, and Marlborough, are the great pastoral Provinces ; but as regards other classes of leases the Provinces follow in succession thus—Auckland,749,399s acres; Otago, 651,6395 ; Hawke’s Bay, 580,6055 ; Canterbury, 574,809 ; Wellington, 326,4355 ; Nelson, 108,295 J ; Marlborough, 53,0944 ; ■Taranaki, 23,9164 ; and Westland, 2478 acres. The total area under crop was 1,547,2774 acres, of which 110,7365 'were under wheat; .108,485 f in oats; 19,7834 in barley; in permanent grasses 1,107,1154; in hay, 44,211; in potatoes, 12,818; in turnips or rape, 24,445; in gardens or orchards, 12,818; and in tobacco, 50 acres.

In the Colony there were 12,107,156 head of live stock, chiefly sheep, which were distributed as follows:—Otago, 4,518,439; Canterbury, 3,474,518 ; Wellington, 1,231,388; Hawke’s Bay, 1,215,259; Nelson, 630,492 ; Auckland, 498,106 ; Taranaki, 75,282 ; and Westland, 11,332. The number of sheep was 11,674,863 ; cattle, 494,113 ; horses, 99,261; brood mares, 18,690 ; pigs, 123,741 ; goats, 14,226; and mules and asses, 267. There were 1,057,220 head of poultry, 201 steam thrashing machines, 61 driven by water-power, and 508 by horse-power. There were on hand 1,028,543 bushels of wheat, 878,899 bushels of oats, 191,345 bushels of barley, and 2738 tons of flour. In these figures, however, the live stock, and the property of the Natives in cereals, were not been taken into account. POLICE MATTEES. One of the departmental reports lately presented to the Assembly is that of Lieut. - Colonel Moule, Commissioner of the Armed Constabulary, with appendices consisting of reports from the Inspectors of the force in the different districts. From it we learn that at the commencement of the year ending June 30 the force consisted of 709 of all ranks ; that during the year there has been an increase of 156 and a decrease of 179 ; and that its strength at the date mentioned was, therefore, 668, being 66 under the authorised number—a circumstance attributable, it is said, to the difficulty of obtaining suitable men, owing to the great demand for labor and the high rate of wages ruling throughout the Colony. Of the condition, conduct, and quarters of the force, the Commissioner is able to give a very satisfactory report, and he instances the institution of libraries, gymnasiums, gardens, &c., as contributing to their comfort and well-being. He directs particular attention to the “ exhaustive report” of Inspector Brbham, of Auckland, as referring to “ several matters worthy of serious attention,” and, turning to that report, we find that the Inspector makes some very sound recommendations or comments, on at least four subjects—lunacy, education, insurance, and the crime of specimen stealing. He thinks, and others will agree with him, that it is especially worthy of note that, perhaps, the majority of fifty-three persons arrested on the charge of lunacy were suffering from delirium tremens, arising from the effects of drunkenness, and adulterated liquors. Notwithstanding Dr. Hector's reportof analyses of liquors, so far as these have gone Inspector Broham accepts it as a fact, that “it is -well known that moat of the spirits sold in Auckland, and elsewhere throughout New Zealand, are highly adulterated, and, if taken in large quantities, are a dangerous poison. On this subject, he adds : — lt The Adulteration of Food Act, 1866, could, with a few amendments, be made effective in the prevention of the sale of such spirits; but in its present fonn it must remain a nullity, as it compels the purchaser of food or drink to deposit a "um not exceeding five pounds, with the view of having the article analysed by the Colonial Analyst. If the Act were left to the police to enforce, a vast improvement would soon be effected in the quality of liquors sold in jjublio houses.” He admits that good effects have already arisen from the Education Act lately passed in the Province, but suggests that the efficiency of the police force is none the less worthy of attention, the educated criminal reqtiiring an equally educated policeman to look after him. The prevalence of fires, he .fears, is attributable to incendiarism, and he deprecates the facility with_ which premises or stock are occasionally insured, without due inquiry as to their value. As to the operation of the Act for the regulation of quartz crushing machines, he considers its results to have been most satisfactory—the police and the society for the prevention of specimen-stealing having under its provisions been able to convict several persons, and, what is more to the purpose, to deter others from following their evil example. The statistics ho supplies point very much in the same direction as some which wo recently quoted in illustration of the character of crimes in the Province of Otago, The total number of persons arrested in the Auckland City district during the year was 2385, and of these 1292 were charged with drunkenness, 233 with being drunk and disorderly, and 218 with vagrancy, obscenity, and habitual drunkenness. It may be well to add that, to whatever influence it was due—to the Licensing Act, the presence of Good Templars, or the importation of innocuous liquor—the charges of drunkenness were ■ less by 258 than they were during the year 1872.

TRADE AND SHIPPING. A keturn has been laid before -Parliament of considerable interest, offering as it docs a large amount of information as to the character of the import and export trade of New Zealand during the past year, and also as to the shipping business of the Colony, It is a general summary of the trade returns, and an abstract of the Customs revenue for 1873. Prom it we find that the undernoted articles, of the values set down, were among the imports *. Agricultural implements, £21,694 ; apparel and slops, £162,097 ; do., warehoused, £42,339 ; blasting powder, £15,177 ; bags and sacks, £102,149 ; do., warehoused, £13,199; bark, £18,372 j

bottled beer, £26,638; do., warehoused, £31,726; bulkbeer, £3866; do.,warehoused,£3o2l; boats £1015; printed books, £67,561; boots and shoes, £216,171; do., warehoused, £37,050; brushware and brooms, £11,381 ; candles, £14,529; do., warehoused, £27,171; carpeting, £36,169; do., warehoused, £2775; carnages and carta, £11,511 ; cement and plaster of Paris, £23,235 ; do., warehoused, £100; coals, £187,833; cocoa and chocolate, £7268 ; do., warehoused, £2980; coffee, £6521; do., warehoused, £9330; confectionery, £16,055; do., warehoused, £3123; drapery, £679,660; do., warehoused, £71,636; drugs, £31,290; do., warehoused, £7979; druggists’ wares, £18,579; do., warehoused, £2820; fish, potted and preserved, £51,072 ; do., warehoused, £7793; salted fish, £4191; do., warehoused, £368 ; flour, £69,575 ; furniture, £16,205 ; do., warehoused, £2059; malt, £46,551 ; do,, warehoused, £4280; haberdashery, £48,531; do., warehoused, £10,710; hardware and ironmongery, £225,105; hats and caps, £52,777; do., warehoused, £7821; hops, £20,502; do., warehoused, £8437 ; musical instruments, £37,815; do., warehoused, £751; bar and rod iron, £57,723; fencing wire, £85,731; galvanised iron, £75,955 ; jewelry, £26,403; do., warehoused, £1205 ; live stock—asses £6O, horses £14,430, sheep £15,813 ; agricultural machinery, £22,620 ; quartz-crushing machinery, £6562 ; matches and vestas, £11,381; millinery, £10,271; do., warehoused, £1658; nails and screws, £58,559; cocoa nut oil, £2364 ; kerosene, £28,998; do., warehoused, £26,652 ; oilmen’s store, £89,944 ; do., warehoused, £16,130 : ; paints and colors, £26,097 ; do., warehoused, £965 ; paperhangings, £20,940 ; do., warehoused, £BSB ; tobacco pipes, £8207 ; do. warehoused, £285 ; printing materials, £10,289 ; printing paper, £31,871 ; railway materials, £264,858 ; saddlery and harness, £49,130 ; do., warehoused, £5105; salt, £20,155; cloth scrim, £9,143; do., warehoused, £3lOl ; grass seeds, £11,711 ; silks, £20,611 ; do., warehoused, £l4lß ; slate, £5819; gold,- £267,050 ; silver, £13,165; brandy, £2494 ; do., warehoused, £104,941 ; geneva, £296 ; do., warehoused, £19,188 ; rum, £205 ; do., warehoused, £11,283 ; whisky, £301; do., warehoused, £27,979; stationery, £83,696; do., warehoused, £663 ; sugar, £80,990 ; do., warehoused, £291,892 ; tea, £42,636 ; do., warehoused, £178,010 ; telegraph materials, £5222 ; eawu timber, £41,266 ; palings, £10,836 ; tobacco, £2962 ; do., warehoused, £73,014 ; cigars, £2169 ; do., warehoused, £19,276 ; toys, £13,377 ; vegetables, £9064 ; wine, £13,085 ; do., warehoused, £83,712 ; wool, £6950; woollens, £110,710 ; do., warehoused, £35,188 ; and woodware, £12,388. The total value of the imports was £6,461,687. Among the exports were the following : Butter, £2312 ; .cheese, £0625; curiosities, £239 ; fungus, £1195 ; fish, dried and preserved, £622 ; flour, £12,070; gold, £1,987,125 ; barley, £ll2 ; malt, £751 ; oats, £7317 ; wheat, £128,619 ; kauri gum, £85,816 ; guano, £I6OO ; hides, £34,541 ; hops, £439 ; horns, £96 ; leather, £26,927 ; cattle, £2003 ; horses, £340 ; pigs, £3O ; sheep, £1350 ; oaten meal, £2006 ; preserved meats, £154,049 ; onions, £143 ; plants, £517 ; phonnium, £143,799 ; potatoes, £2350 ; bacon and hams, £10,568 ; salted beef, £2328 ; fresh beef, £205 ; salted pork, £626 ; pearl bailey, £B6 ; sauces, £316 ; shells, £1231; silver, £9850 ; sealskins, £lßl7 ; sheepskins, £11,387 ; rabbit skins, £1263 ; soap, £BB6 ; specimens of natural history, £lOBl ; specie (gold), £11,400; (silver), £5lO ; tallow, £67,118; sawn timber, £27,761; logs, £15,218 ; spars, £873 ; whalebone, £212; wool, £2,705,351 ; and woollens, £823. The total value of the exports was £5,610,271. The largest portion of our trade was with England, the imports from which amounted to £3,781,130, and the exports to were valued at £3,702,416. The next_ largest business done was with Victoria, the imports from that Colony representing £1,603,232, and the exports thereto were £1,349,316 —an amount in which gold to the _ value of £1,217,062 was included. To New South Wales this Colony sent produce and goods to the value of £175,714, receiving back imports worth £155,026. We imported to the extent of £83,501 from Tasmania, sending thither exports to the extent 0f£1331 only. From South Australia we received importations worth £52,493, sending thither exports valued at no more than £6091. From the Mauritius we drew £198,611 of sugar, sending nothing in exchange. With South Africa New Zealand did business only to the value of forty shillings. The New Caledonia trade was represented by exports thereto of £4217, imports, £6lO ; from the Sandwich Islands we received in produce £13,269, sending thither £4930 in specie and goods. The trade of the South Sea Islands was worth £60,438 of exports, and £16,136 of imports. The southern whale fishery took away goods worth £2762, and brought in others of the value of £llO only. From China we brought articles of consumption or use to the value of £01,003, and sent thither only £5872 in exports. The imports from the United States were valued at £113,273, and the exports thereto amounted to £262,316. The number of vessels entered inwards with cargo was 731, carrying 287,891 tons, and manned by 12,118 seamen. Eight ships, of 1106 tons, and carrying 59 men, came in in ballast. Auckland headed the list with 169 vessels of 05,941 tons ; Dunedin came next, with 132 ships of 65,183 tons ; Lyttelton followed with 113 vessels of 42,910 ; and Wellington with 78 vessels of 39,124 tons. The number of British ships entered in New Zealand ports was 671, of 257,006 tons ; and of foreign vessels 68, of 32,291 tons. Auckland also headed the list in the coasting trade, 3612 vessels, of 187,052 tons, having entered there, as compared with 1697 vessels of 90,031 tons at the Thames; 1307 of 131,686 tons atLyttclton; 963 of 79,008 tons at Nelson; 713 of 123,613 tons at Wellington ; 581 of 103,150 tons at Dunedin; 527 of 90,031 tons at Russell; 321 of 21,934 at Wanganui; and 297 of 31,725 tons at the Bluff. The lighthouse dues collected during the year amounted to £7379, and pilotage to £12,711. Fees under the Oyster Act only produced nine pounds. Duty was paid on 65,920 gallons of spirits distilled in the Colony, and on 1936 gallons (at 6s. per gallon) for mixing with New Zealand distilled spirits, in the course of the year.