COLONIAL COMPARISONS.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXX, Issue 3883, 28 October 1899, Page 4

COLONIAL COMPARISONS.

Statistical * scicpco Is" t'u iho'derii Statesmanship.' .The. 'Jogislatoi, if;■ be:Jkuoivs i Ids i business,must now. for-mulate-in‘his statutes not only the national" will, 'but' al»6 l those great laws of social,,lifo revealed: by; statistics. . It.has boon;said--.that the legisilutor -withopt statistics "is like a,mariner f|t.se»-wiU»oyb a Copipaipi'.From, tho. tiiiio . when King David of Israel.'“numbered the people/’ to-tbc-day of Achcmvali, IJid German philosonher, t wlio-, vailed , Statjvlacts .concerningl the moral and social-condition of mankind-into a. science, the ,cold figures ■ supplied have boeji at ,tho foundation of many.! of; Die;greatest reforms of modem" «uilisatlou.-‘ The facts set forth by also foim, the basis oil winch iiblitical economy-rests. How uccossary is if, then," that all should understand something of Oho lads.underlying the laws tljid. igy\ r eni. :,iho social and; political life ol’-iiho community. • Ju ”a Valuable .'pamphlet, Mr T. A. Cbglilanthe-XyOvcinmout Statistician of New South .Wales,. Ima; just.published tho statistics of the. seven; colonics- of’ Australasia... These . edver m, period, from. "180‘L to IBlfe, arc compiled from official -sources, and ought to prove of great service in tile discussion-of-all" matters affecting tho progress and • well-being of the ■ qolouict. . Tho-. statistician '.has grouped bis work; under i-ucli .headings as .population,, shipping and l cuiniucico, gracing,’ agricultural and miniug,;i.i railways* and. post-offices, public finance, Lin'd, v-schools "and blinks, - . so that .flue development of the colonics iu. .any of tlieso particular sections may bo ascertained,at a gkmco and utilised for purposes of comparison uitfiout difficulty. As people make a, iiution,:.,qudj -Die growth of population- is indicative'. of prosperity, wo note-how slead.V'and certain rhasi becmtlie increase of all tJid,t;dlonies. Tho . population of Now South sWales’ lias- increased four-fold-,within. the period-] - under review —ISOI-ISOS-^-and Victoria Tittle; inoi-e'than two-fold r iincl! whiles the protect iouisty aiid freetraders will'probably, make’- those figures. the battle-ground of. debate, their theories "may bo "to." some exlpiit disturbed by tho" fact, that New Zealand’#-population has increased tenfold-within.-the; same period. Extent of area "to bo settled and-llio" leading'of; the people into’tho cultivation of l thoso.inbducls’and" engaging iii those industries best"'suited l 'to tho colony may" have "more to, do with the increase -of population' in a given period than tho, of taxation. Yet it>,is.a remarkable’ lact.tluit.during the ,past,'ten years the increase of population dins'". been' greatest in New - • South ■Wales; and least, -in, Victoria, , with!, exception -of Tasmania; and-.there* have been-years, when -Victoria has noinhc.cn. able to retain l her ilatuipl h icrcAse.Jp this connection it may he‘observed ’that tho,increase m‘the population' of Now Zealand has -been ‘consistently maiiitqiriod d.uring ; the past nine years which mark . tho reign Cf a .Liberal adm!ni»tration ; arid, after" New South Wnlek New Zealand .stands -fiftt-in, order in (the. matter of gain of population for'18(18.' It is also worthy ofnolicc that whereas‘tho incrcasp of population by excess of arrivals, over departmys, as far.as this, colony -is concerned,' was 9-151 from -1881 to" 1890; tho 'gain" for the period 1891,98 was 23,-197, Lx Die latter .period Victoria's loss through departures- vas over one .hundred thousand;. ■ It is matter fbi; congratulation, that New Zealand has .throughout - , all. tho years- covered' by tho ■ statistics provided tho least number of death's 'per thousand of pop ul Ji-

thin.',, Wlieir wo look into'the trade and shippiiig, returns yvo'i find that whdrbas ilio trade hi New-youth -Wales, -as: measured by-tuo-tonnage'of shipping, Was a-third le>s than -the trade, of Victoria ip 1801, it is now a third-more. 'Xhc progress ..of Ncw-Zcalsnd as exhibited. in-the statistics -of- production. and -trade';has been particularly marked. The productiveness! of rtho..colony is'shown by the fact tliat out of tire -total-trade -represented iii.value as '£18,748.h0p for 1898, the exports...of “domestic” . produce,'. as jier Customs • returns, - was £10,821,988. This indicates am expansion which -far exceeds that' of any other colony; if Western Australian , gold exports .are excepted. While New Zealand exports under ’ -this' -head have - grown from 1 r 1-3 . million sterling in ISGI -to 10 .1-3 millions in '.1898, the trade of Victoria has only increased in the same period a trifle ever-one million. Again, from being fifth in- the exported wool,' New Zealand pastoralists- have gone theW’mdustry until this colony stands second in value q£- weak pxpprife. .exceeding the Victorian ,onjuut'.hy,jgvq_r a half.' lii-ISGI-tho. -wool «.xp.pri ..of. Victoria was iiearly- four times- that-*jf--New Zealand. r r» ' Wlicii'V MV V, Cogfihjub' 'dealing with ■flio-finans'cii.pf.flic coZoiucs arc.ip- ■ viewed,--it jjs ( ,avitii ML.ll'p expansion of trade in this country,' the

f , V '/ ffj rf J r.. f± ►* • •, A. ' spread'/ oix/lafid settlement,' -and the grimier productiveness manifest ;/ in efory direction, there ha» been no abatement of taxation. The amount collected 'by. way of Customs duties in this colony now exceeds'the revenue of, any of the other/,' colonies front, the same source. Tlio 'figures for IBUB arc: New Zealand, £1,961,726; Victoria,>£l,D9B;(}sl; and Now - South Wales, £1,250,289. Were ill not that the..excise duties; of tho lastnamed colonies' exceed, ' those collected in thin,, tlio conditions of. Ufo that excessive. Customs-duties promote'‘would be intensified in 'this country. Notwithstanding tho pressure that prevails in thia/conucction, andwiiich wo have frequently urged’ should ho 1 reduced, the imlivichial savings to the credit of the people of this colony stand third in the disk, and from tho figures it would appear that our wealth is move evenly disIrUipted. Altogether iy.imvy.’ ho fairly assumed that tin’s country is making oxcolWit progress, tli»t its people ;are: industrious;. and enterprising, and that whatever 'orrors/may have crept into tho administration of her affairs, the''prosperity of tho colony has not boon detrimentally affected, and it is safe to conclude that_ generally tho tendency of legislation and administration has been in' tho interests 'of onv people’s souial. and; material well-being.