Our Imports and Exports.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue 2030, 25 February 1887, Page 2

Our Imports and Exports.

At the annual meeting of the Wellington Dhauiber of Commerce held on Monday evening, the report presented to the members stated that the imports of the colony for 1886 showed a falling olf equal to nearly 10 per cent, on the total of the preceding year. Of the £720,908 falling off which the colony had sustained, £376,000 occurred in Dunedin and nearly £137,000 at Auckland. The decline was chiefly attributable to the reduced cost of goods, the bulk of the imports haying undergone little if any reduction. The exports exhibited lighter fluctuations, but the figures here also showed a downward tendency. For the first time in many years the values of imports and exports approximated so closely that the difference between the two was less than £87,000 in the total value. The Customs revenue showed a dis • tinct falling off amounting to £117,000, of which £53,000 arose at Dunedin, £36,000 at Auckland, and over £21,000 at Wellington, while Lyttelton had improved by more than £SOOO. An examination of the details revealed the fact that the heaviest deficiency occurred under the heading of ad valorem duties, where the decline was over £50,000. Spirits, wine, and beer were together responsible for more than £30,000 of the loss, goods by weight for £17,000, and tobacco and cigars for £14,000. The falling off in the duties paid on spirits, wine, and beer was heavy and continuous, amounting to £86,000 for 1886.