THE OFFICIAL HANDBOOK OF NEW ZEALAND 1875.

The changes of weather and temperature are very sudden; calms and gales, rain and sunshine, heat and cold, often alternating so frequently and suddenly as to defy previous calculation; so that there cannot be said to be any uniformly wet or dry season in the year. But although these changes are sudden and frequent, they are confined within very narrow limits, the extremes of daily temperature only varying throughout the year by an average of 20°, whilst in Europe, at Rome, and other places of corresponding latitude with New Zealand, the same variation amounts to or exceeds 30°. In respect to temperature, New Zealand may be compared either with England or with Italy, but London is 7° colder than the North, and 4° colder than the South Island of New Zealand, and is less moist.

The mean annual temperature of the North Island is 57°, and of the South Island 52°, that of London and New York being 51°, while at Edinburgh it is only 47°, the heat in summer being tempered by the almost continual breezes, and the winter cold being not nearly so severe as at any of the above-mentioned places, except in the uplands and extreme south.

The mean temperature of the different seasons for the whole colony is, in spring 55°. in summer 63°, in autumn 57°, and in winter 48°. January and February, corresponding to July and August in England, are the two warmest months in New Zealand; and July and August, corresponding to January and February in England, the two coldest, excepting in Nelson and Wellington, at which places the mean temperature is lowest in June and July.

At Taranaki the climate is remarkably equable, and snow never falls near the coast. At Wellington it is very variable, and subject to frequent gusts of wind from the hills that surround the harbour. Nelson enjoys a sheltered position and clear sky. In Canterbury the seasons are more distinctly marked, the frost in winter being occasionally severe (though it never freezes all day near the coast), and the heat in summer often very great. The winter in

Otago is decidedly colder, and severe frosts, with deep snow upon the upland plains, are common in the winter. Stewart's Island is subject to violent winds and frequent fogs.

Strong winds are prevalent throughout the Colony, and particularly in the Straits.

Rain falls frequently, but seldom in such excessive quantity, or for periods of so great length, as in Australia; the heaviest rain seldom exceeding two days' duration, excepting on the West Coast, whilst it is rare for a fortnight to elapse without a shower.

The rainfall for the year 1871 was 54½ in., the average rainfall in England being about 45 in.

A very large number of the population of New Zealand are occupied in mining for gold, which for the last twelve years has formed one of the most important exports of the Colony. The gold is obtained in two forms, viz., as alluvial gold (which is washed from the sand and gravel which occupy valleys in the mountain ranges), and as veins in quartz reefs.

Alluvial gold is chiefly found in the South Island in the Provinces of Otago, Westland, and Nelson, in which districts mining operations are carried on over an area of almost 20,000 square miles.

The quantity of gold exported from those Provinces up to 31st March, 1874, amounted to 6,421,061 oz., of the value of £25,273,379. Although apparently most of the richest deposits have already been discovered and worked by the miners, there is still a vast field for the employment of this alluring and reproductive description of labour, especially when mechanical appliances and the systematic introduction of water power have been more generally applied. Already the pursuit of gold, which at first was followed by individual miners, has become a more settled industry, and small communities of a permanent character now occupy districts that would have remained unexplored and unoccupied had it not been for the stimulus afforded by the search after the precious metal.

The auriferous sand, or gold drift, as it is usually termed, is of three distinct kinds:—First, that which is found in the beds of rivers, and which is worked by small parties of miners, as the process requires no large expenditure of capital to effect the separation of the gold. Secondly, immensely thick deposits of gravel, of more ancient date, occupy the wider valleys and the flat country, from which the gold can only be obtained by means of a considerable expenditure and large engineering works for the purpose of bringing a supply of water for undermining and working the auriferous deposits. This description of mining is of a more permanent description than the former, and provision has been made by the Colonial Government for assisting the miners by the construction of water-races, which will supply the means of profitable employment to a much larger number of persons than at present gain a livelihood by this description of mining. Thirdly, along the sea coast the continued wash of the waves produces a sifting action on the sands which are brought down the rivers and drifted along the shore, thus producing deposits of fine gold, which, by the aid of simple mechanical contrivances, afford employment to a large number of diggers, who can labour without incurring the hardships and privations which attend the occupation of the miner in the more inland districts.

The extraction of gold from the lodes, or quartz reefing, as it is termed, is still in its infancy in New Zealand except in the Thames district of the Province of Auckland, in the North Island, where gold quartz has been mined since 1852. At this place the mountain range which forms the Colville peninsula is intersected by veins of quartz impregnated with gold and silver; and though the district as yet tested by the miners is a very insignificant portion of the whole area of country of a similar character, it has already produced precious metals to the value of £3,051,461.

The Thames mines are chiefly worked by companies, which have in some instances gained enormous fortunes, though in many cases, from over speculation and defective management, they have proved failures. Labour can only be employed in this description of mining by combination and the employment of capital, but the mining companies are often formed of working men, who hold shares, besides which they afford employment to a large number of miners, who receive good wages; and the miners so employed, while they cannot expect the rich prizes which occasionally reward those who work on the alluvial diggings, are yet more certain of steady and remunerative employment.

The latest discoveries on the gold fields have led to the development of quartz reefing in the South Island, and as alluvial mining gradually engrosses less exclusive attention, it cannot be doubted, from the experience of other gold-producing countries, that there will be found many more localities in which quartz reefing will become a permanent industry.

Other valuable metals, such as silver, mercury, copper, lead, chrome, manganese, and iron have been discovered in various parts of the Colony, and in due time will be profitably worked when the circumstances of the labour market permit. Ores of the last-mentioned metal—iron—are remarkably abundant, and are already attracting attention, so that several mining and smelting companies have been formed, the operations of which will afford a very considerable employment for labour.

Coal-mines have been opened in all parts of the Colony, the coal being of two distinct descriptions, viz., that which is adapted for steam purposes, or black coal, and brown coal, a variety which, though too bulky, and giving out its heat too slowly to be useful for steamers on long voyages, is, nevertheless, of great value for steamers on coastal voyages, for stationary engines at manufactories, and for domestic use, being quite equal, for the latter purpose, to much of the coal that is used in Germany and Austria.

The black coal seams occur chiefly on the West Coast of the South Island, in several distinct coal-fields, which cover an area of nearly 100 square miles. The principal coalfields are in the vicinity of shipping ports at Collingwood and the Buller and Grey Rivers; but the last-mentioned places are only at present accessible to vessels of moderate size, so that the difficulty of shipping the coal has retarded the development of the mines, which would at first have to compete with the extensive mines of New South Wales that at present supply nearly all the steam coal used in New Zealand.

The construction of railways and other works, however, is now in active progress for the service of these coal-fields, and as they are subdivided and let by Government on extremely favourably terms to lessees, it may be expected that in a short time several mines will be in full working order, and that thriving communities will spring up in the above-mentioned places. Mining of brown coal, deposits of which are scattered over all parts of the Colony, though not likely, except in a few instances, to support such large mining communities as the black coal, will yet afford, in time, extensive employment. Already, near some of the centres of population, there is a large trade in this description of coal, while many country districts where firewood is deficient, depend entirely on it for fuel. Its value, therefore, in assisting in the future development of the country, can hardly be over-estimated. Some of the more extensive deposits of brown coal contain seams of great importance, and of such superior quality as to approach that of the true black coal; as, for instance, at Kawa Kawa, in the Bay of Islands; in the Waikato, south of Auckland; the Malvern Hills near Christchurch, and the Clutha Valley, near Dunedin; and in Southland.

As a natural product derived from the decomposition of coal-seams, it is proper to mention the occurrence of petroleum or rock-oil springs in various parts of the Colony, particularly at Taranaki, on the West Coast, and in the vicinity of Poverty Bay, near the East Cape, in the North Island. The quality of the petroleum in the latter place is quite equal to that obtained in Canada and the United States, as it yields, by a simple refining process, 60 to 75 per cent. of commercial kerosine. Companies have been formed for extracting this rock oil, but the works are not yet sufficiently advanced to determine whether it will be a profitable speculation in the present state of labour in the Colony, and the very low price of the imported article. A liberal bonus has, however, been offered by the Government with the view of fostering this industry, the development of which, in recent years, has led to so much prosperity in certain districts of the United States of America.

Allusion has been made to the area of country occupied by mountain ranges in New Zealand, and the general position they occupy with reference to the geography of the country; and it may be further stated that, with the exception of the Alpine ranges, every part of the country is more or less adapted for settlement of some kind. A clearer idea of the value of the country, and the purposes to which it is applicable, is, however, obtained by a comparison of the rock formations, the decomposition of which produces the soils, as shown in the following table, from a study of winch it will be found that in the whole Colony there are about 12,000,000 acres of land fitted for agriculture, wherein the form of surface is suitable, and about 50,000,000 which are better adapted for pasturage; but from these estimates allowance must be made for about 20,000,000 acres of surface at present covered by forest.

It would be beyond the scope of this paper to describe in detail the endless varieties of soil which are found in New Zealand, but attention may be drawn to the chief peculiarities:—

In the north of Auckland, including the lower portion of the Waikato Valley, light volcanic soils prevail, interspersed with areas of clay marl, which, in the natural state, is cold and uninviting to the agriculturist, but which, nevertheless, under proper drainage and cultivation, may be brought to a high state of productiveness. The latter are, however, almost universally neglected at the present time by the settlers, who prefer the more easily worked and more rapidly remunerative soils derived from the volcanic rocks.

In the western district, which extends round Taranaki and Wanganui, the soil is all that can be desired, and is probably one of the richest areas in the Southern Hemisphere. The surface soil is formed by the decomposition of calcareous marls, which underlie the whole country, intermixed with the debris from the lava-streams and tufaceous rocks of the extinct volcanic mountains. The noble character of the forest-growth which generally covers the area, proves the great productiveness of its soil, although at the same time it greatly impedes the progress of settlement.

In the central district of the North Island, from Taupo towards the Bay of Plenty, the surface soil is derived from volcanic rocks of a highly siliceous character, and large areas are covered with little else than loose friable pumicestone. Towards the coast, and in some limited areas near the larger valleys, such as the Waikato and the Thames, and also when volcanic rocks of a less arid description appear at the surface great fertility prevails, and any deficiencies in the character of the soil are amply compensated for by the magnificence of the climate of this part of New Zealand. On the eastern side of the slate range, which extends through the North Island, the surface of the country is generally formed of clay marl and calcareous rocks, the valleys being occupied by shingle deposits derived from the slate and sandstone rocks of the back ranges, with occasional areas of fertile alluvium of considerable extent. It is only the latter portions of this district which can be considered as adapted for agriculture, while the remainder affords some of the finest pastoral land to be met with in any part of the Colony.

In the South Island the chief agricultural areas are in the vicinity of the sea coast, but there are also small areas in the interior, in the vicinity of the Lake districts, where agriculture can be profitably followed. The alluvial soil of the lower part of the Canterbury plains and of Southland are the most remarkable for their fertility; but scarcely less important are the low rolling downs, formed by the calcareous rocks of the tertiary formation, which skirt the higher mountain masses, and frequently have their quality improved by the disintegration of interspersed basaltic rocks.

On the western side of the Island the rapid fall of the rivers carries the material derived from the mountain ranges almost to the sea coast, so that comparatively small areas are occupied by good alluvial soil; but these, favoured by the humidity of the climate, possess a remarkable degree of fertility.

By the proper selection of soil, and with a system of agriculture modified to suit the great variety of climate which necessarily prevails in a country extending over twelve degrees of temperate latitude, every variety of cereal and root crop may be successfully raised in New Zealand; and with due care in these respects, New Zealand will not fail to become a great producing and exporting country of all the chief food staples.

Until the systematic colonization of the Islands, New Zealand was very destitute of terrestrial or animal life suitable to the wants of civilized man, the only mammals being a small rat, a dog (which had been probably introduced since the Islands were peopled by the present race), and pigs, the produce of some animals left by Captain Cook and the navigators who succeeded him. Soon after the establishment of the settlements in New South Wales, an intercourse sprang up between Sydney and the northern parts of the Islands, which were also frequently visited by whale-ships; and through the agency of the early missionaries and other visitors, many useful animals and plants were then introduced. In more recent years all kinds of domestic animals, many of very high quality, have been imported, including valuable continental breeds of sheep and the American llama. Domestic poultry of almost every species has also been introduced, and, through the agency of the Acclimatization Societies, many species of game (such as hares, pheasants, partridges, black game, red grouse, quail, &c.), and a host of the smaller birds of Europe and other countries, have been spread throughout the Islands. The rivers of New Zealand, too, which formerly produced only the eel and a few small salmonoid fish of little value, are gradually being stocked with trout; whilst perch, tench, and carp have also been satisfactorily acclimatized.

The seas around New Zealand, however, always make up, by the abundance and large variety of the valuable fish which they produce, for the scantiness of the terrestrial fauna. Amongst these we may name the hapuka (a very large species of cod), the king fish, frost fish, butter fish, red schnapper, moki, barracouta, kawai, sole, dory, flounder, and many others all in considerable quantity and of delicious flavour; besides which, shoals of mackerel and pilchard occur during certain seasons of the year. Oysters, mussels, crayfish, and other mollusca and Crustacea of great value and of excellent quality abound, requiring only proper systematic culture to become a source of wealth to the Colony. There is no doubt, in fact, that the New Zealand fisheries, which have hitherto, been little looked after, but are now being protected under legislative enactments, will become of considerable importance with the spread of trade and intercourse. As regards the vegetable productions, it would occupy too much space in a publication like the present to give any proper account either of the indigenous or introduced flora. The indigenous forest of New Zealand is evergreen, and contains a large variety of valuable woods, amongst which we may name the puriri, the matai (or black pine), the rimu (or red pine), the kahikatea (or white pine, whose timber is, for its lightness and toughness, well adapted for the manufacture of packing-cases, &c.), the totara (a species of yew), the hinau (from the bark of which a very valuable tannin is extracted), and various species of beech. Most of these trees produce excellent timber for ordinary building purposes, many of them yield handsome furniture woods, whilst the beech is one of the most valuable shipbuilding timbers known, seasoning easily and being extremely durable. Amongst the smaller plants, the Phormium tenax, or New Zealand flax, is of especial value; whilst large tracts of country are covered with indigenous grasses of high feeding quality, which support millions of sheep, and have thus been productive of great wealth to the Colony. Many of the more valuable trees of Europe, America, and Australia have been introduced, and have flourished with a vigour scarcely ever attained in their own natural habitats. In many parts of the Colony the hop grows with unexampled luxuriance; whilst all the European grasses and other useful plants produce returns equal to those of the most favoured localities at home. Fruit, too, is abundant all over New Zealand. Even as low as the latitude of Wellington, oranges, lemons, citrons, and loquats are found; whilst peaches, apples, pears, grapes, apricots, figs, melons, and, indeed, all the ordinary fruits of temperate climates, abound. Roots and vegetables of all kinds grow abundantly: and, in fact, it may truly be said that nearly all the useful orchard and garden productions of England are now known in New Zealand, and come, under proper treatment, to equal perfection. Agriculture, too, is beginning to be followed out upon an extensive and improved system; and as the colonists are giving themselves more and more to this mode of life, there can be little doubt that, with the increase of population—which, from the Government scheme of immigration may well be expected to be rapid—more attention will be paid to it, and more capital be invested in it.

Savings Banks were formed at a very early date in the history of the Colony, and in 1858 an Act was passed for their regulation, as a consequence of which, savings-banks were opened in all the chief towns of the several Provinces.

In 1867 Post Office savings-banks were instituted, in which year the private savings-banks (which were then ten in number) received £71,378. 2s. 2d., and repaid £80,784. 5s. 7d. retaining funds to the amount of £85,658. 14s. 5d. at the credit of 4,223 depositors, giving an average of £20. 5s. 8d. to each account. During the same year forty-six branches of the Post Office savings-bank were opened, receiving (from the 1st of February) £96,372. 7s. 10d., and repaying £26,344. 18s. 2d., leaving (with interest added) £71,197. 14s. 1d. at the credit of 2,156 depositors, being an average of £33. 0s. 5d. to each account. In this first year, therefore, the receipts of the Post Office savings-banks exceeded those of the private savings-banks by nearly two-fifths, whilst the withdrawals did not amount to one-third of the sums withdrawn from the latter; thus leaving the accumulations in the Post Office savings-banks to approach as nearly to those in the private savings-banks as 14 is to 17. From that time the deposits in the Post Office savings-banks have increased with marvellous rapidity, so that at the end of the year 1872 there were ninety-one offices open, while during the year the sum of £430,877 was received, the sum of £313,176. 7s. 11d. was repaid, and a total of deposits was left amounting to no less a sum than £490,066. 7s. at the credit of 13,566 depositors, being an average of £36. 2s. 5d. at the credit of each account.

This great increase was not (as might be supposed) counterbalanced by any corresponding diminution of receipts or balances in the private savings-banks. The number of such banks was reduced to seven, three having been merged into the Post Office savings-banks, but the remaining seven received £56,780. 12s. 6d., and repaid £40,784, 18s. 4d. in the year, adding as the result £15,995. 14s. 2d. to their amount of deposits, the total of which at the end of the year was £106,936. 11s. 1d. at the credit of 3,723 accounts, being an average of £28. 14s. 6d. to each account. Thus, though the number of banks and depositors had decreased, the deposits had increased by £21,277. 16s. 8d., becoming just one-fourth in excess of the amount they had reached when the Post Office banks were opened. It is evident, therefore, that the latter had supplied a want, and been largely instrumental in encouraging provident habits in the community; for not only is the whole of the £490,066. 7s. an addition to the accumulations of 1867, but there is a further addition of upwards of £21,277 likewise.

The following table (extracted from the Annual Statistics of the Colony) shows the details of the private savings-banks for the year 1872:—

TABLE showing the NUMBER of SAVINGS BANKS (other than those connected with the Post Office) in NEW ZEALAND; the respective DATES of their ESTABLISHMENT; and the NUMBER of DEPOSITORS in the Year 1872, distinguishing the European and the Aboriginal Native Depositors.

Comparing the state of things in the Colony with what has taken place in England, the contrast is very remarkable, though there also the Post Office savings-banks have been a most signal success. From the latest return (that for 1872) it appears that the deposits in the Post Office savings-banks there had amounted to £19,318,339, but it also appears that, in the period between the formation of the Post Office savings-banks in 1861, and 1871, the deposits in the private (or "Trustee") savings-banks had been reduced from £41,259,145 to £38,640,022; so that nearly one-seventh of the deposits in the Post Office savings-banks would seem to have been withdrawn from the Trustee savings-banks; and yet, although the latter bad suffered to the extent of upwards of two and a half millions sterling, their deposits almost exactly doubled those of the Post Office savings-banks.

This contrast with the state of things in England would in all probability be still stronger, but for two causes which in this Colony have always tended to reduce the amounts that have found their way into the savings-banks, both of which causes have been even more operative of late years than formerly. One of these is the facilities which are given by the ordinary banks to persons of comparatively small means to open accounts with them. As a consequence of this, numbers of persons keep banking accounts who would never have thought of keeping such in England, and, indeed, would not have been able to keep them.

The other cause that tends to reduce the amount of deposits, is the almost universal desire to buy land. This desire is manifested in every class of the community, and certainly not the least strongly in that numerous class who in the Colony find themselves in a position to become landholders, which, in their native country, would have been all but physically impossible to them. It is, therefore, constantly happening that as soon as, say, £50 is laid by, it is withdrawn and invested in the purchase of land; and even Natives of New Zealand have been known to place money in a savings-bank, and add to it from time to time, until enough was accumulated to purchase some coveted piece of land in or near to an European settlement.

If, therefore, the amounts in the various savings-banks were small instead of being just upon £600,000, it would still be true that savings-banks are more useful than their founders could have hoped for, and are performing an important part in the settlement of the country; and it is quite possible that another year or two may prove their utility—however paradoxical the statement may appear—by the deposits being laregly reduced, and the money used for land-purchases, as the country is made accessible by roads and railways.

The following table will show the yearly progress of savings-banks in the Colony from the year 1867 (inclusive):—

In the year 1869 an Act was passed enabling the Government to grant life assurances and annuities on the security of the colonial revenue. This differed from the Act passed in England some years previously, as the latter only allowed insurances or annuities to be granted for very small sums, while the New Zealand Act imposed no limit upon the amount. The business of the office actually commenced in March, 1870, and, as was expected, its beginnings were small, yet by the 30th of June fifty-three persons had availed themselves of the advantages it offered, by effecting insurances to the amount of £27,800. The business of the office has gone on steadily increasing, so that on the 30th of June, 1873, the Commissioner was able to report that 2,901 persons had effected insurances for an aggregate sum of £1,085,649, and also that sixty persons had provided endowments amounting to £6,500, while seventeen others had paid for annuities of the value of £950. 15s. 8d. per annum. Thus 2,901 heads of families had secured that in the event of their decease, an average sum of nearly £375 should be paid to those they might leave behind them—a sum which would "keep the wolf from the door" until other means of support might be secured. There is this further advantage in that which has bean done. Those 2,901 persons (or families) have submitted to the deduction of a sum equal to £10. 12s. out of the yearly income of each one, to secure a prospective benefit. While this proves the existence of a spirit of self-denying forethought, the opportunity of using some portion of the yearly earnings in this way tends, like its kindred institution the savings-bank, to foster habits of care and prudence.

It would not be fair to suppose that the system of Government insurances in England should show results relatively equal to those that have been secured in New Zealand, because there the Government insurances are for very limited amounts while great facilities exist for effecting life insurances with private offices; yet, when looking at what has been done in the Colony, it would hardly have been expected that the results in England would have been so small as they are. The English Act was passed in 1864, yet at the end of 1871—nearly seven years after—there were only 2,709 insurances current, for sums amounting in the whole to £208,070. Besides these, there were current 1,798 contracts for immediate annuities, and 258 for deferred annuities, the amount of both classes being £42,167.

There are other life assurance offices doing business in New Zealand, and an Act was passed in the last session of the Assembly, giving persons the power to register their policies against deposits previously made in a Government office by the grantors of the policies.

The statistics of the Post Office, like the other statistics of the Colony, exhibit an increase that is far greater than anything that could have been caused by an increase of the population, without a more than corresponding increase of prosperity. The office has so grown in the thirty-three years during which it has been established, that it can show the following as the statistics for the year 1872:—

Comparing the increased use of the Post Office with the increase of the population for the periods given, these results are obtained:—

Between 1853 and 1857 the population increased. 57½ per cent., but the letters received and despatched increased 130 per cent., though newspapers only increased 6 per cent. Again, between 1857 and 1872 the population increased 461 per cent., and in the same period the letters received and despatched increased 1,960 per cent., and newspapers 510 per cent. Thus between 1853 and 1857 the rate of increase in letters was more than twice the increase of population, and between 1857 and 1872 the rate of increase was more than four times the increase of the population. The following table will show this more clearly, as it gives (as nearly as may be) the numbers of letters and newspapers passing through the Post Office for every individual of the population, young and old:—

It must be added that the postal revenue of the Colony has increased from £4,100. 2s. 1½d. in 1857, to £46,162. 13s. 5d. in 1872, and this, too, notwithstanding repeated reductions in the rate of postage.

A large part of the increase in the number of letters has been caused by the diminution of rates. Instead of 1s. for a "single" letter conveyed a little more than 100 miles, the rate is now 2d. for the half-ounce from any place in the Colony to any other place in the Colony, excepting within the limits of towns, in which the postage is only 1d.; while the postage to Australia is but 2d., and 6d. to the United Kingdom. Newspapers are conveyed between any two places in the Colony at a postage of ½d., and to any place beyond the Colony at 1d.; and book and pattern parcels are conveyed at about half the rates for letters. All postages are prepaid by stamps, which have been used since 1858.

There were at the close of the year 1872, 533 post offices in the Colony, of which 14 were "chief" or accounting offices, and 91 were money-order and savings-bank offices. Letters are delivered once or twice in a day in all towns, merchants and others have "private boxes" in the post offices of most towns of importance, and pillar letterboxes and receiving-houses enable persons to post their letters without inconvenience. The arrangements for the conveyance of mails are also very extensive, so as to meet the requirements and convenience of the public. The Postmaster-General, in his report for the year 1872, states,—

"During the year, there were 233 inland mail services in operation; 66 being performed by coach and mail-cart, 102 on horseback, 10 on foot, 38 by water, and 7 by railway. The aggregate of the distances to be travelled for the 223 services was 6,768 miles; and the total number of miles travelled was 1,180,364, at a cost to the department of £21,838."

Besides this there is a mail service to Australia, by steamers running between Auckland and Sydney, and between the southern ports and Melbourne; thus enabling communication to be held with Australia about five times in each month. There are also two mail services in each month between the Colony and England; one by which the mails are carried to and from Melbourne, and thence to and from England viâ Suez; and one viâ San Francisco and New York. For the first of these the Colony pays £5,000 per annum for the portion of the service between New Zealand and Melbourne, and a proportionate amount of the cost of the service between Melbourne and England according to the number of letters forwarded by it. The second service has been undertaken jointly by the colonies of New South Wales and New Zealand at a gross cost of £80,000. The receipts for postage both in the United Kingdom and the colonies will very much reduce the cost of this service, of which each colony pays half.

Very much, therefore, has been done to make the Post Office in New Zealand a worthy imitation of the vast and mighty postal establishment of Great Britain.

One of the most important developments of the Postal department has been the establishment of the money-order system. It was first brought into operation in the, Colony on the 1st of August, 1862, but its growth with regard to places outside the Colony was very gradual, as some delay and difficulty was experienced before the other Australian colonies could be induced to co-operate. The following table, extracted from the report of the Postmaster-General for 1873, will show the progress made from the commencement to the 31st of December, 1872, being a little less than ten years and a half:—

These figures show that between 1863 (the first complete year of the system) and 1872, the number and amount of orders issued in the Colony increased nearly fourfold, and that in the same period the number of orders paid in the Colony increased tenfold, and their amount between ninefold and tenfold, the amount in the latter year being just nine and a half times as large as in the former.

In the Colony, as in England, the amount for which any money order can be drawn is limited to £10, nor can more than one for that sum be obtained in favour of the same person by the same remitter on any one day. The commission charged on inland orders is 6d. for sums under £5, and 1s. for sums exceeding £5; on orders payable in the Australian colonies, double the above rates; and on orders payable in the United Kingdom, rates varying from 1s. on sums under £2, to 5s. for sums exceeding £7. For inland orders by telegraph, a commission of 4d. in the £ sterling is charged, besides 1s. for the transmission of the message.

This, which has been entirely the growth of the last few years, is now becoming one of the most important institutions of the Colony, and is entirely in the hands of the Government. Its commencement was due, partly to the necessities of military service in the districts south of Auckland, and partly to the impetus given to the Southern Provinces by the opening of their gold fields. There were enormous difficulties to overcome, the country being to a large extent rugged and wild, while the Islands being divided by Cook Straits, rendered it necessary to undertake the laying of a telegraph cable to connect them; yet notwithstanding this, the work has been pushed on so rapidly that in July, 1873, the Telegraph Commissioner reported "that 2,356 miles of line had been completed, carrying 4,574 miles of wire." The entire cost, inclusive of the cable, was also stated to have been £224,580. It may be added that when about thirty miles more of line has been constructed in the neighbourhood of New Plymouth, every place of importance in the Colony will be brought into telegraphic communication.

The following extracts from the report already quoted will show the work that had been done during the year 1872-73:—

"During the year, there were transmitted 568,960 telegrams of all codes, being 157,193 more than the previous year, or an increase of over 38 per cent.

"The number of money order telegrams sent was 5,791, representing £28,106,16s. 8d., being an increase of 2,755 messages, and of more than £14,000 as compared with 1871-72. The amount of commission collected by the Post Office was £770. 1s. 4d.; and deducting therefrom £289. 11s. as fees for the telegrams sent, there was left to the Post Office £480. 10s. 4d., or rather more than £1. 14s. per cent. on the total sum transmitted. Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, and their sub-offices; issued the largest number of orders; while Auckland, Wellington, and Dunedin paid the largest number.

"The length of line maintained was 2,314 miles, at a cost of £9,479. 5s. 4d., or an average of £4. 1s. 11d. per mile. Thirteen new offices were opened, and 20 cadets were trained in the Learner's Gallery, and draughted to different stations.

"The total earnings for the year were £51,364. 6s. 4d.; so that, deducting the cost of the signals, department, and maintenance of lines, and charging the receipts with 6 per cent. on the capital expended (£224,580. 11s. 11d.), there remained to the credit of the department, on the year's business, about £870.

"In some of the Provinces, 25 telegrams have been transmitted for every 100 letters posted, and for the whole of New Zealand 19 telegrams have been despatched for every 100 letters posted. Last year, the average for the Colony was 17.02 of telegrams per 100 letters. The total number of telegrams transmitted was 568,950, or an average of rather more than 2 per head of the population of the Colony—a proportion which is not equalled in any other colony or country."

The following table, extracted from the same report, is also interesting, as showing in detail the large amount of work the telegraph is doing, as compared with that which is being done by the Post Office. As will be seen at a glance, the number of letters has increased year by year, but the number of telegrams has increased much more rapidly. Thus, in 1867-68, when the number of interprovincial letters was 1,938,578, the proportion of telegrams was less than 5½ to each 100 letters, or about one-eighteenth part; but in 1872-73, when the letters had increased to 2,878,372, the number of telegrams was more than 19¾ for each 100 letters, or almost one-fifth part. The letters, therefore, had increased about 48½ per cent., but the telegrams had increased by no less than 436 per cent., or just nine times the rate of increase of the letters.

TABLE showing the Number of INTERPROVINCIAL LETTERS forwarded during the Year ended 31st DECEMBER, 1872; Number of TELEGRAMS despatched in each PROVINCE during the Year ended 30th JUNE, 1873; and Proportion of TELEGRAMS to every 100 LETTERS; together with a similar Return for the previous Year:—

While it is gratifying to see that already the telegraph is to so large an extent self-supporting, it is to be remembered that this is notwithstanding—or perhaps in consequence of—the large reductions that have been made in the scale of charges. For upwards of four years the charge was by a "mileage" rate, which made the cost amount to from 2d. to 6d. per word. This was altered on the 1st of September, 1869, to a uniform rate of 2s. 6d. for the first ten words, and 6d. for every additional five words or fraction thereof. This was again altered, on the 1st of April. 1870, to 1s. for the first ten words, and 6d. for each additional five words; and, finally, on the 1st of November, 1873, the charge was still further reduced to 1s. for the first ten words, and 1d. for every word additional, neither addresses nor signatures being counted unless they together exceed ten words. The Press telegrams have always been sent at considerably lower rates than those charged for ordinary messages.

One novel and important application of the telegraph, noticed incidentally above, deserves to be more particularly referred to. This is the engrafting of the money-order system on to the telegraph, so that money may be remitted from any part of New Zealand to any other within reach of the telegraph wires, without the inevitable required by the course of post. That this is a great convenience to the public is shown by the fact that, from the 15th of June, 1870, when the system was introduced, to the 31st of December in that year, 927 orders were sent through the telegraph for sums amounting to £4,266. 11s. 7d. During the following year the orders were 2,485, and the amount, £11,332. 1s.; and in the year 1872 they had increased to 4,503 orders, representing the sum of £21,669. 18s. 8d. All this has been done without accident or loss; and although the rate of charge for such orders considerably exceeds the cost of those sent through the post (being 4d. for each pound sterling, besides 1s. for the message), yet it is evident that this use of the telegraph may be regarded as a very successful experiment.

There are now ninety-five telegraph stations in New Zealand, and messages are conveyed from any one station to any other at the uniform rate stated above. Messages can also be sent to or through England from any telegraph office in the Colony, being sent by steamer to Sydney or Melbourne, and forwarded from thence by wire to London.

In the last session of the Colonial Parliament an Act was passed authorizing the Government to unite with the Governments of New South Wales and Queensland in guaranteeing the interest on a sum not exceeding £1,000,000 sterling (provided that such guarantee shall not cost New Zealand more than £20,000 per annum), for thirty-five years, to any company or person "for the construction, maintenance, and working of a telegraph cable from New Zealand to New South Wales," and a "through cable" from Normantown, in Queensland, to Singapore. When this shall have been carried into effect, New Zealand will be in direct telegraphic communication with Australia, and, through Australia, with Great Britain and the rest of the civilized world. Thus, within half the average duration of human life, the time required for communication between New Zealand and England will have been reduced from an average of five months to something less (probably) than as many hours.

In connection with the Telegraph Department, it is pleasing to bear testimony to the ability and energy of the general manager, Mr. Charles Lemon. Having read in an English publication a paper by Mr. R. S. Culley, giving an outline of his successful attempt to transmit messages simultaneously in opposite directions along the same wire, Mr. Lemon instituted a series of experiments, and himself succeeded in this interesting and very valuable extension of practical telegraphy. Mr. Lemon recently coupled two of the wires in the cable across Cook Straits, which separate the North from the South Island, and had connections made with the Wellington and Blenheim offices, which are the working ends of the cable. He had thus a circuit of thirty-two miles of land wire and eighty-two miles of cable; and through it there were transmitted from each end simultaneous messages, the signals being clear and strong, although the battery-power used was less than is ordinarily employed in working the cable. It is believed that Mr. Lemon's arrangement will be found applicable to longer lengths of wire than that stated above; and it is hoped that a practical adaptation of it will soon be made.

At all events, the arrangement may be said to have doubled the capacity of the Cook Straits cable.

The difficulties in the way of conveying land and readily giving good titles has been felt in New Zealand as in other colonies; and in 1870, the system introduced by Mr. Torrens in South Australia was introduced in New Zealand. It is somewhat amended, to suit the circumstances of the Colony, and is found to work exceedingly well.

To illustrate the nature and extent of the change from the old system, let it be supposed that a town acre had been originally laid out of a rhomboidal shape, having its side lines at an angle of say sixty degrees to the line of street. Let it further be supposed that the purchaser of this acre, desiring to make his land rectangular, effected exchanges with his neighbours on either side, giving triangular pieces of his land for pieces of theirs of similar shape. There would thus be three sets of deeds to complete the title to his land, each of which might require the production of original titles as well as powers of attorney, the non-production of any one of them rendering him unable to deal with his estate, and all requiring to be recapitulated, should he desire to sell or mortgage it. To quote the words of Mr. J. S. Williams in the "Handy Book on the Land Transfer Acts," issued by the Government: "In these processes there is no finality,—they have to be repeated upon every fresh transaction; and as each transaction entails a fresh deed, the chain is lengthened, and every new dealing becomes more complicated than the preceding one. The lawyer, of course, expects to be paid for his labour in investigating titles, and for his responsibility in damages to his client in case a title proves defective. Hence the expense of transactions, and with the expense, no corresponding advantage, for a man has no guarantee for the goodness of his title beyond the skill of his lawyer."

Under the new system, if the owner of land puts it under the Act, one searching examination is made by the officer appointed for that purpose, and when he is satisfied, a certificate of title is issued to the landowner, on a form printed for the purpose, having, therefore, all its terms absolutely fixed, requiring only the name of the proprietor and the particulars of the land and its encumbrances (if any) to be filled in, and by this all doubts are for ever quieted, for (again to quote Mr. Williams), "from thenceforth the certificate of title is conclusive evidence that the person named in it is entitled to the land it describes. The certificate of title operates as a Government guarantee that the title is perfect. It is indefeasible, and there is no going behind it."

There is also a further convenience secured by the Act. A person who has sold land that had not previously been brought under the Act, may apply to have it brought under, and that the certificate may be issued to his purchaser. The certificate thus operates as a conveyance without any additional expense.

As it is just possible that injustice may be done in some rare instances by the issue of a certificate to a wrong person, a fund is created by a charge of one halfpenny in the pound on the value of all land brought under the Act, out of which any person who has suffered injury through the issue of a certificate may receive fair compensation. It is gratifying to add that no claim of this kind has been made in the three years during which the Act has been in operation, and that the Assurance Fund now exceeds £5,000, showing that land to the value of nearly two and a-half millions of money has been brought under the Act.

It is further to be observed that in respect of all lands purchased from the Crown since the 1st of March, 1871, the titles are necessarily issued under the Land Transfer Act. It follows that no newly-purchased land can be subject to the complications that occurred under the former system.

The one operation of bringing land under the Act having been effected, all further dealings with the land are carried out by means of printed forms, which can be filled up by any person of ordinary education. In this way land can be sold, leased, mortgaged, or otherwise dealt with, while in case of a mortgage being paid off, a simple receipt, indorsed upon the copy of the mortgage held by the mortgagee, and also upon the copy in the Registry Office, operates as a reconveyance, without the necessity for a fresh deed. Special provisions are made to meet the engagements entered into by members of Building Societies when they become borrowers, thus securing the applicability of the Act to all the requirements of the community.

There is another institution peculiar to New Zealand called the Public Trust Office. This was created by an Act passed in 1872, and the purposes of the Act have been described thus:—

"The appointment of a Public Trustee

is an attempt to insure the faithful discharge of trusts, and at the same time to relieve persons from being obliged to burden their friends with the responsibilities of trustees. Farther, the Public Trust Office Act pro poses to substitute a permanent officer for guardians who, with the best possible intentions, are liable to be incapacitated for the duties they have undertaken, by removal, change of circumstances, or death. A guardianship is thus established which will continue long after the individual who first exercised it will have ceased to act."

The Act was brought into operation on the 1st of January, 1873; and by another Act passed in that year, the charge of intestate estates and the estates of lunatics was also devolved upon the Public Trustee. The office being so entirely novel, having as its only precedent that of the Accountant-General of the Court of Chancery in England, will naturally require time to develop its usefulness; but already it has been taken advantage of to an extent that demonstrates the advantage of such an institution. Executors who saw that they were likely to be burdened with trusts continuing over many years, have declined to act, knowing that the estate would be taken charge of by a public office; and already it is known that, in making their wills, the owners of large properties have made the Public Trustee their executor and trustee for their children; while in one case, the trustee under a marriage settlement, who had power to delegate his trust, finding himself failing in health, and being anxious to secure the property of the children of a deceased sister, applied to the Public Trustee to take charge of the estate. Further, as the Act says that whenever the Supreme Court may appoint a trustee, guardian, or committee of a lunatic's estate, it may appoint the Public Trustee, it has been expressed by one of the Judges that it is a satisfaction to the Court to be able to appoint a public officer instead of having the name of some person proposed, into whose fitness for the office the Court would have to inquire.

It must be added that, for the protection of persons placing property in the Public Trust Office, the Colony is made ultimately responsible; but at the same time, to preserve the public funds as far as possible from loss in this way, no trust can be received, nor any property parted with, without the consent of a Board, of which the Colonial Treasurer and the Attorney-General of the Colony are members; nor can any money be issued without the signature of one of the Commissioners of Audit.

The following newspapers are published in the colony:—

OTAGO.—Dunedin: Daily Times, Guardian, Evening Star, daily; Witness, Southern Mercury, Tablet, weekly. —

Oamaru: North Otago Times, twice weekly.—Lawrence: Tuapeka Times, twice weekly. —Tokomariro: Bruce Herald, twice weekly. —Waikouati: Herald, weekly.—Naseby: Chronicle, weekly.—Clyde: Dunstan Times, weekly. — Cromwell: Argus, weekly.—Arrowtown: Observer, weekly. — Queens-town: Wakatipu Mail, weekly. — Invercargill: Southland Times, Southland News, thrice weekly; Weekly Times and News.—Riverton: Western Star.

CANTERBURY. — Christchurch: Lyttelton Times, Press, Star, daily; Times, Press, weekly; Illustrated News, monthly.—Timaru: Herald, South Canterbury Times, thrice weekly.

MARLBOROUGH. — Blenheim: Express, twice weekly; Times, weekly.—Picton: Press, weekly.—Kaikoura: Herald, weekly.

NELSON.—Nelson: Evening Mail, daily; Colonist, thrice weekly.—Westport: Times, twice weekly; News, weekly; Charleston: Herald, twice weekly; News, weekly.—Reefton: Courier, daily; Inangahua Herald, thrice weekly. — Lyell: Argus, twice weekly.

WESTLAND. — Hokitika: West Coast Times, Evening Star, Westland Register, daily; The Leader, weekly.—Greymouth; Grey River Argus, Evening Star, Gaily; Argus, Press, weekly.—Ross: Guardian, thrice weekly.

WELLINGTON.—Wellington: Independent, Evening Post, Tribune, daily; New Zealand Mail, weekly; Waka Maori, fortnightly.—Wanganui: Chronicle, Evening Herald, daily; Chronicle, Herald, weekly.—Greytown: Wairarapa Standard, twice weekly.

HAWKE BAY.—Napier: Herald, Telegraph, daily; Times, twice weekly; Telegraph, weekly.

TARANAKI.—New Plymouth: Herald, News, twice weekly.

AUCKLAND.—Auckland: Southern Cross, New Zealand Herald, Evening Star, daily; News, Herald, weekly.—Thames: Advertiser, Evening Star, daily.—Coromandel: The Mail, News, thrice weekly.—Tauranga: Bay of Plenty Times, weekly.—Gisborne: Poverty Bay Standard, twice weekly.—Waikato: Times, thrice weekly.

Various denominational or special publications, trade-circulars, &c., are omitted from this list.

The imports and exports of the Colony afford the readiest mode for estimating its commercial position, while the comparison of amounts at different periods has a special interest as showing the growth and development of various industrial pursuits, and the decay or extinction of others that were once of considerable importance.

In the year 1872 the imports were valued at £5,142,951, and the exports (of New Zealand produce) £5,107,186.

The value of the principal items of import in that year were, apparel, boots, shoes, hats, caps, &c., £415,970; drapery, haberdashery, and woollens, £889,922; ironmongery and iron, £190,634; spirits, £145,717; wine, £79,738; tea, £177,722; sugar and molasses, £384,180; tobacco and snuff, £77,474.

The principal items of export were, gold, valued at £1,730,992; wool, £2,537,919; grain and flour, £118,733; kauri gum, £154,167; Phormium (New Zealand flax), £99,405; hides and tallow, £90,551; preserved meats, £161,840.

Oil and whalebone, which in the early days of the Colony were regarded as its staple product, had become too insignificant to mention; while gold constituted more than one-third of the exports, and wool more than one-half. Flax had scarcely increased in proportion to the population, and timber had become a very small item; but grain and other agricultural produce had became considerable. The item "preserved meats" indicates a new industry, and the same may be said of leather, of which there was exported to the United Kingdom nearly 3,000 cwts. Of the whole, the item kauri gum is the only one whose production is due to the aboriginal natives, and to this they are stimulated by the presence of European purchasers. Among the imports, the altered condition of the people and the country is indicated by the importation of coals to the value of £162,549; machinery valued at £62,794; and railway and telegraph materials valued respectively at £118,319 and £6,466.

The shipping return for the year was as follows:—

Customs duty received in year, £813,278; land revenue (exclusive of gold), £504,717; gold fields revenue and gold duty, £114,055.

The proportions per head of population were:—

The item "gold" appears so conspicuously in the returns of 1872, and is in itself of such importance, as to claim more than a mere passing notice.

The first time in which gold was regarded as of sufficient consequence to deserve to appear in a separate table in the annual returns of the Registrar-General was in 1858, in which year the value of the gold exported was declared to be £52,444, and it was also stated that gold to the value of £40,442 had been exported in the previous year, of which about £40,000 was the produce of New Zealand. In 1861 the value suddenly increased from £17,585 (the amount for 1860), to £752,657, the large increase being entirely due to Otago, which exported gold to the value of £727,321, or within one-thirtieth part of the whole amount.

The jurors' report on the Otago Exhibition of 1865 gives an account of the discoveries of gold in New Zealand to that date, and from it the following particulars are extracted:—It is there stated that gold was first found in Massacre Bay by an exploring party under Captain Wakefield, in 1842, "but the discovery did not attract much attention at the time." Nothing further seems to have been done until 1852, when gold was discovered at Coromandel, but only about 1,100 ounces were obtained, and the search was given up. In 1856 gold was found in several localities in Otago, but without any immediate result. In the same year gold was again discovered in Massacre Bay, and about a thousand persons soon collected there, who worked with some success, obtaining the gold that has been mentioned as exported in 1857. Discoveries were also made in that and the succeeding years in Otago, yet public attention does not seem to have been aroused until June, 1861, when Mr. Gabriel Reed made the great discovery of gold in one of the tributaries of the Tuapeka River, flowing through the ravine that is still called Gabriel's Gully, after the name of its discoverer. From that time discoveries of gold were made in various places in Otago, also on the west coast of the Province of Canterbury (now Westland), and finally at the Thames, in the Province of Auckland, the result of all which has been that there had been exported from New Zealand to the end of 1872 the enormous quantity of 6,718,248 ounces, valued at £26,084,260.

The increase in the quantity of wool exported from the Colony is also very striking. In twenty years, that is to say from 1853 to 1872, the quantity increased from 1,071,340 lb., valued at £66,507, to 41,886,997 lb., valued at £2,537,919. New Zealand now stands third on the list of the wool-producing colonies from which the United Kingdom draws so large a proportion of its supplies of the raw material for one of its principal manufactures. The largest quantity is sent from Victoria, the next largest from New South Wales, and New Zealand follows as the third. Other remarks on this subject will be found when the increase of stock of all kinds is spoken of.

The recent years have also witnessed a marked development of industrial pursuits, both in the way of joint-stock companies and private enterprise. Since the passing of the Joint Stock Companies Act, in 1860, each year has seen various companies "floated," but principally for gold-mining purposes or processes connected therewith. There were also steam-shipping companies, gas companies, saw-mill companies, and one insurance company, whose operations are still very extensive. Besides these, there was a woollen factory in Nelson, and many local companies in various parts of the Colony for working flax, erecting public buildings, and other objects of local interest, besides two or three companies for preserving meat, the works of at least two of which were on a very extensive scale. The last census has shown that at the close of the year 1870, there were in operation 77 mills for grinding and dressing corn, 161 flax-mills, 109 saw-mills (including, in many cases, sash, door, planing, and moulding works), 69 breweries, 22 boiling-down and meat - preserving works, 3 brick and tile yards and potteries, 49 fellmongeries, tanneries, &c., 21 malt-kilns, 38 collieries, 16 iron and brass foundries, and 191 factories for various other purposes. These mills and other works and factories employed 7,177 hands, of whom 129 were females. 116 of the mills were wrought by steam, of the aggregate power of about 2,500 horses, and 178 steam-engines, of a power exceeding that of 3,000 horses, were employed in the various factories, besides 92 steam, 17 water, and 470 horse thrashing-machines; 736 reaping-machines, 12 steam-ploughs, and 28 steam-harrows. The annual production of butter was 5,199,072 lb.; and of cheese, 2,547,507 lb.

There were also 28 societies established under the Land and Building Societies Acts in operation in the Colony at the time of the census, with an aggregate of 4,659 members, paying monthly contributions that amounted on the average to £12,937. 3s.

The following tables, which were appended to the financial statement of the Hon. the Colonial Treasurer for 1873, will show the relative circumstances of Victoria, New

South Wales, and New Zealand, as respects flax, exported from each respectively, for their imports and exports, and also the rela- the six years ending the 1st December, tive values of gold, wool, grain, timber, and 1871:—

TABLE showing the Total Value of IMPORTS and EXPORTS of VICTORIA, NEW SOUTH WALES, and NEW ZEALAND, for the Six Years ending 31st December, 1871; with the Kate per Head of Population.

In this Table the British and Foreign Goods exported from each Colony has been deducted from both Imports and Exports, leaving as Imports the goods retained in the Colony, and for Exports the produce or manufactures of such Colony.

TABLE showing the value of GOLD, WOOL, GRAIN, and other AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE (including Flour, Butter, and Cheese), TIMBER, and FLAX, exported from the Colonies of VICTORIA, NEW SOUTH WALES and NEW ZEALAND, for the Five Years ending 31st December, 1871; with the Rate per Head of Population.

The returns of land in occupation, and of the various kinds of stock held by the settlers, form perhaps the best test as to the actual settlement of the country. The unsettled state of titles to land derived from the Natives operated very prejudicially to the earlier settlers in Wellington, and the "Native difficulty" still stands in the way of the acquisition of land in the North Island; but much has been done to remedy this, and the returns show how eagerly land is sought after and purchased wherever it is available. The improved demand for wool, and its increased price, have also tended to foster the desire to purchase land; and, as an effect of this, large tracts of country which were formerly held as "runs" only, are now freeholds, and, in not a few instances, estates are held by individuals of an extent that would form no inconsiderable part of an English county. That this great increase in land purchases has been the result of a steady growth, may be shown by comparing the receipts for land sales for the last fifteen years (as given in the following table), and also by comparing the quantities stated in the returns of 1858, as compared with those given in the census of 1871:—

TABLE showing the REVENUE derived from SALES of LAND for each of the Years from 1858 to 1873, both inclusive:—

This shows an expenditure of nearly £335,700 per annum in the purchase of land from the Crown, so that even if the land averaged £1 per acre, there must have been an addition to the landed estate of the community of nearly 340,000 acres in each of sixteen consecutive years.

Comparing the quantities shown in the census of 1858 with that in the census of 1871, there were, at the first period, 235,56½ acres of land fenced, and 141,007½ acres under crop; and at the second, 6,778,773 acres fenced, and 1,042,042 acres under crop. The fenced land was thus nearly 29 times as much as it was thirteen years previously, and the land under crop nearly 7½ times. The proportions of the land to the population, by which it was held, had also largely increased; for in 1858 there were but 4 acres fenced, and 2⅓ acres under crop for each individual; while in 1871 there were nearly 26½ acres fenced and 4 acres under crop. The quantity of freehold land held by individuals was not shown in 1858; but in 1871 it was 5,647,838 acres, or about 22 acres for each individual. Supposing the number of houses to represent the number of families in the Colony, there would be, at the latter period, an average for each family of 98¼ acres of freehold land; while, including freehold and leasehold lands, there were for each family 118 acres of land fenced, and 18¼ acres under crop.

The high price of labour has tended to prevent grain from being cultivated to the extent it should be; but the introduction of agricultural machinery is doing something to remedy this, and the returns for 1873 show that there were 131,797 acres in wheat, 96,956 acres in oats, 15,266 acres in barley, besides 12,623 acres in potatoes, 33,588 acres in hay, and 19,845 acres in other crops; while the expected crop of the year was 3,188,696 bushels of wheat, 325,101 bushels of barley, 2,618,085 bushels of oats, and 62,125 tons of potatoes. The great advantages of soil and climate possessed by the Colony are thus being turned to account, and it may be expected that grain and flour will yet figure largely among articles of export.

The increase of stock of all kinds is equally remarkable. Horses, cattle, and sheep were among the earliest imports to the Colony; and in the year 1851 it is stated that there were therein 2,890 horses, 34,787 head of cattle, and 233,043 sheep. In 1858, these had increased to 14,912 horses, 137,188 head of cattle, and 1,523,316 sheep; but in 1871, the numbers were 81,028 horses, 436,592 head of cattle, and 9,700,629 sheep. Thus, in thirteen years (or, indeed, in little more than twelve, as the census of 1871 was taken in February of that year,) the horses had increased more than five times, the cattle four times, and the sheep six times. Of the wool which the sheep produced, it may be observed that in 1858 the Registrar-General called attention to the great increase that had taken place from an export valued at £66,508 in 1853, to an export of £254,025 in 1858, the value having thus been nearly quadrupled in five years. In 1871 the value of the wool exported was £1,606,144, being more than six times the amount in 1858. The actual increase in quantity was much greater than is indicated by the value; for in 1858 wool was valued at an average rate of 1s. 4d. per lb., and in 1871 at less than 10¼d. Thus, while the value had increased sixfold, the quantity had increased nearly tenfold. In the eighteen years between 1853 and 1871, the value of wool exported increased twenty-four-fold, and the quantity thirty-five-fold, the average value in 1853 having been estimated at nearly 1s. 3d. per lb.

The collieries are as yet in their infancy; but promise to be of the greatest value before long. Railroads and other means of transit are being provided, and it is highly probable that within a short tune New Zealand may be exporting coal, instead of expending (as already stated) £162,549 during one year for importing it. Besides this, the immense stores of iron and other metals which the Colony possesses, will all become available as fuel is provided for reducing them to a metallic state, and thus making them fit for the many purposes for which at present they have to be imported.

Out of the population of the country, 68,913 persons—or more than one-fourth of the whole—were described in that census as being engaged in trade, commerce, manufactures, agricultural pursuits, or mining; or as being mechanics, artificers, and skilled workmen; besides 14,312 persons described as labourers. There were also 594 males and 743 females engaged as teachers.

These notices of the industrial and commercial statistics of the Colony would be incomplete without they included some statements relative to the banking establishments that are doing business therein, especially as returns are published every quarter, in a form prescribed by law, showing their assets and liabilities so classified that the details become as useful for statistical purposes as any of the returns of the census.

In 1858, when the Act was passed requiring returns to be sent to the Treasury for publication, there were but two banks that had branches in New Zealand, and one of these had only recently entered the field. The bank that first established itself in the Colony was the Union Bank of Australia,^* which sent out a manager to Wellington, and formed a local directory there, immediately after the arrival of the first settles. It also sent out a portentous-looking iron safe containing its cash, but it is popularly believed that the amount of money which that safe contained, and which it must be assumed was all that the bank thought necessary to send to commence business with, was the very modest sum of £500! About eighteen years after this, in December, 1858, when the first returns were published, the banks held £187,257 in coin, £2,624 in bullion, and £1,772 in securities of the Colonial Government, while they had notes in circulation to the amount of £86,026. At the same time they had received and held Government deposits amounting to £74,244, other deposits not bearing interest amounting to £179,264, and deposits bearing interest amounting to £227,759. On the other hand, they had discounted bills and notes to the extent of £520,702, and had advanced money in various ways to the extent of £114,539. Their total liabilities at this date were £600,507. 0s. 7d., and their assets £848,955. 16s. 1d.

These figures show that the banks had found a much wider scope for their operations than had been anticipated when the Union Bank commenced; but from this date the expansion of their business went on with marvellous rapidity, until the date of the last returns published (that of September, 1873), at which time the population of the Colony may be estimated as being about five times as large as it was in 1858. The number of banks had increased to five,^* with branches and agencies scattered all over the country, two of them having been formed in or for the Colony, and having to a large extent a local proprietary. The five banks held among them coin amounting to £1,344,799, bullion £252,980, and Colonial Government securities £157,600. Their notes in circulation were £701,439; they held Government deposits amounting to £990,244; other deposits not bearing interest. £2,431,782; and deposits bearing interest, £1,411,916. They had discounted bills and notes to the amount of £2,216,896, and had made other advances to the extent of £3,297,857. Their total assets were £7,763,746. 1s. 11d.; and their total liabilities, £5,745,348. 15s. 3d. Thus their assets were more than nine times greater than they were fifteen years before, and their liabilities about nine-and-a-half times greater. The following table will show this more distinctly:—

* A bank wan started in Kororarika about the same time, but it did not do much, and is believed to have collapsed at a very early date.

* The return shows the names of six, but one was in process of being absorbed in another that had purchased its business.

TABLE showing the TOTAL ASSETS and LIABILITIES of the BANKS in the COLONY of NEW ZEALAND, in the Form prescribed by "The Bankers' Returns Act, 1858," for the Quarters ending respectively on the 31st of December, 1858, and the 30th of September, 1873.

The significance of these figures will become more apparent by observing some of the facts which they disclose. Thus the indebtedness of the community to the banks is shown to have increased from £835,241. 2s. 5d. to £5,514,753. 7s. 6d., or nearly ninefold, but the indebtedness of the banks to the Government and the public for notes in circulation and deposits had increased from £567,294. 1s. 1d. to £5,535,381. 8s. 7d., or almost tenfold. Putting these facts into another form, it may be said that in 1858 the banks had advanced to there customers £67,947. 1s. 4d. out of their own capital, but in 1873, the whole of their advances did not equal their notes in circulation, and the money of the public deposited with them, by the sum of £20,628. 1s. 1d. This is a fact of great importance, as it shows that, so far as the banks are concerned, the whole business of the Colony is being carried on by means of its own capital, and not by borrowed money. It is also noticeable that the amount of the notes of the banks in circulation considerably exceeds that of the floating (or unfunded) debt of the Colony. Possibly some day the Colony that has the ultimate liability in respect to this note-circulation, may claim to have the profit also.

The rate of interest on advances has been materially reduced within the last two or three years. Until then, 10 per cent. was the ordinary, or it might be said the minimum, rate, for much higher rates were often paid, the single exception being that interest added to accounts by the Supreme Court was fixed at 8 per cent. The rate of discount at the banks was nominally 10 per cent., but really 11 and 1-9th per cent., as 10 per cent. interest was deducted from the amount of the bill. Bank discount has since been reduced as low as 5 per cent. (although it has again risen to 6 per cent.), and advances on real property are freely made at 7 per cent., and even 6 per cent. has been taken in exceptional cases. This has permitted many things to be undertaken that would have been impracticable previously, while the public burdens have been lightened through the advantageous rates at which money has been raised.

The reduction in the rate of interest has operated most beneficially to all who are engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits. To a very large extent these are being carried on by means of money borrowed for purchases or improvements, and while even a high rate of interest becomes (in effect) only a moderate rent, when the interest is reduced, the borrower is enabled, without extra effort, to reduce the principal, and thus in a comparatively short time he may be relieved of the whole burden.

In closing these brief notices, it must be repeated that while so large a portion of the land remains unoccupied, and the population is so sparse that there is scarcely one person—man, woman, or child—for every 160 acres of the estimated amount of land suitable for agricultural or pastoral purposes, it is strictly correct to regard all that has been done as only preparative, so that the statist who shall "take stock" of the progress of the next twenty, or even ten, years, will scarcely regard the present as a fair starting-point. The opening of the country by roads and railways, the establishment of factories in which the raw material produced in the Colony may be converted into articles that are now imported from abroad, and the impetus that these again give to the increase of population, will all so act and re-act upon each other—population causing production, and production stimulating the growth of population—that steps in advance will be made with a rapidity that will be scarcely credible when they become facts, and to anticipate which would seem to many to be mere idle dreaming.