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Evening Star, Issue 3420, 6 February 1874, Page 2

The ‘ New Zealand Gazette’ of the 29th ult. contains statistical returns up to the 31st December last. The gold exports for the quarter ending on that day show that from the Province of Auckland the value was L 77.925 ; Marlborough, L 432 ; Nelson, L93.8G8 ; Westland, L 82,700 ; and Otago, LI 69,140 ; making a total of L 424,065. The total value of gold exported from the Colony was L 28.053.401, to which Auckland contributed L 2,989,876 ; Marlborough, LI 62,322; Wellington, Ll2O ; Nelson, L 5,185,652 \ Westland, L 7,147.311 ; Otago, L 12,568,120 The yield of 1873 exceeded that of 1872 by L 238,550.

The Customs’ Revenue returns are satisfactory. The total receipts for the quarter amounted to L 280,748. against L2IO 807 during the corresponding quarter of ’last r ’oi, us showing a gross increase of Lb9,J4l. To these amounts the North Island contributed in 1872 the sum of L 78.534, which increased in 1873 to L 97 210 A bile the revenue of the Middle Island reached L 183.538 in 1873, against L 132,273 m 1872. It will be seen, therefore that while the North Island has only added L 18,676 to the amount of the December quarter of 1872. the Middle Island has contributed L 51.2 5, an amount greater than the total revenue of the Province of Auckland. Of this large sum, more than half was received at Dunedin, and somewhat less than one-third at Lyttelton, the totals being Dunedin, L 27.014; L>ttelton, L15.45S Ihe revenue for the year ending 31st December. 1873, was L 965.800, against L 813.279 in 1872, thus exhibiting an increase of L 152,521. The total revenue from all sources for the quarter amounted to L 354.870 18s 4d. The amounts contributed by the various Provinces were—Auckland, L 64.510Taranaki, L 2,493 ; Wellington, L 40.297 ; Hawke’s Bay, L 1,434 ; Nelson, L23.U86 : Marlborough, 13,266 ; Canterbury L 59.097 • Westland, L 16,802; Otago, Lll9 952. It will be seen from these figures that the general revenue of Otago was equal to that of Canterbury and Auckland taken together.

Harvest hands are very scarce at East Taieri the wages offered being L2 a week and found. ’ The following notifications appear in the last number of the ‘ New Zealand Gazette’ Mr Gustave Beck is recognised as Consul General for Belgium. New Post Offices in Otago; Arthur s Point and Nevis crossing. R.M., on Tuesday, at tsalclutha, sentenced two men, named Connell and Preece respectively, to a month’s imprisonment with hard labor, for being in unlawful possession of a box of boots belonging to the Surat.

A case in which the medical profession is greatly interested, and which is thus referred to by “ Timon,” in this week’s ‘ Southern Mercury— Rumor hath it that a charge of malpractice is to be brought against a certain medico who hath grievously offended his brother practitioners by the exposure, through the Press, of sundry sins of omission and commission, whereof the latter have been guilty,” will come before the Resident Magistrate's Court on Friday next. A Mr Hunt is plaintiff, and he seeks to recover the sum of LlOj. Referring to the increasing importance, in the Home country, of New Zealand, a writer in the Nelson Mail says j— 11 1 was lookin'* over the advertising columns of the London limes,’ of the 24th October, and I there saw a list of the ships at present engaged or about shortly to be engaged, in the New Zealand trade. And how many do you suppose there were ? You might answer perhaps with a certain amount of surprise at your own rashness hive and twenty,’ but you would be far under the mark, and I suspect I should have to tell you several times to guess before you arrived at the actual number, which was fifty-four. Nor are they small insignificant boats, for the tonnage ranges from 795, lowest, to 2,500, the highest. Not bad this for England’s youngest Colony, which, when the last census was taken did not number more than a quarter of a million of souls. Of the vessels named six are now building for the Otago trade specially, 1 hey are to be 1,200 tons each, and will be named respectively the Auckland, Canterbury Wellington, Nelson, Dunedin, and Invercargill New Zealand must be somewhat better known at Home than it was a few years ago, when such a fleet as is advertised in one London newspaper is required for its trade with the Home country The Sydney correspondent of the Melbourne Argus, writing on January 7, says :—“ I understand that Commodore Goodenoush is himself decidedly in favor of annexation of Fiji • but there are other influential persons strongly ppposed to it. It is considered, too, that Mr Blight s return to the Cabinet v ill prove adverse to any addition of territory to the British Empire. It is reported here that the Natives generally are strongly adverse to parting with the present Government, but that on this point they are at issue with the white settlers By the way, I hear that Commodore Goodenough lias reported that though Kaudavu furnishes a good harbor for the mail steamers in the daytime and in fair weather, it will be unavailable at night-time and in bad weather; and he recommends an island nearer to Levuka. lam also informed that he has written a letter to the Chief Justice of Fiji, in which he seeks to explain that his late proclamation with regard to the iiiring out of the Native prisoners taken in war was not intended to cast any reflection upon the action of the Supreme Court.”

The Field Naturalists meet to-morrow for an excursion to Black Jack’s Point, We have received from Christchurch a copy of Lake s New Zealand Almanac for 1874, which contains an immense amount of information very useful to all classes of the community. Adopting the idea that “Good counsel is above all price, 1 ' the pages are each headed with a maxim conveying truth in a few words, easily remembered.

1 he ‘New Zealand Church News’ for February is to hand. It contains nothing remarkabiix -Beyond the diocesan news the chief reature is the advocacy of sectarian education ; although in the same article it is admitted that with the exception of Christ’s College, all the Church of England schools have died out, save three, and that ‘miserable remnant’ isallowed to languish for want of diocesan encouragement and support.’ Closing its eyes to this evidence of.sectarian weakness, the ‘ Church News’ looks to the experiment now being tried in Dunodin, and draws tb,e ,conclusion that the public are dissatisfied with unsectarian teaching. It would been more prudent to ci ow after success, than at the commencement of an experiment. New brooms sweep clean !” 10-morrow, at two o’clock, Messrs M‘Landress, Hepburn, and Co, willjoffer for competition a number of beautifully-executed oleographs. The advance in this branch of art has been so rapid that pictures produced ip this style have all the brilliancy of the fine oil pamtmgs of which they are atopies. The great rechjhuidndatioh of these pictures is the purity

of _ their colors. So carefully have they been printed that even the half tints are preserved while the primary colors are free from that exaggeration which was the great drawback to earlier productions. Amongst the pictures arc some after Landseer, “ The Interrupted Singing Lesson,” copies of sacred subjects, and two or three clever home scenes in which children are introduced in very natural attitudes and circumstances. There are also many very good chromo-lithographs worthy of attention. But the most striking subjects in this Art collection are photographs of allegorical statues of the Seasons. They are in the form of large medallions, and the light and shadow are so well managed as to give them the appearance of tine bas-reliefs.