NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, June 7, 1851.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 923, 7 June 1854, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR AND Cook's Strait Guardian. Wednesday, June 7, 185 1.

The Auckland papers received by the overland mail on Saturday furnish us with very little local intelligence. The New Z colander contains an abstract of the revenue and expenditure of the quarters ended 31st December, 1853, and 31st March, 1854, for the Northern Province. The total revenue for the December quarter (omitting the customs received prior to the Ist October, and a sum of £447, j advances repaid) is stated to be £6056 14:10, that for the quarter just ended, (including the sum- of £370, advances repaid) to £11,376. The New Zealander considers that the return affords proof of substantial and augmenting prosperity, and that the income of the Northern Province for the year will very considerably exceed the yea?*'s expenditure voted by the Provincial Council. The recent publication of the returns for Wellington naturally suggests a general comparison of the prospects of the two Provinces, as shewn by these printed statements. In both there is a progressive increase of rcvp-nuc, an evidence of growing prosperity. In both Provinces the year's income will greatly exceed the amount estimated. In the last quarter's return for Auckland are two considerable items arising from the land receipts, a sum of £3569 paid over for general purposes and a like amount paid to the Immigration Fund, making together the sum of £7138 as the proportion received by the Provincial Government from the sales of land. In the returns for Wellington any sums received from sales of land do not appear as an item to the credit of the Province, but it must be remembered that Sir George Grey's last efforts before leaving Wellington were wholly occupied in securing for the Province larsre tracts of available land, that several millions of acres were purchased by him from the natives, the purchase money of which must be pi ovided from the money arising from sales of land. In subsequent returns of this Province the receipts from land sales will form an important item, and must in fairness be attributed to the exertions made by Sir George to promote the prosperity of the Pro dnce. In the Northern Province no extensive purchases of land have yet been

made, so that this will be a future item of expense to be calculated on. The returns from the other Provinces are of a similar chaiactev, all that have been received shew a marked and progressive increase, those of Canterbury from the large sales of land effected in that Province, show a very considerable increase. This uniform result from every Province, after making every reasonable allowance for the natural effect of the gold discoveries on the trade of New Zealand, may be considered in a great measure as due to th^ policy of Sir George Grey in his administration of the government of the colony, " the i keystone of the prosperity of NcwZcalaud." Fie has but just quitted the country, for the prosperity of which during the last eight years he has so earnestly laboured. One item in particular which appears of prominent importance in the returns of early every Province, the proportion received fiom sales of land, is entirely owing to - his ■ Land Regulations. His general policy is still acted upon. The Executive of each Province have only i recently been installed in office, as yet they have done nothing, consequently the change that has been made in the Government cannot in any way be considered to have contributed to this general and . increasing prosperity for it has been too recent to produce any appreciable result. ! The total revenue of the Southern Provinces for 1845, the last year of Captain Fitzroy's Government, was £634.1, less by £1,400 than the amount of the last quarter's Customs for this Province, while the duties collected during the last nine months at Wanganni, which Capt. Fitzl'ov declared would never be a settlement for the next twenty years, amount to £1,455.

Peivate letters from Taranalu stale that the steamer Nelson called there on Sunday, the 21st instant, and proceeded early the following morning on her route to Auckland.