TOPICS OF THE MONTH.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4931, 11 January 1877, Page 2

TOPICS OF THE MONTH.

By a.* Gazette Extraordinary issued on Eriday, Parliament has been further prorogued to April 13. : The proclamation does not say anything about the Parliament meeting- for the despatch of business, so of course there will be a further prorogation. Parliament will not meet for despatch of business till July. We hear that the Hon. George McLean will be the New'Zealand delegate at the cable conference to,be held in Sydney next - month. It is understood that the Government are averse to any large expenditure on behalf of a second cable, and at all events will decline to commit the colony to any outlay until .Parliament shall have had an opportunity of expressing its will. The Customs returns for the Port of Wellington form not the least interesting feature in. the view afforded by a glance at the year which has just past. In order that the progress which■ our-city and the vast district of which it is the entrepot and-outlet may be appreciated, we give in parallel columns the Customs returns for each month of the years 1875 and 1876, as follows: 1875. 1870. . January .. .. £9,608 .. £10,017 I .February .. .. 12,224 .. 18,998 1 March.. ■* 15,093 .. 11,658 ' > April .. .. .. 11,983 .. 15,800 i May .. .. . .13,148 .. 13,660 ! June- .. .. ■ 9,917 .. 10,046 July 11,607 .. 15,878 ' August .. .. 12,778 .. 14,480 1 September • .. .". 18,096 ... 14,689. < ! October .. .. 13,688 .. 10,704 ■ November .. .. 13,841 .. 12,729 . December ... ... 11,723 ..... 13,058 Tn the : above returns we have for the sake of conciseness omitted the' shillings and pence. With these included, the totals for the two years stand—-1875, £153,642 2s. 7d,; 1876, £161,969 7s. IQd. , A supplement to the New Zealand Gazelle, published on‘December 16, contains a proclamation prohibiting the importation of cattle, sheep, and swine into New Zealand. The Order in Council is made under the second section of the Animals Importation Prohibition Act, 1876, and provides that “ from and after the 15th day of April next, the introduction into New Zealand of catUe, sheep, or swine, from any country or place in the Continent of Europe, including Great Britain and ■lreland, shall be and the same is hereby absoi lutely,, prohibited ■ and forbidden. ; And in ■ further pursuance and exercise of the power and! authority vested in him by the hereinbefore in part recited Act, and of all other powers and authorities enabling him in that behalf, and with the like advice and consent of the Executive Council, doth hereby prescribe and direct that this Order .in Council shall remain in force until the expiration; of, two years from the said 15th day of April, unless this Order in Council is in the meantimerevoked.” , , *• ; : We have been informed'that Messrs. Bethune and Hunter received instructions fijom , the Secretary; of Lloyds, by the mail which arrived last, Saturday,;to arrange for reporting by telegram the arrival of aU vessels from the United Kingdom when they reach any port in New Zealand. A circular has been sent to Lloyds’ agent at all the ports, requesting -them to report , all English... arrivals, to Messrs! Bethune and Hunter, who will then communicate with the Secretary of Lloyds as frequently as may be found necessary. We think the-committee . of Lloyds have acted very wisely in directing.this course to bo followed. For several years past all the arrrivals

from England and leading Foreign ports have been reported in London daily, and there is no reason why New Zealand should form an exception to the general rule. Owners of vessels chartered to come to this colony, and the friends of passengers who have taken passage in them, will be saved a good deal of anxiety, as they will now know much sooner whether the ships have made good ror bad passages; and the fraternity knownatLloydsasthe “Doctors,” will have fewer opportunities of circulating false reports, and by this means defrauding the public by inducing parties to effect insurances at exorbitant rates of premiums, where in reality there was no reason to apprehend that any accident had happened. This dodge was successfully worked in* the case ’of the ship Commodore. She made rather a long passage, a report was spread that she had been lost, and parties who had goods on board uninsured paid premiums varying from 20 to 50 guineas.