MELBOURNE COMMERCIAL.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 39, 5 February 1864, Page 2

MELBO URNE COMMERCIAL.

(From the Argus, January 25-) . In summarising the events of the year ISO 3. tlu'i'O is less of fluctuation to chronicle than usual Trade and commerce have been steady luroughout, and money lias undergone but few and unimportant changes. The yield of t;ic gold-Holds, the great sln'plo export of tho colony hns been maintained. Tho total clearance!- of gold during tho year amounted to 1,998,501 oz.s, ot' which 1,(534,377 oza. wero the produce of Victoria, and 30*1,124 ozs, wero transhipments from New Zealaud. Tho clearances during the year 1802 umounted to 2,0111,830 ozs., 1,711,508 <>zs. of which were of Vicioriau produce, and ti08,3!3i ozs. reshipments i'rom New Zealand. Notwithstanding the disturbances undergone by mining industry i'rom the attractiveness of the .Now Zealand goldlields, to which over 20,003 miners migrated frum this colony alone, the gold fields have wilh less labor expended produced 1,634,377 ozs. of gold, or only 71,131 ozs. loss than tho yield of last year. Tho Government revenue lias suffered severely, but this had been anticipated to some extent. The totnl revenue collected during tho lasi quarter of tho year amounted to £860,898 lls. lid., against £932,301, 10s. Oil. lor the last quarter of lSb"^, showing a decrease ot £71,-102 18s. 7d. The total for the year amounted to i32,72"J,2C9 03. lOd., against £3,131,420 7s. 4d. for tho yuur IS(>2, showing a decreaso of dJ409,121 Is. (id. The lm-jje laUinga off exhibited in this statement are calculated at first sight to give rise to some uneasiness ; but on looking down the list, tho eyo at once catches the fact that they are th« consequence of the withdrawal of laud from sale and ot' the unsettled state ot tho land question. Under the head of" territorial." the net decrease for tho year amounts to no less a sum than £52i3,-iul 10s. Taking the years separately and sabmitting every source of revenue to the lest ot comparison, we find a i:et falling off under the head of Customs, of it'2fl,4So (omiccinjf tractions). A decrease is shewn in spirits of ±"35,490; in ten, £15,954; ia sugar, £1(5,764; in .ooQ'eo," £2.45JLTho tollowing articles shew an increase —Wme, £3,703: beer, £8,ol3; tobacco, £6819 ; cigars, £1,945; opium, £ii,(iO2; rice, £2*425; dried fruits. £4,610; hoys, £1799; malt, £2145; sheepwash tobacco, £3,834; registration fees, £3,772. In the department of excise wo find an increase in spirits distilled in tho colony of £1,514.; in spirit merchants' licenses ot L 1565; and in brewers' licenses of L93;_and a decrease in publicans' licenses of £1,995; iv auctioneers'licenses of £475; and in all licenses not enumerated of £1,587. The territorial revenue conies next ia order Under this iieading wo find a decrease of £457,032 iv one lump in the land revenue proper, namely, from the sale and leasing of land, pastoral occupation, lees of leases, surveys, &c. The export duty on gold shotvs a tailing oil" of £63,012—the result of the ieduction ot the duty from 2s Qd per ounce to Is (id. . hero is a d. crease in miners' rights of £5,910, which must be charged to the account of thu continued pouring of the ini.iing population towards New Zealand for the first half of the year. Business licenses show a falling off of £1,320- Tho net deficiency iv this department v, as we havo mentioned above, ■'.526,451. The income from public works shows an increase, of £135,(>06 from the railways, and n decrease of £16,000 in water rates, aud of £1,20 i in rece: pts from the Electric Telegraph olti'cc, In ports aud harbors we find an increase of £2,060 in tonnage, and of £62 in pilotage, at outports. Tne l'ost-ollice shows an increase of £4,4i5. Iv th« items ot tecs of court and lines and forfeitures, there is nothing to call for special notice. Under the head of''miscellaneous," there is a net increase ot £12,772. Submitting the quarters to the same test, wo find in the Customs a falling oft" in tho last quarter of 1863, as compared wioli the last quarter of 1862, of £12.333. T.io items of increase were — cigars, £114; tea, £5152; dried fruits, £2064; sheepwash tobacco, £555: and of decrease —spines, £4166; wine, £92; beer, £417 ; tobacco, £J951; sugar, £8528; eoitee, £182; opium, £598; rice, £3283; hops.. £293; luuk, £41-2; registration fees, £284. Under tho head of excise, there is an is crease of £870 in spirits distilled iv Victoria ; and a decrease iji the following: — Publicans' licenses £1450; spirit merchants' licenses, £211; auctioneers' licenses, £250; ail other licenses, £1534. The territorial revenue exhibits n net falling oxf of £02,497, of which sum £57,500 is traceable to the same causes as that assigned for the laliiug off in t''e return for tho year, fcoiuo few laud sales were held towards tho close ot iho quarter, but these did not yield largely luwai-d's the laud revenue. The gold export duty yielded less by £6,930, and the miners' lights by £370. The incix-aso on the quarter for railway income was only £4,319. Tho same LIO.OOO figures iv the decreased receipts from water rates as in the statement for the year. The telegraph department yielded less by L I,oo3during thequarter juat ended than during tho last quarter ol 1862. In the Post-olfice an increase of Xil,2Si is shown.