THE PAST YEAR.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 January 1916, Page 6

THE PAST YEAR.

PROGRESS OF THE TOWN. I ; - r AND FUTURE WORKS. A YEAR'S ROAD MAKING. The old year died and the new year was ushered in with' the customary merriment in New Plymouth at midnight on Friday. The town was filled with gay and animated scenes on Friday, visitors being present from all parts of the district. Business was unusually brisk throughout the day, reaching its zenith at night, when Devon Street was densely packed with peopte, many of whom remained in town "to see' the New Year in" and lighten the scene witli a festive touch. Splendid weather prevailed for New Year's Day, and the numerous holiday attractions were well patronised. To-day will be observed as a holiday, and the first signs of the resumption of business will appear tomorrow.

The past year has witnessed several important steps in the progress of New Plymouth. In spite of the economic strains caused by the war trade has been good, while the retail Christmas business exceeded that of previous years. Striking illustrations of the confidence of the business community in the future of the town have been provided by the enterprise of several firms in erecting splendid new buildings, which have greatly added to the aspect of the town. In borough affairs the twelve months have comprised a period of unprecedented progress. The tramway scheme, which will absorb some £OO,OOO and which should prove an important factor in assisting the town's : growth, was launched in May, and it is anticipated the trams will be running before the end of January. At the same time that the trams were taken in hand the borough entered on the big scheme of re-constri!r''ng the main road from Moturoa to Fitwoy, and steady progress is being made with this work. The estimated cost of this roadw" l '. which, when completed, will undoubtedly be one of the finest highways in the Dominion, is £12,700, and it is expected another three months will see the scheme completed. The improvements to the electric light supply have formed an important task completed during the past year, the principal developments being a new transmission line and the construction of what is probably the finest sub-sta-tion in New Zealand. The sub-station cost over £6OOO, and it provides a very handsome addition to the public buildings of the town. Towards the close of the year the problem of dealing with the sanitation of the town was taken in hand by the Borough Council, •■"'' an up-to-date scheme has been prepared and a special officer has been appointed. The sanitary inspector will commence hi* duties in February, and the scheme will then.be put in operation. Much important work lies before the borough, and the New Year will see several important works in operation. The year will be practically one of street-making, and it is highly unlikely that any new schemes will be introduced, for at leasi twelve months will be required to complete the works already arranged for. The re-formation of several of the side streets with soltar will be taken in hand. Originally a sum of about £IO,OOO was set aside for this work, but as the main road scheme will absorb more money than was at first estimated, it is probable that only about £4OOO will be available for soltaring the side streets. Then the expenditure of the £42,000 street works loan will be resumed and will provide sufficient work to occupy the whole of the year. Of this loan there remains approximately £12,000 to be expended. The erection of a destructor at a cost of about £IOOO will also be taken in hand, and the question of properly dealing with the removal of rubbish will be settled. These are the principal works for the New Year, and if the Council completes this programme, the year will be one of marked progress, for with the trams in full swing and"all the roads in splendid order, New Plymouth will be a much improved town.

The value of the building permits issued at New Plymouth for the last nine months of the past year is £30,977. .For the year ended March 31, 1915, the building permits were valued at £61,082, including £28,000 for the new hospital. '

BUTTER AND CHEESE. VALUED AT NEARLY £BOO,OOO. SEASON'S EXPORTS TO DATE. The complete returns of the butter and cheese exported from Taranaki during the past year are not yet available, but the returns for the Dominion for the past eleven months shijw that during that period 320,501cwt of butter were exported, as compared with 334,006 cwt for the first eleven months of 1914; but while the value of the larger quantity was £1,792,332, that of the smaller was no less than £2,051,150. The export of cheese froi New Zealand during the past eleven months amounted to 703,803cwt, as against 736,479cwt for the first eleven months of 1914; but whereas the value of the smaller quantity was £2,33fi,015, that of the larger was only £2,184,807. The returns for the present season in Taranaki up to the end of last weelc make interesting reading. The eighth shipment of butter and cheese for the season was made on Friday, when the Corinna took 10,000 boxes, of butter and 6500 crates of cheese. At Wellington the produce is being shipped to the Home liner Remuera. This is all the Remuera can take, but a much greater quantity of butter and cheese—especially eheese—is in store awaiting space, indicating that if the Remuera had been able to take all the produce offering it would have represented the valuable shipment sent from Taranaki. As it is, the shipment ranks as the second most valuable one exported from New Plymouth. The cheese is expected to realise £37,500 and the butter £35,000, making a total approximate value of £72,500. With the despatch of the eighth shipment the total exports from New Plymouth for the season amount to 81,237 boxes" butter and 39,907 crates cheese, of «n approximate value of £473,134 10s. I'atea lias sent 16,322 boxes of butter »nd 55,346 crates of cheese, of an approximate value of £310,313. For the whole of Taranaki the figures are: Cutter, 97,559 boxes; cheese, 95,253 crates; approximate value, £783,447 10ft

THE CUSTOMS RETURNS. YEAH SHOWS A FALLING OFF. LESS BEER CONSUMED. The New Plymouth Customs returns for the month of December, for the last quarter, and for the past vear show a railing off when compared with the returns for the same periods last vear. The cause of this is the war. The duty paid on general imports during last year amounted to £4.1,037 18s 4d, as against £45,293 4s 5d in 1914, a decrease of £4655 6s Id. In December £3442 15s 8d was paid in general import duty, ni eluding primage. An interesting feature of the returns is that they show that less beer was consumed last year than in 1914, this being attributable, to the, absence of so many men at the war. The beer duty last vear amounted to £932 Bs, whiTe in 1914 it was £lOl3 4s, a decrease of £2SO Bs. Last December, however, the beer duty showed a considerable increase over that for December 1914, but this was due to the increased duty on 'beer. The detailed returns are as follows, the figures for 1914 being given in parentheses:—

December—Customs duties. £3442 15s £d (£3618 17s 3d): beer duty, £l4O 2s (£9O 15s).

Last quarter—Customs duties, £ll,246 17s 4d ( £11.858 10s Od); beer duty, £292 2s (£273 3s). Last year—Customs duties, £43,637 18s 4d (£48,293 4s sd); beer dutv, £932 Ss (£lOl3 4s).

THE PORT. j LESS VESSELS AND IMPORTS. AN INCREASE OF EXPORTS. The past year at the port of New Plymouth has been one of a steady progress, and the general conditions of the harbor have never been better than they are at present. The harbor is now fully equipped to deal with Home liners* and it is confidently expected that the coining year will witness the berthing of Home steamers at Moturoa. The harbor authorities have played their part and it only remains for sufficient cargo to be forthcoming, and in this connection the development of the new freezing works at Waiwakaiho will be watched with interest. The returns of the business at the port show that the year has not been so brisk as the previous twelve months, but this falling off in trade is due to the war, and all ports have been similarly affected. The number of vessels using the port was 284, compared with 304 in 1914, a decrease of 20 vessels. The war was responsible for a decrease in imports, which amounted to 77,754 tons, as against 90,783 tons in 1914, a decrease of 13,029. On the other hand there was an increase of exports, which were 17,826 tons for the past year, as against 17,487 tons in 1914, an increase of 339 tons. The details of the trade at the port during the past year are as follows (the returns being compiled every four weeks): —

Vessels Imp'ts. Exp'ts. January 30 26 0799 1766 February 27 27 5273 2074 March 27 2C 0395 1513 April 24 21 7411 1152 May 22 22 4969 1132 June 26 18 4776 659 July 24 23 7469 523 August 21 22 7856 858 September IS 20 5460 461 October 16 19 4348 1000 November 13 15 5249 1764 December 11 2t: 6474 2930 December 31 22 5269 1994 Totals, 1915 .. 284 77,754 17,828 Totals, 1914 .. 304 90,783 17,487 I