The Westport Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1869.

Westport Times, Volume III, Issue 475, 9 March 1869, Page 2

The Westport Times. TUESDAY, MARCH 9, 1869.

Beturns of the imports and exports at the different New Zealand ports during the last quarter of last year have just been gazetted. It is sincerely to be hoped that they are more correct than the returns for the previous quarter, which were issued from the Government press in a condition of " most admired disorder." "We have a suspicion that they are not yet absolutely correct, for we observe that Westport figures as having exported to the value of £BO,BBI direct to the United Kingdom, and how Westport should come to export so much of its gold direct, when Greymouth and Hokitika do not send an ounce elsewhere than to Victoria and New South Wales is an anomaly which, to say the least, requires explanation. We shall take the figures, however, as we find them, and in good faith ; and ,doing so, we find that Westport occupies again a very respectable position as a contributor to the revenue by its exportations. Of course, the exports at differentports vary very much according to the season of the year. For instance, Lyttelton, which is usually the first to send wool to the Homo Market, exported to the value of £33,193 during the quarter, while Dunedin exported only £27 worth. But taking the three almost exclusively gold-exporting ports —Hokitika,Greymoutb,andWestport —the last-mentioued sustains a very satisfactory position. The relative values of exports were—Hokitika £154,701; Westport .£108,94.8 ; Greymouth £107,850. It is observable that at each port there has been a considerable declension in the amount of gold exported since the quarter of the previous year, for in the year 1867 the figures for the same quarter were— Hokitika, £257,601; Westport, £119,382 ; Greymouth, £127,730. How does Nelson stand? It exported to the value of £16,882 against Westport's £108,948, and the proportions were the same in 1567. Naturally the bulk of Westport's exports consists of gold, the only other item being sheepskins, of which 8000 were exported, to the value of £l4O. The obvious deduction from an examination of the value of imports is that Westport receives a large proportion of goods upon which duty has been paid at Nelson and elsewhere. The other ports, in fact, but chiefly Nelson, get credit for much of Westport's consumption. It is thus that we find Westport importing to the value of only £33,722, while Nelson imported £55,840 worth, Greymouth £55,039, and Hokitika £92,991. Strangely enough, all the ports except Greymouth exhibit a large falling off in trade, compared with the same quarter in 1867. While Hokitika imported fully a third less, Greymouth shows an increase of over £2OOO. The value of goods received in Westport in the quarter of 1567 was £47,307. The other returns published relate to shipping, but they are of subordinate interest, and, as Westport has no ocean steamers included in its Customs entries, no very intelligible or fair comparison can be made between its shipping trade and that of the other coastal ports.