H.—2

32

the particulars respecting the production of, and trade in, beet-root sugar, desired by the Government of New Zealand, as stated in your letter of the Sth of December last; and lam to request that, in laying these papers before the Earl of Carnarvon, you will move his Lordship to cause application to be made to the New Zealand Government for repayment of the sum of 49 francs, or £1 19s. 2d., expended by Her Majesty's Ambassador at Paris in procuring the documents now forwarded by his Excellency on the above-named subject. I have, &c, The Under Secretary of State, Colonial Office. T. V. Lister.

Sub-Enclosure 1 to Enclosure 1 in No. 5. Lord Lto^s to the Earl of Deeey. Mt Loud, — Paris, sth January, 1876. In execution of the instruction contained in your Lordship's commercial despatch of the 16th ultimo, marked " Circular," I have the honor to transmit, herewith, to your Lordship the statistical documents enumerated in the enclosed list, which contain information respecting the production of, and trade in, beet-root sugar, for the use ot'the Government of New Zealand. In procuring these documents I have incurred an expense of 49 francs, which I request your Lordship to authorize me to charge in my next account of extraordinary disbursements. I have, &c, The Eight Honorable the Earl of Derby, &c. Lyons. List of Documents. Statistique de la France : par Maurice Block. Deuxicmc Edition. 2 volumes. Paris, 1875. (See particularly Vol. 1., page 458; Vol. 11., pages 215 and 409.) Sugar Eeturn in Manuscript: 1812 to 1874. Printed Tables —Importation of Sugar: 1874. Exportation of Sugar: 1874. The returns for 1875 will not be completed till the autumn of 1876.

PEANCE. [Extracts from Statistique de la France.'] 2sote.—The £ English is taken at 25 francs. Fnmc==|- of a shilling, or lOd. nearly. Centime=About Jd. Kilogi-amme=2'2oss lbs. English, or 24lbs. nearly. (The calculations in the annexed tables are made on the basis of the kilogramme, being equal to 2£lbs. English.) Litre=l'76O77 pints, or 1J pints nearly. Therefore, Heetolitre=l76 pints nearly. Quintal=so kilogrammes, or 110 lbs. English nearly. Collier=ls quintals, or 1,650 lbs. English nearly. Hectare=2-47114 acres, or 2J acres nearly. Me1re=39'37079 inches, or -J?- yard English nearly. Pbodtiction. In the question of sugars, many interests are in view : the interest of the consumption, the interest of the native manufacture (from which can be separated the interest of the refining), the colonial interest, and the interest of the Treasury. Sugar is an article at once useful and agreeable for alimentation, and the mass of the population is interested in its prices not being excessive. On another side, the native industry of beet-root stigar, created at the time of the Continental blockade, has increased under the shield of a protection, the maintenance of which it has always demanded. In the third place, the production of cane sugar constitutes the principal wealth of our colonies, which have not without regret seen escape from them the privileges they formerly had of provisioning the metropolis. Finally, sugar is for the Treasury the source of considerable revenues, collected in the form of Customs duties and imposts on consumption. Successive Governments in Prance have at all times seriously devoted their attention to the means of reconciling these different interests, and various combinations have been, successively adopted. We shall not here retrace the history of these difficulties, the interest of which is lost for new generations. Beet-root sugar has implanted itself firmly in the country, and the colonies are no longer compelled to send all their production to the metropolis; and, likewise, cane and beet-root are now treated on a footing of equality by the Treasury. The actual difficulties —for it seems understood that there shall always be a question as to sugars —arise from the assessment of the impost. The international treaty of the Bth November, 1864, with England, Belgium, and the Netherlands, promulgated the Sth July, 1865 (Jilonitcur Officiel, 9th July, 1865), moreover does not permit a change of legislation before 1875. This treaty, and the Preneh law connected with it, tend to put an impost on sugar according to the proportion of pure saccharine matter which it contains. Unfortunately people do not agree as to the value of the means employed for determining that proportion, and the manufacturers of sugar maintain that they are sacrificed to the profit of the refiners. We are not called upon to take part in this quarrel: let us say only that, at the sitting of the 12th March, 1874, the principle of the inspection of refineries was voted, so that soon all privilege will have ceased. Since the war of 1870-71 the duties on sugar have been increased to the extent of 54 per cent, by the laws of the Sth July, 1871; 22nd January, 1872; 29th December, 1873: so that since 1874 the tax is graduated as follows by the 100 kilogrammes [220 lbs. nearly] : —Candy, 82 francs 10 centimes [655. 7d.] ; refined, in loaf, 76 francs 80 centimes [61s. sd.] ; white crystals, 76 francs 80 centimes