24

R—4a

Premier of the colony estimated that, owing to the construction of railways and other public works, 880 properties had increased in value from £10,000 to £50,000 each, and 120 properties had increased in value upwards of £50,000 each. The intrinsic value of property in the colony has much more than doubled since 1871, when the public works policy was actively commenced. A valuation recently made for the purpose of assessing a small Land-Tax shows that there are 87,000 distinct landed properties in New Zealand, of a total value of £100,000,000, including improvements. It is not too much to estimate that £50,000,000 of this value is due to the public works and immigration expenditure of the last eight years. The Crown still retains the larger portion of the lands of the colony. A return up to date, June, 1878, shows that 34,000,000 of acres still remain the property of the Crown. This does not include land for the acquisition of which the Government are negotiating with the Natives, or the extensive area of land in present possession of the Natives, neither does it include the large reserves made for various public purposes. As these lands are opened up and population spreads over them, they acquire great value. The extension of railways and promotion of immigration, for which the present loan is chiefly required, is, in fact, a most profitable operation. The Minister for Public "Works, in indicating the new railways proposed, showed by figures that the lands adjacent thereto would yield to the Government their entire cost, and a considerable quantity of these lands is being reserved from sale pending the construction of the railways. If the liabilities of New Zealand were secured solely upon the landed estate still owned by the Crown, the secui'ity would be ample; but in addition there is the security of the railways and other productive public works, and of the taxing power of the people. At present, there is very little direct taxation in New Zealand, but if all the annual liability for loans was raised by direct taxation, so large are the earnings of the population, that such a tax would amount to but a small percentage on the earnings or incomes of the people. It is estimated that the annual cost of the public debt amounts to a less percentage on the earnings of the people than does that of the public debt of Great Britain. But the public debt of the colony includes the expenditure on railways, roads, harbour works, docks, &c, &c. if the cost of these were added to the public debt of Great Britain, the comparison in favour of the colony would be greatly enhanced. It is to be remembered, also, that the population in the colony increases with a rapidity much in excess of that of the mother-country. The works are not constructed for the present population only, but for many times the number. The colony is at the very commencement of a career which bids fair to make it the home of millions of people. By the Census in 1867, the white population amounted to 218,000. By the Census of 1878, the white population had increased to 414,000. On the 30th June of the present year, it was estimated the white population had increased to 445,500. The following table exhibits the population, exclusive of the Maoris, when each Census was taken: —

Imports and Exports. The following table exhibits the rapid growth of the import and export trade of New Zealand, from the date of the colony being established to 1878, inclusive: —

The great bound exhibited in the above table, as taking place in the quinquennial period 1861-65, was caused by the gold discoveries.

Population. Dato of Enumeration. Centesimal Increase. Number of Inhabited Houses. Persons. Males. Females, December, 1851 24 December, 1858 December, 1861 December, 1864 December, 1867 February, 1871 1 March, 1874 ... 3 March, 1878 ... Increase from 1867 to 1878 26,707 59,413 99,012 172,158 218,668 266,986 341,860 414,412 15,035 33,679 61,062 106,580 131,929 156,431 194,349 230,998 11,672 25,734 37,959 65,578 86,739 110,555 147,511 183,414 122-56 39-99 73'86 27-01 17-25 16-82 38-36 89-52 12,812 22,398 37,996 54,015 57,182 61,356 79,657

Period. Imports, Exports, tho Produce of the Colony. 1841-45, arerage for 4 yeara 1845-49 „ 5 „ 1853-55 „ 8 „ 1856-60 „ 5 „ 1861-65 „ 5 „ 1866-70 „ 5 „ 1871-75 „ 5 „ 1876-77 „ 2 „ 1878 £ 139,000 193,000 766,000 1,188,000 5,352,000 5,168,000 6,367,000 6,939,000 8,755,663 £ 33,000 77,000 330,000 438,000 2,718,000 4,335,000 5,276,000 5,783,000 0,015,525