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r■\ ~ ■ I APPENDICES. APPENDIX I. EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE. Department of Industries and Commerce, Sir,— Wellington, 9th August, 1909. I have the honour to submit herewith the departmental report for the year ending 31st March, 1909. I have, &c, C. R. C. Robieson, Acting for Secretary. The Hon. T. Mackenzie, Minister of Industries and Commerce. The financial depression so universally experienced during 1907 and 1908 has, I regret to state, had a marked effect on the export trade of this Dominion during the past year, and, although a recovery set in during the last three months of the year, it was not sufficient to entirely wipe out the heavy setback experienced during the previous nine months. The total value of exports for the year ending 31st March, 1909, was £17,011,801, compared with £17,869,354 for the year ending 31st March, 1908, showing a decrease of £857,553. Those exports which have chiefly suffered owing to the depressed markets are, — £ *Wool .. .. .. .. .. 21,722,2201b. 525,575 Mutton .. .. .. .. . . 10,131 cwt. 36,244 Skins .. .. .. .. .. 159,131 195,365 Hemp .. .. .. .. .. 11,275 tons 376,233 Gold .. .. .. .. .. 34,649 oz. 139,119 Kauri-gum .. .. .. .. . . 580 tons . 66,664 * Increasod output, but decrease in value. On the other hand, increases have taken place in the case of butter, cheese, beef, lamb, oats, and timber. In order to show how universal has been the depression in trade, I append some figures which I have collected and tabulated on a percentage basis. It will be noticed that nearly all countries of any importance were affected, irrespective of their geographical position, or whether they were producers of raw materials or vendors of manufactured goods.

The trade of the United Kingdom suffered to the extent of 9-1 per cent, and that of New Zealand 9-5 per cent. In this connection it is instructive to note that, as the great bulk of our trade is with the United Kingdom, any set-back in trade received by the Motherland must inevitably react on the trade of this Dominion. It is unfortunate that the Dominion is still in the position, metaphorically speaking, of having too great a proportion of its eggs in one basket—viz., the market of the United Kingdom.

Country. 1907. 1908. Decrease. Percentage of Decrease. United States EgyptJ. • Canada Japan India (British) .. New Zealand United Kingdom Australia Switzerland South Africa (British) Belgium France £ 691,360,000 55,543,000 124,117,000 94,085,000 209,282,000 37,371,818 979,901,000 121,626,000 113,615,000 75,079,000 249,740,000 472,762,000 766,884,000 206,636,000 £ 592,733,000 47,625,000 108,934,000 82,758,000 188,374,000 33,788,778 890,695,000 111,221,000 105,034,000 70,473,000 238,317,000 454,512,000 741,078,000 202,392.000 £ 98,627,000 7,918,000 15,183,000 11,327,000 20,908,000 3,583,040 89,206,000 10,405,000 8,581,000 4,606.000 11,423,000 18,250,000 25,806,000 4,244,000 14-2 14-2 12-2 12-0 9-9 9-5 9-1 8-5 7-5 6-1 4-5 3-8 3-3 2-0 Germany Austria-Hungary