H.—l7
5
West Coast of England Steamship Service. This service, inaugurated by the Department, has since been regularly maintained by the New Zealand and African Steamship Company, under contract which expired in February of this year. Monthly steamers now leave New Zealand for Bristol (Avonmouth), Cardiff (Barry), Liverpool, Manchester, and Glasgow, taking for these ports cargoes of New Zealand lamb, mutton, beef, veal, pork, rabbits, poultry, butter, cheese, wool, skins, hemp, tow, grain, timber, &c, at rates of freight equivalent to those ruling to London. Steamers of the type of the " Devon," " Sussex," and " Oswestry Grange," and others of equal tonnage are regularly employed in this service, and this fact alone should be a criterion of its success. English West Coast ports import from New Zealand from 60,000 to 85,000 carcases of mutton and lamb monthly during the season, and large quantities of frozen rabbits and boned beef are regularly shipped to Glasgow. A large proportion of wool exported f-om New Zealand finds its way to the United Kingdom by the West Coast service, Manchester proving an excellent centre for distribution to the large woollen-mills in Yorkshire. These shipments range up to 5,682 bales monthly. In addition to farm and agricultural produce shipped to Liverpool, regular shipments of limber go forward to this port, averaging from 60,000 to over 100,000 superficial feet per steamer. Trade with the East. No action has yet been taken to subsidise a line of steamers from New Zealand to the East, and in this connection I might draw attention to the enormous population in Eastern countries and file Pacific Islands, which are in comparatively close proximity to Australia and New Zealand. Wbitaker, for 1907, gives the approximate number of peoples as follows: — China ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 400,000,000 Japan ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 44,260,606 India ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 294,361,056 Islands of Java ... ... ... ... ... ... 35,412,000 Philippine Islands ... ... ... ... ... 7,635,426 Ceylon ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3,950,123 Singapore ... ... ... ... ... ... 572,249 Hong Kong .. ... ... ... ... ... 377,850 French Indo-China ... ... ... ... ... 18,708,000 German Australia ... ... ... ... ... 656,000 German Samoa ... ... ... ... ... 33,000 German China ... ... ... ... ... ... 84,000 New Caledonia ... ... ... ... ... ... 23,000 New Hebrides ... ... ... ... 100,664 Tahiti and adjacent Islands ... ... ... 20,000 Solomon, Gilbert, and Friendly Islands ... ... ... 235,771 Fiji ... ... ..." ... ... ... ... 120,124 A gross total of ... ... ... ... 806.549,869 It is generally acknowledged that the inhabitants of China and Japan are, to a large extent, throwing off their old-time conservatism as regards food and wearing apparel, and now consuming food and adopting clothing of the same kind and class as Europeans Thus huge markets are rapidly developing, which will take almost unlimited quantities of produce, wool, woollen goods, leather, &c, from the nearest and most regular source of supply. This is perhaps an opportune moment to bring under notice the large trade which is now bei.ng carried on by Australia with Japan, China, and the States of the Indo-China Peninsula, together with the Malay Archipelago and the Philippine Islands. The principal lines exported from Australia are flour, wheat, and other cereals, butter, hides and leather, timber, forage, fruits, and manures. There are practically no exports direct from New Zealand to the East, but it is within the knowledge of the Department that some of our products filter through Australian channels to Japan and China. The latest figures available from Mr. J. B. Suttor, commercial representative of New South Wales, afford a striking example of the rapid progress made by the Commonwealth in this trade to the East during the last few years. I quote the following from his reports: — " Australian Trade with Japan. Imports into _ . Exports from r „ . , ... , Year. Japan. £f Japan. total Trade. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 1903 ... ... 119,993 10 0 335,246 10 0 455,240 0 0 1904 ... ... 439,908 10 0 443,858 18 0 883,767 8 0 1905 ... ... 600,119 12 0 407,293 12 0 1,007,413 4 0 " In the Philippine Islands a further large increase is reported as follows: — Imports into Exports from „, . . _ Year. Philippine Islands. Philippine Islands. lotal Irade - £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. 1903 ... ... 128,779 3 4 70,052 5 10 198,831 9 2 1905 ... ... 284,512 18 4 92,275 8 4 376,788 6 8
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