H.—44a

6

(vi.) The Amount mined. In estimating the probable duration of the coal available for mining in the Dominion it is necessary to take account, among other factors, of the growth of the rate of production in the past in New Zealand. From the Ist January, 1853, to the 3ist December, 1918, the quantity of coal mined in New Zealand amounted to about 48,000,000 tons, or nearly 5 per cent, of the total estimated proved coal. The following table shows the annual production of coal from 1878 to 1918 (inclusive) :~

Table 3.—Yearly Output of Coal in New Zealand.

With the exception of one year (1889) there is a continuous growth in the annual production up to 1910. The rate of this growth remained fairly even for the two decades following 1880. The output of 1881. was doubled by the end of the following decade, and the output of 1902 was doublethat for 1892. The decade succeeding 1902 showed a falling-off in the rate at which production grew - indeed, an absolute decrease for the year 1911, since which date there has been an alternation of annual increase and decrease till tie last two years, which both show a decrease. Table 4 shows the annual production since 1885 and the moving averages for five-yearly periods so as to bring out clearly the general trend of the movement, which is well depicted on the accompanying graphs.

Table 4.—Production of Coal, 1885-1918.

Year. Tons. yearly Increase or Decrease. Year. Tons. Yearly Increase or Decrease. i Prior to 1878 1878 1879 1880 .. j 1881 .. j 1882 1883 .. ! 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 .. . 1894 1895 1896 1897 709,931 162,218 231,218 299,923 337,262 378,272 421,764 480,831 511,063 534,353 558,620 613,895 586,445 637,397 668,794 673,315 691,548 719,546 726,654 792,851. 840,713 Increase 69,000 68,705 37,339 41,010 43,492 59,069 30,232 23,290 24,267 55,275 Decrease 27,450 Increase 50,952 31,397 4,521 18,233 27,998 7,108 66,197 47,862 i 1898 1899 ' 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 , 1906 1907 1908 , 1009 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 907,033 975,234 1,093,990 1,239,686 1,365,040 1,420,229 1,537,838 1,585,756 1,729,536 1,831,009 1,800,975 1,911,247 2,197,362 2,066,073 2,177,615 1,888,005 2,275,614 2,208,024 2,257,135 2,068,419 *2,034,250 Increase 66,320 68,201 118,756 145,696 125,354 55,189 117,609 47,918 143,780 101,473 29,966 50,272 286,115 Decrease 131,289 Increase 111, 542 Decrease 289,610 Increase 387,609 Decrease 66,990 Increase 48,511 Decrease 188,716 Decrease 34,169 * Appn iximate.

Annua] l'r< eduction. Year. I Quantity. ! Quinquennial Period. Average. Log. of Quantity. r~ 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 I Tons. 511,063 534,353 558,620 613,895 586,445 637,397 668,794 673,315 691,548 719,546 726,654 792,851 840,713 907,033 975,234 1,093,990 1,227,638 1,362,702 1,420,193 1,537,838 1,585,765 1,729,536 1,831,009 1,860,975 1,911,247 2,197,362 2,066,073 2,177,615 1,888,005 2,275,593 2,208,624 2,257,135 2,068,419 i Tons. 5-70847 5-72783 5-74712 5-78809 5-76822 5-80441 5-82529 5-82822 5-83982 5-85706 5'86133 5-89919 5-92465 5-95762 5-98915 6-03902 6-08906 6-13440 6-15235 6-18690 6-20025 6-23792 6-26269 6-26975 6-28131 6-34191 6-31515 6-33798 6-27600 6-35710 6-34412 6-35355 6-31563 1885-89 1886-90 1887-91 1888 92 1889-93 1890-94 1891-95 1892-96 1893-97 1894-98 1895-99 1896-1900 1897-1 1898-2 1899-3 1900-4 1901-5 1902-6 1903-7 1904-8 1905-9 1906-10 1907-11 1908-12 1909-13 1910-14 1911-15 1912-16 1913-17 1914-18 Tons. 560,875 586,142 613,030 635,969 651,500 678,120 695,971 720,783 754,262 797,359 848,497 921,964 1,008,922 1,113,319 1,215,951 1,328,472 1,426,827 1,527,207 1,620,868 1,709,025 1,783,706 1,906,020 1,973,333 2,042,654 2,048,060 2,120,929 2,123,182 2,161,394 2,139,555 *2,168,808 * Approx) hnatc.