04-35% of the exports. Foreign countries supplied 16-13% of the imports and took 5-65% of the exports, the United States coming first with 8-80% and 3-04% respectively, and Germany second with 2-66 % and 0-99 % respectively.
In the five years covering the World War (1914-8) the United Kingdom took 77-94% of the Dominion's exports, other British possessions 10-43%, and foreign countries 11-63%. The imports, classified according to the countries of origin (shipment figures alone being previously available), were contributed as follows: United Kingdom 46-60 % ; British Empire 72-54 % ; foreign countries 27-36 %' The United States and Japan are the two foreign countries with which trade developed most rapidly during the war. The exports to the United States, which amounted to 714,063 in 1907 and 912,051 in 1913, rose to 2,006,507 in 1915, 4,045,648 in 1918 and 4,200,861 in 1919. The Dominion's imports from the United States during the same years were: 1907 1,425,596; 1913 2,107,990; 1915 2,600,- 248; 1918 4,980,748; 1919 7,576,314. The United States in 1919 supplied 26-3% of the imports and in 1918 took more than 14% of the exports. The Dominion's imports from Japan increased from 151,106 in 1913 to 304,322 in 1915, 1,214,865 in 1918 and 1,313,- 205 in 1919; but this was due to war conditions.
Production. The dependence of New Zealand's prosperity upon the pastoral industry shows no signs of being weakened by her prog- ress in other directions. Though wool, which in 1897 formed 47-9% of the total value of the exports, provided not much more than a third in 1920, it was still the most important export; and its decline in relative importance was merely the result of the rapid develop- ment of other pastoral products. Between 1895 and 1914 the pastor- al industry's contribution to the exports had actually increased from 70-3% to 85-8%, and in the best of the war years (1916) it went as high as 90-7%. The exports of dairy produce rose in these twenty years from 378,510 (57,964 cwt. butter and 76,743 cwt. cheese) in 1895 to 4,902,701 (434,067 cwt. butter and 863,776 cwt. cheese), or from 4! % to 19 % of the total, the actual increase in value being 1,198%. The increase of frozen meat in the same period from 1,262, - 711 (1,134,097 cwt.) to 5, 863,062 (3,229,869 cwt.), a rise in value of 364 %, is proportionately a small matter. The following table shows the advance of the chief pastoral products:
Exports of Pastoral Produce.
Skins,
Frozen
Hides
Year
Wool
Meat
Butter
Cheese
Pelts, Tal-
low, etc.
1895
3,662,131
1,262,711
227,601
150,909
534,993
1900
4,749,196
2,123,881
740,620
229,111
732,260
1905
5,381,333
2,694,432
1,408,557
205,171
1,023,087
1910
8,308,410
3,850,777
l,8n,975
i,i95,373
1,885,882
1914
9,318,114
5,863,062
2,338,576
2,564,125
2,011,941
1915
10,387,875
7,794,395
2,700,625
2,730,211
2,231,104
1916
12,386,074
7,271,318
2,632,293
3,514,310
2,453,018
1917
12,175,366
5,982,404
2,031,551
3,949,251
2,414,833
1918
7,527,266
4,957,576
3,402,223
4,087,278
3,493,482
1919
19,559,537
9,628,292
3,080,128
7,790,990
6,H9,474
1920
11,863,827
11,612,829
3,022,335
6,160,840
4,064,445
There were 25, 828, 554 sheep in the Dominion in 1919 and 3,035,- 478 cattle, of which 863,588 were kept for dairying purposes; 2,409,- 214 cattle and 14,211,944 sheep were in the North Island.
Of the total area of land in occupation in 1919-20 (43,473,079 ac.) 18,004,776 ac. were in cultivation, 16,125,265 being in English grasses. In agriculture the Dominion does little more in normal years than provide for its own needs. During the years 1910-9 agricultural produce only averaged 1-77 per cent, of the exports. The acreages and yields of the principal crops in 1919-20 were: Wheat 139,611 ac., 4,559,934 bus. (32-66 per acre); oats 179,800 ac., 6,967,- 862 bus. (38-75 per acre) ; potatoes 24,933 ac., 144,705 tons (5-79 per acre). During the years 1910-20 the area in wheat averaged 230,070 ac.,with a yield per acre of 28-02 bus. and a production of 5-82 bus. per head of population. In the years when production falls below 6 bus. per head importation is necessary, usually from Australia.
Mining. The gold industry, which fifty and sixty years ago supplied more than half the colony's exports, is of small importance now. The quantity and value of the export were as follows in the years named: 1866, 735,000 oz., 2,844,000; 1906, 563,843 oz., 2,270,904; 1916, 292,620 oz., 1,199,212; 1920, 2 12,073 oz., 883,748.
The proved coal resources of the Dominion (610,000,000 tons) are estimated to last about a century. The output during the years 1900-10 rose by fairly regular increments from about 1,000,000 to
1 The scope of the preferential tariff, which was established in 1903 and extended in 1907, was further extended in 1917. In 1919 the Imperial imports affected by the preference were valued at I 9,5 I 9,6i9 and the foreign imports so affected at 11,152,079. The proportion of foreign imports affected was 21 -57% in 1904 and 42-99% in 1919. The principle of the preferences is not the reduc- tion of the duties on goods produced or manufactured in the British Dominions, but an increase of the duties on foreign goods.
about 2,000,000 tons. The maximum of 2,257,135 tons was reached in 1916, but since then there has been a steady decline to 1,847,848 tons in 1919. This decrease, which originated in a labour shortage arising from the war, was continued by the miners' " go-slow " policy, and but for special importations the stoppage of many im- portant industries would have resulted. The local supply has always been supplemented by imported coal, chiefly Australian, averaging about 300,000 tons a year, or one-seventh of the total consumption in the years 1909-13. In 1919 and 1920 imports of 391,434 tons and 476,343 tons respectively relieved the local shortage. S. Africa provided a small part of this supply, and in 1921 the Government let a contract in South Wales.
Hydro-Electric Power. New Zealand is well endowed with water- power, 23 sources of supply in excess of 1,000 H.P. being enumerated in the North Island and 46 in the South Island. Little use had been made of this asset before 1900, but the actual horse-power in use in 1912 was 18,353. This had increased to 43,016 by March 31 1915, the total in 1920 being 47,983 horse-power.
The main sources of supply selected for the Government's North Island scheme are Mangahao in the Wellington District (24,000 H.P.); Arapuni, Auckland District (96,000 H.P., capable of ex- tension to 162,000 H.P.), and Waikaremoana, Hawke's Bay (40,000 H.P., capable of extension to 136,000 H.P.), and work on the first of these was well in hand in 1920. The South Island has already the two largest of existing installations, but the outlines of the general scheme for the island had not been laid out. At Lake Coleridge in the Southern Alps, 65 m. west of Christchurch, the Government had erected a plant of a capacity of 8,000 H.P.,and an ultimate exten- sion to 58,000 H.P. will be possible. From this source the electric lighting and tramway systems of Christchurch and a large number of workshops and factories are supplied, and in addition to its far greater efficiency, the new method, by the saving of 45,000 tons of coal and other economies, is estimated to have saved 300,000 in the first five years of its working. A similar service is performed for the city of Dunedin by its city council's power station on the Waipori river 32 m. away.
The total capital outlay on electric-power supply up to March 31 1920 was 3,253,870. Loans totalling 1,980,000 had at that date been voted in five of the electric-rower districts. The total cost of the Government's scheme will considerably exceed 20,000,000.
Manufactures. Between the census of 1906 and 1916 the number of manufactories and works increased from 4,186 to 4,670; the num- ber of hands employed from 56,359 (males 44,946; females 11,413) to 57,823 (males 43,970; females 13,853); the wages paid from 4,- 457,619 (males 3,979,593; females 478,026) to 6,654,504 (males 5,868,788; females 785,716); the value of all manufactures or produce (including repairs) from 23,444,235 to 45,454,184. By far the most important of these industries are the meat-freezing and meat-preserving works and the butter and cheese factories, which, with outputs valued in 1919 at 4,852,732 and 10,056,782 respec- tively, accounted between them for nearly half the aggregate value (58,374,507). Most of the other manufactures are for local con- sumption only and could not exist without the help of the tariff. The increase in wages per head per annum was from 79 2s. (males 88 IDS. ; females 41 l8s.) in 1906 to 135 l6s. (males 159 8s.; females 68 i6s.) in 1919.
Land. The area of the Dominion, excluding the Cook and other islands annexed in 1901, is 66,292,232 ac., which from the standpoint of occupation and tenure was in 1919 broadly classified as follows :
Acres
Private freehold 19,255,874
Public reserves, etc 13,591,041
Crown lands leased, etc 19,411,473
Crown lands undisposed of 3,414,568
Native land 5,066,197
Barren and worthless country 3,307,515
Roads, rivers, lakes, etc 2,245,564
Total 66,292,232
Noticeable features are the small area awaiting disposal by the Crown and the large area owned by the Maori people. During the last ten years 2,380,000 ac. of native land have been sold, over 1,000,- ooo ac. having been acquired by the Crown. Of the 5,000,000 ac. retained by the natives about 3,000,000 are leased, and much of the remainder is poor or worthless. The areas held from the Crown under the principal tenures on March 31 1920 were as follows: pastoral runs, 10,174,236 ac. ; small grazing runs, 2,740,032 ac. ; leases in perpetuity, 1,752,876 ac. ; renewable leases, 1,744,903 ac. ; occupation licences with right of purchase, 1,507,814 acres. The area resumed by the State for subdivision under the Land for Settlement scheme up to March 31 1920 was 1,891,011 ac., at a cost of 11,434,055; 6,167 selectors were holding a total of 1,631,163 ac., for which the annual rental was 462,941, and 160,325 ac. had been sold for cash or made freehold, the total purchase money being 597,169.
The unimproved value of the land of the Dominion on April I 1920 was assessed for the North Island at 182,956,317; South Island 107,923,947; total 290,880,264. Capital value (including improvements): North Island, 302,178,759; South Island, 167,- 914,938; total, 470,093,697.
