COMMERCE
•269
Values of imports are furnished by importers or their agents. In the case of articles free or subject to specific duties, the values given are understood to represent the values at the port of shipment, with the freight, insurance, packing and porterage added, and are in every instance exclusive of duty. In the case of goods free of duty, importers' valuations are taken, checked, and, if necessary, corrected by Customs officials. Values of exports are supjiosed to be values at port of shipment. Bills of entry have to be furnished by exporters,, and are checked by (Justoms officials as far as possible. Quantities of both imports and exj^orts are taken from merchants' invoices, checked by Customs officials. As all possible care is taken by the Customs officials to obtain correct values, it may l>e assumed that the values as piiblished, are sufficiently accurate for statistical purposes. Properly so called there is very little transit trade tl)rough New South Wales, nevertheless Sydney is the distributing centre for large quantities of British and other Eurojiean goods chiefly for Queensland, New Zealand, and the South Seas. Goods transhipped are not included with imports or exports.
Exports ill 1897, besides wool, were : — Tallow, 504,227/. ; coal, 952,054^. ; hides and skins, 772,584/. ; leather, 304,179/. ; meat, preserved and frozen, 545,133/. ; gold coin, 4,346,647/.
The following table shows the direction of the total trade of New South Wales in 1897 :—
—
Imports from
Exports to
United Kingdom Australasian colonies . Other British possessions . United States . Other foreign countries
Total
& 7,557,069 9,602,277 856,576 1,887,877 1,840,551
& 8,728,828 8,174,666 602,449 2,462,319 3,782,810
21,744,350
23,751,072
The overland trade was as follows for the last five years :-
Year
Imports
Exports
Total
&
£
£
1893
2,698,011
6,706,936
9,404,947
1894
1,788,654
5,222,089
7,010,743
1895
1,783,368
4,748,129
6,531,497
1896
3,125,671
4,769,738
7,895,409
1897
3,931,292
4,498,619
8,429,911
The direct commercial intercourse (exclusive of gold) of the colony with the United Kingdom is shown in the following tabular statement, according to the Board of Trade Returns, for six years : —
—
1892 1893
1894
1895
1896
1
1897 i
1
Imports into U. K. from N. S. W. .
Exports of British pro- duce to N. S. W. .
£ £ 9,932,716 9,248,659
6,568,540 4,834,512
£
10,759,868
5,016,030
£ 11,310,785
5,466,099
£ 9,678,532
6,363,976
£ 9,262,226
6,167,459
