Declared exports from Melbourne to the United States for the year ending December 31, 1882. Imports at Melbourne from the United States for the year ending December 31, 1882. SYDNEY. Report by Consul Kahlo on the trade and commerce of Sydney for the year 1882. In submitting my annual report on the trade and shipping of this port for the year ending December 31, 1882, I have again to inform the Department that, as the official returns of the New South Wales Government have only been at my disposal for the past two weeks, the delay in its transmission is beyond my control. However, as these statistics are the latest that can be procured, I may venture to hope that the report may not prove altogether devoid of interest. AGRICULTURE. Owing partly to climatic circumstances and in part to the absence of water, there is much land utterly useless for agricultural purposes, though much of this is adapted to pastoral use, and is so employed. Land containing the ingredients and constituents necessary for the formation of plant is only found near the banks of the rivers, which makes its fertility almost counterbalanced by the liability to inundation. The total area of land under cultivation was 733,583 acres. Lands inclosed but not in cultivation covered an area of 24,977,048 acres, and there were 5,003,719 acres uninclosed. As compared with the previous year the extent of land in cultivation had increased by 88,515 acres, and land inclosed but not in cultivation by 2,978,563 acres. The principal productions and average yield per acre are, wheat, 4,042,395 bushels, or 164 bushels; maize, 4,057,635 bushels, or 34 bushels; barley, 133,050 bushels, or 20 bushels; oats, 617,465, or 25 bushels; potatoes, 48,561 tons, or 3 tons per acre. Vines covered an area of 4,448 acres, the produce in the aggregate being 543,596 gallons of wine and 1,540 tons of grapes as fruit for table use. Gardens and orchards occupied 17,060 acres and orangeries 6,716. The estimated quantity of oranges produced was 4,978,829 dozen. Live stock. The total number of horses was 328,026; of horned cattle, 1,859,985, and of sheep, 31,769,308. The number of pigs was 154,815. The return for the decade shows that the number of live stock in the year under review had decreased as compared with the previous yearhorses by 18,905; horned cattle by 320,911; sheep by 1,266,546, and pigs by 59,101. MILLS AND MANUFACTORIES. At the end of the year 1882 there were 166 mills in the colony for grind ing and dressing grain. The number of hands employed was 703, and there were 403 pairs of stones in operation. The general total number of manufactories, works, &c., in the colony at the same time was 3,036, employing a total of 32,660 hands, viz, 30,556 males and 2,104 females. There were 8 establishments in operation for the manufacture of woolens, 7 of which manufactured cloth and tweed to the extent of 169,225 yards, though this industry is in a very languishing condition as compared with former years. The manufacture of soap and candles was carried on in 36 establish mènts, the production of which was 116,577 cwts. of soap and 30,377 cwts. of candles. The manufacture of tobacco for the year 1882 amounted to 24,965 cwts., the production of seventeen establishments. This quantity is in excess of that for the years 1880 and 1881, but lower than that for 1879. There were 86 mills in operation for the manufacture of sugar. Seventy of these were worked by steam with an aggregate of 978 horsepower, and 16 were worked by cattle, with an aggregate of 49 horse power. The quantity of sugar produced was 236,868 cwts., and of molasses, 623,247 gallons. There were 2 refineries, which produced 572,062 cwts. The number of boiling-down establishments was 39. The aggregate quantity of tallow obtained was 124,229 cwts. The number of sheep slaughtered was 168,920, and of horned cattle, 21,574. The number of pigs slaughtered was 1,655, and the produce in lard amounted to 9,000 pounds. The quantity of rum distilled from molasses was 118,066 proof gallons. These figures show a large increase on those for 1881 and 1880, but an actual decrease in the production of the five previous years. MINES AND MINING. The estimated quantity of gold produced in New South Wales in the year 1882 amounted to 129,233 mines, valued at $2,592,340. There were 39 coal mines in operation, the total output of which was 2,372,942 tons, valued at $4,618,137. The total number of hands employed was 4,647. The average price per ton of the coal produced in the northern coal fields was $2.22, and that produced in the southern districts realized $2.09. During the year 1882 there were 54,075 tons of shale raised, of the value of $409,341, the average price per ton being $8.51. This industry gave employment to 317 miners. The quantity of copper ore and copper smelted was 5,103 tous, valued at $1,217,477. The tin-producing districts of the colony return 8,544 tons, valued at $2,026,872. The production of iron for the year 1882 was 3,410 tons, of the value of $181,150. TRADE AND COMMERCE. The total value of imports for the year 1882 amounted to $103,564,618, and exports reached the sum of $81,353,089, the excess in value of imports being $22,211,529. The value of the total trade of the colony was $184,917,707, being an increase of $22,194,859 on the previous year. Imports were $18,820,700 in excess of the figures of the previous year, and exports show an advance of $3,248,184. The trade per head of estimated mean population was $231.88. Import trade was $129.87 and export trade $102.01 per head of population. The value of imports and exports for the year 1882 from and to the United Kingdom, British colonies, United States, and foreign countries is shown by the following figures: |