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 amalgamation of adjacent districts. But the progress had been too great. The advance, which had been steady at first, led to speculation causing a boom, and resulted in a slump in the 'nineties, bringing much hardship to many. A slow recovery followed, and by 1896 the population, which had dropped to 28,613 in 1891, had increased to 31,424, and by 1900 had reached the 1886 figures. From the opening of the Twentieth Century, the progress made by the City has been marked. In 1901 the population numbered 34,213; ten years later it was 40,536, and at the last census the inhabitants of the City alone totalled 81,712, an increase in ten years of more than 100 per cent. The very large increase in the City's inhabitants in the last decade was again partly attributable to the amalgamation of contiguous districts, partly to the movement of population from other districts, and in a measure to direct immigration.

On the commercial side, the progress is also remarkable. In 1853 the exports from the Port of Auckland were valued at £148,724, and the imports £253,926. In 1861 the exports had shrunk to £57,673, while the imports had increased to £591,468. These abnormal figures were due to the wars with the Maoris. Ten years later the exports reached beyond the million mark, being £1,601,763, as against £937,655 of imports. The following figures, given in ten-year