Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/778

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VICTORIA.

wool had reached 18,091,207 lbs.; and notwithstanding the attraction of the gold fields, the exports had advanced in 1863 to 25,579,886 lbs., and in 1868 attained to 68,010,591 lbs.

Bather more than one-half of the total imports and exports of Victoria come from, and are sent to, the United Kingdom.

The commercial intercourse of Victoria with the United Kingdom is shown in the subjoined table, which gives the value of the total exports of merchandize, exclusive of gold and bullion, from Victoria to Great Britain and Ireland, and of the imports of British and Irish produce and manufactures into Victoria in each of the ten years 1860 to 1869 :—

Years

Exports from Victoria to

Imports of British Home

Great Britain.

Produce into Victoria

£

£

1860

2,867,445

5,377,740

1861

2,905,342

5,528,331

1862

2,870,715

5,731,566

1863

2,681,239

5,802,741

1864

4,043,813

5,316,844

1865

4,399,090

5,727,952

1866

4,983,541

6,203,857

1867

5,233,914

4,555,413

1868

5,674,720

5,598,618

1869

5,372,208

6,233,603

The most important article of export from Victoria to the United Kingdom, is wool. The exports of wool to Great Britain amounted to 37,368,805 lbs., of the value of 3,630,444/., in 1864; to 43,603,352 lbs., valued at 3,988,726/., in 1865 ; to 46,627,993 lbs., valued at 4,584,816/., in 1866 ; to 51,177,842 lbs., valued at 4,726,067/., in 1867 ; to 63,776,567 lbs., valued at 4,979,320/., in 1868 ; and to 64,031,242 lbs., of the value of 4,632,537/., in 1869. Among the other articles of merchandise exported to the United Kingdom, are tallow, of the value of 208,854/., hides, tanned and untanned, of the value of 113,362/., copper, of the value of 137,611/., and corn, of the value of 18,368/., in 1869. The British imports into Victoria embrace nearly all articles of home manufacture, chief among them woollen goods to the value of 959,915/., and apparel and haberdashery, to the value of 870,243/. in the year 1869.

Since the discovery of gold mines, in 1851, large quantities of gold have been exported from Victoria. The subjoined statement gives, after the official returns of the Registrar-General, the produce of the Victoria gold-fields in each of the eighteen years 1851 to 1868:—