The total imports for the provincial district of Otago in 1862, were valued at £1,860,733. By 1901 the value had risen to £2,587,944. This represents an increase of over £720,000, or 39 per cent., in ten years. During the same period Auckland imports rose from £1,667,499 to £3,082,300—an increase of over £1,400,000, or over 84 per cent. The imports of Canterbury between 1892 and 1902 rose from £1,304,862 to £2,249,153—an increase of £924,000, or 71 per cent. The imports of Wellington during the same decennial period rose from £1,607,053 to £3,200,386—an increase of £1,590,000, or about 99 per page 28 cent. It is thus clear that the imports of Otago have increased more slowly than those of any other of the large provinces. Moreover, in gross value of imports for 1991 Otago stands below Auckland and Wellington, though above Canterbury. The position with regard to exports is somewhat different. Otago's export returns for 1901 show as total of £2,729,418, as against £2,121,900 in 1892—an increase of about £600,000 in ten years, or about 28 per cent. During the same period Auckland's exports rose from £1,511,498 to £2,488,925—an increase of about £977,000 or over 64 per cent. Wellington's exports in 1892 amounted to £1,568,448, and in 1902 £2,228,125—a rise of £660,000 or 42 per cent. Canterbury's exports in 1892 stood at £2,358,360, and in 1992 at £3,339,456 — a rise of £980,000 or about 41 per cent. A comparison of these figures shows that though Otago's exports have increased less rapidly than the exports from the other large provinces during the last decennial period, Otago is still second only to Canterbury in the total value of her exports. Moreover, while the exports. Moreover, while the exports from all the largest ports decreased considerably during 1991, the decrease was least at Dunedin. The fall in value of exports of 1901, as against 1900, was—at Wellington £401,432, at Auckland £145,569, at Lyttelton £33,442 and at Dunedin the comparatively insignificant amount of £14,834. It is evident that any reaction from the prosperity of the last five years is less distinctly felt in Otago than at other centres of population and trade. It may be added that while almost every other port of any size in New Zealand showed a falling off in exports in 1901, Invercargil! and Bluff exports rose from £741,750 in 1900 to £1,005,278 in 1901—a rise equivalent to over 30 per cent. At the same time the imports through Invercargill and Bluff rose from £288,170 in 1900 to £328,727 in 1901.