The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-20 00:00:00

The following is an extract of a letter from Auck-
land, dated Oct. 14, 1559 :—" It is certainly a beau-
tiful climate here, the fields looking exceedingly
well, potatoes promising. As for wheat, barley,
and oats, they only plant enough for their own use.
Everything being imported, food is at an outrage-
ous price, such as flour ss. per stone ; bread, Bd.
per 21b. loaf ; rice, 4d. per lb. ; sugar, 7d., coarse
brown ; candles, ls. Gd., and moulds ls. Bd. Every-
thing else in the same proportion, except beef and
mutton, beef being 7d; the lb., mutton sd. and 6d.,
pork 4d.,. but everything else three times as dear as
in England. Clothing is remarkably cheap. Had I
known, I would not have brought out a thing.
Everything is sold by auction—that is how the
shopkeepers get their supplies; They put all small
articles up by dozens, and larger things in lesser
lots. I will give you the actual prices of some wear-
ing apparel :—Moleskin trousers 6s. to 7s. the pair,
all sizes and colours ; cloth trousers, 95., 10s., and
1 ls. the pair, all sizes and colours ; ladies' Cash-
mere boots, 45., 4s. Gd., and ss. the pair; children's
shoes, from 2s. to 4s. the pair ; topcoats, from 9s. to
12s. each, of a very good quality. Everything else
in a like manner. Moleskin trousers are preferable
out here to go into the bush ; cords split into
ribands, with the stumps of the tea tree and scrub,
which we find about a foot from the ground. Tho
country is in a dreadful state ; we have travelled
the country far and wide. I can say we have been to
every settlement to the south of Auckland, and a
great many to the north, but could not get one day's
work of any kind. We took a carpet bag and a change
of clothes and my shears, and were determined to
have work if it was to be got, but really it was dis-
heartening to go to so many places and none to be
found. They did not employ any men ; those who
had sons used to shear for themselves. There was
one man, a German ; he lived in the middle of a
forest ; he had cut a road about five yards wide, and
the trees hung over it. He had cleared about six
acres. He had just enough room to grow stuff for
himself. He was a very nice fellow. I have been
to every surveyor I could hear of. No work was
to be had. A great many who came out in our
ship are now working for their food. There are
only six out of 400 who have got work, that I have
heard of. They started up into the bush in large
gangs ; they took no provisions with them. They
were going to live on the fern roots and cabbage
tree, which the natives feed on. I saw one of the
many who went ; he had lost his companion, but
luckily he was not far in the forest. He was stung
dreadfully by the mosquitoes, the woods being alive
with them ; I have got my share, I can assure you ;
farmers who have their land next the forest dare
not set any corn at all, for if they did they might
go at night and cee a beautiful green field, and in
the morning there would not be a green leaf, for
these creatures and other numerous inspets. There

are any quantity of mid pigs ; they are first-rate
eating; they taste like mutton ; they are bad to
catch, but if you come suddenly upon them they will
attack you ; they have fearful tusks. Lodgings are
very dear ; you cannot get lodgings under £1 th©
week. House-rent dear—four bedrooms and two sit-
ting-rooms and kitchen, no garden, £4 the week. All
the houses are made of wood ; even the Governor's
house is wood. The land is very bad about Auck-
land ; it is white clay, like pipe-clay. I'll contrive
to write again before the mail goes out." Extract
from a letter dated Oct. 23, 1859 :—" I have got
better news to tell you—that is, I have got a job
for the present, until something better offers itself.
Tell all my relations and friends to stick to the
old country. If there is nothing to do there,
they may come here and work for their food. 1
am not doing much more and have to work 16
hours daily, and 18 on Saturday. Thank God, I
have my health. I wish you would put a letter in
the papers. It is too bad—in fact it is a robbery
to knock up so many gool homes to come out here
to starve, which they are doing ; many hundreds
are here; no one knows how they live."

THE WINES OF FRANCE AND THEIR
PJWI3ABLI• CONSUMPTION IN ENGLAND.

A blue-book of 200 pages, yesterday issued from
the press, contains a series of reports from her Ma-
jesty's Secretaries of Embassy and Legation on the
effect of the vine disease on the commerce of the
various countries wherein they reside. These re-
ports include France, Spain, the United States,
Austria, Tuscany, and Sardinia. France is far more
fully reported on than the rest, and as at present
the commercial policy of that country has received
a new impulse and direction from the late Imperial
edict, it may be well to refer to what is said with
respect to French wines. The solution of the vital
question, " whether, in the event of a reduction of
the duty, France would be always in a condition to
meet any demand (for her wines) that might arise
from England," forms the principal subject of in-
vestigation in the lengthy and elaborate report of
Viscount Chelsea on the past history and present
state of the wine trade in France. The narrative
of Sir E. Tennent, drawn up for the Board of Trade
some years ago, is recited and discussed, and many
of its arguments are controverted in detail. The
result of Lord Chelsea's inquiry would seem to be
in every respect favourable to an encouragement of
the importation into England of French wines in
large quantities, and strongly affirmative of the
vinous fertility of her soil, as sufficient to supply
the increased demand that may arise. It is shown
that prior to 1849, leaving finest growths (which are
confined to small districts) out of account, the qua-
lity, as respects the wine, had degenerated in
France ; that it had lest in flavour what it had
gained in fecundity, and that the adoption of the
new methods of cultivation, the introduction of the
common sorts of grape, and the abuse of manure,
had caused the wine to lose its primitive superiority
and distinctive qualities. Hence a diminution of
price. But this diminution of price being counter-
balanced by the sale of much larger quantities, the
wine-grower has benefitted by the change, and the
total value of vine property in France, instead of
declining, has increased in a larger ratio than that
of other descriptions of agricultural produce.
Wine property, in a word, far from being neglected,
pis eagerly sought after. A Ministerial report by
M. de Chabrol, dated March 15. 1830, and another,
communicated to the Commission of the Budget,
Nov. 29, 1849, both establish that, since 1788, the
cultivation of the vine has been constantly on the
increase in France. In 1830 there was an increase
of 438,000 hectares ; it was upwards of 200,000, or
10,000 per annum nearly, from that neriod to 1849;
in 1851, the total area of land under vine culture
amounted to about 2,000,000 hectares. The present
report goes on to establish-1. That the increase
above mentionedis a constant and universal fact,
manifesting itself throughout the whole extent of
the country, but chiefly in those districts where the
cultivation of the vine is most profitable. 2. That
the increase of production is greater still, and, in
proportion, more general than the increase of land
cultivated. 3. That where there has been a dimi-
nution in the price of wine, it was owing to adulte-
ration. 4. That the value of wine property has in-
creased far beyond the proportion of the develop-
ment of the population.
A long report on the working of the wine-tax,
from the same French source follows. Lord Chelsea
having quoted these data, carries down the narra-
tive to tne end of 1858, and concurrently tests the
accuracy of Sir E. Torment's estimate of the pro-
ductive powers of France as embodied. in his work
on "Wine, its Uses and Taxation." First, is wine a
luxury or a necessary of life ? Lord Chelsea cannot
deny that established facts would go to prove the
fornier proposition, quoad England; but the ab-
stract justice of the system which onerously taxes
the juice intended to gladden the heart of man he
takes _leave to dispute, and states, moreover, that
there is every a priori reason for classing wine as a
necessary of life. Again it is contended that aggra-
vations and remissions of taxation produce a remark-
able effect on the consumption of wines, it being de-
monstrable that reduction of duty has always pro-
moted consumption, and that since the equalisation
of the wine duties by the English Government in
1840, there has been a steady increase. The de-
clining- taste for wino in England, one of Sir E.
Tennent's positions, is satisfactorily disproved by
statistics ; for there is every reason to believe
that if the English artisan could procure wine at a
moderate rate, he would soon bid adieu to gin,
whisky, and other injurious liquors, as was the case
in the 17th century, when the wines of France en-
tered for one-third into the total consumption of
the people of England. But, to insure this con-
sumption now, the wine merchants, it is hinted,
must change their habit of extorting large profits
on the sale of retail quantities. " Whether it is
possible by a lower duty on wine to increase con-
sumption so as to sustain the revenue" is another
question, discussed and resolved by Lord Chelsea in
the affirmative. It is also believed that, were the
duty reduced to ls. per gallon, French wines, not-
withstanding the alleged preference of the English
for strong brandied beverages, would eventually
contend with their rivals on equal terms, or alto-
gether brat them out of the market, as they.did
port wine before the Methuen treaty. An appeal
to official documents to ascertain what is the rela-
tive proportionate amount of wines of all countries
consumed in England will show that, as regards
French wines, this proportion, which for a period
of 16 years, from 1815 to 1830, only amounted to
4.42 per cent., rose during the 16 years comprised
between 1837 and 1854 to 6.33, equivalent to an
increase of 50 per cent.; and what is still more re-
markable, this proportion attained, in spite of the
vine disease, during the four years 1851-54 to 7.12,
7.50, 7.79, and 8.12 per cent. of the total consump-
tion, or an increase of 100 per cent. 1..910,41,131y to
the period 1515.0, It could not, however, be