(Fhosi Oxjb. Own Uoerespondknt.) Wellington, January 2. The New Zealand customs revenue for the month of December ISSB fell, as was expected1 considerably short of that for November, which represented large anticipations of the increased I duties on case spirits, the latter coming into force on December 1. Ifc is now estimated b" the Customs authorities that those anticipatory clearances of November amounted to very uearly £60,C00. The total customs receipts for December (excluding those for Kaipara, Wairau, and Picton, which are not yet reported) were £106,419. Reckoned on tho usual average for those places, their returns when to hand ought to add about £2COO to the total already known, bringing it up to nearly £109,000 in all. This is slightly higher than the results for December 1887 (£105,C65), but of course is greatly bolow the receipts of November 18S8 (£177,792), which, hs already mentioned, wore sbtiornially inflated by the clearances in spirits. If Novem ber and December be taken together, they represent a monthly average of about £143.000, which is largely in excess of the estimated monthly average under the aoiv tariff (£126,250). The total New Zealand customs revenue for the first nine months of the iinaucial year is £1,931,332, the proportionate estimate for the three-quarters of the year, allowing for the old tariff having been in forco for the first two months and the new one during the remaining seven months, would be £1,092,000. The actual receipts are therefore curiously close to the estimate. If, however, tho three ports missing from the December returns contribute thbir ex pected £2000, the customs revenue will bo be tween £3000 and £1000 to the good. It should bo mentioned that tho Customs authorities still persist in the eccentric practice of reckoning the new tariff as having been in force all the year, and according to this mode of reckoning the receipts are £25,167 short of their estimate; out this is clearly ?.u unsound mode of compu tation. The plain fact is that tho new tariil' has .ip to present date yielded fully up to the istimato, and a trifle over. The New Zealand beer duty for the month of December ISBS yielded X'536'4, not iucludinsr the •eturus from Oaimvn and Blenheim, whicbiiave lot yet boon received. In December 1887 the eceipts were £0235. 