IMMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND, (FURTHER LETTERS TO THE AGENT-GENERAL).

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1875 Session I, D-01a

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1875. NEW ZEALAND.

IMMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND, (FURTHER LETTERS TO THE AGENT-GENERAL).

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1. The Hon. Sir J. Vogel to the Hon. the Ministee for Ihhigeation. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib— 3rd May, 1875. I have the honor to enclose herewith copy of a letter of general instructions, which I have forwarded to the Agent-General. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Julius Vogel.

Enclosure in No. 1. The Hon. Sir J. Vooel to the Agent-Geneeal. 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 30th April, 1875. You are aware that the Government have referred to me a large number of questions and a great mass of correspondence relating to emigration, and have asked me to give instructions upon the whole subject, as well as upon many matters relating to your department. In discharging the duty thus devolved ou me, I desire to abstain as much as possible from reviving old controversies, excepting to illustrate the alterations I propose. I. Constitution of youe Office. 2. It has forcibly presented itself to me that you require a much more complete system of recording documents than you have at present. The imperfection of your records is due partly, perhaps, to the various officers having acted too independently, and partly to the practice which appears to prevail of personal communications where written memoranda would be preferable. I think you will find it most desirable, and very efficacious in remedying defects, to clearly notify to all the officers, that Mr. Kennaway, Secretary to the department, occupies just the same position as the Under Secretary of a Government department holds, on the one hand to the Minister at its head, and on the other to the various officers. You should, for administrative purposes, regard your department as one under a Minister. The Secretary of the department should be considered to hold direct relation with the different officers ; and the business should pass through his hands, just as that of the Commissioner of Customs (whether referring to Lighthouses, or Customs, or Distillation) passes through the hands of Mr. Seed, Secretary to the Customs, or as the very varied business of the Public Works Office (whether relating to Railways, Roads, or Gold Fields Works) passes through the hands of Mr. Knowles. 3. I shall refer separately to some of the officers when I deal with the changes I propose to introduce. But I must at once say that the rank and the range of duties of each officer ought to be clearly defined; and that it would be well for each officer distinctly to understand his position as regards both points. 11. Selection of Emigbants. 4. I have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to introduce some changes in the mode of selecting emigrants. In the Scotch agency, which has worked very well, the practice has been to require written certificates from " employers or others" of an applicant, and from " applicant's minister or clergyman." Your practice is to require the signatures of two or more householders, "one of whom should be applicant's employer," to a printed form; though in a large number of cases, as I am informed by Mr. Ottywell, you refer back for what he calls " special" certificates, which are no more than in the Scotch agency would be called ordinary ones. In one of your letters you admit the facility

Pr. O. 74-75.

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with which certificates of character are obtained. Ido not doubt that, as a rule, the mere signing of a printed certificate would be regarded as much more a matter of form than would be the preparation of a written certificate. The unstereotyped terms of a written document are calculated to suggest many considerations as to the fitness or unfitness of an applicant, as to which an ordinary printed certificate would be wholly unsuggestive. It should never be forgotten by the department, that it would be better to incur all the expense of a passage in order to keep away from the colony an unsuitable emigrant, than to pay it to a shipowner for taking him out. lam not sure that it would be desirable to adopt, in England, the plan of requiring a certificate from " applicant's minister or clergyman." In Scotland, I believe, the people who are likely to emigrate are more directly in communication with their ministers than is generally the case in England. I think, therefore, that you should state that a certificate from a minister of religion would be preferred, but that it is not absolutely required. Similarly, the certificate of the applicant's last employer should be considered desirable, though it should not be stipulated for as indispensable. On the face of the instructions sent to applicants, it should be shown that you attach much importance to the written certificates. 5. I am, however, of opinion that even with a system of written certificates you do not secure the data for that full measure of careful discrimination and selection of emigrants which is desirable; and I do not see anything to invalidate the opinion, so often expressed in the colony, that, wherever possible, personal selection is greatly to be preferred, though, where this is not practicable, it should be optional to accept applicants without it. 6. I find that Mr. Carter has frequently visited different parts of the country to approve of applicants, and that the same course has been adopted by Mr. Barclay, Mr. Farnail, Mr. Birch, and Mr. Seaton. The reason why these efforts have not been so successful as they would otherwise have been, is that each officer has been far too much left to pursue his own course. I want to establish as a system the principle of visiting districts whence good emigrants are obtainable, which principle I know, spasmodically adopted, has never received your approval. To that end, it should be one of the regulations of the department —and it should be made known as widely as possible, as well as stated in the papers sent to applicants —that whenever twenty persons, or, if you prefer it, even a smaller number, send you a petition stating that they wish to emigrate to New Zealand, you will despatch one of your officers to see them. The form of petition you should have printed. You should arrange for its being readily obtainable in all parts of the country, and you should announce that a copy or copies will be posted to any applicant. When applicants state that they desire to go to a particular part of New Zealand, the officer sent to them should be the one best fitted to give them information as to that part. It should be the duty of the officer to appoint a time for meeting the applicants. He should have large powers of approval, subject to final approval by yourself. He should collect the certificates, authorize the sugical examinations (except in cases where he is satisfied of the physical unfitness of the applicant), and report to you. Further, when he discovers in a district a general desire to emigrate to the colony, he should endeavour to make of the first applicants the nucleus of a larger number, who, if sent out together, would be likely to enjoy in their new home the old personal friendships that have existed here, as well as the material advantages offered to them there. 7. The officers to whom lam now referring should, as a rule, be able to lecture ; and it should be your duty to determine where and how they are to employ themselves. When you have not applications for their presence, you should direct them to visit such places as you consider fit for lecturing in. I attach so much importance to this personal inspection, selection, and giving of information about New Zealand, that I shall recommend the Government to send home several gentlemen for the purposes I have explained. Meanwhile, I propose that the officers available for those purposes shall be Messrs. Carter, Burton, and Holloway (if an arrangement is made with him) for your agency ; and, as I will presently explain, that Mr. Adam and Mr. Barclay shall be attached to the Scotch agency. 111. —Surgical Examination. 8. You are aware that there is a strong opinion in the colony that the surgical examination of intending emigrants has been insufficient; and that it has been urged upon the Government to require that that examination, in each case, should be thorough and exhaustive, modelling it upon the plan adopted for life assurance, or for the passing of recruits, if not carrying it to the same extent as is done in those instances. In forwarding to you recommendations to that effect, I guarded myself from expressing an approval of them to their full extent; and I know that you are of opinion that such an examination would interfere with obtaining desirable emigrants. I have, therefore, to instruct you to adopt a medium plan. On the one hand, you should recollect that the colony, which proposes to incur large expense in sending out emigrants, has the right to require the knowledge that they are healthy persons: on the other hand, that, provided that the colony is duly protected, there is no desire to insist upon anything that can be offensive to the feelings of intending emigrants. Whilst, then, you should insist upon a satisfactory examination, you should feel yourself at liberty to direct that it be modified to such an extent as you consider desirable, from the forms generally employed in behalf of assurance companies. In other words, I mean that you should prepare a code of instructions to surgeons, setting forth particularly the nature and extent of the examination you think desirable ; and that you should make regulations by which surgeons would be guided in reporting to you, and by which you would guide yourself in case of a report being informal or not satisfactory. There is very great difficulty in the way of paying for such reports. If the applicant pays the fee, the surgeon may not consider that he is employed by the department; and if you directly employ him, there is the danger of having to pay for the examination of many applicants who are rejected. If you make it a condition that you will pay only for those who are accepted, an inducement to report favourably will be offered. I think a medium course may well be adopted: that you should pay as part of the fee a small sum, for which it would not be worth the while of a surgeon to seek to make examinations, but which would enable him to consider that you were employing him, as well as that he was employed by the persons he was examining. I understand from Mr. Carter that surgeons receive from Is. to 2s. 6d.

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from each intending emigrant for the examination and certificate you now require. I think you might safely undertake to pay Is. 6d. for each report based upon the principles laid down by you; and that you should make that payment whether the applicant is rejected or accepted. If you should find —as might be the case, though I do not think it would be —that some surgeons were making a business of giving reports for the sake of the fees, you could easily inform such practitioners that you would no longer accept reports from them. The surgeons should be required to post their reports to you direct; or in the event of your deputing any one to visit the locality, to hand them direct to your oflicer. IV. —Suegical Examination of Emigrants in Depot. 9. Your letters respecting the Blackwall Depot have not altered my opinion that it would have been desirable that establishment should be in the hands of the Government. I continue to be of opinion that it is desirable you should have the appointment of the manager of the depot; and that he should be a medical man, so as to discharge the duties of doctor as well as of general superintendent. His examination of persons in the depot should, in most cases, be directed to ailments that may have presented themselves after the date of the first examination in applicants' districts, upon which you had based your approval of them as emigrants : that is to say, where the first examination had been of a satisfactory character, he would not require to go over the same ground again. In case, however, he should find that the examination and report upon which you had based your acceptance of an emigrant were manifestly unsatisfactory, he should state the circumstances to you, and you should be at liberty, if you thought it necessary, to reject the emigrant. A case illustrative of my meaning is that of the two persons afflicted with congenital deafness and dumbness, who were recommended by a surgeon in the country, and who were about to be shipped for Otago, only that, as you will recollect, I strongly represented to you that you should not, undfr any circumstai ces, permit such a thing—that it would be better for us to pay any amount as compensation, rather than to risk the possibility of the colony having to support future generations of persons similarly afflicted. In that case the surgeon who examined the two persons omitted to inform you of their state, and when they had reached the depot you were reluctant to refuse them passages to the colony, more especially as they had been nominated. It is clear, however, that it is preferable to pay compensation, or to do almost anything, rather than to send to the colony those who are evidently undesirable emigrants. V.—Children. 10. Much of the controversy which has arisen between yourself and the Minister for Immigration is due, directly or indirectly, I believe, to the very large proportion of children shipped by you. I have before me a return kindly furnished me by the Agent-General for Queensland, from which I gather the relative numbers of adults and children despatched by him during 1874. I give for the same period the numbers of children and adults despatched by you, from which you will see how much larger a proportion of adults to children has been shipped by the Queensland Government. Queensland. Souls. Statute Adults. 8,334 equal to 7,257 Adults. Children between 1 and 12. Infants. 6,451 1,612 271 New Zealand. Souls. Statute Adults. 36,613 equal to 29,982 Adults. Children between 1 and 12. Infants. 24,994 9,979 1,640 11. An undue proportion of children makes assisted immigration very costly. I have to instruct you, therefore, as an absolute rule, subject to modification only by express instructions from the colony, that you do not in any case, or upon any account, accept as emigrants families including more than three children between the ages oi 1 and. 12 without exacting either promissory notes or cash payments for the passages of the number in excess. For infants under one year you have not to pay, and, therefore, you need not include them in the number of three. It is possible the Minister for Immigration may decide to reduce the number I have mentioned to two. Vl.—lmmigrants Land Act. 12. I have separately addressed you on the subject of this Act. I now forward to you a draft advertisement,* which I think you will find states the facts more correctly than they are stated in the advertisement published in the Times; and I also forward a draft fof a memorandum to be issued to persons intending to take advantage of the Act. I have prepared the latter document as the best way of ending a troublesome discussion, and showing you beyond, any room for doubt the position which I think you should occupy towards applicants under the Act. You will observe that the draft is merely a skeleton. I leave you to supply much necessary information, and to make such alterations and additions as you may think desirable, not overlooking the chief point of the document, which is the assertion, on your behalf, of discretion in accepting or refusing to accept, as " suitable immigrants," any persons who may apply to you. Vll.—The Scotch Agency. 13. You will have gathered that I consider this agency to be of great importance. I have, as yoxi are aware, telegraphed to the Government, recommending that arrangements should be made with • Enclosure No. 1. t Enclosure No. 2.

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the Superintendent of Otago for taking over the agency, and making it available for the whole colony' If this can be done, I shall propose that the Scotch agency be to some extent independent of your own: that is to say, I would give to it a final power of approving emigrants, and the power of regulating the services of its various officers and of dealing with its sub-agents ; but that with you should rest the approval of arrangements for chartering ships, and that, in the absence of express instructions from the colony as to numbers, reference should be made to you as to the number of emigrants to be shipped. In addition, it would no doubt be convenient, when a stated number of immigrants were ordered for any province, to leave you to decide what proportion should be sent by the Scotch agency and what by your own. To avoid overlapping, I propose to distinctly define the area over which the Scotch agency shall extend ; but to make it clear that, in the event of any differences of opinion occurring, your express instructions on any point must be observed. I propose to take over Mr. Adam, and to appoint the Eev. Mr. Barclay to the Scotch agency, to perform the duties described in a former part of this letter. 14. Emigrants from the North of Ireland, when they cannot be shipped at Belfast, should, in my opinion, be shipped at Glasgow. I intend to propose the establishment of a distinct agency for Ireland; but lam not now in a position to carry this out, as it will involve arrangements which Ido not feel myself at liberty to make. I will, therefore, leave you to determine the extent to which the Irish emigration shall proceed from Glasgow ; merely expressing my opinion that it would be better to combine the North of Ireland emigration with the Scotch, unless you see objections in the way which are not apparent to me. Final arrangements about the Scotch agency cannot be made until the receipt of a reply to my telegram to the Government. VIII. —Nominated Immigeants. 15. I have already written to you on the subject of nominated immigrants, and have asked you to revise the form issued to nominees. I desire now to explain the footing upon which I consider nominated immigrants should be placed. So long as payment is not exacted from, or responsibility devolved upon, those persons in the colony who make nominations —and seeing that the nomination papers are sent Home without direct approval by the Immigration Minister —it is obvious that the approval or disapproval of the nominees must rest with you. Generally, I think, you should be guided in your decision by the same principles as would guide you in dealing with ordinary emigrants; but that special cases may present themselves as to which you might feel justified in departing from the stricter rules held to be applicable to ordinary emigrants. There are cases, too, in which 1 think it would be desirable, if you entertain doubt, that you should refer the papers directly to the Immigration Minister; but I am far from suggesting this as a general rule. I must leave you to consider, supposing the Scotch agency is placed on the footing I anticipate after receiving advices from the colony, the extent of the responsibility you will devolve on that agency in respect to approving or disapproving nominated immigrants. Whilst you should intrust to that agency a great deal of discretion, you should not part with the power of final decision in cases of a doubtful nature. It might be well to place the matter in this position: that the Scotch agency should have the power of approving nominations, but that in cases where disapproval is considered desirable, the decision should rest with you, and the papers with the reasons attached be forwarded to you. IX. —Immigbants to gite Pbomissoby Notes. I believe the time has come when immigrants should pay some portion of their passage money. The colony has incurred expense for immigration to such an extent as should make it reasonable to suppose that those who have had their passages paid have left behind them a number of relatives or friends who, on their representations, would be glad to follow. I desire, however, that we should not, by making some cash payment a condition, shut out from proceeding to New Zealand persons who, though eligible as settlers, have no pecuniary means. I propose, therefore, that you should exact from, or on account of, each adult emigrant a promissory note for £7, or the payment of £3 10s. in cash here. The case of children should be dealt with upon the basis of your shipping arrangements for them: that is to say, for those for whom you have to pay half the cost of a statute adult, you should exact promissory notes or cash payments in the same proportions I have named; whilst infants, for whom you have not to pay, should of course be shipped tree. 16. In thus reverting to the promissory-note system, I think you should make widely known the exceeding liberality of the colony in dealing with immigrants. I append a draft form of notice,* which you should freely distribute, in the form of a hand-bill, throughout the country, as well as advertise it, or a summary of it, in the newspapers where it is most likely to be seen by working men. The Government think it not desirable that you should obtain many emigrants from the large manufacturing towns; but in smaller towns, and in those of agricultural districts, as well as in the agricultural districts generally, you cannot too widely disseminate a knowledge of the New Zealand immigration arrangements. The draft notice I enclose is merely a sketch, and you are at liberty to remodel it. I think that it should contain —1. A statement of the numbers you propose to send out during several months in advance, and the ports and provinces to which you propose to send them. 2. A statement of the terms upon which immigrants will be accepted, including, generally, the nature of the necessary certificate. 3. The reception of immigrants in depot in this country (if they go to depdt), and on board ship. 4. The dietary scale, with that of the Emigration Commissioners placed by its side, so as to allow of comparison. 5. The reception of immigrants in the colony. Under this last head, it should be explained that immigrants are sent to a depot and maintained there; that after two or three days, engagements are made there ; but that some of the immigrants are generally sent to a country depot, where engagements can equally well be made. Without pledging yourself or the Government that every immigrant will be maintained in depot for any specified time, beyond three or four days if * Encloßure No. 3.

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necessary, you might safely state that where a reasonable desire to accept employment offered to them is shown by immigrants, they need not incur expense of any moment from the time they land in the colony until they obtain employment there. This information might ease the minds of many suitable persons who, desiring to emigrate to New Zealand, might still hesitate, because they doubt as to what they are to do between the time of landing and of getting employment. You might give some further particulars about the rates of wages and the rapidity with which immigrants are absorbed. You should be careful not to let the emigrants suppose that you guarantee any rate of wages. As you know, the Government do not endeavour to raise or to lower the rates of employment, and the emigrants should clearly understand that the promissory notes are not used for the purpose of forcing them into distasteful labour or at distasteful rates. Within a reasonable time after their arrival, the immigrants may acquire the franchise and political power; and there is no country in the world possessed of more liberal provisions for the education of all classes. A reference to the facilities offered for education might appropriately be made in the notice. I attach much importance to your stating in the notice that persons by applying at your office, as already described, can obtain the presence of an officer to give them all the information they desire about the colony. The notice should be circulated in very large numbers. The more you circulate it the larger will be the number of applications you receive and your range of selection of the numbers you require. X. —GeBMAS CONTBACTS. 17. The introduction of the system of promissory notes points to the necessity of making some change in your arrangements for shipping Germans and Scandinavians. Apart from this necessity, while I do not deny the special excellence, in some respects, of those immigrants, I do not see why we should be unable to obtain from the United Kingdom the number of immigrants we require. The expenses of dealing with Germans and Scandinavians on their arrival in the colony, and the disadvantages arising in many cases from the foreign shipping arrangements, make me think that it would be better, on the whole, to end these contracts. I find that the Queensland Government came to the conclusion that emigrants from the United Kingdom were sufficiently available and suitable to render it unnecessary to continue to send out Germans. You not only took up the Queensland contract, but you entered into an arrangement with Mr. Kirchner to give him a separate contract. I am unable to say what our legal position in the matter is, but I think that the question should be referred to our solicitor, Mr. Mackrell, for his opinion, and that, if necessary, Mr. Kirchner should be compensated for giving up any claim he may have. If the contracts were carried out, you would have to insist upon his exacting promissory notes from his emigrants, in the same manner as it is now proposed to exact them from emigrants from the United Kingdom. It would be intolerable that our own countrymen should have to pay for reaching New Zealand, while we were conveying foreigners thither entirely at our own expense. I need scarcely add that I do not propose you should take advantage of technical points to defeat any equitable claim Mr. Kirchner possesses: in brief, you must deal with him justly. Xl.—Despatch of Ships. 18. You are aware that great dissatisfaction exists as to the mode in which many ships have been despatched; and that, in the colony, doubts have been expressed whether it was desirable to retain Mr. Smith's services. You have stated that you have a very high opinion of the character of that officer. I have not had an opportunity of forming an opinion from personal observation; but, as far as I have been able to judge, he seems exceedingly zealous, and it is certain that very large duties have been thrown upon him. I believe it would be better if you were, to some extent, to lighten his duties by appointing some of the higher officers of your department to attend on board ships that are about to sail, so that they could be available for reference where doubtful questions arise, and thus leaving Mr. Smith to attend to his more ordinary duty of seeing that the fittings, &c, are such as we require, and are all in good order. Under sufficient discipline, Mr. Smith ought to be an exceedingly valuable officer ; but his explanations, when complaints are made, are not satisfactory. A perusal of some of his memoranda causes me to agree with the opinion of the Minister of Immigration to that effect. XII. —Bevised Chaetee-Paett. 19. It will be necessary, before entering into fresh shipping arrangements, to decide what shall be the nature of the future charter-party. I have come to the conclusion that, in several points, the existing charter-party should be amended. There should be power given to us to disallow the shipment of an undue quantity of spirits, wines, and oils. In most cases it would be far preferable if the shipment of those things could be forbidden, especially on board vessels which are not so constructed or fitted as to protect the spirits and wines from being pilfered during the voyage. In my opinion, the fire on board the " Cospatrick " arose through a careless use of a candle or matches during attempts to broach cargo. The punishment for broaching cargo is not nearly severe enough. It is such an offence against the safety of a ship and all on board of her, that the punishment should be exceedingly severe. This is, of course, a matter beyond your control. The failures of vessels to sail on the days appointed, resulting in many cases in the long detention of emigrants, have been exceedingly objectionable. From a return which has been furnished to me, I find that the vessels from Glasgow sail almost punctually to the advertised day, whilst a very wide departure from such a rule prevails as regards the London ships. There should, for such delays, be provided a penalty, exclusive of the penalty of maintaining the emigrants. But I think that the contractors should also be informed that penalties are not desired, and will in future not satisfy the Government, —that what is wanted is punctual sailing on the announced day in each case, and that contractors who habitually fail in punctuality will be liable to find that it does not suit the Government to employ them. AYe must insist upon the payment of half the passage money in the colony. The case of the " Cospatrick " illustrates this necessity, as also how ready astute contractors are to protect themselves. You sup-

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posed the desire to obtain full payment here arose from the wish to save interest on money, and for the sake of general convenience ; but when you claimed repayment of half the " Cospatrick " passage money you were met by the assertion that " your object in having the whole of the passage money payable here, instead of one-half here and one-half in the colony," did not contemplate cases of total loss, and now a troublesome lawsuit is forced on us. I observe that the Minister for Immigration has informed you that you are not to allow paying passengers to be taken in emigrant vessels, unless I expressly reverse that instruction. lam not disposed to reverse it, except to the extent of allowing paying passengers with your written consent. There are obvious cases in which you should give your consent. Besides special and exceptional cases in which you may think it desirable to consent, cases may not arise, such as —1. Where you have refused to accept a family because of too many children, but where you would allow the whole family to proceed if the extra children were paid for. 2. Where emigrants have paid their own passages, and have obtained certificates from you under the Immigrants Land Act, they might be admitted on board, provided they undertook to conform to the regulations applicable to ordinary emigrants. In very few cases should you allow paying passengers to proceed in your chartered vessels unless they were content to abide by the regulations and discipline provided for those vessels. 20. The charter-party should contain a clause enabling the shipowner, or whoever stands in the place of the shipowner, to be sued in the colony for breach of contract. The objections raised to this really mean that the contractors desire to throw on the ship their own responsibility. There should be a clause making recoverable out of the half-passage money payable in the colony allowances on account of the emigrants who have died during the voyage. The scale of provisions last ordered by the Minister for Immigration should be a condition of the charter-party. I understand that that scale increases very much the cost of the maintenance of children, and that some plan has been adopted of averaging such increased cost over the whole cost of the adults on board any particular ship. I fail to see the justice of this. If it is reasonable that the passage money for a child should be more than half of that for an adult, the fact should be recognized. We should then know what we pay for. But when extra cost in providing for children is averaged over a number of statute adults, the Government gains or loses, or the shipowner gains or loses, just as the average number of children is more or less than a certain proportion of the number of adults on board the ship. In fact, we may pay for what we do not get. lam of opinion that the amount by which it is said the new scale increases the cost of the passage is very much exaggerated. A great deal of what has to be provided under that scale will often not be consumed during the voyage. The calculations seem to assume that all that is provided for each voyage will be consumed before the ship's arrival at her destination; whereas such will be very far from the case whenever a vessel makes a tolerably successful run. 21. I shall be happy to meet you, Mr. Smith, and Mr. Mackrell, at your earliest convenience, to settle the terms of the contract we will require ship charterers to enter into. Xlll.—SHippiifa Akeangements. 22. I send you herewith, to be acted upon, subject only to any alteration!.' which may be ordered from the colony, a table of the number of statute adults to be shipped to the several ports during the twelve months beginning Ist May, 1875, and ending 30th April, 1876.* It is my instruction to you to as nearly as possible comply with the arrangements thus indicated. If it be not possible for you to despatch the numbers set down for May and June, you will be at liberty to add any such deficiency to the number stated for the following two months. I instruct you not to send more than 300 statute adults by any one ship. You will observe that the numbers set down vary from 200 to 900. Where the number is 200, 250, or 300, I desire that they should be sent by one ship ; where 400, 450, or 500 occurs, it is desired that you should employ two ships in each case for their conveyance ; where 600, you should employ either two or three ships ; and where the number is 750, or 900, it is desirable that not less than three ships be employed in each case. 23. Possibly these instructions may not accord with your contract for the conveyance of Germans and Scandinavians. If it be so, your contract must be complied with, until it is possible to modify it in accordance with the remarks 1 have made under the head " German Contracts." 24. I attach great importance to your carrying out the instructions which have been given to you respecting emigrants to Timaru. As to Napier, Nelson, the Bluff, and Taranaki, I have simply to say that the Government insist upon the stipulated number of vessels going direct to those places. If the firms with whom you ordinarily deal refuse to supply vessels, you must otherwise obtain them. 25. The table I give you comprises emigrants nominated and selected, not only from London, but from all ports; The number of ships from Glasgow will, of course, depend upon whether or not lam able to carry out the proposed arrangement, already described, as to the Scotch agency. If it be carried out, I should like ships from Glasgow to proceed not only to Otago, but to other parts of the colony. I should like, also, some vessels to be despatched from Belfast. I shall be glad —assuming that the proposal as to the Scotch agency be carried into effect, as no doubt it will —if, at your earliest convenience, you will sketch out for me your views as to the vessels that should be despatched from Glasgow', the months for their sailing, and their ports of destination. 26. I should like the new arrangements with shipowners to be come to whilst I am in England. I would suggest to you to cause the revised charter-party to be prepared within the next few days, and afterwards to invite representatives of the shipping companies and firms to meet yourself and me. We should meet them separately, and you can personally arrange with me the order in which we shall ask them to be so kind as to wait on us. 27. As the new arrangements may involve some little delay, you must send your May vessels, and as many June vessels as you find necessary, under such arrangements as you think best. * Enclosure No. 4.

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XIV. —Fair Island Emigration. 28. The Minister for Immigration has indorsed the strong recommendation made by the Superintendent of Otago, in favour of allowing to the population of Fair Island the opportunity of proceeding to New Zealand. I have, therefore, to add to the instructions already given to you, that I desire that means should be placed at the command of the Scotch agency, to enable the population of Fair Island to proceed to New Zealand, if, after careful inspection and report by the Rev. Mr. Barclay, it is considered desirable they should go. With this view, I am willing that the regulations as to age, &c, should be very much relaxed. There must, of course, be a limit to such relaxation. If, in your opinion—supposing we do not take over the Scotch agency —the departure from the regulations necessary to enable the shipment of those people to be made, would be so extreme and inexpedient as to render it undesirable to send them to the colony, you must exercise your discretion in that direction. If the Scotch agency is taken over, it would be better to leave that agency to use its discretion in the matter. You are clearly to understand that nothing but an extreme, obvious, and irreconcilable objection is to prevent the intention to send out the Fair Island population from being carried into effect. XV.—Children's Mess. 29. An opinion has been expressed in the colony, which I believe you do not share, as to the desirableness of a separate mess for children. I hope that you will hereafter be able to send out a much smaller proportion of children than has hitherto been sent. In deference to the objections you have raised to a separate mess, I will not give any positive instruction on the subject, beyond this— that I wish you to make it a regulation that it shall be in the power of the surgeon of any ship, to order a separate mess for children, and that you enjoin upon each surgeon that, if he find it feasible, and thinks it desirable, he shall establish such a mess. You should also place at the disposal of each surgeon, from £5 to £10, according to the number of children under his charge, to enable him to give gratuities to some of the emigrants for attending to the children. The relatives or parents should clearly understand that it is not desired to relieve them from properly attending to the children, but that you are simply adopting apian which is common on board first-class passenger ships, by which the children are fed separately, and thus enabled to enjoy much greater advantages in cooking and in description of food, as well as in regular and punctual attendance to their wants, than is possible if they are divided amongst several messes of adults. XVI. —Immigrants to be sent to their Destination. 30. I have to repeat the instruction previously given, that you are not to ship emigrants for ports other than those of their destination, except in very extreme and exceptional cases. Sending people to one province in order that they may be there shipped for another, causes in all cases great inconvenience, and often necessitates large expense; and the plan is looked upon with general and great disfavour by the province to which the immigrants ought ultimately to proceed. Of course, you must still observe the instructions about immigrants to Marlborough, Westland, and Nelson. XVll.—Business of your Department. 31. I have to ask you to cause to be prepared, and to forward regularly to the colony, a fourweekly report, as to the proceedings of your department. 32. Copies of all correspondence between your department and the various departments of the Imperial Government should be sent to the colony each month. 33. I have strongly to urge that you will use your best endeavonrs to give effect to these instructions. 34. The new forms for the use of emigrants, the regulations for medical examination, and the notices to intending emigrants intimating the new practice to be adopted, I hope you will be able to issue during the next few days. The investigations I have had to make, and the study of the correspondence and of the returns which I have had prepared, have closely occupied me during several weeks, and have delayed, much to my regret, the despatch of this letter of instructions. I have, Ac, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Julius Vogel.

[Enclosure No. I.] Grants of Land in New Zfaland. Under " The Immigrants Land Act, 1873," persons who are approved by the Agent-General as suitable immigrants, and who pay their own passages to New Zealand, are entitled to obtain grants of land in the colony, free of cost, but subject to conditions of occupation and cultivation. Full particulars from the Agent-General for New Zealand, 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, London, S.W.

[Enclosure No. 2.] New Zealand.—" Immigrants Land Act, 1873." " The Immigrants Land Act, 1873," provides that persons who are approved by the AgentGeneral for the colony as suitable immigrants, and who pay their own passages to New Zealand, shall be entitled to obtain grants of land at any time within five years after arrival in the colony; such grants, however, to be subject to conditions of occupation and cultivation.

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The clauses of the Act which it is necessary emigrants should understand, together with a clear statement of the course which those persons who are approved by the Agent-General will have to pursue, are attached hereto. The discretion is left with the Agent-General of deciding who are suitable immigrants. In deciding, he has to consider all the circumstances : such as the number, ages, and previous occupations of members of the family; the capital at their disposal; and their intended pursuits on arrival. In cases of rejection, he will not undertake to explain the reasons for such rejection. In no case will he issue his certificate to persons who are returning to the colony, or who are proceeding to the colony to fill appointments they have already received. Nor will he grant certificates to those who, in his opinion, would proceed to the colony whether or not they received such certificates. Persons desirous of knowing whether they will be accepted as suitable immigrants must fill in the enclosed form, and send it to the Agent-General.

[Sub-Enclosure.] Sib,— "Immigbants Land Act, 1873." I have the honor to apply to you to know whether, if I pay the passage (or passages) of myself (and family) to New Zealand, you will grant me (or us) a certificate (or certificates) that I am (or we arc) a suitable immigrant (or suitable immigrants) under " The Immigrants Land Act, 1873." I forward you the following particulars, for the correctness of which I vouch, and upon the faith of which I ask for a certificate (or certificates for myself and members of my family) : — Name of each Member. -Age. Previous Occupation. Proposed Occupation in Colony. I have to add that I shall take with me (or, that we shall take with us) to the colony, a capital of not less than £ I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand.

[Enclosure No. 3.] Skeleton op Suggested Foem of Notice to Intending Emigeants. Emigration to Neto Zealand. Aftee giving entirely free passages to nearly 43,000 emigrants to New Zealand, the Government of the colony have come to the conclusion that a part payment should in future be required. The attractions the colony offers, and the opportunities immigrants will have of improving their positions, are so undoubted, that those who desire to settle in the colony should not hesitate to contribute towards the cost of their passages. But, not to prevent persons of small means from proceeding to the colony, it has been determined not to require a money payment, but to accept a promissory note for £7 for each statute adult, and half that amount for each child. Persons preferring to pay cash may pay £3 10s. Persons intending to proceed to the colony cannot consider the proposed charge unreasonable. They must remember that most of the residents in New Zealand have paid their own passages to the colony. The rations supplied on board ship are much more liberal than the scale adopted by the Emigration Commissioners. The extra cost of the rations and medical comforts for adults and children, supplied to New Zealand emigrants, over that of the scale of the Emigration Commissioners, averages £ per head for adults, and £ per head for children. This cost the Government submit to in order to secure to the emigrants greater comfort on board ship. The fittings of the vessels have to be approved of by experienced officers. On arriving in New Zealand, the immigrants proceed at once to depots; from which they are either engaged, or they are sent, at the expense of the Government, to depots up-country, where they may .receive engagements. If the immigrants show reasonable willingness to accept employment, they arc allowed a fair time in depot to make engagements. Immigrants, therefore, have no reason to fear money difficulties on arriving in the colony. [Describe the course persons must adopt who desire to proceed to New Zealand, the conditions, &e. Describe how any twenty persons requiring information may apply to the Agent-General to send an officer to give it. State all about certificates— Mode of joining ship — Embarkation, &c. — Reception of immigrants in colony—■ Outline of depot arrangements, &c]

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[Enclosure No. 4.]

No. 2. The Hon. Sir Julius Vogel to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 12th May, 1875. I have modified, as regards single women fit for domestic servants, the instructions conveyed to the Agent-General in Section IX. of my letter of April 30th, Pr. O. 74 (" Immigrants to give Promissory Notes "), of which letter copies have been sent to you. 2. I have instructed the Agent-General to arrange, with the least delay possible, for taking over the Scotch Agency. 3. Press copies of my letters are appended for your information. I have, &e., The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, New Zealand. Julius Vogel.

Enclosure 1 in No. 2. The Hon. Sir Julius Vogel to the Agent-Geneeal. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., • Sib,— 12th May.1875With reference to Section IX. of my letter of 30th April, Pr. O. 74 (" Immigrants to give Promissory Notes"), I have the honor to inform you that, upon further consideration, I have determined to except single women fit for domestic servants from giving promissory notes, or making cash payments. You will therefore be at liberty to provide passages for such immigrants as at present. The various documents will, of course, have to show this on their face. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Julius Vogel.

go I c 13 -4-* 5 i g fern 5 I <) 1 d g Total. id | 3 day 300 200 300 200 450 250 1,700 fune 500 200 500 200 300 250 450 250 2,650 "uly 750 200 600 200 450 250 600 200 3,250 Lugust 900 200 750 200 600 250 750 250 3,900 leptember 750 200 600 200 300 250 600 200 3,100 )ctober 600 500 300 500 250 2,150 November 400 200 300 250 250 300 200 1,900 )ecember 300 250 250 300 200 1,300 anuary 200 200 250 200 850 February 250 250 250 750 ilarch 200 200 250 650 Lpril 300 200 250 300 200 1,250 5,050 1,600 1,300 800 2,850 1,650 5,000 1,050 1,150 23,450

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Enclosure 2 in No. 2. The Hon. Sir Julius Vogel to the Agent-General. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 12th May, 1875. In the seventh section of my letter of April 30th, I explained what I proposed to do with respect to the Scotch Agency, and what I considered it advisable should be done as to the shipment (temporarily at least) of immigrants from Ireland; but I added: " Final arrangements about! the Scotch Agency cannot be made until the receipt of a reply to my telegram to the Government." I have now the honor to enclose, for your information, an extract from my telegram, and from the reply of the Hon. D. Pollen; and I have to request that you will at once arrange for taking over the Scotch Agency in accordance therewith and with the terms of my letter of April 30th. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Julitts Vogel. Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure 2 in No. 2. Sir Julius Vogel to Dr. Pollen. Advise making Otago Scotch Agency applicable whole colony. Auld dead. Andrew Auld's secretary excellent man ; willing take charge, receiving from colony three hundred yearly, and from Otago two sixty for ordinary agency, including clerk's salary. Advise attaching Adam Scotch Agency to approve emigrants. Macandrew's concurrence necessary for above. t Dr. Pollen to Sir Julius Vogel. Leate you arrange. Wire result. Scotch Agency Macandrew concurs.

No. 3. (Telegrams between the Hon. D. Pollen and the Hon. Sir J. Vogel.) "Wellington, Bth June, 1875. Cabinet carefully considered your immigration proposals. Total balance now available only four hundred and sixty thousand pounds ; must extend expenditure over two years. This gives thirteen thousand a year. Distribution—Auckland, two thousand and two hundred; Hawke's Bay, one thousand; Wellington, two thousand; Taranaki, six hundred; Mariborough, Nelson, and Westland, four hundred each; Otago, two thousand; Invereargill, one thousand; Canterbury, three thousand. Do not on any account send twenty-five thousand this year. Direct shipment Taranaki and Invereargill necessary. Approve of other proposals. Single women much wanted. Send immigrants ordered Westland special settlement. Vogel, care Featherston, London. Pollen. Wellington, 19th June, 1875. We are strongly of opinion that immigration should be free. Limited number. Careful selection. Vogel, care Featherston, London. ■ Pollen. London, 30th June; Melbourne, Ist July. Accoedance with your wishes, instructed Featherston continue free immigration. Pollen, Wellington. Vogel. By Authority: Geobge Didsbttby, Government Printer, Wellington.—lB7s. Price 9d.]