EMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND. (LETTERS FROM THE AGENT-GENERAL.)

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1875 Session I, D-02

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1875. NEW ZEALAND.

EMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND. (LETTERS FROM THE AGENT-GENERAL.)

Presented to both Souses of the General Assembly by command of Sis Excellency. No. 1. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigration. (No. 1258.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 4 30th May, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 43, of the 11th March, enclosing copy of the Immigration Commissioners' report upon the ship " Ocean Mail," and extract from the diary of the Surgeon-Super-intendent, I have the honor to state that I have perused these documents, and referred them to the Despatching Officer, with a request that he will give to the remarks and suggestions of the Immigration Commissioners and Surgeon-Superintendent his most careful attention. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 2. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigration. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sin, — 30th May, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 46, of the 12th March, forwarding copy of a letter from the Consul for the German Empire in Wellington, upon the subject of emigration to the colony, and enclosing extracts from a letter received by him from Mr. E. Barck, a clergyman in the Baden district, I shall, as you direct, make inquiry on the subject of these communications, forwarding the documents in the first instance to Mr. Kirchner, my agent in Germany, and if it should appear desirable to do so I will give Mr. Barck a free passage to the Colony. I have already advised the Government that I have completed arrangements for a large emigration from Germany, and under these circumstances it is possible that it may appear to bo unnecessary to apply any further stimulus to the emigration movement in that country. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 3. The Agent- General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigbation. (No. 1261.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 30th May, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 58-74, of 14th March, in which you inform me that the ship's books of the " Mongol " (which arrived upon 30th February), of the " Scimitar " (which arrived upon the 4th of March), and of the " Wild Deer " (which arrived upon the sth of March), were not received at the date of your letter, I have the honor to submit the following observations in reply, viz., — 1. As explained in my letter No. 861, of the 24th December, the steamer "Mongol" sailed from Plymouth on the 23rd December, and the mail via Brindisi closed on the following day. The Government will therefore understand that it was impossible to get the ship's book corrected, completed, and fairly copied in time to forward by the mail of 24th December. It was, however, sent via Southampton on the 14th January. (See my letter No. 901, of that date.) 2. The " Scimitar " sailed from Plymouth on the 26th December, two days after the despatch of the mail via Brindisi. The book of this vessel was also forwarded on the 14th January. (See my letter No. 901, of that date.) The circumstance that these two ships arrived before the statements relating to them reached the Government is clearly due to the fact that the vessels made unusually rapid passages, and to no neglect on the part of this office. I—D. 2.

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3. Tour remarks respecting the book of the " Wild Deer " were evidently made in error ; as on examining your letters I find that you acknowledge the receipt of the book in question two days prior to the date of your letter in which you complain that it had not come to hand. (See your letter No. 49, of the 12th March, and the schedule attached.) 4. I beg respectfully to repeat the assurances already given in several of my letters, that no time is lost in the preparation of the accounts of the emigrant vessels. Two of the clerks in the Emigration branch of this department are constantly employed at their own homes as well as during office hours iv completing the numerous books, lists, &c, which relate to vessels despatched with emigrants. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 4, The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1293.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 11th June, 1874. Referring to the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke's letter No. 196-73, of 22nd September, and to my reply of 19th December, upon the subject of the conduct of Mr. James I. Fynn, of Galway, I have the honor to state that Mr. Fynn was duly called upon for an explanation. Mr. Fynn's statement —which was a virtual denial of the allegations made against him —did not appear to me to be at all satisfactory; and subsequent to its receipt, various applicants who had intrusted their deposits to him to forward to this office, complained to me that he had retained their money, putting them off from ship to ship, and subjecting them to great inconvenience and expense. A tedious correspondence has resulted in his dismissal from the office of local agent; and I have referred the complainants for redress to the Government Emigration Officer for their district. Free passages have been offered to the persons referred to in the paper which accompanied the letter under reply. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 5. The A gent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1298.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 11th June, 1874. Referring to your letters of 14th March (Nos. 61 and 62-74), on the subject of the mortality on board the " Mongol " and " Scimitar " during the voyage out, I observe that you defer your remarks pending the receipt of the Commissioners' report. I therefore await your further letter; but in the meantime I beg to offer the following observations for the consideration of the Government. I cannot help attributing much of the sickness and mortality that has prevailed to the fact that the New Zealand Shipping Company has frequently been unable to keep its time with me as to the date of sailing, and to the consequent detention of emigrants on shore, either in depot or in lodginghouses, in some instances for as long a period as ten or even fifteen days. During a detention of this kind it is quite impossible to prevent the emigrants from roaming about the town and visiting public-houses in localities where they are liable to catch contagious diseases. The two cases in question, of the "Mongol" and " Scimitar," where the emigrants were detained through the action of the New Zealand Shipping Company for eight and eleven days respectively (both ships arriving in the colony with much sickness on board), illustrate tho force of these remarks ; the more so as in these instances the emigrants were housed in the depot,, where the sanitary arrangements are certainly admirable. I may add that in the case of the emigrants per " Mongol," among whom the disease had commenced to develop itself in dep&t, the utmost precautions were taken. A rigid inspection was instituted by the medical officer in charge before the emigrants left the depot; and even after they were shipped several suspicious-looking subjects were sent on shore again rather than run any risk of the disease afterwards breaking out on board. I have, &c., I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 6. Tho Aoent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1341.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 11th June, 1874. With reference to your letter of 13th March (No. GO-74), forwarding copies of telegrams received by the Government from Otago reporting the number of deaths that had occurred on board the " Carnatic " during the passage out, I beg to refer the Government to my letter of a former date, in which I pointed out that no amount of precaution on my part would prevent the breaking out during the voyage of scarlatina and other diseases which require a certain period for incubation. An emigrant on embarkation here might pass a medical inspection, and might appear to be in perfect

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bodily health, and although infected at the time no symptom of disease might show itself for many days after the ship had left. How is it possible in such a case to prevent the seeds of an infectious disease being carried away in the very midst of a body of emigrants ? As pointed out in another communication by the present mail, the real danger lies in the detention of the emigrants at the port of embarkation, and this I am anxious in every possible way to avoid. I have, &c, I. E. Featiterston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 7. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1385.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir— 12th June, 1874. Eeferring to your letter of 11th February last (No. 37), as to embarking emigrants at Plymouth instead of at London, I have the honor to point out that the agreement which I had previously entered into with Mr. Hill, as reported in my letter of 4th April (No. 1114) has committed the Government to a certain course of action as to depot arrangements, and that a departure from it now would entail on the colony a very heavy loss. In addition to this, I may mention that Plymouth is only suited as a port of embarkation for emigrants from the southern and south-western counties. The expense of a long railway journey from the counties adjacent to London would be a very serious consideration to intending emigrants, besides being very fatiguing in the case of women and children. I have, &c, I. E. Featherson, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 8. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1350.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 26th June, 1874. Referring to your letters No. 87 and No. 88-74, of 9th April, 1874, I have the honor to state that I have carefully perused the reports of the Immigration Commissioners upon the ships "Carnatic" and " Wild Deer," which were forwarded therewith, and I note that these reports are of a favourable character. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 9. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1352.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 2Gth June, 1874. Eeferring to your letter No. 81-74, of Bth April, forwarding copies of correspondence with the Superintendent of Auckland upon the subject of the distribution of the emigrants by the ship " Mongol," I regret to observe that of the seventy-two emigrants intended for the province only thirty-eight reached Auckland. I note your instructions as to the inadvisability, except under very special circumstances, of sending emigrants to ports outside the province for which they are destined, and I shall give effect to them in further arrangements. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 10. The Agent- General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1316.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir— 29th June, 1874. Eeferring to your letter No. 72-74, of Ist April, enclosing copy of the report of the Immigration Commissioners at Lytteltou upon the ship "Dilharree," &c, I note that the general arrangements of the vessel were pronounced to be satisfactor)', and that the Immigration Commissioners considered the emigrants " vory good, and well suited to the requirements of the province." I regret to notice that the plumbers' work in the baths and closets was defective, and I have called the attention of the Despatching Officer to these complaints, iv order to prevent a recurrence of them in the case of other vessels. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. A gent-General.

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No. 11. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 1347.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 20th June, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 74-74, of Bth April, I observe that His Honor the Superintendent of Canterbury remarks upon the report of the surgeon-superintendent of the ship " Dilharree," forwarded therewith, that "it is very valuable," &c. I have carefully perused the report alluded to, and have referred it to the Despatching Officer, and directed him to make thereon any suggestions which occur to him as likely to improve the present system. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 12. The Agent- Genebaii to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 1348.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 29th June, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 82-74, of 9th April, on the subject of the emigrants ordered for Taranaki, I note that these emigrants are to be considered inclusive of those ordered in your letter No. 57, of 12th March last, and that you desire me to carry out your instructions with regard to this province with the least possible delay. I regret to be compelled to inform you that, as in the case of the vessels required for Marlborough, I have not yet been able to induce cither of the shipping firms to lay on ships direct for Taranaki. In the meantime, both firms understand that I shall require a ship a month for this province from Ist August to October, and I have already advertised my intentions in this respect (see the printed list of sailings enclosed herewith) ; but the detail of the shipping arrangements remains at present in abeyance. I hope to be able shortly to give you precise information on this subject. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 13. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigbation. (No. 1351.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 29th June, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 78-74, of 7th April, forwarding copies of the report of the Immigration Commissioners and of the Immigration Officer upon the ship " Queen of the Age," also a short-hand writer's precis of a case prosecuted in the Resident Magistrate's Court against an immigrant named Patrick Jones for a breach of the regulations under " The Passenger Act, 1855," which resulted in the conviction of that person, his imprisonment, and the infliction of a fine, I shall, as you direct, cause the conviction of Patrick Jones to be printed in a poster form, and placed in a conspicuous position in the between-decks of the next few ships, for the information of the emigrants. The reports of the Immigration Commissioners and Immigration Officer do not call for special remark. I have, &c., I. E. Peathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 14. The Agent-Genebax to the Hon. the Ministee for Immgbation. (No. 1353.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 29th June, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 77-74, of Bth April, forwarding copy of correspondence with His Honor the Superintendent of Westland relative to the want of female domestic labour in that province, I have the honor to state that every effort will be made to engage a number of respectable servants for Westland, and that they will be forwarded via Nelson. It is abundantly evident, from the reports of the various Immigration Officers and from other advices, that the want of female servants is general throughout the colony. As, however, I have already completed the number of emigrants ordered for Olago and Canterbury respectively, I am precluded from engaging any more female servants for either of those provinces. As many suitable persons of the class indicated as I am able to obtain shall be forwarded to the provinces to which I am still at liberty to despatch emigrant vessels. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 15. The Agent-Geneeai, to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigbation. (No. 1356.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 29th June, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 84-74, of Bth April, forwarding copies of correspondence with His Honor the Superintendent of Marlborough relative to emigration to that province, and of a telegram forwarded to me upon the subject under date Ist April, I observe that the emigrants despatched by the two direct ships, to arrive, if possible, in October and December, are to be inclusive of the number ordered in your letter of 12th March, No. 57; that your instruction as to sending a certain proportion of emigrants for Marlborough in Nelson ships remains in force ; and that in the arrangements for the distribution of these emigrants, it is to be understood that if they, upon arrival at Nelson, decline to proceed further, the Government will not in any way recognize their claim to assistance in providing employment, nor will they be received or maintained in our depots. I regret to state that hitherto both Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co. and the New Zealand Shipping Company have declined to send emigrant vessels direct to Marlborough. The Government may depend upon my making every effort to give effect to their wishes in this respect. In the meantime I have arranged to despatch a ship a month for Nelson; emigrants for Marlborough being also taken. The first of these vessels will embark passengers in London on the 20th July. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 16. The Agent- Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Imsiigeation. (No. 1389.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 30th June, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 70-74, of Ist April, on the subject of the engagements made with emigrants on board the " Scimitar," I note that you disapprove the plan of despatching emigrants for one province to the port of arrival in another ; and that you desire that no arrangements for transhipment should be made except under the following circumstances, viz., — 1. When lam absolutely unable to fill a ship, when ready for sea, with emigrants for her port of arrival. 2. When I am unable for any particular port to obtain a direct ship. And I observe that, in all cases where emigrants are to be forwarded to other provinces than that in which the port of arrival of the ship is situated, you desire that separate lists of such emigrants— arranged according to the provinces for which they are destined—may be sent to the Government; such lists to be additional to, and not in place of, the ship's books as at present made up, which you remark seem admirably adapted for their purpose. I note also that, in your opinion, it is desirable that the contract tickets should state distinctly the final destination of the emigrants via the port of arrival. I shall endeavour to give effect to the wishes of the Government in the various matters referred to in my future emigration arrangements. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 17. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Mikistee for Immigeation. (No. 1397.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 30th June, 1874. Eeferring to your letter No. 73-74, of the Ist April, forwarding copy of a letter from the Rev. C. Ogg, relative to emigration from the Shetland Islands, I have the honor to inform you that I have recently received a very large number of applications from Shetlanders for free passages to the colony; and I expect to be able to forward during August about 200 suitable emigrants, and probably a similar number in September, from this district. The first party will proceed in the Nelson ship on the 12th August; they will be engaged for the Province of Marlborough. As the intending emigrants from this district are very poor, it will be necessary, in most cases, to advance the expense of the journey from Shetland to London. For the sums so advanced, the emigrants will be required to sign promissory notes. The Rev. P. Barclay, who has been working in Shetland for some months, will personally superintend the arrangements for forwarding the emigrants to London. I -expect also to obtain considerable numbers of West Highland emigrants during August and September. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 18. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigbation. (No. 1398.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 30th June, 1874. Eeferring to your letter No. 75-74, of 9th April, forwarding copies of reports by the Immigration Officer at Napier upon the ship " Invererno," I note that His Honor the Superintendent was of opinion that it would bo desirable, in the case of future shipments, to send a smaller number of families with young children, and a larger proportion of single women and single men. I will endeavour, as far as possible, to give effect to His Honor's wishes. I have examined the certificate of the emigrant Johannes Blanguist, to whom special reference is made, and Ido not find any allusion to his being either deaf or dumb. I have, however, written to Messrs Honeman and Co., of Copenhagen, the agents by whom the emigrant was introduced, requesting an explanation of the circumstances under which the passage was granted, and I will communicate to the Government the reply received from those gentlemen. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 19. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Ihhigeation. (No. 1404.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 10th July, 1874. Eeferring to your letter No. 81-74, of Bth April, on the subject of the introduction into the colony, by the ship " Queen of the Age," of certain French emigrants, I have the honor to forward the original certificates of the persons enumerated in the report from the Immigration Officer which accompanied your letter. You will observe that, having regard to the circumstance that these persons had not been long resident in England, the certificates are satisfactorily completed. Some of the persons named applied for assistance to the Societe Francaise de Bienfaisance, and were accompanied to this office by the Secretary of that institution, M. J. B. Ferd. Guillot. Since the receipt of your letter, I have made personal inquiry of that gentleman, and I find that the persons referred to received pecuniary aid from the society. Mons. Guillot states that the men represented themselves to be mechanics, according to the statement in their application papers, and he has no reason for believing that they ever followed the profession of ballet dancers. The manner of their performance, as described in the newspaper reports, tends to show that they could not have been trained to that profession; and I have little doubt that the Immigration Officer, in his second report on this subject, states correctly that there is reason for believing that the majority, if not the whole, of the male adults, about nine in all, have trades as mechanics, as represented at the Immigration Agency in London, and that most of them are likely, ultimately, to settle down to their ordinary callings in some part of the colony. I enclose a report of the society referred to, which was left at this office by Mons. Guillot when he called with the persons who were assisted from its funds. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 20. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Mutistee for Ihmigeation. (No. 1426.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 10th July, 1874. Eeferring to your memorandum No. 35, of 12th February, I have the honor to state that a reply to Mr. O'Eorke's memorandum No. 204 was forwarded some time since. With reference to the arrangements at this office for carrying out the work relating to emigrants nominated in the colony, I have the honor to state that until the beginning of the present year only one clerk was regularly employed in the department. In March last I found it was impossible to overtake arrears of work without additional assistance, and a second clerk was engaged ; and during the past month it was found necessary to transfer from another branch of this department a third clerk. The special duty of this officer is to keep the registers of nominations. These contain very complete information under the following headings : — Nomination. —No. of list. No. of application. When received. Particulars of Nominee. —Surname. Christian names. Age. Single or married. Occupation. Eesidence. Amount deposited in colony. Amount secured by bills. Application Forms. —When issued. When returned. Payment hj Nominee. —On account of passage, —for bedding, &c. Ship in which passage taken.— Name. Port of departure. When sailed. Sent arks. A separate register is kept for each province. Copies of the forms used in the Nomination branch were forwarded with my letter No. 1390, of 30th June last.

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As already stated in a previous letter, I am unable to forward nominated emigrants for Canterbury or Otago direct to their destination, as I have already completed the numbers ordered for those provinces, and I await the further instructions of the Government on this subject. A few nominated persons for Otago, who are anxious to proceed, will be forwarded via Wellington, by the ship " Star of India," on the 29th July. A promise has been given that they will be sent to their destination at the expense of the Government. I have, &c, I. E. Featiierston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 21. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Isimigeation. (No. 1436.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 10th July, 1874. I have the honor to forward herewith, for the information of the Government, copy of a report received from the Rev. Mr. Barclay, of work done by him on behalf of the colony during the quarter ending 31st March last. I have, &c, I. E. Featiierston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 21. The Rev. Mr. Barclay to the Agent-General. Quarterly Report. — Work done on behalf of New Zealand, from Ist January, 1874, to 31st March, 1874. I mat begin by remarking that I look on this quarter as being on the whole one of the most successful I have reported on. This is to be attributed partly to the preparatory work done during 1872 and 1873, consisting of information given by lectures and correspondence, partly by a wide distribution of my " Notes on New Zealand," and partly through the energy and admirable business habits of Mr. Duncan, Agent for Canterbury Province, N.Z. He has also removed the great difficulty which stands in the way of many, — i.e., the great expense that intending emigrants have to meet in coming from their very distant homes. For it is comparatively easy to come from Oxford or Warwick to London, or from Perthshire or Roxburgh to Glasgow, where railways abound ; but it is a very different thing to come over rough and stormy seas, as from Shetland, several hundred miles, where, moreover, communication is both difficult and infrequent. Even to get to Lerwick, in Shetland, from Unst, 50 miles N., lat. Gl° N., is more than some of the Unst people can do ; and it is not less difficult to get from some of the outlying parts of the main island and the islets lying off its coasts. The same difficulties are felt in many parts of the N.W. Highlands of Scotland—Skyc, Lewis, &c. —although to some points communication with Glasgow is rendered easier by weekly steamers, especially in summer. Were I to venture on any suggestion, I would sayvthat more time should be given to the people for preparing to go, especially as it is properly enough laid down in the Regulations that they should make no definite preparations till they are accepted. Postal communication is very slow in many places, and the people are often so tied and bound by circumstances that they cannot prepare in a few days, even were they more gifted with business habits than they commonly are. Prom want of due notice, some very good emigrants have been lost to us, and others have been put in great perplexity. They will, however, make preparations before acceptance, although warned to be cautious. For example, a letter from Dunrossness, in Shetland, informs me that about 100 are preparing in every way for leaving in September. Many arc selling off their goods or chattels, giving up their crofts of land, &c, &c, that they may go after the summer fishing. By their land and fishing regulations, it is very difficult for many to leave before August or rather September. I intended to leave for Shetland to-day ; but I have now fixed to go on Tuesday, 14th, hoping to hear from London ere then, and to remain five or six weeks, April and May being the best months for emigration purposes in Shetland. I hope to go again in August or September, when only, as I. have said, the majority of the people can leave. On my return from London in December, I entered into correspondence with different parts of the country, and organized a series of meetings in South Ayrshire. I went there on Saturday, 10th January, and remained eight days. During this time I had meetings at Barrhill, from the neighbourhood of which some people have in time past gone to Canterbury ; at Girvau, where Mr. Duncan was also present; at Dailly, where, in spite ot' a terrific night of darkness and rain, I had a remarkably good and intelligent audience. I could not expect to see people more suited than those 1 saw at Barrhill and Dailly. This latter place is not far from the Kilkerran estates, belonging to His Excellency Sir James Fergusson, Bart., Governor of New Zealand. At Girvan the audience was more numerous than select. I believe a considerable number are going this year from Ayrshire, principally to Canterbury. To this province they go the more readily, because Mr. Duncan is a native of the country. Mr. Duncan having expressed a wish to go to Aberdeenshirc, and being limited as to time, left it to me to arrauge a journey there. He mentioned three places specially where he wished to go— Turriff, Strichen, and Fraserburgb. I had been at those places before, and had had remarkably good meetings, specially at Turrift". So I arranged to go, adding luveruric, which we could take on the day we left Edinburgh on our way to Turriff, on the Monday, and proposing Ellon for the Friday of the

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same week, to bo taken on the way back from Fraserburgh. But Mr. Duncan was led by some one in Glasgow to put in Nairn on Friday, which I regretted, though I had been at Ellon, and had held a large meeting six or eight months before. I mention this, having been accused in a Canterbury paper of neglecting good places such as Ellon, Longside, &c, near Peterhead, and of visiting only a few contiguous places in the important county of Aberdeen. In reply, I will only say that it is impossible to go to every hamlet; that I had been at St. Fergus, Old Deer, Strichen, Ellon, and Cruden, all within hail of Peterhead, before that article was written in the aforesaid paper; and lastly, that I had about thirty meetings within the county at Tarland, Banchory, Alford, Kintore, Forgue, Huntly, Fyvie, New Deer, Turriff, Meldruin, Insch, &c, &c. My going to Kemnay, which was complained of, filled up an evening which could not be otherwise occupied; and small though the place be, I had a large meeting—very large for the place. But I need say no more on this point. We left Edinburgh on the 16th February, where Mr. Duncan and I had a splendid meeting on Saturday, 14th, under the presidency of a popular city councillor, Mr. Gowans. There were about 700 present, and an immense interest was created in New Zealand. Mr. Smith, recently appointed Agent for New Zealand in this city, testifies that that meeting lias borne, and is bearing, ample fruit. Owing to the general election, no meeting could be held in town or country during the previous fortnight, otherwise we should have gone to Aberdeenshire at an earlier date. During the latter portion of January and the first fortnight of February, there was a great correspondence to carry on. There was also a very much improved edition of my " Notes on New Zealand" to bring out. This involved more work than might bo thought of by those not conversant with the trouble of alterations —proof corrections, delays in printing office, &c., &c. However, the tract is much improved, and it has done and is doing good service—so I have been told by Mr. Smith here, and by others. We arrived at Inverurie on Monday, 16th, from Edinburgh, and held our meeting. Thence on Tuesday to Turriff; thence on Wednesday across country to Strichen; and thence to Fraserburgh. We had good meetings in every place. On Friday morning Mr. Duncan left for Nairn, more than 120 miles, and had, he tells me, a large meeting. Thence he got to Glasgow on Saturday. I went to Aberdour, and had a fine opportunity of addressing a meeting convened for another purpose on Monday. On returning to Edinburgh, where I arrived on Thursday, 26th, I sent packets of my " Notes" to Aberdour and to various other places ; also to Shetland, &c. Knowing West Eoss-shire very well and Skye, I planned a journey for Mr. Duncan and myself, taking those leading places we could manage within a week. I left Edinburgh on 7th March, and Mr. Duncan and I left Inverurie on Monday, 9th March. We had a meeting that evening at Loch Carron, which was numerously attended, though the snow was deep and falling heavily. Crossing Loch Carron by boat, we had a small meeting at Strome at mid-day, ere going on board the steamer for Broadford in Skye. Here we had a very good meeting, and from thirty to forty people at once said they would go. We intended to hire a trap, twenty-four miles, to Portree, but the snow storm was so severe, and the roads so much blocked up by snow, that the journey was utterly impossible. The following day we got the steamer to Plockton, where at night we had a large meeting. We got a boat up to Strome, five miles, about midnight, and came on next day to Inverness. The same afternoon we took a conveyance to Glenurquhart, fifteen miles south-west, where we had a large meeting in this beautiful but overpeopled glen. We returned about 1 a.m., and Mr. Duncan went on to Glasgow, leaving Inverness about 10 a.m. Saturday. Thinking it a pity to omit Portree in Skye, and Lochalsh on the mainland, I returned the following week to Skye, arriving on Tuesday night at Portree by steamer. Thence I went next morning to Kilmuir, twenty-four miles north, and held a meeting, returning on Thursday. I held a meeting, very well attended, at Portree, although a steamer, belated by a storm, somewhat interfered with its success. Next day (20th April) I came to Plockton, and walked to Balmacurrie; there met Mr. Watson, local factor to Mr. Matheson, M.P., who drove me several miles to the advertised place of meeting. The meeting had been in so far blundered here in a way I never imagined, and did not take place. I saw a considerable number of people, as a few did come about the hour of meeting, but I was in no condition to speak to them or to others, having an hour before, at Balmacurrie, received telegrams announcing the death of my next brother, Captain Barclay, H.M.s 102 nd Fusiliers, which had taken place on the morning of the previous day at New Brighton, in Cheshire, on his way to Naas, his regimental depot, near Dublin. I hurried to Edinburgh on the following day (Saturday, 21st), nearly 300 miles, and left for New Brighton on Saturday night. During the remaining eight days of the month, as may be imagined, I did no direct work for New Zealand, beyond writing a few necessary letters in reply to some received from Shetland and other places. On Monday, the 30th, I left for Naas, and on Good Friday, the 3rd of April, I arrived in Edinburgh, after encountering a severe storm on the Irish seas ; and I am now most anxious to leave for Shetland, in several parts of which there has been much talk about emigration, and in some places much more than talk. This is the fruits of my last year's work. I may forward one or two of my letters from Shetland, but meanwhile they are in Mr. Duncan's hands. The Americans have been very busy there. One of my correspondents tells me that, so far as he knows, they have secured only one family. In regard to Mr. P. Ross, at Plockton, it is only needful to say that he has done a considerable amount of work in Skye, and more recently in Applecross. The country, without any exaggeration, is frightfully difficult to travel in; unless a man has been there, he can have no conception of the extraordinary commingling of lochs —fresh and salt —of rocks and rugged mountains. As Mr. Ross has really been doing good service, and as the people have the more faith in him, as being a Highlander, and knowing the Gaelic language, I have given him during the last quarter the sum of £10, the AgentGeneral having said to me that he would pass a small sum to Mr. Boss in my accounts. I should not be astonished if Mr. Ross be the means of sending at least 200 to New Zealand before Ist October. I may send extracts from one or two of his letters. Edinburgh, 10th April, 1874. P. Baeclat.

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No. 22. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1439.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 10th July, 1874. Referring to your letters of 9th and 10th April (Nos. 93 and 97), I beg to offer the following observations:— In the first place, with regard to my supposed or implied inaction in the matter of " The Immigrants Land Act, 1873," copies of which were forwarded under cover of your letter of 21st October, 1873 (No. 218), it is true that I have not reported specially on the steps taken by me to give effect to your instructions ; but it does not follow that I have under-rated the importance of your letter or neglected to carry out your views. On the contrary, as I shall now endeavour to show, I have used every possible means of bringing the Act before those classes of the community whom it is intended to influence ; and the number of applications for certificates under this Act (which continue to increase daily) afford evidence of the fact that the inducements held out by the Act are very generally understood and appreciated. Immediately on receiving your instructions on the subject, I had the Act reprinted in a convenient pamphlet form (copy enclosed), and from time to time I have altogether ordered some seven thousand copies, which have been extensively circulated in various parts of the country. In addition to this, the provisions of the Act have been made widely known by means of advertisements in the leading newspapers ; and the local agents in all parts of the kingdom have been instructed to give it duo prominence in their intercourse with intending emigrants. Furthermore, I have directed Mr. Kirchner, the chief Emigration Agent on the Continent, to get the Act translated and printed in German. I attach some importance to this, as we are likely to obtain a far larger number of small farmers able and willing to pay their own passages, on the terms of the Act, from the Continent than from this country. In connection with this subject, I may inform the Government that I recently had a visit from Mr. E. 8. Parry, formerly High Sheriff for Carnarvonshire, who is interesting himself in a proposed movement of Welshmen to New Zealand. He assured me that the association which he represents would be prepared to ship from 500 to 1000 families, all of whom would pay their own passages to the colony provided they could have some guarantee of employment on public works, or some other assurance that they would not be allowed to starve in their newly acquired land, and before they could have time to make it reproductive. This body consists chiefly of slate quarrymen, and others, all more or less accustomed to agricultural pursuits. He represented that a considerable number of the heads of families would have command of a fair amount of capital, and that the whole of them belonged to a very deserving class. Their language is Welsh, and having a community of interest, there would be every probability of their holding together in their new home, and thoroughly developing any district that might bo assigned to them. I discussed the subject very fully with Mr. Parry, and he has promised to communicate with me again at an early date. I intimated to him my readiness, as soon as his scheme was sufficiently matured, to vis-it Wales myself, and meet those intending emigrants. I gathered, however, that the conditions he would insist upon, especially as to the quantity of land required and the guarantee of employment on public works, would be such as the Government could hardly accede to. I have mentioned this as a significant proof that the Land Act has been widely disseminated, and has attracted a considerable amount of favourable consideration in this country. There are other points adverted to in your letter of 9th April which appear to demand a reply from me; and, while most anxious to avoid anything controversial, I must be allowed to make a few observations thereon. 1. The local agents are chosen with all the care that can be exercised in such cases; and their remuneration is entirely dependent on the success of their operations. In a few cases complaints have reached me as to the conduct of agents, and I have had to dismiss them ; but as a body they have discharged their duties, so far as I can discover, well and faithfully* 2. Every care and trouble, short of a personal inspection by myself, is taken to insure the emigrants being of good character. In spite of every precaution, persons of an undesirable class will, of course, sometimes be passed ; but, on the whole, and especially since I have discontinued the recruiting of emigrants in London and its neighbourhood, I venture to think that the standard of character and quality attained is a very fair one. The Immigration Commissioners' reports lately received from the colony appear to confirm me in this conclusion. 3. I fully concur in your views as to the evil of introducing emigrants of an undesirable class, and to the policy of sparing no expense that may be necessary to exclude objectionable applicants. I have found the Agricultural Unions valuable agencies for securing men of the right class. But the Government must not for one moment suppose that any such unfettered discretion as that implied in your remarks has ever been given by me to the representatives of these Unions. On the contrary, I have enforced all my regulations to the very letter in all cases, whether the applicant belonged to any Union or not. The managers of the Union, even if so inclined (which lam not disposed to admit), have no opportunity of weeding out and palming off upon me "the least meritorious of their members." 4. I feel myself quite unprepared to discuss with you the genuineness of the certificates of character furnished to applicants for free passages, inasmuch as the doubts expressed in your letter appear to me to reflect on the honor and credibility of clergymen, magistrates, and other persons of high respectability, who are accustomed to sign these certificates. It is quite possible that in some cases, without any intention to deceive, written characters are given of a kind more favourable than the applicant is really entitled to. It must be obvious to you, however, that no amount of personal supervision on my part, or examination of the applicants, could prevent this happening. 5. I fully agree with the opinion expressed in your letter, that in the case of some of the single women lately sent out a sufficiently careful selection was not made. I have already written fully to 2—D. 2.

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the Government on this subject, stating that the selection in the ease adverted to was made without my approval; and that, on becoming acquainted with the circumstances, I had dismissed Mrs. Howard from the agency, and declined to accept any candidates on her recommendation. 6. On the subject of an emigration depot I have addressed you at some length in a communication by last mail. 7. I entirely concur in your opinion as to the propriety of giving the preference, cateris paribus, to persons nominated in the colony over ordinary applicants. At the same time I feel bound to say that many of those nominated by friends or parties iv the colony are found on examination to be such as would not be passed by any of my local agents. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 23. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigbation. (No. 1447.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 20th July, 1874. Eeferring to your letter of Bth May (No. 118), I have the honor to inform you that before receiving your instructions, I had entered into arrangements with the three shipping companies on the old terms up to the end of September. In arranging any fresh contracts, however, I shall take care to give effect to your wishes. I have, Ac., I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 24. The Ageni-Genebai, to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigration. (No. 1448.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 20th July, 1874. Eeferring to your letter of Bth May (No. 127), I have the honor to state that, as I have already informed the Government, I am doing my utmost to charter vessels direct to New Plymouth. The difficulties, however, are almost insuperable. In the first place, the shipowners with whom I am in communication have over and over again refused to convey emigrants there, both on account of the risk incurred, and of the greatly increased rate of insurance they would be required to pay. In the next place, there is no inducement to shipowners in the form of cargo to that port, and I have at present none to offer myself. If, therefore, I succeed in chartering a vessel for New Plymouth direct, the Government must be prepared to pay a very high rate of passage money, with this very possible contingency, that the emigrants cannot be landed at the place of destination, and will have to be transhijjped to a neighbouring port, for no shipowner would allow the vessels to lie off the coast under stress of weather for an indefinite time. It has recently been pointed out to me by the representatives of the shipping companies here, that even in New Zealand one of the local steam navigation companies has refused to ship cargo for New Plymouth, on account of the great risk of detention, and the consequent liability to vexatious legal proceedings. It is quite true that formerly there was no difficulty in inducing ships to go there, but the different state of things to which I have referred is no doubt due to the fact that within the last few years the risk and inconvenience complained of have become more apparent. Notwithstanding these difficulties, I shall do my best to give effect to your instructions in the matter. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G,, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 25. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 1449.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 20th July, 1874. Beferring to your letter of 4th May (No. 103), I have the honor to state, for the information of the Government, that although Mr. Cochrane was appointed an Emigration Agent in Belfast, on the recommendation of Mr. Thomas Russell and Mr. James Williamson, on account of his special knowledge of the Province of Auckland, he is acting as an Agent for the whole Colony, and not for any particular part of it. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington. Agent-General.

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No. 26. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1450.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 20th July, 1874. Eeferring to your letter of Bth May (No. 121), I have the honor to inform you that it was observed that a letter, signed J. Chapman, appeared in Reynolds' Newspaper about the beginning of the present year, in which the writer stated that on calling at this office to inquire about emigration, he was informed that mechanics were not eligible for assistance. This, however, was a misstatement, as free passagesVere refused to no class of mechanics except "engine fitters," and there was, and is, an understanding in the office that mechanics of that particular class are not required in the colony. I may add that no notice whatever was taken of the letter through the public press. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 27. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1451.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 20th July, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of the Immigration Commissioners' Eeport for the ship " William Davie," forwarded in your letter of May 7 (No. 117), and to express my gratification at finding itso satisfactory. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 28. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1453.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 21st July, 1874. Eeferring to your letter of May 7th (No. 125), I beg respectfully to submit that my letter of January 13th (No. 892) sufficiently explains the machinery by which the present emigration is received, selected, and shipped; and I would venture to remind you that in several other despatches I have referred at some length to matters of detail connected with the work of this department. For example, in my letter of July 10 (No. 1439), in which I described the steps taken with regard to the distribution of " The Immigrants Land Act." I may add that it is my practice to send out each month, for the information of the Government, a list of the ships despatched, with the numbers of emigrants shipped, and full particulars as to their port of destination, &c, together with sometimes an estimate of the number of ships to be despatched in the month following. I need hardly say that I shall be very happy to supplement the information thus supplied iv any wav you may direct. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 29. The Aoent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1457.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street Westminster, S.W., 21st July, 1874. Sir,— Eeferring to your letter of the Bth May (No. 130), covering two copies of your " Handbook," I have the honor to inform you that I have already made arrangements for the reproduction of the photographs intended as illustrations, on very favourable terms. With a view to economy, I first of all put myself in communication with the Heliotype Company, and, after several interviews with Mr. Davis, their principal representative, I received the following tender: — Fifteen thousand copies of thirty subjects, in sizes (prints) not exceeding 7 X 5, on paper 10 x 6£ (royal 8vo.), at 10s. per 100 prints (i.e., £5 per thousand) ; and the long prints not exceeding 12 inches in length, on proportionate paper, at £1 7s. per 100 prints. There will be a charge for making each negative and supplying proofs of 16s. for each small negative, and of £1 10s. for each long negative. (Eevised tender for sixpence per hundred less, in consideration of its being a large order.) With a view to ascertaining the relative cost of this process and that of actual photographic prints, I applied to Mr. Mundy (formerly of New Zealand) for an estimate of the cost of producing copies of the photographs sent per thousand. His tender was £12 10s., and lat once declined it on the ground of its being excessive. I have since received and accepted a tender in writing from Mr. Henry Naidley, copy of which I enclose.

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Mr. Naidley has submitted to me a large number of specimens of his work, besides several valuable descriptive books illustrated by this process. He has fully satisfied me of the excellence of the workmanship ; and in order to show you the style in which it is proposed to illustrate the " Handbook," I have directed Mr. Naidley to supply me with reduced copies of five of your photographs, which I have now the honour to forward for your inspection. Tour instructions require me to send out 5,000 copies of the Handbook to New Zealand ; and I apprehend that I shall require at least double, if not treble, that number of copies for circulation in this country. There being 30 photographs, an edition of 15,000 will require 450,000 photographic prints, or close on half a million. The execution of this order will be put in motion at once, and Mr. Naidley undertakes to have the work finished in two months. I have not yet decided about the maps, but the reduction and reproduction of these will probably be best accomplished by the same process; nor have I yet had time to complete my arrangements for the publication of the book in this country; but I hope to receive and decide upon tenders within a few days. In my letter of 13th January (892), I informed you that I proposed haviug the Handbook at once translated iuto German and Norse, for circulation abroad. With this view I have obtained a tender (copy of which I forward herewith). The amount, however, is so large, that I cannot take the responsibility of this expenditure without specific instructions from the Government. From inquiries which I have made, I do not think there is any prospect of my getting the work well and faithfully performed for a less sum ; and I would therefore suggest for your consideration, whether it would not be u^iter to confine the translation to a digest of the Handbook, or at any rate to omit the bulky statistical tables —the official directory —with other matter of a similar nature. I shall await your instructions on this point before taking any steps; and in order to save time, it might perhaps be desirable to telegraph your decision. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. Julius Yogel, C.M.G., "Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 29. Mr. Naidley to the Agent- G-enebal. Sic,— London, 13, Little Tower Street, 18th July, 1874. I herewith beg to hand you estimate for illustrating the New Zealand Handbook. The process by which I intend reproducing the photographs, has the following advantages over all others, and which have been universally recognized: — 1. The pictures produced by it arc imperishable, i.e., they will last as long as any ordinary good print. 2. They are in appearance and brilliancy superior to all other pictures produced by mechanical contrivances. 3. I can produce by it the requisite number of copies, i.e., half a million in about two months' time, or as quick as the publishers of the book may require them, and thus no delay would be caused. Sincerely hoping that you will intrust me with the execution of this commission, and waiting for your further instructions. I have, &c, The Hon. Dr. Featherston. HENBy Naidley. Estimate. For printing 500,000, or thereabouts, New Zealand photographic views, &c, &c, size about 6J by 4J, mounting same upon demy Bvo. plate paper, say, £3 17s. per thousand. Henry Naidley.

Enclosure 2 in No. 29. Mr. Naidley to the Agent-G-enebal. Sin,— London, 13, Little Tower Street, 16th July, 1874. I have the pleasure to hand you herewith estimate for translating the New Zealand Handbook into German and Swedish. My calculation is made after most careful and minute consideration, as you will perceive from the following deductions:— 1. The book contains upwards of 200 pages closely printed, each page containing about 1,200 words, or in all about 3,000 folios of seventy-two words each. 2. The book abounds in technical expressions for which it is often very difficult to find an equivalent in another language. 3. The translator requires to be well acquainted, or a person must necessarily be employed to translate those parts relative to measurements, weights, &c. 4. Page after page is filled with statistics, which requires the greatest attention in compiling them. All money, weights, measurements, &c, must be rendered in the respective language, and should be most minutely calculated, which would of course occupy a considerable time, and therefore greatly enhance the price of the book; yet without this being done the translation would be almost useless, as the G-erman or Swedish agriculturist in his own country cannot be supposed to be acquainted with English coinage, measurements, weights, &c.

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5. The translator requires to be not only thoroughly acquainted with the grammar and idioms of both languages, but also should be possessed of genuine literary capacity, for, the introduction and historical parts of the book, written as they are in plain but fluent English, would be mutilated if the translator bo not possessed of the above-mentioned qualifications. A few pounds more or less would be well spent if the translation did justice to the original; but the mutilation of a book to which so much importance attaches, by an incompetent translator, would be regretted both by you, Sir, and the eminent editor and authors, and would completely nullify the desired object. With regard to time, I undertake to deliver any number of Swedish and German copies withiu four months from the date of contract. Printing. —lf agreeable to you, Sir, I should be happy to contract with you for the printing of both the Swedish and German copies, and feel confident that I can get it done at as low a figure as any publishing firm in London or abroad; at the same time I could undertake the reproduction of the map and photographs at a remarkably low price. Should I be intrusted with the translation of this important work, the same shall, like all former commissions which I had the honor of executing for the New Zealand Government, have my best, sole, and undivided attention, be in every respect perfect—entirely taken off your hands —and be promptly executed. Trusting that my application will be received favourably, and awaiting your further instructions, I have, &c., The Hon. Dr. Peatherston. Heney Naidley. Estimate. Translating a Handbook on New Zealand into German, revising the same through the press, £350 to £400. Translating into Swedish, and revising same through the press, £400 to £450. Henry Naidiey.

No. 30. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 7th August, 1874. I have to express my regret at not having been able ere this to forward copies of the charter parties of the ships hereinafter named, owing to the three contracting firms refusing to sign those documents with the 3Gth clause as drafted by the Attorney-General, or even as subsequently modified by Mr. Mackrell. At the very last moment I have procured the signature of the New Zealand Shipping Company to the charter parties of ships despatched by them as per margin, but their representative here refused his signature until the substantial part of the 36th clause had been struck out by themselves after my signature had been affixed; and I have great doubt whether the other firms will sign the contract, although they were assenting parties to the clause as revised. 1 should add that I have reason to know that these firms are acting under legal advice, and that Mr. Mackrell had more than one interview with their solicitor, who had assented to the clause after it had been revised. A list of ships which have sailed, and for which charter parties have not been signed, is subjoined. I have, &c, - I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 31. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Immigbation. (No. 1508.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S."W., Sib,— 7th August, 1874. In continuation of a former letter in reply to yours of the 4th June (No. 150,1874), directing the publication of an edition of the New Zealand Handbook in England, I have the honor to inform you that I have directed tenders to be taken for its printing from Messrs. Spottiswoode, Messrs. Eobson, and Messrs. Wyman, three of the most efficient printing establishments in London. I hare reason to think that an edition of 15,000 may be printed at an expense of about a shilling a copy. 2. I have*not yet fully decided as to the best means of publishing and circulating the work, but I am in communication with Messrs. "W. H. Smith and Son on the subject. It has occurred to me that their opportunities of circulating it, as proprietors of the railway bookstalls throughout England and Ireland, far exceed those of any other medium of publication, and Messrs. Smith have expressed their willingness to undertake the work. I have, Ac, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. Julius Voge], C.M.G-., "Wellington. Agent-General.

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No. 32. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Mih-istee for Imsiigbation. (No. 1520.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 7th August, 1874, I have the honor to inform you that I have appointed Mr. Cashel Hoey my private Secretary, subject to the confirmation of the Government, at a salary of £400 a year—a salary which I regard as wholly inadequate. Mr. C. Hoey acted in a similar capacity to the Right Hon. Hugh C. E. Childers during the time he held the office of Agent-General for Victoria, and for six months after Mr. Childers' resignation had charge of that office. Since his acceptance of the appointment, Mr. Hoey has addressed the letter to me of which I enclose a copy. I have, Ac, I. E. Peatiieeston, The Hod. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 32. Mr. J. C. Hoey to the Agent-Genebal. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— _ sth August, 1874. I have the honor to inform you that I have tendered to the Government of Victoria, through the Hon. A. Michie, Agent-General for that colony, my resignation of the office of Emigration Commissioner and Member of the Board of Advice, which for the last three years I have held in connection with the service of that colony in this country. I have thought it right to take this step from a sense that the Government of Victoria may consider the office I have accepted on your staff as incompatible with my continued tenure of a seat on those Boards. The Hon. I. E. Featherston, I have Ac, Agent-General for New Zealand. J. Cashel Hoet.

No. 33. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Mintstee for Immigeation. (No. 1548.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 24th August, 1874. Referring to my letter of the 7th instant, a copy of which is enclosed herewith, I have the honor to inform you that Messrs. Shaw, Savill, & Co., Messrs. Galbraith & Co., and Messrs. Henderson & Co., have signed the contracts for the following ships, with the revised clauses 3G and 3Ga standing, viz., — Shaw, Savill, & Co.: "Oxford," "Cathcart," "Merope," "The Douglas," "Zealandia," "Chile," "Bebington," " Helen Denny," "Hydaspes," " Soukar," " Pleiades," " Crusader," and " Cospatrick." Galbraith & Co.: "Otago," "Christian McAusland," and "Jessie Eeadman." Henderson & Co.: " Canterbury." And that the New Zealand Shipping Company have also signed further contracts for the following ships, viz.,— "Ocean Mail," " Howrah," "Assaye," " Geraldine Paget," " Clarence," and " Carnatic;" having first struck out the greater portion of the revised clauses. Copies of these contracts are forwarded in the mail box which leaves by the Southampton steamer of the 27th instant. I have, Ac., I. E. Featheesxon, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 34. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Ijimigeation. (No. 1563.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Ist July, enclosing copies of a telegraphic correspondence with the Superintendent of Otago, relative to the application of a number of persons for land under " The Immigrants Land Act, 1873," and of the printed regulations which have been issued under your authority in the colony in order to give eifect to the provisions of that Act. 2. Tou proceed to say that in your letter of 21st October, 1873 (No. 318), you had requested me to use my utmost exertions to insure practical effect being given to its provisions, and discussed the whole measure at considerable length, in order that no doubt might exist as to the intention of the Government in the matter, but that up to the date of your letter under acknowledgment you had received no information concerning the action taken by this department, but that you find from the correspondence enclosed by you, an advertisement had appeared in some Scottish papers setting forth

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that grants of land would be given to emigrants paying their own passages, but not quoting the very stringent conditions as to settlement, &c, which the Act contains, nor the necessity of procuring a certificate from myself that the persons so emigrating are fit and suitable persons. You further add that this has been a very grave error, and that at your suggestion His Honor the Superintendent of Otago has telegraphed to set it right. 3. The only advertisement on the subject issued from this office, as by my authority, was that suggested by and appended to your despatch of the 21st October, 1873, to which you refer as conyeying to me in a way of which there could be no doubt the intention of the Government. I certainly regarded the terms of that despatch as in all respects sufficiently definite and peremptory. The " suggested notice" appended to it ran as follows : — " Feee Land Geants in New Zealand. " Notice to intending emigrants, especially to those who desire to settle upon land. " The Agent-General for New Zealand is ready to receive applications from persons who are willing to pay their own passages to New Zealand, and who, upon registering their names, and the names of the members of their families for whose passages they propose to pay, will be entitled to free grants of land in the colony. " All information upon the subject can be obtained from the Agent-General for New Zealand, 7, "Westminster Chambers, &c, or from ." You will observe that this form of advertisement avoids any reference to the stringent conditions of settlement, and altogether omits to specify the necessity of procuring a certificate from me. It also states most distinctly that persons who are willing to pay their own passages, upon registering their names, and the names of the members of their families for whose passages they propose to pay, will be entitled to "free grants of land" in the colony; and the phrase "free grants of land" even occurs twice over in the suggested notice. I note this especially in connection with the statement in your telegram to Mr. Macandrew of the 13th June, where you say " the General Government are entirely free from any responsibility for the reference to free land grants." This very grave error which you charge me with having committed in respect to the advertisement thus resolves itself into the fact that I only too literally carried out your instructions. 4. You proceed to express your disappointment at my inaction in a matter which I am aware is considered of so much importance by the Government, and add that, though some few persons have made application for land under the Act, not one of them has been able to produce my certificate. Though I admit the terms of the original notice, which you desired me to publish, were at least wanting in precision, if not even likely to mislead, still I cannot admit that whatever error may have been therein involved, was aggravated by any inaction on my part. I think myself entitled to expect that some allowance be made for the difficulties to be encountered, and the time that must be spent, in giving any new set to the stream of emigration from this country, where there are many competing and contending colonial and other agencies; and where the class from which emigrants are chiefly drawn is a class through which information somewhat slowly percolates. I received your despatch of 21st October, 1873, early in January. To expect very great results actually perceptible in the colony from such a measure within four months after the insertion of the first notice on the subject in the English papers, seems to me, I must say, to be somewhat sanguine. Tet you could not express the disappointment you feel so warmly if you had not entertained such expectations when you were writing on the Ist of July, having no later dates from me then than the 17th of April. In my letter to you of the 10th July, I detailed the course of action which I have steadily, and as rapidly as a due regard to other duties permitted, pursued in carrying out your instructions. I have advertised extensively. I have circulated the text of the Land Act by thousands. I have required all my agents to become acquainted with its provisions. I have had it translated into German, and I expect, with confidence, a gradually growing emigration from that country under the Act. The result hitherto, I must say, has surpassed my expectations. I have issued directly, or through my agents, up to the present date, upwards of 200 certificates, in general to emigrants with families. The number of applicants steadily increases. I find that for the first three months there were but few applications, but in July they numbered thirty-five, and in August they exceeded seventy. This rate of progress appears to be maintained, so far, in the present month. 5. It somewhat concerns me to find you, under these circumstances, expressing your great disappointment on the assumption that I have not already exerted myself in the matter, and asking me in consequence to read over again your letter of the 21st October, which I have done with due attention, only to find that on the special subject-matter of your despatch I erred, if at all, in doing too precisely what you directed. Nor can I say that I agree with you in thinking, in view of the facts I have stated, and which I am convinced will be corroborated in a rate of steady progress by the returns of each succeeding month, that the isolated and very peculiar case of Mr. U'Een supplies evidence —if, as you say, evidence were wanting—that the orders of the Government have failed of effect from want of due exertion upon my part. As Mr. U'Een sailed from England on the 4th of October, 1873, a fortnight before the despatch containing the orders of the Government, which I am charged with having neglected, was written, I do not see what evidence it supplies of any neglect on my part in his regard. 6. I may add, in fine, that no certificate under the Act has been issued from this office without my having personally seen the applicant, or, in a few cases during my absence, Mr. Ottywell, and without the conditions of the Act having been carefully explained to the emigrants, and a copy of it supplied with the certificate, and also without my being satisfied that the applicant was a fit and proper person, for the purposes of the Act. I have, &c, I. E. Peatheeston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., "Wellington. Agent-General,

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No. 35. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1578.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 4th September, 1874. I was unable, owing to the absence of Mr. Hill from London, to give by last mail a detailed reply to your letter of 4th June, No. 317, in which you express your regret at the agreement I have made with that gentleman for the establishment of an Emigration Depot at Blackwall, and say you will be glad to receive any proposal which Mr. Hill may be ready to make for transferring to the Government his interest in that depot. 2. I have considered with all due care and attention -the reasons which you have assigned for the conclusion at which you have arrived ; and while ready, should you adhere to that conclusion, to take all necessary measures to give it effect, I must add that the judgment which I formed "as to the advantages of that agreement," from a review of all the circumstances on the spot, rests unchanged. 3. I should certainly have gravely erred if, as you seem to suppose, I had, in arranging for the establishment of such a depot, omitted to provide for due control over its management, and for the power to make my own regulations as to its discipline. But the agreement expressly provides that the depot is to be conducted under the same regulations as are now in force at the emigrant depot at Plymouth. As to the practical efficiency of those regulations, I have had abundant and eminently satisfactory evidence, especially from the Agency of the Colony of Victoria, which for upwards of twenty-five years constantly employed, through the Emigration Commission, and since directly, that depot; and I have also had a certain amount of experience myself as to the working of the regulations in force there in connection with New Zealand emigration. I may, besides, draw your attention to the clause in the agreement, which provides that Mr. Hill is to carry out any further rules which the Agent-General may lay down for his people. 4. I did not desire to assign in the arrangement I made any undue place to the consideration of economy, but as to the comparative economy of establishing and maintaining the depot as a Government institution, or of availing myself of its advantages at a fixed charge and for a limited period, I do not entertain a doubt. I feel very certain that in adopting the latter course I have not been merely loading the department with Mr. Hill's profit in addition to the necessary ordinary expenditure. True economy here, it appeared to me, was concerned with somewhat larger considerations, and especially with the question whether subsidised emigration is certain to continue at its present expenditure for the period of seven years, which I may state as the minimum period on which I must have based my calculations for the establishment of the Blackwall depot in direct connection with this office. Mr. Hill, having had the experience of many years as a depot contractor in connection with emigration not confined to one colony, may see a fair prospect of profit on other contracts of the same kind, should not a single emigrant for New Zealand beyond the 30,000 conditioned in my agreement pass through his depot. But I could not legitimately enter upon such a speculation. I have named a period of seven years, because I may say it is quite impossible to obtain a suitable building in a proper site for a less term. The outlay which I should have incurred in adapting the building at Blnckwal], formerly a hotel, for the purposes of a depot, would have amounted to upwards of £2,000. Mr. Hill is in a condition to prove that he has already expended this amount. The annual charges, independent of the staff, would be £1,180. The charge for salaries and board of staff may be taken at £810. Mr. Hill is, moreover, bound at the expiry of his lease of seven years to reinstate the building in its original condition ; and it is estimated that this may involve a further outlay of not less than £400. Dividing the above sum of £2,000 and this further sum of £400 over the entire period of seven years, and adding to it the charges for establishment and staff which I have specified, I find that the annual cost of the depot would exceed £2,300. Let me suppose the depot to be maintained exclusively for New Zealand emigrants, and that during the whole period of seven years they should be passed through at the rate of 10,000 a year, a rate which presupposes the expenditure of a million during that period on State-aided emigration. The cost of the depot establishment and staff would be at that rate 4s. Gd. per head independent of rations. I have carefully inquired as to the probable cost of rations. I am informed that when the Emigration Commissioners last took tenders for similar depot accommotion to that which Mr. Hill has agreed to furnish me, the lowest tender was at the rate of 2s. Gd. a day, and the price of provisions in London has since very considerably increased. Ido not believe I could obtain a really reliable tender for rations alone at less than Is. Gd. a day. Taking the normal period of two days for each emigrant's stay in dep6t, the cost of the establishment and rations would thus be 7s. Gd. per head, or 3s. 9d. per head per day, as against the 2s. 3d. per head per day which I am bound to pay under my agreement with Mr. Hill for the use of the depot and for rations. 5. With the economy involved in the calculation I have just stated, is connected the consideration of the question of a permanent staff. I certainly believe, and my assertion is grounded on the experience of Mr. Hill's other depot, that I can get the work done as efficiently and more cheaply by contract than by attaching to this office a permanent depot staff entitled to settled salaries, irrespective of the extent to which emigration may be proceeding for the time being. I certainly find it desirable, as you observe, to have my own officers at the depot, but I do not propose on that account to make any addition to my present staff, which I find sufficient for all purposes of superintendence. 6. Especially I do not at present contemplate the appointment of a permanent medical officer at Blackwall. On the point of medical supervision in connection with the Blackwall Depot, and also of the suitability of the depot for its special purpose from that point of view, allow me to submit to you independent evidence of the very highest authority. I refer to tie report of the Medical Officer of Health for the port of London, to the Port Sanitary Committee of the City Corporation, of which I append a copy. You will see by the marked paragraphs at page 10, which I quote below,* what very * During the past eighteen months the New Zealand Agency hare been sending to that colony a large number of emigrants from this port, no less than 3,978 statute adults having started during the past month, and 21,400 since the beginning of the current year. Having regard to events that occurred last autumn, when cholera appeared among a party

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Btringent and, on the whole, effectual precautions are taken for medical inspection in connection with the Blackwall Depot. It is my intention to supplement these precautions by very strictly exacting in all cases the personal attendance of the surgeon of each ship at the depot some time in advance of the arrival of the emigrants of whom he is appointed to take charge. I fear the appointment of a permanent medical officer would tend to diminish the responsibility which ought to attach to the surgeon of the ship in regard to the state of health of thoso whom he allows to proceed to the colony under his immediate care, and also, perhaps, in some degree, that of the medical officers of the Imperial Government. 7. I return to the consideration of economy in connection with your observations on the undesirability of allowing the depot to be open to others than New Zealand emigrants, and on the plan which you contemplate of a depot where our own officers should be able to observe the conduct of the people, to watch their health, and ship them from time to time as may be found most desirable. These are processes which would appear to involve the detention of the emigrant at the depot for as many weeks as he is now delayed days. If you consider the classes from which our emigrants are chiefly drafted —agricultural labourers, navvies, shepherds, single women between fifteen and thirty-five years of age —and then contemplate the probable results of assembling and accommodating in the neighbourhood of London, without any serious restriction of personal liberty, hundreds of these people fresh from country life, and many of them never before brought in contact with the temptations of a great city, I think you will agree with me that neither their health nor their conduct would be likely to improve in tho process. But apart from this consideration, I do not believe the plan is altogether practicable. The emigrant naturally wishes to remain with his friends until near the period of his actual departure, and objects to submit himself an hour sooner than he must to the amount of restraint involved in the discipline of the depot. It is possible to get him to come there two or three days before the time the ship is advertised to sail, but I doubt its being possible to get him to stay there for two or three weeks. To the immense increase of the expense of the immigration service which would accrue, I need only allude. What strength of staff, what extent of depot establishments would have been needed, if I had attempted to carry out such a system of supervision of the physical constitutions, character, and conduct of the 40,000 emigrants I have shipped to New Zealand since January, 1872 ! The problem that it seemed to me I had to solve in connection with the organization of the Blackwall Depot was, how to insure the priority of right to its occupation (virtually giving me its complete control) while emigration to the colony is proceeding on its present extensive scale, and yet not to involve the Government in an undertaking based on the assumption that emigration should continue at tho same rate for at least seven years. 8. I have already discussed the question of first outlay, and in reference to paragraph 8 of your letter, have only further to observe that the difference between the status of an Emigrant Depot in England and an Immigrant Depot in New Zealand is much more than a difference of degree. In truth, it would be as idle to compare the circumstances and conditions under which the two establishments exist, as it would be to compare the power which the Government possesses there with those which I exercise here. 9. You allege that the agreement is loosely drawn. I am advised that, considering the power reserved to me, it is perfectly adequate for its purpose. It is founded upon a similar agreement of the Colony of Victoria regarding the Plymouth Depot, which worked in a very satisfactory manner for many years, and which had for its basis the arrangements originally made by Her Majesty's Emigration Commissioners. You say there is no doubt of the liability which I incur, but grave doubt as to what lam to get in return. The liability which I incur is, that in case Ido not pass a minimum number of 30,000 emigrants through the depot between the 25th of March, 1874, and the 25th day of March, 1877,1 shall have to pay the sum of la for each emigrant short of that number. I estimate that I shall have passed through the depot by the end of my first year's occupation of it, 18,000 emigrants. If emigration should be suddenly stopped at that point by order of the Government, no doubt I shall have incurred a liability of £000. But what liability should I have incurred in the same event, had I in March last incurred all the outlay aud annual charge involved in founding the depot as a permanent Government establishment —£2,000 sunk in altering and refitting the building, a lease of six years on my hands at £400 a year, taxes and insurance, wear and tear, the restoration of the building to its original state if I could not dispose of it to some other colony, material to be disposed of at a sacrifice, staff to be disbanded and compensated ? It is only on the assumption that emigration is to be suddenly checked that I can be said to have incurred any liability worth consideration, and if it is to be suddenly checked then the reasons for founding a permanent depot lose all their force. At present my expectation is that I shall have passed the full number covenanted through the depot within the two years instead of three, and that at the end of the former date I shall be absolutely free from even one shilling's liability. During that time the agreement gives me a prior right to, and as a matter of fact the absolute occupation of, the depot, and up to the present date, at which upwards of eight thousand have been passed through, not the slightest difficulty has arisen. The case which you suppose of a particular emigrant arriving at the depot over night and leaving next morning, and of of Danes and Swedes brought into the port for the purpose of transhipment, it is not probable, as I am informed, that during the ensuing autumn continental emigrants will be brought up the Thames. But although British emigrants, after having been collected from various parts of the kingdom, are now quartered at a very convenient depot at Blackwall, are medically examined on arrival there, and are also inspected by the Emigration Medical Officer at G-ravesend, a large number of persons (chiefly children) have lately been landed at Gravesend from these outward-bound emigrant vessels suffering from contagious or infectious diseases. Your Committee is aware that a communication re.ative to this subject has been made by the Grravesend Urban Authority to this Port Authority, and I have also been appealed to by the New Zealand Agency to permit such cases to be sent on board tho "Khin." In canvassing the merits of this question, and reminding tho Committee that their hospital ship may be often thus occupied, I have to record that no legal obligation exists compelling this Port Sanitary Authority to provide hospital accommodation. I have, however, received an intimation from the New Zealand Emigration Agency that they will pay a certain sum per patient to defray the cost of maintenance of such casea. 3-D. 2.

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my being obliged to make the preposterously high payment of 4s. 6d. for his breakfast and tea, in consequence, is a case that conceivably may occur; but as a matter of fact it very rarely does occur. As a rule, emigrants are two to two and a half days in the depot. On the clay of their arrival they are entitled to hot dinner and tea, and on the day of embarkation to breakfast, dinner, and, if the embarkation happens to be late, tea. I hold the contractor bound to make provision accordingly, and he does so. If one emigrant in a hundred misses a particular meal that is prepared for him, Ido not feel warranted in complaining of the contractor's charge. I have already dealt with the difficulty of keeping emigrants in depot in advance of the sailing of the ships. I repeat that I believe there is a great risk involved both of moral contamination and contagious disease. The arrangements as to luggage had been amended before I received your letter, by taking a store convenient to the depot; but, as a matter of fact, no practical difficulty or hardship has been found in solving the question, what is heavy luggage ? The emigrant is, as a rule, found very anxious to be relieved of his heavy luggage on arrival, and reserves very readily what is sufficient for his comfort while in depot. You also observe that the agreement provides only for emigrants who are to embark in London, whereas, although the depot is near London, it may be desirable to embark the emigrants at Gravesend or elsewhere. In speaking of London as a place of embarkation, the agreement of course refers to the Port of London, a designation under which is included the whole line of the docks and nearly 100 miles of the river, including both Gravesend and Blackwall. The peculiar convenience of Blackwall for the site of a depot is, I need hardly say, that it lies midway between the City of London and Gravesend, and that the East India Docks and the South-west India Docks,.which are those used by Shaw, Savill, and Co. and the New Zealand Shipping Company, are there situated, while there is perhaps no point on the river more conveniently provided for despatching persons whom it may be desirable to embark at Gravesend. The emigrants are in fact constantly put on board at Gravesend by small steamers running down the river from Blackwall. lam advised that on this point, as on the others referred to, the agreement is not wanting in any element of legal definiteness and obligation. I have already endeavoured to estimate the heaviness of the engagement which jon assume that in involves. 10. I have only to say, in conclusion, that Mr Hill is perfectly willing, on being recouped his proved outlay, and receiving a fair sum —which I would propose should be settled by arbitration—for his interest in the depot, to make over his lease to the Government, should you still think it desirable to acquire the absolute property of the establishment. I have, &c, I. E. Feamerston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N. Z. Agent-General. Table A. Rent ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... £400 Taxes ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 120 Gas and Water Rate ... ... ... ... ... ... 60 Insurance ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 Fuel ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 100 Bedding Utensils, &c. ... ... ... ... ... ... 300 Annual Eepairs ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 80 £1,180 Table B. Superintendent and Matron ... ... ... £200 with board £G0 Three Cooks... ... ... ... ... 100 „ 60 Two Messmen ... ... ... ... 100 „ 40 Porter and Messenger ... ... ... 30 „ 20 Five Women Servants ... ... ... 100 ", 100 £810

No. 36. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1586.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 22 nd September, 1874. Eeferring to Mr. Vogel's letter of the 4th July, No. 90, enclosing copy of an agreement entered into by the. Secretary for Crown Lands with Mr. G. V. Stewart, I have the honor to inform you that I have been in communication with that gentleman since his recent return to Ireland from the colony, and that I propose at an early date, in connection with the general subject of Irish emioration, which much occupies my attention, to visit that country and place myself in more direct relations with him. I shall carefully bear in mind, in the arrangements yet to bo made, the instructions conveyed in Mr. Vogel's letter under acknowledgment, as well as the previous expression of the Government's desire, in which I completely concur, that anything of the character of a religious or party movement in connection with the proposed settlement should be avoided. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 37. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1588.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic, — 23rd September, 1874. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 189, dated 2nd July, 1574, forwarding copy of a letter from Messrs. J. Duthie and Co., of Wanganui, also, copy of a letter from Mr. John Bryce, the Member for the district in the General Assembly, upon the subject of sending emigrants in a vessel which it is proposed to lay on in London for Wanganui direct. And I observe that you have informed Mr. Bryce that instructions would be issued to me to the effect that, if I should approve of the vessel when chartered, I am to send by her as many emigrants as I am able to procure and consider desirable. I have not yet received any communication from Messrs. Brook, Dove, and Co., who are stated to be acting as agents for Messrs. Duthie, and I am therefore unable at present to give you any information on the subject. I have, &c, I. E. Featiieeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General

No. 38. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1592.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 111, dated May, 1574, forwarding the undermentioned documents relating to the ship " Eakaia," which vessel arrived at Lyttelton on 25th April. 1. Letter of his Honor the Superintendent of Canterbury, covering report of Immigration Commissioners. 2. Epitome of surgeon-superintendent's journal, with minute of his Honor the Superintendent thereupon. 3. Certified list of births and deaths during the passage. The letter of the surgeon-superintendent addressed to the Immigration Commissioners, to which the Superintendent specially refers, shall receive careful attention. I have, &c., I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 39. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigbation. (No. 1595.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letters No. 170, dated 17th Juno, and No. 194, dated 4th July, 1874, the former forwarding a copy of the Immigration Commissioners' report upon the ship " Janet Court," which arrived at Port Chalmers from the Clyde on the 29th May last. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners were pleased with the condition of the vessel and with the general arrangements on board. With reference to the application of the surgeon of the vessel for head money, and the correspondence on the subject —copy of which accompanied your letter—l beg to state that the arrangement made with Dr. Purvis was in pursuance of the contract entered into between Mr. Auld and Messrs. Patrick Henderson and Co. Under this contract no gratuity or head money is, as I understand, promised to the surgeon. It remains, therefore, for the Government to determine whether any, and, if so, what sura shall be paid to Dr. Purvis in addition to the amount which he has received from the contractors. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 40. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 159 G.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, 'Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. IG7, dated 15th June, 1874, on the general subject of emigration. 2. With reference to the action of the various Agricultural Unions, I am glad to report that I continue to receive applications from considerable numbers of labourers belonging to these Unions. A party of about 200 have arranged to proceed in the " Crusader," for Canterbury, on the 24th instant, under the leadership of a man named Allington, who receives an enclosed cabin for himself and family. Smaller parties have sailed in the "Pleiades" and " Geraldine Paget," also for Canterbury. The " Berar," for Wellington, will take about 100 ; and a larger number will proceed in a vessel in October (destination not yet determined), in charge of a leader to be named by the Leamington Union. 3. I take due note of your remarks respecting the action of the shipping firms who were recently in combination with the object of raising the rate of passage money, and in reference to the oilers

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which were made to me to charter the " Great Britain" and other large steamers, on condition of their being permitted to call at Melbourne. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 41. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1600.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 171, dated 17th June, 1874, forwarding a copy of the Immigration Commissioners' report upon the ship " Buckinghamshire," together with a certified list of births and deaths which occurred during the voyage. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners were entirely satisfied with the fittings and condition of the vessel, and that no complaints were made. I have, Ac, I. E. Featiierston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 42. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1601.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 191, dated 2nd July, enclosing copy of a letter from the Superintendent of Taranaki on the subject of Mr. W. M. Burton's appointment as Provincial Emigration Agent in England for that province. I note that Mr. Burton's position will be similar to that of Sir. Duncan and Mr. Adams. I beg to assure the Government that I shall be glad to facilitate as far as possible the objects of Mr. Burton's mission to this country. I have, &c., I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 43. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1603.) _ 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 114, forwarding copy of a memorandum, addressed to the Under Secretary of your department by the Immigration Officer at Nelson, with regard to the treatment of German emigrants when arriving in England en route to New Zealand; and I note it is the desire of the Government that these emigrants should be properly looked after upon their arrival and during their sojourn in England. Your instructions in this matter shall be carefully complied with. As emigrant vessels now sail direct from Hamburg to various ports of New Zealand, I hope to be able to forward all emigrants from Germany and the North of Europe by that route. If in any instances it should be necessary to bring the emigrants to London, I will endeavour to make arrangements for their reception at the railway station or steam wharf at which they arrive, and for their conveyance to the Emigration depot. I have, &c, I. E, Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 44. The Aqent-Genebai, to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1605.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 211, dated 28th July, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship "Dunedin," which arrived at Lyttelton upon the 3rd July:— 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths. I am glad to observe that the reports upon this vessel and upon her emigrants are of a very favourable character. I have, &c, I. E. Featderston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 45. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1606.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 115, dated Gth May, 1874,

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forwarding copies of the following documents relating to the ship " Dorette," which arrived in Auckland upon the 14th April:— 1. Report of Immigration Commissioners. 2. Report of Immigration Officer. 3. Letter of the Superintendent of Auckland, enclosing report by the Health Officer upon the state of health of the immigrants. I am glad to remark that these reports are generally of a very favourable character. I have, &c., I. E. Feathehston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 46. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1607.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 23rd September, 1874. Referring to Mr. Vogel's letter of the 12th July (No. 351), in which he expresses his hope that I have long since dispensed with the services of Mrs. Howard, and refers to the views of the Government in regard to the appointment of that person, and the action taken by her, I have the honor to observe that Mrs. Howard came to me from the colony strongly recommended for employment by at least one member of the Government, from whom she bore letters, and that she also brought me a memorial to the same effect signed by upwards of 600 inhabitants of Otago, including members of the Assembly and Provincial Council. I have since been informed by the Hon. Dr. Buchanan, that on her leaving the colony he had in public presented a purse to her, on behalf of the ladies of Dunedin, as a testimonial to her character and service. I was therefore, I submit, not without reason to believe that this lady was a person entitled to be treated with a large share of confidence. As you are already aware, however, I have long since, for the reason assigned in my letter of Ist June, 1874 (No. 1275), discontfnued her services. At the same time I feel bound to refer, in justice to Mrs. Howard, to the excellent condition in which, according to the report of the Immigration Commissioners at Port Chalmers, the emigrants by the " Caroline," who had been selected by her, arrived. I find no note of blame attached by the Commissioners to anything connected with the ship. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, "Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 47. The Agent- General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1615.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S."W., Sir,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 223, dated 30th July, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Hindostan," which arrived at Port Chalmers on the 13th July : — 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths. I am glad to notice that the fittings and condition of the vessel, the provisions and water, and the conduct of the officers, were favourably reported upon. I observe that the only complaint made was preferred by a man "who evidently proved troublesome on the voyage," &c, and that the complaint itself was found to be frivolous and without proper foundation. I have, &c., I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 48. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1G16.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 207, dated 28th July, forwarding the understated documents relative to the ship " James Wishart," which arrived at Auckland on the 6th July:— 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Immigration Officer's report. 3. Certified lists of births and deaths during the voyage. I am pleased to learn that the ship arrived in good condition, and that the emigrants are described as an eligible set of people. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, "Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 49. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigeation. (No. 1617.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 209, dated 28th July, 1874, forwarding the understated documents relative to the ship " Queen of Nations," which arrived at Auckland upon the Gth July. 1. "Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Immigration Officer's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths during the voyage. I observe that the fittings and condenser of the vessel, the quality of the stores and water, the conduct of the officers, and the character of the immigrants, are favourably reported upon. I have, &c, I. E. Featiierston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 50. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1622.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 222, dated 30th July, 1874, forwarding copy of the report of the Immigration Commissioners, at Lyttelton, upon the ship " Hereford," which arrived upon the 14th July. I am glad to notice that the Commissioners were satisfied with the arrangements and condition of the vessel, and described the character of the emigrants as " very good." I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 51. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1624.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 23rd September, 1874. I have the honor to enclose, for your information, a number of memoranda submitted to me by my despatching officer, Mr. Smith, in reply to certain complaints affecting his department, contained in the letters and reports to which he refers seriatim and in detail. I believe it will be found, on fair examination and consideration of all the circumstances, that Mr. Smith's replies are adequate, well founded, and sustained. 2. I think it right to say that, after a careful analysis of the reports upon the large number of emigrant ships which have been fitted out under Mr. Smith's superintendence, considering the vast number of people who have been sent to the colony, and the many difficulties inseparable from such a service, I am surprised as well as gratified to know that so few difficulties that could be avoided by foresight and care on this side have arisen. Difficulties which no care or precaution can prevent will necessarily arise on a long voyage among what is necessarily a somewhat heterogeneous assemblage of persons under circumstances peculiar and novel. But I note that the rule is that our vessels arrive in good order, with all the necessary conditions of their service duly fulfilled, and that irregularities are exceptional, and form a very small average on the mass of cases. I do not hesitate to say that I owe much of the success of the emigration service to the capacity, experience, and zeal of Mr. Smith. I appointed him after having made most careful inquiry as to his fitness of the Emigration Commissioners, in whose service he had been for many years ; and from other highly trustworthy sources I received satisfactory testimony to his character. My personal observation has fully satisfied me that the character I received of him was well deserved. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. I. E. Featherston.

Enclosure in No. 51. Mr. E. A. Smith to the Agent-Geneeal. 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib, — 18th September, 1874. I have the honor to inform you that, in pursuance of your instructions, I have carefully perused the reports on the arrival of the various ships named in the margin,* and beg to enclose herewith such remarks as I have been able to make in answer to the various complaints contained in those reports. I have, &c, Edwd. A. Smith, R.N., I. E. Eeatherston, Esq., Agent-General for New Zealand. Despatching Officer. * Queen of the North, Schiehallion, Douglas, Duke of Edinburgh, Salisbury, Woodlark, Golden Sea, La Hogue, Star of India, Celestial Queen, Isfcs of the South, Atrato.

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Sub-Enclosures to Enclosure in No. 51. Despatching 'Officer's Eemarks on Immigration Commissioners' Eeports. " Queen of the North." Letter No. 51, of 13th March, 1874. Tins vessel appears to have arrived in a most satisfactory condition, but the Commissioners suggest that the Agent-General be directed to make provision for the erection of a water-closet for the married women below deck, in any future vessel coming to Hawke's Bay. I'am of opinion that, however desirable such a provision may be, both in"a"moral point of view as well as for the comfort of married women in bad weather, on sanitary grounds it is very objectionable. During the time I served as Emigration Officer, we first had water-closets below for use only at night; these were abandoned owing to their being a nuisance to the rest of the passengers and a source of disease. The decks were then scuttled to give a passage way from below to the closets on deck; this plan was also abandoned, except where the closets could be placed in the awning cabins of the poop, as these closets also created a great effluvium, but were considered dangerous in case of ships shipping a heavy sea. Of course lam prepared to follow any instructions you may give on this subject, but I would not recommend its adoption. Edwd. A. Smith, E.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. "ScniEIIALLION." Letter M. 175, dated 23rd June, 1874. Single JVojnen's Department was objectionably situated— there being no means of preventing communication between the single men, married men, and single girls; the departments being all situated on the same deck. The compartments in nearly all emigrant ships are on the same deck. This ship had no poop, but a sunk cabin, the upper deck of which was raised about two feet above the main deck, and there is no reason why the single women could not have been required to keep there while on deck, and the other emigrants allowed to use the main deck only for exercise. The Department of the Single Girls was also very badly lighted and ventilated. —This compartment was small, only 16 feet fore-and-aft by 2G feet (5 inches broad; the hatchway, which' was fitted with a booby hatch, was 5 feet square, and there was a mushroom ventilator and three deck lights in the compartment. Edwd. A. Smith,?E.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. Ship " Douglas." Letters Nos. 224 of 22nd October, 1873, and 230 of 23rd October, 1873. Deficiency of Children's Stores, Medical Comforts, Sfc. —These were all supplied in the proportion provided for in the charter-party, with the exception of eggs, and a quantity of these was put on board for as long as they were likely to last good. "When this ship was fitted out there was no such manufacture as "condensed egg," and it is only after great exertion on my part that this article has been manufactured by a firm in London at my urgent solicitation. Ship not ready, Dead Lights and Ventilators not provided until the ship reached Gravesend. The fittings were complete before the emigrants embarked, and all the ventilation also. A few deck lights may have been put in at Gravesend, after the people were embarked, to improve the lighting of the between decks. The Despatching Officer turned the Surgeon-Superintendent out of the Cabin allotted to him, Sfc. This is not correct. I had arranged, as I always do on first inspection of the ship, for the cabin of the surgeon; in it there was ample light, and it was in all respects a proper accommodation for him. The cabin which he wanted had been allotted to the McDonnells, who, being second-class passengers, could not have been placed in the cabin occupied by the surgeon, as they would then have been mixed up with the first-class passengers. Dr. Tuck's dissatisfaction arose from his having to pay for the passage of his child, which ho tried to conceal, and from my refusing to allow him to have one of the single women to go into his cabin and take charge of it. Edwd. A. Smith, 8.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. "Duke of Edinburgh." Letter No. 22, 6th February, 1874. Store and Issuing Boom and Surgery very inconveniently placed, Sfc. —The Commissioners of Immigration complain of the position of the issuing room ; this was abreast the main hatchway on the port side. I invariably placo it on one side of the main hatchway, unless there is some special reason for the contrary, as I consider it the very best place in the ship for the purpose, and in this selection I am borne out by the very memorandum by Captain Edwin, 8.N., and Captain Johnson, Nautical Assessor at Wellington, which is attached to the report, and which is sent home for mv guidance ; and, contrary to that memorandum, the Commissioners recommend " that the issuing room should always be on deck as was the case in ' The Douglas,' " in which ship the surgeon complained " that the arrangement had several drawbacks, particularly in respect to the captains of messes passing down and waiting about in the alleyways close to where the single women exercised on the poop." There was no other place in the ship in which the surgery could be placed, there being no room in the poop; and I consider that the most fit and proper place after that is in the married people's compartment, abreast the main

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hatchway and close to the hospital, whereby the surgeon can have immediate access to the medicine after lie has seen his patient. Combings of Hatchways flimsy, Sfc. —These were of the same substance as customary, and of' sufficient height; had they been higher, women and children would have difficulty in clambering over them. And with regard to the surgeon's remarks, "if the decks were swept the hatches would have floated away like match boxes, aud it is doubtful whether any human being would have been left to tell the tale, as the ship must have filled her between decks," I can only state that the surgeon might have seen the upper deck hatches stowed conveniently on the between decks against the contingency of the upper deck being swept by heavy seas, ready for battening down the upper-deck hatches; and if the surgeon had attended, as he should have done daily, to the cleaning of the between decks, he could not have avoided seeing those hatches. Insufficiency of Galley. —The galley was of the dimensions for 200 passengers; there were only 173^ on board. Condenser faulty. —This was passed by Board of Trade Inspector, and reported efficient. Single Men's Hospital the only one on Deck. —If I had been guided by the charter-party which was made in the colony, there would only have been two hospitals in any ship, but against all opposition I have insisted upon having three, one of which shall bo on deck, to be used either as a male or infection hospital; and when it is possible to place them all on deck Ido so. Coals brought through Single Men's Compartment. —The surgeon should have seen that this was not done. There was a scuttle hatch before the single men's compartment through which they should have been taken on deck, but it was easier for the cooks, I suppose, to take off the fore hatch, and it was too much trouble, I presume, for the surgeon to see that they were not allowed to use the fore hatch for the purpose. Edwd. A. Smith, E.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. " Salisbtjbt." Letter No. 24, dated 6th February, 1874. Store Room in Married People's Compartment. —I cannot agree with the Commissioners that this should bo on deck. I consider that the most fitting place is abreast the main hatchway, into which place the stores can be readily got up from the lower hold without exposure to wet. It is also most easy of access for the bulk of the passengers, who are generally the married people, and I am supported in my opinion (the result of more than twenty years' experience) not only by most of the emigration officers, but by the colonial authorities' own referees, Captains Edwin and Johnson (vide their memorandum dated 2nd February, 1874). Booby Hatches flimsy, and a large Beam across the Hatchway, which must have been very inconvenient. —The booby hatches are of the same description as fitted ever since I have had the honor of acting as your Despatching Officer. They are very much more substantial than were ever before fitted in emigrant ships, and are stronger than those fitted general^ in Her Majesty's troop ships. The beam (fore and after) was in this ship inconvenient owing to the narrowness of the hatchway, but it was necessary to have it fixed there for the security of the hatches, which might otherwise have been dashed in if any heavy seas had been shipped. Edwd. A. Smith, E.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. " WoODLAEK." Letter No. 129, of Ith May, 1874. Complaint that emigrants could not have been embarked on a worse day—London covered with a dense fog; yet so eager were the authorities to get the ship away, that the emigrants were hurried on board, bedding and baggage strewn on deck for hours. Surgeon's opinion that spread of scarlet fever was greatly accelerated by dampness of bedding and clothing, caused by exposure to the fog. It is quite true that the emigrants were embarked in a dense fog, but how could this be avoided ? There was no depot for the reception of the people, aud I presume no person would have advised their being sent into lodgings when the ship was ready to receive them ; by such a step much greater risk of disease would have been run; besides, when on board the ship they were under the supervision of the surgeon-superintendent, and during the time that intervened between the embarkation and the ship getting to Gravesend (she could not get out of dock until Saturday, the 13th, owing to the dense fog prevailing), there was ample opportunity for the surgeon to examine every soul on board, which it was his duty to do; and it should not have been left to Dr. Humphries, in the hurried march past of inspection, as it is termed (a charge against that officer which is most unwarranted, as no person can be more particular than he in his examination), to discover the case of suspected scarlet fever in the family which was landed at Grravesend. "While the people were on board I did all I could to insure their comfort by having dry sawdust thickly strewed over the between decks, to absorb the moisture necessarily carried below by a number of people living on board a ship during the prevalence of such a London fog as this was ; aud I had charcoal fires in the between decks, sanctioned by the dock authorities on my urgent request, such a thing being totally against the dock regulations. Another source of inconvenience is stated to be the lavish expenditure of stores and medical comforts during the passage down Channel, and then it is added Patterson is the name of the person who expended these stores. I never heard of such lavish expenditure, and had it been represented to me at Gravesend I should have caused any deficiency to be made good before the ship left. As to Patterson being the party to blame, he did not go down Channel in the ship, but only was on board to see to the people being properly supplied while the ship remained in port. The lavish expenditure is much more likely

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to have arisen from the crew and others helping themselves to the candles, &c, as I know they have done in other ships, and will do if the officer in charge of the stores does not look well after them. There was the proper quantity of lime, sand, and charcoal supplied to this ship ; in fact, the requirements of the charter-party were fully carried out. There was ample cubic space for the number of emigrants embarked, as, owing to the ship being only 6 feet 8 inches between decks, and not 6 feet 2 inches, as stated in the Immigration Commissioners' report, I cubed the space, and reduced her numbers accordingly. Edwd. A. Smith, E.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. " Golden Sea." Letter No. 148, of 3rd June, 1874. Captain complains that he could not get a copy of the charter-party from Despatching Officer, and that he was not aware until he was some weeks at sea that an extra allowance for children was provided. I do not recollect the captain of this particular ship asking for a copy of charter and not getting one, as I always make a practice of giving one to any captain who asks for it. This, however, was no excuse for his not issuing stores, as when the people applied for them, he should have referred to his charter-party immediately; and, again, it was the duty of the surgeon-superintendent to call the captain's attention to any short issue to the people, and to see that they were properly supplied, and, if the captain refused, to report the matter to the Immigration Officer on arrival. Surgeon states that he has no doubt the outbreak of scarlatina arose from a family of Dymes, who were landed from s.s. "Mongol," as Dr. Davidson reported that he had landed that family on 22nd December. The family of Dymes was landed from s.s. "Mongol" by order of Dr. Eccles, the Medical Inspector at Plymouth, and, as far as I could ascertain, Dr. Davidson did not agree with Dr. Eccles that any of the family was suffering from the effects of any infectious disease, but rather that the boy, who appeared delicate, and who had the glands of the throat on one side swollen so as to be plainly visible to any one, was scrofulous; however, Dr. Eccles, in his anxiety that every precaution should be taken to prevent any disease being carried on board the ship, had the family landed, and they were sent to lodgings in Plymouth, and visited constantly by Dr. Eccles,'who, finding his suspicions groundless, reported to me that he considered the family might safely be embarked, and I represented the case to Dr. Humphreys, the Medical Inspector in London, and to the surgeon-superintendent (as I invariably do when people have been left behind sick or suspected), before they were put on board the " Golden Sea;" and I would respectfully call your attention to the fact, that whereas the ship sailed on the 23rd January, no case of scarlatina occurred until the ship was drawing near the end of her voyage, and when she had got into high southern latitudes, where scarlatina frequently breaks out in ships, although there may be no symptoms of it at an earlier period of the voyage. It is gratifying to me that in all respects this ship appears to have given great satisfaction, the ship itself and all the arrangements being highly commended. Edwd. A. Smith, E.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. " La Hogtte." Letter No. 180, of 29th June, 1874. Clause 3. Medical Examination of Emigrants. —The surgeon-superintendent, in my opinion, pronounces a condemnation on himself when judging another. I ask, how came he to pronounce a phthisical invalid " healthy " ? It was a part of his duty to see that no person incapable of working by reason of bodily or mental ailment was allowed to proceed in the ship without at least bringing the matter under my notice. Clause 4. Suryeon's Cabin should he ivell lighted, and, lohere practicable, easily accessible to the Quarter-Deck. —I always take care to select a good cabin for the surgeon-superintendent, and see that it is as well lighted as is possible. Clause 5. Positions of Hospitals badly chosen, fyc. —Two of the hospitals were in the poop; it is true they were next the water-closets, but they were separated by perfectly air-tight double bulkheads, with felt between the boards. As to third being a dark hole in the noisiest part of the 'tween decks, this is simply untrue ; the hospital was on the starboard side, abreast the main hatchway, with a scuttle in the side ; this third hospital would also have been in the poop had there been room, but to have done this would have necessitated putting part of the single women below, and I considered it far better that they should all be in one compartment where possible. I have never shown any disposition to disregard any recommendation that may be made which is likely to improve the comfort and well-being of the emigrants, and I feel the remark in this clause 5 most unjustifiable, —" It may bo a very simple matter for the Inspecting and Despatching Officer to slur over their work in the manner in which it is only too evident that they do, but it is serious for the poor sick emigrants, who in consequence are exposed to unnecessary suffering and hardship," as I never was before, during the number of years I served under the Emigration Commissioners, accused of neglecting my duty, but the contrary; and I believe, Sir, that you are satisfied that since I have had the honor of serving under you, my time and best abilities have been devoted to carrying out this extensive emigration with the greatest amount of comfort to the people possible. Clause 6. Fittings not complete, Sfc. —There were some things incomplete when the emigrants embarked, and had there been a d,ep6t to fall back upon, they would not have been put on board; but the surgeon-superintendent's statements are greatly exaggerated, and it seems to me he has attempted to raise himself in the opinion of the colonial authorities by imputing blame to other people. His 4—D. 2.

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statement as to calling attention to the state of the poop ladders, I have no recollection of; of one thing I am certain, had I seen the necessity of doing anything in the matter, it would have been done. Edwd. A. Smith, E.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. " Stab op India." Letter No. 27, of 6th February, 1874. Dietary Scales and Contract Tickets not agreeing. —l cannot admit any responsibility on this account. 1 saw that the provisions required by charter were put on board, and that the dietary scales were in accordance therewith. Plumbing Work very badly done, Arrangement of Closet objectionable, Sfc. —The supply of water to the closets was from the waste tank of the condenser, a most effective arrangement while the condenser is working during the day, and no better plan, as far as I know, for a full and continuous supply of water can be devised. At night, when the condenser was not working, it was the duty of the surgeon to ascertain that the water-closet constable had seen that the tank was filled up by the fire engine or by buckets the last thing at night. Plumbing work was in good order when the ship left. Condensed JSgg. —There was no such article to be obtained when this ship was despatched. Detention Money. —I ascertained that all the emigrants entitled to it were paid.; the Germans were lodged and boarded free of expense at Upson's. Edwd. A. Smith, E.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. "Celestial Qxteeit." Letter No. 226, of 21st October, 1873. Closet in Single Women's Compartment useless, owing to defective Plumbers' Work. —This was properly fitted before the ship left London, but these places constantly get out of order when used by first-class passengers, and it is much more likely to happen with people who are unaccustomed to such conveniences. There were the means on board for remedying any defect, if the officers of the ship would have taken the trouble to see it done. Condensing Apparatus (Normandy's) defective. —This was passed by the Board of Trade Engineer. Surveyor reported efficient, and the engineer competent to take charge of it. Cheese uneatable from an early Period. —This was as good as could be procured, but cheese shipped at some seasons of the year will not keep, however good it may bo when shipped. Edwd. A. Smith, B.K, 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. "Isles of the South." Letter No. 45, dated 12th March, 1874. Leakage of Ship's Side — Position of Matron's Cabin — Defective Character of Plumbing Work. —The top sides, decks, and waterways of this ship were caulked in dry dock; that I cannot account for their leaking. I regret that I have mislaid the plan of the poop fittings, and cannot consequently assign any reason for the position of the matron's cabin being in a corner, hemmed in by other berths. With regard to the plumbing work, I can only say it was carefully examined while being fitted, and I saw nothing requiring alteration. Tho leakage from the single-women's closet, complained of as causing annoyance to the people in the married compartment, could have been remedied in a few hours by the carpenter of the ship, and if the surgeon-superintendent had been attentive to his duties, he would have represented this'to the captain, and have seen that the defect was made good. There were no signs of leakage or other defect either in London or Plymouth, and the ship was in the Sound some days after the emigrants embarked. Articles of Children's Diet not served out for first three Weeks of the Voyage, having been stowed away out of sight. —This was not the case, as you will see, from my report on the despatch of the ship, dated 3rd November, 1873, that, owing to tho bad stowage of the ship in London, 1 had her re-stowed at Plymouth ; and when this was being done, I particularly cautioned the person in charge of stores to get up a sufficient supply, and keep it near at hand, of all articles likely to be wanted, and to have a portion of each in the issuing room. No Hospital for Males. —My report of inspection, dated 10th October, 1873, mentions that I had ordered a deck house to be built, sufficiently large to accommodate the galleys and condenser, as well as to provide for a male hospital; and in my report on tho despatch of the ship, I state that the male hospital is in the after part of the deck house, with a skylight in the centre. Whether it was used for any other purpose after the ship went to sea, I cannot, of course, say; but the inquiry into the conduct of "the surgeon-superintendent at the termination of the voyage proves that there could have been but little order and discipline maintained on board the ship, and therefore the place appropriated for the hospital may have been used for other purposes without his interfering to prevent it. Edwd. A. Smith, E.K, 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. S.S. "Ateato." Letter No. 184, of 30th June, 1874. The Lyttelton Commissioners remark upon the over crowding of this ship, staling that in one dark corner were berthed six families, including twenty-two children, &c, &c.

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4 In reply, I have to state that the spaces taken off for berthing people on board this ship were as follow :— Statute adults. On lower deck forward, reckoning 18 feet to each statute adult, space equal to ... 128 On lower deck aft, reckoning 18 feet to each statute adult, space equal to ... 202 On upper passenger deck, reckoning 15 feet to each statute adult, space equal t0... 401 Total ... ... ... ... ... ... 731 There were never more than Gl5 statute adults on board this ship. I berthed the people myself. There were no complaints to me of over crowding when the ship returned to Plymouth. The ship was, in my opinion, exceedingly well ventilated ; and no part of the ship could, in my opinion, be called dark. Edwd. A. Smith, E.N., 18th September, 1874. Despatching Officer. No. 52. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigeatiox.' (No. 162 G.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sih, — 23rd September, 1875. Referring to Mr. Vogel's letter of the 12th June (No. 160), I have the honor to inform you that I have conveyed to the British Ladies' Female Emigrant Society the thanks of the Government as directed therein, with a subscription of one hundred guineas, and an intimation that an annual subscription of the same amount will be continued so long as emigration proceeds on its present scale. Should the Plymouth and Stonehouse Auxiliary Branch of the Society be re-organized, I shall give directions that its members and ageuts shall have free access to the depot, and I have advised the London Committee accordingly. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Statute adults.

No. 53. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Immigeation. (No. IGG4.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 2nd October, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Vogel's letter of the 7th July (No. 200), in which ho forwards copy of a resolution on the subject of free emigration passed during the last session of the Provincial Council of Otago, and in which he states that the opinion of the Council is in exact accordance with what he has over and over again endeavoured to impress upon me, i.e., the necessity of the greatest possible stringency in the selection of emigrants. 2. The opinion of the Council and of the Government is also on this point in complete concurrence with my sense of my duty to the Colony, and with the settled practice of this office. The greatest possible stringency is always exercised in the selection of emigrants ; but the word "possible" is a word which has limits, and it is not humanly possible, considering the urgent instructions which I receive from the Government, to despatch emigrants by thousands for month after month together— considering the class from which free emigrants are drafted, which is not a very elevated or educated class —considering the facility with, which certificates to character of the kind required are too often given, and sometimes even counterfeited, though, I believe, almost all such cases are detected here, it is not, I say, possible to prevent a certain proportion of unfit or unworthy subjects from being, in spite of all my precautions, sent to the Colony. 3. At the present moment, when under the impression conveyed by recent correspondence, and especially by Mr. Vogel's telegram, quoted in the margin,* that emigration would be considerably contracted, I was about to reduce my staff in that department of this office. I received your telegram of the 18th instant, instructing me to send within the next six months 3,000 emigrants to Auckland and 1.800 to Wellington ; within the next five months, 2,350 to Canterbury; within the next three months, 3,G00 to Otago and 600 to Napier, besides executing all orders previously sent. Of this total number of 8,650, in addition to previous orders, you direct not less than 2,700 to bo despatched in the course of the present month of October (in which I had already provided for the despatch of 3,500), stipulating that selection and approval be in all cases most careful. It is as careful as it can possibly be; but the difficulty in dealing with such masses of people, drafted from all parts of the United Kingdom within a few weeks, and by means of a limited staff, which it is not possible suddenly to increase and discipline to the degree of vigilance desired by the Government, I assure you is not inconsiderable. 4. I am however greatly gratified to find that the reports of the Immigration Commissioners of the Colony fully sustain my statement that the emigrants despatched by me are well adapted to the requirements of the Government. I have before me the Parliamentary Paper D 2, which contains the letters addressed to me, transmitting reports upon those emigrant ships despatched by me which had arrived in the colony between the months of September, 1873, and June, 1874. The first letter in the series is a memorandum from the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke, saying that I " will be pleased to learn * Vide D. 1, 1874, p. 41.

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that the Commissioners report so favourably on the ships ' Allahabad' and 'Peter Denny.'" The report on the "Berar," which follows, is equally favourable (page 2). On the " Columbus," it is stated that " the class of immigrants appeared very satisfactory " (page 3). In regard to the " St. Leonards," Mr. E. L. Green writes that "nothing in the shape of a complaint was heard" (page 3). The Commissioners report on the " Douglas " that the " immigrants are well adapted to the requirements of the Colony" (page 5). The Commissioners give a favourable report in general terms on the "Celestial Queen" (page 6). In regard to the "Dover Castle," they report that "the immigrants are a very superior class, and well fitted to supply our present requirements. The single women are particularly respectable " (page 7). In regard to the " Otago," that " the immigrants are a good class for the Colony, the single men and women being particularly suitable" (page 7). The report on the " Bouverie " says that the immigrants are "a well-selected healthy class of people" (page 8). The report on the " Merope "is in general terms favourable (page 9). On the " Adamant " the report stdltes that the immigrants are " highly satisfactory," (page 13). On the " Cardigan Castle," that they are " well suited to the requirements of the colony " (page 14). No objection of any kind is made to the class of immigrants by the "Lady Jocelyn," the "Jessie Eeadman," the "Zealandia" (page 15), and the " Helen Denny" (page 16). In regard to those by the " Hovding," His Honor the Superintendent of Napier writes, that " taking all together, they are a good useful class of people, and have readily found employment" (page 17). There is no complaint of the character of the immigrants by the "Chile" (page 20), "Hindostan" (page 20), " Dunfillan " (page 21). Those on the "Duke of Edinburgh" are spoken of as "a healthy set of people" (page 22) ; those by the "Salisbury" as a strong healthy lot of people " (page 24) ; those of the " Star of India " as "highly satisfactory," and, it is added, "this may be especially asserted of the single females, who, both in physique and conduct, compared favourably with any shipment hitherto received " (page 25). The immigrants by the "Ocean Mail" are described as "a cheerful and contented lot of people." The report on the " Lauderdale " is characterized by Mr. Vogel as " satisfactory" (page 29). The immigrants by the " Queen of the North " are favourably mentioned (page 30). No objection is made to the character of those who went by the " Mongol " (page 31) ; those by the " Dilharrie " are described as well suited to the requirements of the province ; " there is no objection to those by the " Invererne," except the proportion of young children (page 38). The Commissioners report that they find the " Queen of the Age " in a reasonably satisfactory condition " (page 39), and, with one exception, the people seem to have been well suited and got immediate employment (page 40). The immigrants by the "Wild Deer" are described as "a very suitable class" (page 40). The report on the " Carnatic " is described by Mr. Vogel as " of a very favourable character " (page 40). The immigrants of the" City of Glasgow " are described by the Commissioners as " quite equal to any shipment that has arrived in Canterbury " (page 41) ; and there are also favourable reports of the " Eakaia " (page 42), and " Dorette " (page 43). Of the people sent by the " William Davie," it is said that "they were all of the labouring class, and as a whole very fairly adapted to meet the wants of the colony" (page 43). The report on the " Wennington" is favourable (page 63), and so are those on the "Janet Court" and "Buckinghamshire" (page 64). Such is the character of the reports of the Immigration Commissioners or of the Minister in regard to forty ships despatched by this office at a. rate that represents an average of one per week ; and with regard to those forty, 1 find no note of blame, and frequently words of warm acknowledgment and praise. 4. On the other hand, I find eight vessels which are, as to the character of the emigrants, the only point lam now dealing with, the object of censure, more or less severe. Tet the number of bad characters seems to me, considering all the difficulties of the service which I have indicated above, and the large numbers sent out, to have borne a very small pi-oportion indeed to those who were in every way eligible. In regard to the " Punjaub," for example, the personal habits of the Danes in respect of cleanliness are complained of; but, though inferior to our own population in that respect, as indeed most foreign nations are, they may not prove a bad class of emigrants after all. As to the character of the British immigrants, the doctor only says "two or three were troublesome." On the "Isles of the South," the Commissioners report that "two or three of the girls appear to have behaved very badly," but with this exception there is no complaint of the characber of the immigrants. Some ten or twelve of the single women on the " Woodlark " are said to have been depraved and disorderly ; and I note Mr. Orbell's observation (page 49) that many of the single men have not given " the satisfaction one would have desired ;" but I also read, "with the exception of one married couple, the whole have found employment at current rates of wages." In regard to the " Apelles," though Mr. Vogel says "there is nothing especially calling for remark on the report," I observe the Commissioners are "unable to report favourably of several of the single women " (page 56). I fear that no precaution I can take will obviate this ancient yet ever new complaint.. I fear that out of a hundred single-women immigrants, no matter with what care selected here, there will always be two or three of whom Commissioners will be unable to report favourably. The report on the " Golden Sea " says, that the immigrants were "on the whole a fair sample compared with some other shipments (page 58). I should wish those shipments had been particularized. I note, and shall take heed of the observation, that too many of the immigrants appear to have been drawn from town populations. The case of the " Asia " proves to be, after all, not so serious as I had been led to apprehend from Mr. Vogel's letter of the 7th May, No. 129, written immediately after the arrival of the ship at Port Chalmers. There is not a word of complaint in the Commissioners' report concerning the character of the immigrants, who numbered no less than 467 souls. On the contrary, it is stated that " the order and discipline on board were excellent," and it is said that "the whole of the immigrants expressed themselves highly satisfied." If there had been any notorious bad characters among them, I presume the Commissioners would not have cared to cite their testimony. The letter from Mr. Colin Allen, to which Mr. Vogel refers (page 60), as showing how disastrous to the cause of emigration is the mode of selection adopted by Mrs. Howard, simply says, " I found on my visit to Caversham to-day, that six Irish girls, ex "Asia," were sent back to the depot by those who engaged them, all having the same complaint, that they were entirely useless in a house, and in fact did not know how to do any household work. I

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have no doubt, however, that after a little time we will be able to place them in country service, for which they may perhaps be more suitable." It is to be regretted that these six girls should not be fit for household service in town ; but I find nothing to sustain the grievous imputation which had evidently, from the concluding paragraph of Mr. Vogel's letter to me, been conveyed to the Government as to their moral character. With reference to the case of the alleged <: Whitechapel boys," I have already written specially by this mail. 5. I have only to hope, in conclusion, that under the extreme pressure now put upon this office to supply the colony with so largo a number of immigrants within so short a space of time, I may continue to find the reports of the Commissioners in as considerable a proportion, bearing testimony to the good order of our ships and the good character of our immigrants. I confess it is with a feeling of surprise and thankfulness that I find so very few grave faults as those I have noted above have occurred in the course of an enterprise so vast and so rapidly pushed forward as the immigration policy of the Government. • I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, Agent-General.

No. 54. The Agent-Genebai* to the Hon. the Mxntstee for Immigeation. (No. 1677.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— Ist October, 1874. Referring to your letter of the 11th February, No. 3S, in which, in connection with the services rendered on the occasion of the wreck of the " Surat" by Captain Jacquemart, of the French navy, you direct me to convey to the President of the French Eepublic the thanks of the Government of Now Zealand for the services rendered by the ship "Vire" on that distressing occasion, I have the honor to report, for the information of the Government, as follows: — 2. On becoming aware that the testimonial intended for presentation to Captain Jacquemart, referred to in your letter under reply, had arrived in England, I applied for and obtained, through the Colonial Office, the permission of the French Minister of Marine for that officer's acceptance of it. Having next consulted as to the proper course to be pursued in conveying your thanks to Marshal McMahon, which I desired to do at the same time that I forwarded the testimonial of the Otago Government, I was advised to communicate directly with the French Ambassador accredited to Her Majesty. But, as you are doubtless aware, about the date of which I speak, the month of June last, in consequence of a vote proposed in the National Assembly at Versailles, by the then Ambassador the Due de Eochefoucauld Bisaccia, which was regarded as contravening the policy of the Marshal's Government, his resignation promptly followed, and the vacancy caused thereby, though from week to week a new appointment was expected, was only actually filled about a month ago by the appointment of the Count de Jarnac. 3. Immediately on becoming aware that His Excellency had assumed charge of the Embassy, I requested that he would accord me the' honor of an interview; and I have to acknowledge the courteous promptitude with which he received me, and the cordial interest which he at once took in the subject of my mission. It was my intention simply to request him to convey to the President of the French Eepublic the letter of which I enclose you copies in French and English. He willingly undertook to transmit my letter to his Government, if Iso desired; but as I had stated to him that I was willing to proceed in whatever way he might consider most acceptable to the French Government, and most in accordance with their official usage, he said he believed it would greatly enhance the expression of the good-will of the Government in New Zealand if, as Agent-General, I were to convey the expression of your thanks to the Marshal President, or in his absence to the Due Decazes, Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the same time depositing the testimonial intended for Captain Jacquemart with the Minister for Marine. He further offered to exercise his good offices with the different departments to facilitate my mission; and I therefore decided to proceed to Paris, and hope to be able to communicate to you the result of my mission by next mail. , I have, <&c, I. E. FEATnEESTON, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 54. The Agent-General to the Peesident, Fbejtch Eepublic. 7, Westminster Chambers, Westminster, S.W., Moxsiette le Maeechax, — le 25 Septembre, 1874. J'ai l'honneur de prevenir votre Excellence que je viens de receToir une depeche de l'honorable Jules Vogel, Premier Ministre de la Nouvelle Zolande, par laquelle il me charge de faire agreer a, votre Excellence les vifs remerciments dv Gouvernement de cette colonie pour les secours importants accordes par le batiment de guerre " La Vire " (capitaine Jacquemart), de la Marine Francaise, a l'occasion dv naufrage dv navire " Le Surat," charge d'emigrants sur les cotes d'Otago, dans la matinee dv ler Janvier, 1874. 2. "Le Surat" avait quitte le port de Londres au mois d'Octobre, 1873, ayant a bord 270 emigrants; son voyage fut heureux jusqu'au moment ou il approcha dcs cotes de la Nouvelle Zelande ; mais, le 31 Decembre, il donna contre un recif pres de l'embouchure de Catlin's Eiver. Dos le matin le vaisseau commenca a couler et fut echoue sur le plage de Catlin's Bay, oil les emigrants furent

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debarques dans un etat de deniiment complet au milieu dun pays presque sans population. La nouvelle dv sinistre ayant etc expediee a la capitale de la province, Dunedin, leg autorites de la ville firent appel au capitaine Jacquemart, commandant de la " Vire," gui stationnoit dans cc moment la a Port Chalmers. Cet officier, avec la promptitude la plus lovable leur offrit son aide, et se rendit avec son vaisseau a, l'entree de Catlin's Bay. Les naufrages furent, avec l'assistance dun petit bateau a vapeur de la localite et dcs canots de la " Vire," embarquus sur cc dernier vaisseau, et transportes a Port Chalmers, d'ou ils se rendirent en surete par le chemin de fer a, Dunedin. 3. Le Gouvernement de la Nouvelle Zelande desire vivement exprimer combien il apprecie le secours aussi important qu'opportun apporte par le capitaine Jacquemart, les officiers et l'oquipage de la " Vire " dans cctte deplorable circonstance ; et je suis charge d'offrir a cet officier, avec l'assentiment .que M. le Ministre de votre Excellence, a bien voulu accorder sur ma demande, un service en argent de la part dv Gouvernement de la province d'Otago. 4. Le capitaine Jacquemart, repondant a l'adresse qu'on lvi a presentee a Dunedin a dit, dans un langage digne de la marine francaise depuis longtemps habituee a se signaler par dcs actes d'hero'isme et d'humanite, qu'il n'avait fait que rempler le devoir gui incombe a, tout officier francais en se hatant d'aller au secours de ceux gui avaient si grand besom de son aide, et que e'etait au gouvernement francais et ala nation francaise qu'etaient dus les remerciments qu'on lvi avait adresses. C'est pour me conformer a Tesprit de ces nobles paroles, Monsieur le Marechal, que j'ai l'honneur de presenter a votre Excellence, comme chef dv gouvernement de la France, et de ses armees de terre et de mer, les remerciments dv Gouvernement et dv peuple de la colonie de la Nouvelle Zelande. Daignez agreer, Monsieur le Marechal, l'expression dv profond respect avec lequel j'ai l'honneur d'etre De votre Excellence, le tres-humble serviteur, I. E. Featheeston, Agent-General pour la Nouvelle Zelande. A Son Excellence Monsieur le Marechal de McMahon, President de la Republique Francaise. [Teanslation.] 7, "Westminster Chambers, "Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 25th September, 1874. I have the honor to inform you that I have received a despatch from the Hon. Julius Vogel, Prime Minister of New Zealand, directing me to convey to your Excellency the thanks of the Government of that colony for the services rendered to its people by the French war steamer " Vire," Captain Jacquemart commanding, on the occasion of the wreck of the emigrant ship "Surat" off the coast of Otago, on the morning of the Ist of January. 2. The " Surat" sailed in October last from the port of London, with 270 emigrants on board, and had made a prosperous voyage until close to the coast of New Zealand, when, on the 31st of December, she struck a rock near the mouth of Catlin's River. Next morning the ship began to sink, and was run ashore in Catlin's Bay, where the emigrants were landed in a destitute condition in a sparsely settled country. Intelligence of the disaster having been communicated to the provincial capital, Dunedin, the local authorities appealed for aid to Captain Jacquemart, of the "Vire," then stationed at Port Chalmers, and that officer with the utmost promptitude offered his services and proceeded with his ship to the bar of Catlin's Bay, where the shipwrecked people were, with the aid of a small local steamer and the life-boats of the "Vire," taken on board that vessel and safely landed at Port Chalmers, whence they were carried by train to Dunedin. 3. The Government of New Zealand desire to record their sense of the most valuable and timely service rendered by Captain Jacquemart and the officers and men of the ship " Vire " on this distressing occasion, and I am charged to present to that officer, with the assent of the Minister of "War and of your Excellency's Government, for which I have already successfully applied, a service of plate on behalf of the Government of the Province of Otago. 4. I observe that in his reply to an address presented to him at Dunedin, Captain Jacquemart stated, in language worthy of a service long and often distinguished by deeds of heroism and of humanity, that he had only discharged a duty incumbent on all French officers when ho hastened to succour those who were in need of help, and that it was to the French Government and nation the thanks of those who addressed him were really due. It is in this spirit, Monsieur le Marechal, that I have the honor to tender to your Excellency, as head of the Government of Franco and of its forces by sea as well as land, the thanks of the Government and people of the Colony of New Zealand. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, Agent-General. To His Excellency M. le Marechal de McMahon, Due de Magenta, President of the French Eepublic.

No. 55. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Imhigeation. (No. 1680). 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— Ist October, 1874. In continuation of my letter of 7th August, No. 1508, respecting the steps I am taking to carry out your instructions for the publication of the New Zealand Handbook, I have the honor to

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inform you that, having received tenders for printing the work from the several firms I then mentioned, I decided on placing the work in the hands of Messrs. Wyman, of 74, Great Queen Street, Lincolns Inn Fields. I enclose a sheet of 1G pages as a specimen of the style in which the work is being executed, which I trust will be, both as to typography and paper, satisfactory to you. 2. In connection with the question of printing, I found it desirable to reconsider the somewhat difficult problem of illustration, and to abandon in part the design I had contemplated, of reproducing all the illustrations by the photographic process. The difficulty of binding so large a number of photographs would, I found, add considerably to the charges connected with printing and publication, but there was moreover to be contemplated, the serious danger of delay involved in the method of illustration by that process, especially in this climate. I proposed to Messrs. Naidley accordingly, to substitute for the contract which I had concluded with them, one by which I agreed to take seven subjects for each volume, done with great care, at an enhanced rate by the Woodbury process ; and I determined to have the remaining illustrations executed in the first style of wood engraving. Having consulted Mr. S. C. Hall, the editor of the Art Journal, so well known for the excellence of its illustrations, in regard to the best way of proceeding, he enabled me to make an arrangement by which the work will be executed by some of the best artists on the staff of that journal, on terms which I am advised are exceedingly moderate. The cost of illustration will therefore,- on the whole, be considerably less than I had contemplated; and I enclose you several specimens of both photographs and woodcuts, that you may be able to judge of the way in which the subjects you sent me are being reproduced by both processes. 3. The lithographing of the maps was in a very forward state, when I was so much struck by the superiority of those which came from the Public Works Department by last mail over those originally sent by you, that I determined to cancel the first orders, and have reduced copies of those of later date substituted. Mr. Eavenstein, to whom I have intrusted the execution of the large map of the colony, is good enough to advise me in this matter, and to correct the proofs. 4. I have made all my arrangements for the publication of the work within two months from the present date. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G-., Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 56. The Agent-Geneeai to the Hon. the Ministee for Imhigeation. (No. 1683.J 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— Ist October, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 2nd July (No. 190), containing a copy of some interesting communications addressed to you by Mr. J. G. Corbett, of Wellington, on the subject of emigration of the small-farmer class of people. 2. I have taken some pains to master the details of Mr. Corbett's scheme, which contemplates the foundation of a series of colonized districts, beginning with a central hamlet of forty farms of ten acres each, and then developing successive circles of concentric settlements surrounding the original hamlet, but with a belt of common land intervening between each series. Mr. Corbett further suggests that the Government should build cottages for the settlers on these settlements, and that I should be authorized to grant them free steerage passages to the colony. 3. Mr. Corbett is well aware, and does not omit to point out, that in orderto give effect to such a scheme of colonization, it will be necessary to alter the existing law and land regulations of the colony. Should the Government decide to introduce a measure to that effect, I shall be happy to do all that is in my power to make its provisions known to the agricultural classes in this country. I have, &c, I. E. Peatheeston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington. \ Agent-General.

No! 57. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister for Ihmigbation. (No. 1684.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 26th September, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Vogel's letter of Ist July (No. 107), transmitting copy of a letter from Mr. J. Warlow Davies, of Auckland, in reference to Welsh emigration. I have been, as you are aware, especially by my letter of 10th July, No. 1439, for some time desirous of stimulating emigration from the Principality, but have not had all the success I expected. It is my intention, however, in connection with my proposed visit to Ireland, to stay for some days in Wales, and I shall not fail to bear in mind the suggestion of Mr. Davies' letter. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 58. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Immigbation. (No. 1692.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sic, — 20th October, 1874. "With reference to Mr. Vogel'a letter of the 29th June, No. 181, enclosing mo a copy of the report of the Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the origin of the outbreak of infectious disease on board the ship " Scimitar," I have the honor to inform you that I have received a letter, of which I subjoin a copy from the Assistant Secretary of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade, informing me that the Board have called upon their Medical Inspector at Plymouth to report on that part of the evidence which imputes blame to him for having allowed infected persons to embark contrary to the opinion of the surgeon of the ship. 2. Since the receipt of Mr. Vogel's letter, I have made the circumstances attending the despatch of the "Scimitar" the subject of very careful inquiry; and I have read, not without-surprise, the evidence upon which the very sweeping statements of the report, which are again expanded and intensified in the Hon. the Premier's letter, are based. Mr. Vogel states that " great carelessness, to say the least of it, is the rule rather than the exception in the despatch of ships " under this department, and that " the medical inspection of the emigrants is of such a character as to be practically useless ;" that " the results " of this system in the case of the " Scimitar " " have been of a very distressing character;" that the ship was sent to sea "with the seeds of infection notoriously on board ;" that fever having broken out a few days after leaving port, " she became a floating pest-house ;" that " more than half the emigrants were down with one form of disease or another," and that " twentysix died." 3. I have searched the evidence in vain for any adequate foundation for these allegations, except the last. It is a fact that twenty-six children, seven of whom were infants under a year old, and eight of whom were under two years of age, died on board the " Scimitar." But as the Commissioners remark, some of these must have succumbed to the hardships of the voyage in any circumstances, and, as they add, it is a satisfactory result that with so many adults on board there was not one death among them. Such a death rate is strangely low for a ship which earned the character of a floating pesthouse. The "Scimitar" carried 430 emigrants. They were embarked in midwinter, in wet weather, and a peculiarly unwholesome season, during which maladies of the kind which broke out on board were widely epidemic in England. I find in the Registrar-General's report on the three last months of 1873, that the deaths by measles nearly trebled, and the deaths by scarlet fever more than doubled, those of the preceding quarter. There were 3,223 deaths in England by measles as against 1,180; 5,576 deaths by scarlatina as against 2,088 in the preceding three months. The weather of the month of December had been peculiarly unhealthy. There had been in the middle of the month a week of bitterly cold weather, in the course of which the deficiency of mean temperature amounted at one time to 16.\°. It is natural to expect that among 430 people, collected at such a period of the year, some germs of the diseases prevalent in this country should exist; that, in addition to the ordinary zymotic maladies, the same average of catarrh, influenza, and diarrhoea should be found afloat as ashore. But I am happy to learn that, of the many adults who suffered from coughs and bowel complaints, not one died —that those who were, as Mr. Vogel says, down, all got up again. That among such a number of people the seeds of infection were latent in one or two families is no doubt demonstrated by the result: that they were notoriously so, I maintain there is no reliable evidence. There is very distinct evidence to the contrary effect. I take the Surgeon-Superintendent, Dr. Hosking's own evidence, on one sentence in which the censure of the Commission is chiefly based. In regard to the very first case of infectious fever which broke out on board, that of the child William Brown, he swears that "no examination prior to our sailing could have detected disease in this case." He deposes that "on the whole the state of health of the emigrants was good at the time of embarkation ; " that " there were no cases of measles in the depot at the time " ; that " the ' Scimitar' passengers were inspected by him before going on board ; " that "he passed them all; " that there were several cases among the children he '• was suspicious of sickening for measles, but the symptoms were not sufficiently developed to justify him in rejecting them ; " and he adds, " previous to embarkation there were a number of cases of catarrh, but nothing serious." It would not be easy to find in England, at Christmas-time, 430 men, women, and children without a good number of cases of catarrh among them. All this distinct and circumstantial evidence is, it seems to me, inconsistent with the allegation that the existence of infectious disease on board at the time the ship was sent to sea was, as Mr. Vogel alleges, notorious. It was Dr. Hosking's especial duty to prevent persons notoriously infected from being sent to sea; and his powers in this respect were unlimited. Nor, although he admits that his inspection before embarkation was of a " cursory kind," does he deny that the medical inspection, which immediately followed on board, was careful and thorough. What does he, in fact, depose upon this point ? He says, " the medical inspector (Dr. Eccles) came on board about mid-day, and was occupied several hours in examining the passengers. The whole of the 430 emigrants were collected on the poop and passed one by one. The examination by the medical inspector was very careful. I stood by him. In every case he looked at the tongue, and whenever he saw a case of the slightest suspicion, he examined the throat and the skin of the chest. All the emigrants were found apparently in good condition with the exception of a family named Smith ; the whole were sent ashore as showing symptoms of scarlet fever, and I understand the suspicions of Dr. Eccles were afterwards confirmed. We left that family behind." This careful, final, and general inspection, it must be remembered, followed on a regular daily examination of the emigrants by Dr. Eccles. Dr. Hosking deposes that when he arrived at Plymouth, "Dr. Eccles, the Imperial Government Inspector, was in charge of the depot. He attended daily about nine o'clock a.m., and inspected the emigrants." The family of Smith was not the only one regarding which stringent precautions were taken. Some of the Tanner family were at once removed from the depot on showing signs of disease. The Wolfrey family were landed a few minutes before the ship sailed for the same reason. Dr. Hosking had full powers, and he knew it. When 0

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disease did break out, it was, according to his own evidence cited above, the case of a child in which no previous examination, however vigilant, could have detected disease. Tet, after all these statements, so precise, so connected, so positive and circumstantial, all proving that the medical inspection was of a singularly vigilant and efficient character, Dr. Hosking is alleged to have stated that he had a long conversation with Dr. Eccles " as to the propriety of sending away so many infected people ; and also my opinion that they should have been detained, if practicable, for isolation and treatment ashore until the epidemic had passed; but this was deemed by him and Mr. Smith impracticable, and it was further urged that the mortality afloat would be no worse than if they remained at home." It is not merely that this statement is inconsistent with what precedes it; it is utterly incoherent with the rest of the evidence. But as this is the charge upon which the Board of Trade have directed Dr. Eccles to report, I had better perhaps refrain from a further discussion of this part of the case until that gentleman's reply is before me ; and I may at the same time, to better advantage, consider the allegations connected therewith in as far as they affect this department. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 58. Mr. T. Geat to the Agent-Gexeeal. Board of Trade, Whitehall Gardens, Sib,— 14th October, 1874. I am directed by the Board of Trade to transmit herewith, for your information, the copy of a despatch and its enclosures, received through the Colonial Office from the Governor of New Zealand, relative to the state of the emigrant ship " Scimitar " on her arrival in the colony. The Board have called upon their Medical Inspector at Plymouth to report on that part of the evidence which imputes blame to him for having allowed infected persons to embark contrary to the opinion of the surgeon of the ship. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Thomas Geat.

No. 59. The Agent-Geoteeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1693.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib— 20th October, 1874. In continuation of my letter of the Ist instant (No. 1677), concerning the communication which you directed me to make of the thanks of the Government of New Zealand to the President of the Trench Eepublic for the services rendered by the ship " La Vire," I have the honor to inform you that immediately on my arrival at Paris I put myself in communication —according to the suggestion of Count de Jarnac, the French Ambassador at this Court—with the Marquis de Beauvoir, who is at present attached to the French Foreign Office. The Marquis de Beauvoir's name will be well known to you in connection with the admirable work in which he has described his Australasian travels. He at once gave me his willing assistance in fulfilling the duties of my mission. 2. I received from M. de Beauvoir on the same day the letter of which I enclose a copy, informing me that the Duke Decazes, Minister of Foreign Affairs, would receive me on the 2nd instant. I was very cordially received by His Excellency. He expressed the gratification of the French Government in receiving such a testimony of friendship and good-will on the part of the Government of New Zealand, and spoke with lively interest of the progress of the colony, and of the kindness with which, he was pleased to say, French officers, coming from the neighbouring colony of New Caledonia, always spoke of their reception among our people. I answered him that the French flag was always very welcome in New Zealand, and that the conduct of the officers and crew of " La Vire " would make it doubly so in future. 3. The Due Decazes had been good enough to apply already on my behalf, as you will see by the enclosed letter from Mr. Mollard, Chief of the Protocol Office, to the Marshal President for an audience, and it was finally arranged that His Excellency should receive me immediately after my interview with his Minister of Foreign Affairs. I accordingly proceeded from the Foreign Office to the Palace of the Elysee. Having stated the object of my mission, and delivered into His Excellency's hands the letter conveying the thanks of the Government, of which I have already sent you a copy, the President begged me to assure the Government of New Zealand that he was deeply sensible of the sentiments of good-will, of which their action in this matter was a proof, and felt especially gratified by my personally taking the trouble of conveying your thanks to him. He added that he trusted the French Navy would always be as ready as the English Navy had often shown itself to serve those who were in suffering or peril. 4. It only remained for me to convey to the Minister of Marine, Admiral de Martaignac, the service of plate voted by the Provincial Council of Otago for presentation to Captain Jacquemart. The Minister accepted the case for conveyance to Captain Jacquemart, who is still on foreign service, saying that although that officer had only discharged a duty which he trusted French sailors would always be ready to fulfl], it was not the less gratifying to him, as chief of the French Admiralty, to find that the service rendered by Captain Jacquemart had been so graciously acknowledged. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., "Wellington. Agent-General. 5—D. 2.

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Enclosure 1 in No. 59. M. the Maequts de Beatjvoib to the Agent-Geneeal. Monsiettb, — Ministere dcs Affaires Etrangeres, Paris, le ler Octobre, 1874. Son Excellence lc Due de Decazes me charge de vous dire qu'il sera heureux de vous recevoir demain le 2 Octobre vers 2 heures p.m., au Ministere dcs Affaires Etrangeres, et de vous assurer de vive voix de la profonde reconnaissance dv Gouvernement francais pour les genereux sentiments que vous avez deja, exprimes si courtoisement au Comte de Jarnac. Permettez-moi, Monsieur, de saisir avec empressement cette occasion pour vous dire combien j'ai etc charme aujourd'hui d'entrer en relations avec un homme tel que vous. Veuillez agreer, Monsieur, je vous prie, les assurances de mes sentiments les plus distingues. Votre tout devoue serviteur, Monsieur Featherston, Maeqttis de Beauvoie. Agent-General dv Gouvernement de la Nouvelle Zelande.

Enclosure 2 in No. 59. M. J. Mollaed to the Agent-Geneeal. MONSIETJB, Le Ministre dcs Affaires Etrangeres me charge de vous faires connaitre qu'il a demande au Marechal President de la Republique de vouloir bien vous recevoir demain —le Marechal nest pas sur d'etre a Paris dans la journee, peut etre se verra-t-il oblige de partir a midi; mais si, au contraire il reste, il sera tres heureux de vous recevoir a deux heures a l'Elysee apres la visite que vous avez l'intention de faire a M. le Due Decazes. Recevez, Monsieur, les assurances de ma haute consideration. Le chef dv Protocol, Paris, le ler Oct., 1874. J. Mollaed.

No. 60. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 1795.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S."W., Sib,— 30th October, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 224, dated 31st July, 1874, forwarding the following documents relative to the ship "Northampton," which arrived at Lyttelton upon the 6th June, and was placed in quarantine in consequence of fever and small-pox having prevailed during the passage. 1. Report of the Immigration Officer upon the arrival of the ship. 2. Report of the Immigration Commissioners of their inspection after her admission to pratique. I note that the certified list of births and deaths had not been received at the date of your letter. I am glad to learn that in the opinion of Dr. Donald, " the arrangements on board were quite satisfactory." I have, Ac, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, "Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 61. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Ihmigeation. (No. 1797.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 30th October, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 214, dated 28th July, 1874, forwarding the following documents relative to the ship " Loch Awe," which arrived at Auckland upon the 22nd June: — 1. Eeport of the Immigration Commissioners. 2. Report of the Immigration Officer. 3. Certified list of births and deaths. 4. Eeport of the Commissioners and correspondence with the Immigration Officer relative to complaints of misconduct on the part of Dr. "Wylie, the surgeon-superintendent. I am pleased to notice that the Commissioners report very favourably ripon the arrangements and condition of the vessel, the quality and supply of stores and water, &c, and upon the character of the emigrants who arrived by the ship. I regret to learn that Dr. "Wylie had been charged with misconduct. I forward copies of some of his testimonials, which will, I have no doubt, satisfy the Government that I was justified in giving him medical charge of an emigrant vessel. I have, &c, I. E. Eeatheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, "Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 62. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1799.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 30th October, 1874. I have the honor to forward herewith a copy of the report by the Rev. Peter Barclay, of his emigration proceedings for the quarter ending 30th September, 1874. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 62. Report. — Quarter, July-September {inclusive), 1874. Shetland, Bth August, 1874. Dueing the month of July I carried on a large correspondence with Shetland, and also wrote repeatedly to the North-west Highlands. I went once to Glasgow to consult with Mr. Duncan on emigration matters. On Friday, 31st, I left for Lerwick, in Shetland, arriving on 2nd August. Knowing that I should have difficult business to do within limited periods, I took Mr. A. H. Smith with me. He is Agent for the General Government of New Zealand in Edinburgh, and remarkably well versed in all emigration business. In passing Aberdeen we had time to perfect our arrangements for our emigrants, with regard to their transference from one steamer to another, &c, &c. On Monday, 3rd August, we sent away 84 people. On Thursday, 13th, we sent 116, Mr. Smith leaving with them for Edinburgh. On Monday, 17th, 49 went, making in all 249. A great many of these could pay nothing towards expenses from Lerwick to London, and many others could only pay a proportion of these expenses. Indeed, some of those going from Unst could not pay their expenses to Lerwick (fifty miles south), and at the same time procure sufficient clothing for themselves and their families. Kind friends have helped a few, but at the last moment some have drawn back from this inability. Of course such is human nature, that advantage has been often taken of their necessities, and they have not realized half the value of their few sheep or cattle, e.g., I heard of one man selling five cattle at less than £10 for the lot, and sheep have been sold at 3s. to ss. each. Yet these people are not paupers; they have lived, or rather existed, in a rough, comfortable kind of way, in the most wretched habitations that can be imagined. At least this is the case with the very great majority of them. Hence the granting of promissory notes for expenses from Lerwick to London, which for a family of seven amount to £10, becomes quite necessary, if emigration is to be carried on upon any large scale from Shetland. And there are numbers of people most anxious to go, and as a rule they would make excellent colonists. From changes in the management of property, from bad fishing seasons, from the prevalence of the truck or barter system, &c, they are becoming poorer and poorer. Not a few are falling on the poor rates, when of course they become ineligible as colonists. It would be advisable that extra money for an extra child, or for an elderly parent, especially in cases where there is a good family, should be included in the promissory note. As a rule, with very few exceptions, ship kit money should always be paid. Bather than annul the promissory-note system, it would be better to make the people sign for twice the amount. I am convinced that if the promissory-note system is continued, many more emigrants will go next year, 1875, than have gone during this year; and I reckon that during 1874 about 450 have gone or will go, including some who have gone by the Glasgow-Otago line. And there has been much opposition to their going from many persons interested in keeping them in Shetland, to say nothing of the difficulties wherewith they are surrounded. Lerwick, 9th September, 1874. On Friday, 21st August, I left for Delting, about twenty-four miles north-west, and thence on Monday I reached Burravoe, in South Tell, by way of Mossbank. On Tuesday I went per Unst steamer to Balta Sound, in Unst. There I remained till the steamer returned to Lerwick on the 2nd September. On Wednesday, 26th August, I had an opportunity of seeing many people, the Unst Cattle Showbeing held on that day. On Monday, 31st, I held a meeting, which, in spite of stormy weather, was very well attended. I had thus an opportunity of giving the people sundry advice and of explaining the present state of emigration matters, and also of assuring them that they should know in good time what was likely to be done during the ensuing year. I had arranged for another meeting oh the following day in a distant corner of the island, but the state of the weather rendered it quite impossible. Coming to Lerwick on Wednesday, 2nd, or rather on Thursday morning, I remained until Saturday, when 1 went to Weisdale, twelve miles north-west. There I remained till Monday, but Ido not charge any expenses for this journey against the New Zealand Government. Yesterday a telegram came from London, saying the people could not get away by the "Clarence," for Hawke's Bay, for which they had booked and made preparations. I felt much disappointed, being naturally anxious to send some of my people to my old province. The people must, however, go off to-morrow and on Monday, according to arrangements made for them, which cannot now be altered. They are now to go by the " Carnatic," for Marlborough province. P.S.—They have been re-transferred to the "Clarence."

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Edinburgh, 9th October, 1874. On 10th September ninety-one emigrants left Lerwick per Aberdeen steamer, and on Monday, 14th, eight left. On Wednesday I had a lecture at Bridge of Stronie, nine miles north-west, as some people had been disappointed that I had never been there. The attendance was large. 17th. —On Thursday night I left Lerwick for Kirkwall, where on Monday evening I had a very large meeting in spite of wretched weather. The meeting had been well intimated on tho previous day. My opinion, however, is that we can look for no very large emigration from the Orkney Isles, of which Kirkwall is the chief town. Still a few good farm labourers may be got, and it was worth staying return steamers to make New Zealand better known. 22nd. —Thence on Tuesday I sailed for Aberdeen. In Aberdeenshire I remained for a fortnight or nearly so ; but for this fortnight I make no charges of any kind. In Aberdeen I saw Mr. John Cook, and had much conversation with him as an intelligent authority on emigration. I took a Shetland man who spoke to me in the street about New Zealand to Mr. Cook, who would probably send him to stay with his family. Several families who were going to Otago were on board the steamer which brought me from Shetland. There cannot be a large emigration from this country, as many have gone in times past to America, and some to Australia and New Zealand ; hence wages are very high and labour scarce. At Turriff, a large village in a very fine agricultural country, Mr. Michie, our agent, told me there were very few applicants. At Strichen I heard of several families going. It seems to me that emigrants from Scotland must mainly be procured from the North-west Highlands and Western Highlands, such as Skye, Lewis, Barra, <&c.; and, as I have already said, a very considerable number may be had from the Shetland Islands, Fair Island, &c, although the poverty of tho people and their remoteness are obstacles which need special privileges to overcome. I reckon that fully 500 emigrants have left Shetland for New Zealand during this year, having myself sent away 34S during six weeks of August and September, and knowing of many others going to Canterbury and Otago during the past six months. The whole population of Pair Isle, half-way between Orkney and Shetland, might probably be had by a special arrangement. They amount to 230. Through Mr. A. H.. Smith, our excellent agent in Edinburgh, I hear a large number of people in Barra, in the Hebrides, have applied to be taken. I have written to the factor, and sent him an additional supply of tracts, " Notes on New Zealand," both in Gaelic and in English. It seems, however, that since writing Mr. Smith, he has put himself in communication with Mr. Adam, from Otago. This is disappointing to Mr. Smith, who could not act in any way till he heard from London. But the great matter is, that they get away either by the General Government'scheme or by tho Otago scheme as soon as possible. I believe a large number of people could be got from the Lewes, a large island, population 24,000 —far too many. It is the property of Sir James Matheson, Bart., at whoso invitation I visited the island in 1872, and lectured in six or eight places. But an American agent then came after me, and terrified the people with tales of war and cannibalism in New Zealand, so that very few left. From what I hear this year, they have got rid of their fears, and many of them are disposed to go to New Zealand, could arrangements bo made for them. P. Baeclat. The Agent-General for New Zealand.

No. 63. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for liijiigbation'. (Xo. 1805.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Slß,— 30th October, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 212, dated 28th July, 1874, fowarding a copy of the Immigration Commissioners'report upon the ship " Cartsburn," which you inform me arrived at Port Chalmers upon the 14th July. I notice that the Commissioners approved the general arrangements and condition of the vessel, but remark that the ships despatched from London " arc better fitted, the berths in the latter being fore and aft, in blocks, while in tho former they are athwart ship and close to the sides." An alteration in the direction indicated as desirable, has, I think, recently been made in the mode of fitting the emigrant vessels at the Clyde. I will, however, communicate with Messrs. Galbraith and Co. on the subject, and I hope to be able to arrange for the adoption of the improvement suggested, in the case of vessels sailing from Glasgow. I have, &c, I. E. Featiieeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

'No. 64. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Ihmigeation. (No. 1808.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 30th October, 1874. Beferring to your letter No. IG6, of 15th June, 1874, on the subject of the payment of recoveries by the agents of the ships in the colony, I have the honor to inform you that I have succeeded in effecting the arrangement mentioned. I enclose a sheet of the charter-party at present in use. The Government will observe that clause 32 contains the necessary stipulation. I have, &c, I. E. PEATnEESTON, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 65. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigraton. (No. 1809.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 30th October, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 164, dated 15th June, 1874, on the subject of the charter of the steamer " Atrato " as an emigrant vessel. I observe that, whilst you express yourself as perfectly satisfied with my explanation that I was justified in taking up the " Atrato" by the official report of the Secretary of the Board of Trade, you are still of opinion that her reputation renders her an undesirable ship for future employment in the conveyance of emigrants. In submission to this opinion, I shall decline again to employ this steamer in the conveyance of our emigrants. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 66. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1812.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 30th October, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 145, dated 2nd June, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relating to the ship " Apelles," which arrived at Lyttelton upon the sth May:— 1. Report of the Immigration Commissioners. 2. Certified list of births (there were no deaths) during the voyage. 3. Immigration Commissioners' report upon the immigrants, &c. 4. Memorandum by the Surgeon-Superintendent, entitled, " Suggestions for the better arrangement of emigrant ships." I am glad to learn that the Commissioners report very favourably as to the general arrangements and condition of the vessel. Dr. Harris' suggestions shall receive my careful attention, and that of the Despatching Officer. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 67. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1814.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 30th October, 1874. Referring to your letter No. 105, dated 11th May, 1874,1 have the honor to state that I have obtained the permission of the Post Office authorities for the gratuitous exhibition of our emigration notices in the various Post Offices throughout the United Kingdom, and that I have arranged for the immediate display, in this manner, of 15,000 copies of our announcements. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 68. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1841.) Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 30th October, 1874. Referring to the Hon. Mr. Vogel's letter of 12th June, No. 160, authorizing a subscription of one hundred guineas per annum to the British Ladies Female Emigrant Society, I have the honor to enclose a copy of a letter which I have received from the honorary secretary of the Society, in acknowledgment of mine conveying the subscription and thanks of the Government. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 68. Mrs. Mary A. Moobsom to the Agent-General. Sib,— 23, Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy Square, 23rd October, 1874. On behalf of the Committee of the British Ladies Female Emigrant Society, I beg to offer you their best thanks for the very favourable consideration given to their application in March last for a grant of money, and for the liberal subscription of one hundred guineas from the Government of New Zealand in aid of the funds of the Society.

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The Committee are gratified to find that their efforts on behalf of the emigrants are appreciated and supported, and they request that their thanks may be conveyed to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration for his kind letter, and for the subscription to the Society. I have, &c, * I. E. Featherston, Esq., Maet A. Moobsom, Agent-General for New Zealand. Hon. Sec. B.L.F. Emigrant Society.

No. 69. The Agent-Gefebal to the Hon. the Mijtistee for Immigration. (No. 1876.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib, — 25th November, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 239, dated 25th August, 1874, forwarding copies of the under-stated documents relative to the ship " Miltiades," w rhich arrived at Auckland upon the 23rd July:— 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Immigration Officer's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. 4. Correspondence relative to the disposal of a family named Joy, " who stated that they had shipped for Taranaki, although their contract tickets showed Auckland to be their final destination." I observe that the Commissioners report very favourably upon this vessel, and upon the character of the emigrants. The Immigration Officer remarks that there was a "deficiency" of fresh water throughout the voyage, but the context abundantly proves that the word " sufficiency " was intended to be used; the mistake is probably that of the copyist. I have examined the papers of Stephen Joy and family, and I find that the emigrants originally applied for passages to New Plymouth, and were approved for the ship " Conflict," which was fixed to sail for Wellington on the 29th April. The applicant paid his outfit deposit, £-1 10s., on the 18th April. The list for the " Conflict" was, however, made up prior to that date, and passages by the " Miltiades " were offered to Joy. It did not appear from the correspondence that the emigrant had friends resident in Taranaki, and he did not object to proceed to Auckland. Moreover, if room had been found for him in the " Conflict," he would have been required to pay the expense of his journey thence to Taranaki, for which place I was unable to fix any vessel. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebstoit, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 70. The A&ent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Immigbation. (No. 1877.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.~W\, Sib,— 25th November, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 241, dated 26th August, 1874, forwarding copy of a supplementary report by thelmmigration Commissioners upon the ship " Carrick Castle," in which the Commissioners remark upon the physical and moral character of the emigrants, and upon the action of the local agents and others who were concerned in their introduction and shipment. In reply to this further report of the Immigration Commissioners, I beg to submit the following remarks: — 1. Although very grave charges are made against the local agents employed by this office, and against H.M.s Emigration Inspectors at the port of shipment, no definite statements are furnished; no distinct act of any particular agent is detailed; not a single name is supplied of those persons who are described as "disqualified by physical ailments," &c; in short, no opportunity whatever is afforded to me of investigating the serious charges against persons supposed to be in the employ of the Government. 2. The second and fourth paragraphs of the Commissioners' supplementary report have been read over to Mrs. Howard, and she utterly denies that she represented to any of the pensioners who were engaged, that they would be employed by the Government either as military police or in any other capacity. On the contrary, she states that they were informed that they might expect to obtain employment as labourers at from ss. to Bs. per day, according to their ability. 3. With reference to the fourth paragraph of the report, I beg to state that certificates of character and health were furnished to this office in all cases, and I am assured that in very many instances personal inquiry into the character and antecedents of the intending emigrants was made prior to their acceptance. 4. I beg respectfully to suggest that in the event of similar statements being made respecting the emigrants by any future vessel, it would be convenient to request the Commissioners to furnish such detailed particulars as will enable me to institute a thorough investigation, as it is of the utmost importance that I should be made aware at the earliest possible moment of any system of misrepresentation practised by the paid agents of this office. I have, &c, I. E. Peathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 71. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Mikistee for Immigbation'. (No. 1897.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 25th November, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 11th September, No. 269, informing me that the Government have appointed Mr. Walter Kennaway, of Christchurcb, to be Secretary of my department, for a period of three years, at a salary of £800 a year, and that he will arrive in England about the same time as the Hon. Mr. Vogel,who will then arrange with me as to his (Mr. Kennaway's) position in the department, and the specific duties of his office. 2. My letter of August 7th, No. 1513, must have informed the Government within a few days after your letter tinder reply was written, that I had on the first of that month appointed Mr. Cashel Hoey to the office of my confidential Secretary, and that that gentleman had, before entering on its duties, resigned the offices of Emigration Commissioner and member of the Board of Advice of the Agent-General of Victoria, which he had for several years held. 3. I could not have conceived, when I appointed Mr. Cashel Hoey to this office, that the principle which the Government itself had so distinctly and emphatically laid down only a year before, as to the selection of my Secretary being left entirely in my hands, should have been, without notice or reference to me, apparently set aside in a manner which places me in a peculiarly painful and embarrassing position towards that gentleman. I have said "the principle " which the Government itself laid down as to the appointment of my confidential Secretary, an officer whose assistance has long since been admitted to be necessary to the proper discharge of my functions. To sustain this statement, I quote the following words from the letter of the Hon. the Colonial Secretary, of 2nd August, 1873, No. 94 : — " The Government recognize the propriety of the selection of the person to fill an office of this nature being left entirely in the hands of the officer to whom he is to bo attached, and the Government, therefore, make no objection to your choice of Mr. Buller." These words are extremely distinct and explicit; and I must confess I feel painfully surprised that, in the many communications which I have had with the Hon. the Premier by telegraph on this very subject, previous to Mr. Cashel Hoey's taking office, no intimation whatsoever was conveyed to me that the Government had any intention of interfering with the discretion so emphatically recognized as belonging to me with respect to this particular appointment. 4. On the 20th February last I telegraphed to the Government in the following terms : —■" "Will you sanction salary six hundred Secretary?" The allowance of £400 a year which had been made to Mr. Buller while acting as my Secretary, in addition to his half-pay, was, I felt, wholly inadequate to retain the services of a gentleman fitted in all respects to discharge the duties of an office requiring in its holder qualifications by no means common. I had ample evidence of Mr. Cashel Hoey's fitness from my being brought into frequent official relations with him during the year that he held a similar office, when the Eight Hon. Mr. Childers and Sir James McCulloch were Agents-General for the Colony of Victoria, and especially during the period when, under circumstances peculiarly trying to him, he had for nearly six months virtual charge of the Victoria office after Mr. Childers returned to the Imperial Cabinet. I had reason to know that Mr. Childers reposed implicit confidence in him, and entertained a very high opinion of his official abilities. I was aware that the Government of Victoria had three several times within six months conveyed its thanks to him for his very honorable conduct under the difficult circumstances in which he was placed at the time to which I have referred, pending the appointment of a permanent Agent-General. I knew that when Lord Carnarvon was lately reconstituting the Colonial Museum Committee, such was his sense of the services rendered by Mr. Hoey to that project, that he expressly named him for the office of Secretary to it. It was my intention, if any adequate salary was sanctioned, to offer Mr. Cashel Hoey the appointment. I did not, however, receive any reply to my telegram on the subject until the 2nd of April, when the Hon. Mr. Vogel telegraphed, " Authorize temporary employment Secretary, subject one month's notice, at salary you consider reasonable." I felt it impossible to offer the appointment to Mr. Cashel Hoey, or to any gentleman possessing in any sufficient degree the qualifications essential to the office, clogged with a condition, which in this country is only attached to the lower grades of official service. I telegraphed again on the 4th of May, and thinking that the mention of Mr. Hoey's name would sufficiently express the difficulty in which the Premier's previous telegram had placed me, I simply said, " Sanction asked Hoey's appointment Secretary, six hundred salary." In this telegram, it will be observed, there were two questions—first, with reference to the sanction of Mr. Cashel Hoey as the person to be appointed ; second, as to the amount of salary. I felt, in addition to the reasons I have above given for mentioning his name, that, as Mr. Cashel Hoey would probably feel himself bound in honor to tender the resignation of the offices he held under another colony, I ought to remove beforehand any possible doubt as to his appointment not being confirmed by the Government. On the Bth of June I received the following reply to my telegram : —" Government will not sanction more than four hundred pounds for Private Secretary." That reply was far from satisfactory to me on the subject of salary; but I could only understand its silence on the principal question as again conveying the consent of the Government to the appointment of the person of my choice if I could engage his services at the salary stipulated. I informed Mr. Cashel Hoey accordingly. Next month Mr. Buller returned to the colony, and Mr. Cashel Hoey agreed to take the office on the terms upon which the Hon. Mr. Vogel's last telegram enabled me to offer it to him, without any condition as to a month's notice, but at the very inadequate salary of £400. He forthwith resigned his office in connection with the Colony of Victoria, and entered upon his duties as my Secretary on the Ist of August. No further communication from the colony reached me on the subject until the 29th of September, when, to my extreme astonishment, nearly five months after I had brought Mr. Hoey's name under the attention of the Government, I received the following telegram : —" Advise abstain from employing Hoey, Government sending you excellent officer act under you over department. He will arrive February, when Hoey entirely unnecessary." lam now finally informed in your letter under reply of the course which the Government have thought fit, for the advantage of the public service, to take in the matter.

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5. I think it due to the honor of the office which I hold to place these facts, which speak for themselves, simply and exactly as the circumstances have occurred, before the Government. As I learn that the Hon. Mr. Vogel may not arrive in England directly, I forward a copy of this letter to meet him en route, so that he may be able to communicate with you and with me on the subject at the earliest possible moment. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, "Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 72. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1940.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 15th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 2GB, of 11th September, 1874, in which you inform me that M S , wife of G S ,an emigrant by the "Buckinghamshire," has been committed to the Lunatic Asylum at Dunedin as a lunatic, and direct me to state the circumstances under which the woman was accepted as a free emigrant at this office. I have the honor to state that I requested the local agent who introduced the family, Mr. ~W\ N. Twelvetrees, of Bow Eoad, to investigate the statements contained in your letter and its enclosure, to make inquiry of the persons who signed the certificate form, and to report to me the result. I enclose copy of Mr. Twelvetrees' report, together with copies of the letters received in answer to his inquiries. The Government will gather from these papers that, while it is true that M— —■ S was for seven months a patient in the Colney Hatch Asylum, the statements (1) that the woman was released in order to be shipped to New Zealand, and (2) that she was got rid of by the connivance of the Believing Officer, are entirely without foundation in fact. I enclose, for your inspection, the original certificate submitted by G S in support of his application. I may add that Dr. Cappel, who signed the third certificate on the form, is a much respected German minister attached to the Lutheran Communion. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, "Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure to No. 72. G S , " Buckinghamshire," March 1874, No. 1687. I subjoin the results of my investigations in the case of above applicant, whose wife, it is alleged, was released from Colney Hatch Asylum in order to be shipped off to New Zealand ; that she was confined in the asylum by order of the Poplar Union authorities; and that she was got rid of by the connivance of the Relieving Officer, or some official interested in her removal. Eobert A. Burrows, Esq., Clerk of Colney Hatch Asylum, writes me to the effect that she was released on 22nd July, 1873, as recovered, having been a month on trial before her final release. (Letter annexed.) S 's application is dated January 30th, 1874. J. E. Collins, Esq., of Poplar Union, informs me that M S was admitted from the Union in December, 1872, and discharged as recovered by the Committee of Visitors, and without the intervention of the Guardians, on July 22nd, 1873. (See letter.) Daniel Pucks, baker, High Street, Bow, whom I have known to be established in business myself for ten years, and as a most respectable tradesman, knew S , and also that his wife was discharged some months previous to his embarkation. He believes that, whilst his wife was in the asylum, the expenses were defrayed by himself (S ), and without aid from any public body. S was in his employ some time, and he considers him a most trustworthy and straightforward man. Zenophon Bailey, shoemaker, 1, Gaythorne Street, Bow, and High Street, Bromley-by-Bow, says that S lodged with him some months, and during that time his wife, so far as he could see, was perfectly well. Mrs. Bailey said, as far as she could judge, Mrs. S was perfectly sane; she attended to her domestic affairs and children, and before her embarkation was occupied in making clothes and sewing for her family, and in packing up their goods. Eobert Eugg, Esq., Norman House, North Bow, and 331, Eoman Eoad, Bow, remembers having examined applicant, and she was then in a fit state of health to undertake a journey, and free, as his certificate states, from any mental or bodily defect. Therefore, the woman was discharged as recovered by a Committee of Visitors from the asylum, in July, 1873, eight months before S sailed, and seven months before he ever thought of going to New Zealand, at a time when free passages were not being granted. It appears she was admitted from the Poplar Union, but that the imputations cast upon them are altogether without foundation. Finally, the testimony of the friends and associates show conclusively that the authorities of the asylum were justified in discharging the woman. Grove Eoad, Bow, London, E., 9th December, 1874. W. N. Twelveteees.

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Middlesex County Lunatic Asylum, Colney Hatch, N., Sib,— 7th December, 1874. In reply to your inquiry concerning M S , late a patient in this asylum, I beg to inform you that she was admitted on the Gth December, 1872, from the Poplar Union, and was discharged as recovered on the 22nd July, 1873, in the care of her husband, who had had her out upon trial for one month, previous to her final discharge. It was not the first attack of illness when she was admitted here. I have, &c, Eobt. A. Burrows, W. N. Twelvetrees, Esq., Grove Road, Bow. Clerk of the Asylum. ■ Sib,— Poplar Union, High Street, Poplar, E., Bth December, 1874. I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th instant, and to acquaint you, in reply, that, upon reference to documents in this office, I find that on the lGth December, 1872, a woman named M S , wife of G S——-, was admitted into the Lunatic Asylum at Colney Hatch, where she remained until 22nd July, 1873, at which time she was discharged as " recovered," by the Committee of Visitors, without the intervention of the Guardians, who have not since heard anything of the case prior to the receipt of your communication. I have, &c., Jas. E. Collins, W. N. Twelvetrees, Esq., Emigration Offices, Grove Eoad, Bow, E. Clerk.

No. 73. The Agent-Genebal to the Hop. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1920.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 251, of 27th August, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship "Peeress," which vessel arrived at Lyttelton upon the 3rd July: —■ 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Eeport of the surgeon-superintendent. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I note that in consideration of the following circumstances, viz.,—(l.) That, in the opinion of the Immigration Commissioners and of the Government, " the fact of the vessel having been chartered for Timaru, led to the employment of a much inferior class of ship to those which are employed in bringing emigrants to Lyttelton;" and —2. " That this the first ship laid on direct for Timaru was obliged by stress of weather to proceed to Lyttelton, and there tranship her emigrants for their port of destination, thus fulfilling the contract, but practically at a loss to the Government of 20s. per adult, the contract price to Lyttelton being £14 10s., and to Timaru £16 10s., whilst 20s. per adult was paid by the Company for the conveyance of the immigrants to Timaru," —you have decided to countermand the previous instructions which were issued to me as to sending ships to Timaru; and you now direct me to forward immigrants for that place by ships specially chartered for the purpose, but making Lyttelton the port of arrival. I note that you desire that such ships should be strictly for passsengers to Timaru, and that emigrants for any other destination are not to be embarked in them; that the contract with the shipping companies is to be for conveyance to Timaru, and the contract tickets are to be issued accordingly; that the Government will provide passage by steamer to Timaru from Lyttelton, and the emigrants are to understand they will not be disembarked at Lyttelton. Tour several instructions as indicated herein shall be carefully complied with. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners were of opinion that " as a class the immigrants by the ' Peeress' were very suitable for the wants of the district to which they were consigned." I have, &c, I. E. Featiierston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 74. The Aoent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1921.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 279, dated 25th September, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Cathcart," which arrived at Lytteltou upon the 29th August: — 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths. I am glad to notice that the Commissioners reported very favourably upon the ventilation and general arrangements of the vessel, the quality of the provisions and water, the conduct of the officers, and the general character of the immigrants. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General. 6—D. 2.

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No. 75. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigeation. (No. 1922.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 249, of 27th August, 1874, and I thank you for the very interesting memorandum upon German emigration by Mr. Neyrond, copy of which was enclosed. The Government is already aware that I have taken full advantage of the favourable disposition towards New Zealand which obtains at the present time among the emigrating classes of Germany; and I am glad to notice from the report of the Immigration Commissioners upon the " Reichstag," that the immigrants now leaving for the colony are of a very superior order. I have, &c, I. E. Feateeeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 76. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1923.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 247, of 27th August, 1874, forwarding copy of the report of the Immigration Commissioners at Wellington upon the ship " Reichstag," which vessel, you inform me, arrived in Port Nicholson upon the Gth August. I am much pleased to observe the very favourable terms in which the Commissioners refer to the arrangements on board the vessel, and to the character of the emigrants introduced. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 77. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1927.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 257, of 29th August, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Eastern Monarch," which arrived at Lyttelton upon the 23rd July: — 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners reported very favourably upon the ventilation, fittings, and general arrangements on board this vessel. I have, &c, I. E. Featiieeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 78. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1929.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir, — 15th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 276, dated 25th September, 1874, forwarding copies of the understated documents relative to the ship " Corona," which arrived at Port Chalmers upon the 28th August:— 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths during the voyage. I am glad to notice that the Commissioners report very favourably upon the fittings, condition, and general arrangements of the vessel. I have referred Dr. Gordon's report to the Despatching Officer of this department for his careful attention. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigation, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 79. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1930.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— loth December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No 284, of 25th September, 1874,

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forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Carisbrooke Castle," which arrived at Lyttelton upon the 2nd September: — 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I notice that the Commissioners approved the fittings, ventilation, and general arrangements of the vessel. I have, Ac, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 80. The Agent- Geneeal to the Hon. the Mintstee for Immigbation. (No. 1933.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 278, of 25th September, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Otago," which arrived at Port Chalmers upon tho 30th August: — 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths during the voyage. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners were satisfied with the fittings, condition, and general arrangements of the vessel. I have, &c., I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 81. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Mlntstee for Imhigeation. (No. 1934.) > 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 277, dated 25th September, 1874, forwarding the following documents relative to the ship " St. Lawrence," which you inform me arrived at Lyttelton upon the 30th August:— 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. The Commissioners remark that " the matron was altogether unfitted for her duties, being aged and very deaf," &c. This woman was selected at Plymouth from among the Government emigrants. She is described as a nurse of 44 years of age. Unless, therefore, gross misrepresentation was practised, she would not appear to be disqualified on account of age for the efficient discharge of her duties. I notice that, " with the exception of the single women's compartment, the Commissioners are unable to report so favourably as they would wish on the cleanliness of this ship." They remark, however, that " no complaints were made of any kind, the immigrants expressing themselves well pleased with the treatment they had received." I have, &c., I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 82. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigeation. (No. 1935.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 280, dated 25th September, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Euterpe," which arrived at Port Nicholson on the 30th August:— 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I observe that the Commissioners highly approved the general arrangements of the vessel, with the exception of the dispensary, which the surgeon-superintendent remarks was ill-placed and insufficiently ventilated, and the water condenser, which appears to have been deficient in power. I have referred the papers to the Despatching Officer, for his report upon the alleged defects. I notice also that the Commissioners describe the emigrants as " a fine, healthy lot of people." I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General,

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No. 83. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigevtton. (No. 1936.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 271, of 24th September, 1874, forwarding the following documents relative to the ship " Canterbury," which you inform me arrived at Lyttelton upon the 2nd September: — 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I notice that the Commissioners approved the general arrangements on board the ship, and the character of the emigrants introduced. The report of the surgeon-superintendent shall receive careful attention. I have, &c, I. E. Featiiebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 84 The Agetjt-Geneeaii to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 1939.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 285, of 25th September, 1574, forwarding copy of a letter from His Honor the Superintendent of Hawke's Bay, relative to immigration to that province, and a copy of a telegram despatched to me upon the 21st September thereon. The ship " Hudson " sailed for Hawke's Bay on the 20th November with 204 emigrants, and the " Fritz Eeuter " left Hamburg for the same province on the 30th November with 517 souls. I regret to inform you that the last-named vessel was, through stress of weather, compelled to put back to Cuxhaven. I learn that some damage has been sustained, but trust that this is not of a serious character. The vessel will probably be delayed some days. The Government will gather from the statement accompanying my letter No. of that only 187 emigrants remain to be sent in completion of the last order received from the Government relative to Hawke's Ba}'. These will probably be sent by the ship "Hannibal," on or about the 20th January, 1875. I have, &c., I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 85. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Mikistee for Immigeation. (No. 1941.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 258, of the 9lh September, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Mairi Bhan/' which you inform me arrived at Port Chalmers on the 25th July : — 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. 3. Memorandum by the Immigration Officer at Dunedin upon the charter-party with Messrs. Patrick Henderson and Co. I have had under consideration the last-named document, and I hope to be able to arrange that all future ships sailing with emigrants from Glasgow shall be brought under the conditions of the charter-party which is in use at this office. lam already in communication with the Edinburgh Agency upon the subject. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 86. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigration. (No. 1944.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W. Sib,— 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 261, dated 10th September, 1874, forwarding copy of a telegram from His Honor the Superintendent of Canterbury " relative to the very small number of nominated immigrants who arrive in the Colony in proportion to the number nominated." Upon this general question I have the honor to submit the following observations : —

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1. I have found in the course of correspondence with nominated applicants, that, in some cases, the names of persons are entered at the various Immigration Offices as probable emigrants, who have never, in their letters to their friends, expressed any desire to proceed to the Colony, and even intimate their great surprise at receiving invitations to remove themselves and their families thither. I enclose copies of a number of letters of this character received from nominees. 2. Notices in the form (enclosed) marked A are sent to all persons nominated for passages. In a very large number of cases no reply is returned to this communication. Doubtless in many instances —as shown in the foregoing paragraph—the invitation arrives without prior communication upon the subject between the nominator and his nominee, and the latter is unprepared to accept it. The lists of cancelled nominations forwarded to the Government monthly show that many persons decline the offers made to them. I have no doubt that a much larger number decline these invitations who do not trouble themselves to reply to my letters, and about whose intentions we are therefore left in doubt. lam now issuing a second notice (marked B, copy enclosed) to nominees who have not yet replied to the first intimation, and to others who may have replied, but have not communicated to me their final decision. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 87. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1946.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir, — 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 266, of 11th September, 1874, on the subject of the supply of female domestic labour for the Province of Westland. In the same letter you refer to the order for 500 emigrants per month for each of the Provinces of Otago and Canterbury during the months of August and September, which was despatched by telegram on the 7th July last, and express a hope that the message reached me in time to enable me to despatch the numbers required in August. I find, upon reference to the records of emigrants, despatched, that during the month of August I was able to ship to Otago only 355 emigrants, and to Canterbury 319. I have, &c.,I. E. Featherston, . The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 88. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigeation. (No. 1949.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir, — 17th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter. No. 267, of 11th September, 1874, on the subject of the conduct of nominated emigration at this office. I am glad to learn that the Government approve the arrangements made here for the working of that branch of my department. With reference to the arrangement made in July fpr the conveyance by the " Star of India," vid Wellington, of emigrants nominated for Canterbury and Otago, I regret that your telegram authorizing me to renew emigration upon a limited scale to the latter provinces did not arrive in time to enable me to alter that arrangement, so far at least as related to the Province of Otago. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeson, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 89. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Immigration. (No. 1956.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 15th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Bth September, No. 260, in which you earnestly and urgently direct my attention to the manner in which, as it seems to you, I have failed to understand " The Immigrants Land Act, 1873 ;" and in which, after again urging certain arguments and allegations, to which I have in good part replied in my letter of the 23rd. September, No. 1663, you ask me to consider the Act as one of very great importance, whose spirit and intention, as well as letter, it is desirable I should consult, having hitherto, in your opinion, failed to appreciate either ; but that you do not doubt further consideration will induce me to give the measure most careful attention in future. 2. I have been led by an expostulation so animated and serious carefully to review and examine all my proceedings in relation to the Act; to re-inform myself as to its purpose and provisions; to reconsider them in their various bearings; and to apply to their interpretation the explanations, suggestions, and instructions conveyed in your several telegrams and despatches referring to the Act, and especially those of 27th October, 1873, 10th April, -1874, and Ist July, 1874.

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3. The Act itself, so far as it affects myself and my office, may be said to be contained in the passage of the preamble, which declares the policy of Parliament in passing it, and in the second clause, which defines my executive duty in its regard. None of the functions of the Agent-General can be said to be directly or indirectly connected with any of the remaining fourteen clauses of the Act, unless, indeed, in the event of regulations by the Governor in Council being made under the loth clause for the introduction of immigrants by persons or associations of persons at their own cpst, the Agent-General shall be required to issue his certificate to them. No such regulations, however, have, so far as lam informed, been yet made; and therefore, in order to master the spirit, intention, and letter of the Act, so far as it is connected with the duties of my office, it is only necessary that I should truly conceive the meaning of that passage of the Act which expresses its principal purpose, and that clause in which alone the name and position of the Agent-General are specifically mentioned. 4. The purpose of the Act is declared in the preamble to be, that " persons immigrating to New Zealand at their own cost from the United Kingdom and elsewhere, other than the Australasian Colonies, should be permitted to acquire land free of cost in proportion to their expenditure in immigration." Judged by this broad and simple expression of its policy, the principal intention of the Legislature in passing the Act would seem to have been to assist immigration by compensating with an equivalent value in land immigrants who had paid for their own passages in money. 5. This somewhat liberal view of the scope of the Act is, I may add, strictly sustained by the terms of the notice concerning it, which in your despatch of 21st October, 1873, you directed me to insert in the public papers, and the very terms of which you appended to that despatch. They are as follows: — " Fbee Land Geants in New Zealand. " Notice to Intending Emigrants, especially to those who desire to settle upon Land. "The A gent-General for New Zealand is ready to receive applications from persons who are willing to pay their own passages to New Zealand, and who, upon registering their names and the names of the members "of their families for whose passages they purpose to pay, will be entitled to free grants of land in the colony. " All information upon the subject can be obtained from the Agent-General for New Zealand, 7, Westminster Chambers," <fee. Nothing can be plainer than the sense of this notice. You say that persons paying their own passages will, upon registering their names and the names of the members of their families, become entitled to free grants of land, and that all further information on the subject can bo obtained from me. The clause in which the notice addresses itself to all intending emigrants, " especially those who desire to settle on land," read in this context, would indicate that, though specially intended for the benefit of the agricultural classes, the boon was not by any means meant to be limited to them. 6. This, indeed, is specifically stated in your despatch above cited, where you say that "I am well aware of the class of persons the Government desire that the Act may be the means of inducing to emigrate—the class, namely, of which some members of each family would be willing to settle upon land." You then proceed to warn me against a too cramped interpretation of the scope of the Act, in the sense of regarding it as merely addressed to the farming classes of this country. You say, " I would not by any means suggest that it is necessary such persons should have a skilled knowledge of agricultural pursuits. Very large numbers of those who are now farming with more or less success in Canterbury, Otago, and elsewhere, were not brought up to the occupation." Heading this passage of your despatch in connection with the notice which you instructed me to insert in the papers, and with the expression of the policy of the Act contained in its preamble, I submit it would be difficult for me to find legal or administrative grounds for refusing my certificate to any immigrant of respectable appearance who satisfied me that he had paid his passage to New Zealand, and informed me that he or some member or members^ of his family were -willing to settle upon land. Such a person might, I maintain, fairly claim to be considered a "suitable emigrant" in the sense of the second clause of the Act. 7. The second clause of the Act is the only one in which my office is mentioned, and I may therefore be excused for quoting it in full: — " 2. Every person of the age of eighteen years and not exceeding sixty years, arriving in New Zealand after the passing of this Act from the United Kingdom or elsewhere than any of the Australasian Colonies, including Tasmania, who shall have paid the cost of his passage to New Zealand, and who desires to settle upon and cultivate land therein, shall, subject to the provisions hereafter contained, be entitled to a free grant of a piece of land to the value of twenty pounds. "And if any such person be the head of a family, the value of the piece of land to which such person shall be entitled shall be proportionate to the number of the members of such family, the cost of whose passage shall have been paid by him, that is to say,— " In respect of his or her own passage, land to the value of twenty pounds ; and in respect of the passage of each member of such family of the age of fourteen years or upwards, land to the value of twenty pounds; and for each member of such family of less age than fourteen years, land to the value of ten pounds. " Members of a family, for the purposes of this Act, shall include, wife, child, grandchild, nephew, and niece of the head of the family: Provided that no person shall be entitled to such free grant of land unless he shall, before leaving the place of departure for New Zealand, have obtained from the Agent-General of New Zealand, or any person appointed by him for the purpose, a certificate in writing that ho and those members of his family in respect of whom he claims to be entitled as aforesaid are suitable emigrants." It seems to me that the terms of this clause rather extend than contract the scope of the Act. I mean as regards the inference to be deduced from the limit of age. If a person, male or female (there is no distinction of sex indicated), just over eighteen years of age or just under sixty, is, according to the terms of the Act, entitled to a free grant of land on paying his or her passage, and expressing a

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desire to cultivate land in New Zealand, to whom, then, am I warranted in refusing my certificate ? I may know that a young woman of eighteen years of age, or an old man (not to say woman) of fiftynine, cannot properly be considered an agricultural settler ; but in their wisdom the Government and Legislature have decided the conditions and limits of the Act. My duty is to give effect to them in their strict and common sense. The Act gives the immigrant a right. If he or she be of suitable age, have paid the passage, have expressed to me the desire to settle and cultivate, he or she is said to be " entitled to a free grant of a piece of land." The Act imposes on me a duty. lam to certify that the person is a "suitable emigrant," and I am to deduce what a suitable emigrant may be from the Act, from your advertisement, ami from your despatch. 8. In your despatch, now under reply, I am, however, informed that I should for the future bear in mind two leading principles in administering the Act. (1.) That land was to be given as a real inducement to those who otherwise might not be disposed to emigrate to New Zealand. (2.) That land was to be given only to those whom I considered suitable emigrants, and who are likely to become permanent settlers. I am further instructed that I should not, unless in very rare cases, give any certificates to persons who have already paid their passages. I shall of course in future strictly adhere to the first and second of these instructions. But in regard by your third instruction, lam placed in a dilemma as to whether I should observe the regulations issued by you in last May, in connection with the administration of the Act, or the direction contained in your despatch now under reply. Tour despatch directs me not to give any certificates to persons who have already paid their passages. The form of certificate (Form A) which is appended to your regulations, obliges me to certify that the immigrant has produced to me his or her contract ticket for a passage to New Zealand by the ship . As the Act purports to be an Act to enable persons immigrating to New Zealand to acquire land free of cost, in proportion to their expenditure on immigration, it seems to me that the production of the contract ticket is the obvious and indeed the only evidence I can have of the applicant's actual outlay in money, and consequent title to bo recouped by a corresponding free grant of land. 9. I reserve for the present a detailed reply on the cases referred to in the precis of papers appended to your despatch. I have, &c, I. E. Featiierston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 90. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1958.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— . 15th December, 1874. I have the honor to advise you of the following alteration in my shipping arrangements, which has been rendered necessary in consequence of the difficulty which I am now experiencing in securing full complements for the vessels for which I have guaranteed specific numbers. At the close of last mail, the " Eangitikei" was fixed to sail for Otago on the 12th December, the guaranteed number being 250 adults. The " Dallam Tower " was also engaged to proceed for Wellington on the 10th December, the guaranteed number for this vessel being also 250 adults. It was impossible to fill both ships by the dates stated, and I asked the Manager of the New Zealand Shipping Company to withdraw one of the vessels. Mr. Strickland, whose disposition to oblige the Government in this matter I desire to acknowledge, consented to withdraw the " Eangitikei," and proposed that the " Dallam Tower" should take both complements, and should sail on the 18th December. I agreed to this proposal, and I am glad to inform you that I have been able to make up the guaranteed number, 250 adults. The emigrants for Otago, who proceed in the ship, will therefore be entitled to be forwarded to their destination at the expense of the Government. I have no doubt that, under the circumstances detailed herein, the Government will approve of the action which I have thought it right to take with the object of avoiding a heavy fine on account of short shipments. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 91. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Ministeb for Immigration. (No. 1959.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 15th December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 275, of 25th September, 1874, transmitting copy of a telegram which was despatched to me upon the 10th September, respecting the number of emigrants required to be forwarded to the colony during the six months beginning October and ending March; and also copy of the correspondence with the Superintendents of the various provinces upon which this order was based. I beg to assure you that every effort possible shall be made to give effect to the wishes of the Government as indicated in the telegram, letter, and enclosures. I desire, however, to remark (1) that this new order arrived at a time when emigration was showing a tendency to slacken; (2) that the Agricultural Unions have since that date almost entirely suspended their emigration operations, and do not hold out any hope of an increase in the number of applications until the beginning of next

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year; and (3) that a very marked decrease in the number of applications for passages from all quarters has been observable during the past month. My own impression is, that there will be no considerable revival in emigration until the early spring. I beg also (4) to call the attention of the Government to the fact that strongly worded paragraphs have recently appeared in some of the London and provincial newspapers, to the effect that large numbers of emigrants have lately arrived in New Zealand ; that wages have fallen ; that the various Emigration depots were full; and that considerable difficulty was experienced in finding employment for the newly-arrived settlers. I enclose a statement showing the numbers despatched in part execution of the orders forwarded from the colony since Ist March last, and the numbers which require to be sent to complete these orders. I observe that the Superintendents have been made acquainted with the terms of your telegram referred to herein, and have been requested to state what number of the 6,000 or 7,000 Scandinavian emigrants to be despatched during the next two years they recommend to be sent to their respective provinces ; and that upon receipt of their replies you will further advise me upon the subject. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General. EMIGEATION.—IB74-5. Canteebuby. Souls. Souls. Original order (12th March, 1874)... ... 6,000 Supplementary ditto (6th July, 1874) ... 1,000 7,000 Order, 25th September, 1874— Number due, 30th November... ... 1,400 8,400 Number sent to 30th November ... 7,672 728 deficiency. Order, 25th September, 1874— Due in December ... ... ... 350 „ January, 1875 ... ... 350 „ February, 1875 ... ... 250 950 1,678 to end of February, or 559 per month. Otago. Original order ... ... ... ... 6,000 Supplementary ditto ... ... ... 1,000 7,000 Order, 25th September, IS74— Number due, 30th November ... ... 2,400 9,400 Number sent to 30th November ... 8,322 1,078 deficiency. Order, 25th September, 1874— , Due in December ... ... ... 1,200 2,278 Wellington. Original order ... ... ... ... 4,000 Order 25th September, 1874— Number due 30th November ... ... 600 4,600 Number sent to 30th November ... 4,641 41 excess. Order 25th September, 1874— Due in December ... ... ... 300 Due in January, 1875 ... ... 300 Duo in February ... ... ... 300 Due in March ... ... ... 300 1,200 1,159 to end of March, or 289 per month.

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Auckland. Souls. Original order ... ... ... ... 4,500 Order 25th September, 1874— Number due 30th November ... ... 1,000 5,500 Number sent to 30th November ... 4,653 847 deficiency. Order 25th September, 1874— Due in December ... ... ... 500 Due in January, 1875 ... ... 500 Due in February ... ... ... 500 Due in March ... ... ... 500 2,000 2,847 to end of March, or 704 per month. Hawke's Bat. / Original order ... ... ' ... ... 2,000 Order 25th September, 1874— Number due 30th November ... ... 300 2,300 Number sent to 30th November ... 2,413 ' ■ , 113 excess. Order 25th September, 1874— Due in December ... ... ... 300 187 Nelson, Maklbokoijgii, and Westland. Original order ... ... ... ... 2,000 Order 25th September, 1874 ... ... 2,000 Number sent to 30th November ... ... 1,455 545 Tabanaki. Original order ... ... ... ... GOO NuDiber sent to 30th November ... ... 587 13 deficiency. Order 25th September, 1874— Due in December ... ... ... 250 Due in February ... ... ... 250 Due in March ... ... ... 250 750 763 to end of March. SUHMAEY. Original order ... ... ... ... 25,100 Supplementary ... ... .. ... 2,000 27,100 Order 25th September, 1874— Number due 30th November ... ... 5,700 32,800 Number sent to 30th November ... ... 29,773 3,027 deficiency. Order 25th September, 1874— Due in December ... ... ... 2,900 Due in January, 1875 ... ... 1,150 Due in February ... ... ... 1,300 Due in March ... ... ... 1,050 0,400 9,427 to 31st March, 1875, or 2,356 per month. Soula. Original order ... ... ... 25,100 Supplementary ... ... ... 2,000 Order 25th September, 1874 ... 12,100 39,200 7—D. 2.

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No. 92. The Agent- General to the Hon. the Ministeb for Immigration. (No. 1986.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 22nd December, 1874. In continuation of my letter of the 15th instant, No. 1756,1 have now the honor to reply in detail to the " Precis of Papers Immigrants Land Act," appended to your despatch of the Bth September, No. 260, directing my attention to the manner in which I have failed to understand that Act. 2. The first case is that of "E. Brown, passenger by ' Wennington.' Paid his passage at AgentGeneral's office, sth January, 1874. Was never told Agent-General's certificate was neccessary. Saw in a paper that land was given to emigrants paying their passages." In regard to this case, as in the case of the U'Eens, who had sailed to New Zealand before you had written your despatch informing me that the Land Act had passed Parliament, it is almost sufficient to refer to dates. A little consideration would have prevented the compiler of the precis from placing such a case before a Minister, as subject-matter for a public document. Tour despatch enclosing me the first copies of the Land Act, was written on the 21st October, 1573. It did not reach this office until the 31st December —only five days before Brown paid his passage. How could Ibe expected to have all the officers of this department instructed within five days as to how such an Act, susceptible, as it has since seemed to you, of such a variety and amplitude of interpretation, was to bo carried into operation ? The very forms of the Act, including the Agent-General's certificate, were not issued at Wellington until May, five months afterwards. Yet, five days after the Act reached my hands, it is charged that a particular immigrant " was never told the Agent-General's certificate was necessary." How can Ibe responsible for what"E. Brown was never told" by some person or persons unknown, or at least unnamed, on the Bth of January ? It is somewhat strange, I tnay observe, that, in tho very despatch to which t\\e precis is attached, I am warned against giving my certificate to persons like Brown —"persons who have already paid their passages ; " the object of tho Government being expressed elsewhere in your despatch to use the Act as " an inducement to those who otherwise might not have been disposed to emigrate to New Zealand." Brown could not possibly have had any antecedent knowledge of tho Act, and could not, therefore, have been in any way influenced by it in his intention of emigrating. The charge, if it amounts to anything, amounts to this : that I ought to have forced my certificate a year ago upon a person belonging to a class to whom I am now distinctly instructed that I ought to refuse it. Again, how am Ito answer such a statement as that Brown " saw in a paper that land was given to emigrants paying their passages ? " How am Ito be made responsible for what may have appeared "in a paper," not named, on such a subject, at a date when no English journalist could have had any detailed knowledge of the Act ? Or, again, how can I answer as to the extent to which Brown may have misread, misunderstood, mis-remembered, or misreported, not to say imagined or invented, some paragraph "in a paper" which I probably never read, and certainly never wrote ? Tho only document which 1 was at that time authorized to communicate to the press in connection with the Land Act was your own notice appended to your despatch, in which you say, " The Agent-General for New Zealand is ready to receive applications from persons who are willing to pay their own passages to New Zealand, and who, upon registering their names, and tho names of the members of their families for whose passages they propose to pay, will be entitled to free grants of land in the colony." No doubt in this notice you distinctly omitted to state that the Agent-General's certificate was a necessary preliminary condition to entitle the emigrant to a free grant of land, and only spoke of the requirement of registering the names of the parties at my office; but as the notice was not advertised for some days after Brown sailed, it cannot fairly be charged with having contributed to mislead him. I regret that a mere reference to dates does not complete my remarks in regard to this case. If ordinary pains had been taken to inquire into the facts in the Immigration Department before such a charge was based upon Brown's version of them, the circumstance alleged, that he had paid his passage money in this office, might have suggested some doubt to the mind of the official who submitted the precis to you. It is only under certain exceptional circumstances that emigrants pay for their passages at this office. Its records show that Brown had applied for a free passage with his wife, but on inquiry it was discovered that his age (54) exceeded the legal limit. Under the circumstances, he was allowed to proceed on paying the reduced contract price at which I had taken the ship, of £14 10s. per statute adult. The very loosest interpretation of the Act which I have yet seen would hardly warrant me in giving such a person a certificate entitling him to a free grant of £20 worth of land, in addition to a free passage for his wife and a passage at contract price for himself. 3. In the margin it is stated that there are " other precisely similar cases." If they had been set forth, I may assume they would have been open to precisely similar replies. 4. The next case is stated by the writer of the 'precis in the following terms: —" A number of immigrants by the " Mairi Balm," which arrived on July 25th, 1874, state that they paid their passages on the faith of getting land. Agent told them land would be ready for occupation on arrival." I much regret that it is impossible for me even to investigate a case stated in such terms. Before advancing a charge -against this department, which, after all, amounts to making it responsible for having misled certain men into going to the colony and finding the public faith not kept towards them, I submit that it would have been right to require them at least to state tho name of the agent who said that land would be ready for their occupation on arrival. lam not informed of the names of the men who make the charge, or of the agent whom they so accuse. lam not even told whether he was a shipping agent or an agent of this department. I can only infer from the elaborately vague way in which the case is stated that he was tho former. 5. The next allegation is, that "Three men, passengers by the "St. Lawrence" to Wellington, called upon me. One produced tho Agent-General's certificate; the others assert that they were not aware that this was necessary until too late to call for it. These arc able-bodied, respectable men, of the agricultural labourer class.

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The charge is, that two men have asserted on their arrival in the colony that they were not aware it was necessary to obtain a certificate from me to entitle them to a free grant of land until it was too late to call for it. I should like to know how lam to enforce information upon all emigrants going to New Zealand that they will obtain free grants of land under that Act in such a way as at the same time to limit the advantages of the Act to those only who, in the words of your despatch now under reply, " otherwise might not have been disposed to emigrate " to the colony. The two men (whose names are not recorded) were persons, I may assume, who had determined to emigrate without any reference to the advantages of the Act, and who were therefore, according to your despatch, disqualified to claim my certificate. It is their loss; it can hardly be my fault that they failed to place themselves in a position to enter upon possession of £40 worth of public land on their arrival. 6. The next case is that of " Marmaduke Black. The Agent-General writes that this person applied for the certificate, but was unable to appear at the office. He recommends his application, if made in the colony, be favourably entertained." Marmaduke Black was apparently misled by the terms of your notice stating that persons registering their names at my office would be entitled to free grants of land in the colony, and so evidently did not conceive that it was absolutely necessary he should present himself at my office. It was a case which I thought, and which I still think, might have been favourably considered. 7. The same remark applies to the group of cases which are classed together in the following way in the precis: — " The Agent-General forwards, with favourable recommendation, letters applying to take advantage of the Act by the following persons:"— "E: G-. Eoberts, 78, James Street, Eugby. On behalf of his brother passengers by the ship 'Hereford.' April, 1874." "A. Kennedy, Midland Grand Hotel. "Was to sail for Auckland. States that Mr. Buller promised to send the certificate after him." "E. H. Hawkins, Heath Villa. States he paid £83 for a passage to Auckland via New York and San Francisco. Speaks of his intention to settle in New Zealand." " Baxter Bruce. Cabin passenger per ' Countess Kintore,' April 1874. Asks for land order, although no immediate use for the land." "Joseph Martin. On behalf of "W. Noakes, agriculturist, who sailed in the 'Agnes Muir,' in October 1873." " The Agent-General forwards, for consideration of the Government, application by Mr. W. Hope Smith, on behalf of his son, a settler of ten years' standing in Otago." All these persons alleged or had credible representation made to me that their intention of taking advantage of the Act influenced them in emigrating to the colony; that they intended to settle in New Zealand, and. to cultivate, or cause to be cultivated, such land as should be assigned to them. They seemed to me to be persons who might fairly be, in the words of the Act, " permitted to acquire land free of cost in proportion to their expenditure in immigration," and to whom, if they had come before . me, I should have had no hesitation in giving my certificate. As they had failed to do so, I could only submit their cases, with such recommendations as I had received, for the consideration of the Government. 8. The case of the U'Eens reappears, I hope for the last time, in the following form: — " Agent-General forwards further correspondence re application of Mr. TT'Een, which matter has been finally dealt with by Government declining to entertain the application." This is the case of which it is stated in } rour despatch of Ist July, that it contained evidence, if evidence were wanting, that the orders of the Government have failed of effect from want of due exertion on my part. No doubt your attention had not then, and has not since, been drawn by the official who prepared the prr'cis of the case, to the fact that the U'Eens had emigrated to New Zealand three months before the first copy of the Land Act reached England. I might as reasonably be accused of want of due exertion in regard to the people who went to New Zealand with Captain Cook. "What I did in the case of the U'Eens, I could hardly have refused to do. It was to forward a correspondence in which they were strongly recommended to the consideration of the Government by a member of Her Majesty's Privy Council, who had been some time a Minister of the Crown. Neglect of the orders of the Government, as regards this case, was upon my part a matter of sheer impossibility. 9. The last paragraph of the precis runs as follows : — " A few immigrants are now turning up having the necessary certificates ; their applications are received and duly registered. The A gent-General, however, has granted certificates to persons manifestly not intended by the Act, e.g. Mr. Passmore, and another gentleman who called upon me here, who is father-in-law of the new Head Master of the College." The case of Mr. Passmore is a peculiar and quite exceptional one. That gentleman had come home with letters from the Government recommending him to my good offices, in relation to certain inquiries which he was about to institute, which he hoped might be beneficial to the railway interests of the colony. He informed me that he had paid his own passage home. I assisted him in his inquiries by introductions to leading engineers and railway managers. When he was about to return, he told me that, as he was again paying his own passage, he thought he might fairly claim to be recouped at least part of his expenses by a free grant of land under the Act, and that, if I should give him my certificate, it was his intention to have whatever land might be assigned him cultivated according to its conditions. I thought under the circumstances I might accede to his application, leaving it to the Government, on its presentation, to decide on his claim to be so entitled. In regard to the only remaining case, which is mentioned in conjunction with that of Mr. Passmore, and in respect of which I have again to complain that I am not furnished with the names of the persons presenting my certificate, the writer of the precis, speaking in his own person, raises an objection to an act done by me in my discretion under the Act as Agent-General—an objection which, I must say, I regard as simply preposterous. He objects that the holder of my certificate was fathev-in-law of the Master of the College. The relation of father-in-law is nowhere mentioned in the Act, and nowhere indicated in your

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despatches as a relation disqualifying the person who occupies it, if he be under sixty years of age, and have paid the cost of his passage, and satisfied me of his desire to settle upon and cultivate land in New Zealand, from being entitled to a free grant of a piece of land. I have little doubt that if I were to raise such a frivolous plea in one of the Courts of this city, in the event of my being called upon to show cause for not fulfilling my duty under the Act in the case of an emigrant who happened to be father-in-law of any person whatsoever in the colony, that I could only expect it to be treated with either suspicion of my motives or doubt of my capacity. I have, &c, I. E. Featiieeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 93. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 1989.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 23rd December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 320, dated 27th October, 1874, forwarding copy of correspondence with His Honor the Superintendent of Otago, upon the subject of a claim of £40, made by Messrs. Cargill, Gibbs,and Co., for demurrage of the ship " Mairi Bahn," and remarking that a reasonable allowance for lay-days should be made in all charter-parties of emigrant ships. The Government is aw pare that I have always recognized and provided for this necessity. The charter-party under which the "Mairi Bahn" was despatched was entered into between Mr. Auld and Messrs. Patrick Henderson and Co., the agents in Glasgow for the Albion Shipping Company. As stated in my letter No. 1911, of 17th December, 1574, I am now in communication with the Otago agency with the object of securing, at Glasgow, the adoption of the form of charter-party in t use in London. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 94 The Agent-Geneeat, to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigbation. (No. 1991.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sic, — 23rd December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 294, dated 12th October, 1874, forwarding copy of the Immigration Commissioners' report upon the ship " Parsee," which you inform me arrived at Port Chalmers upon the 4th September. I note that the Commissioners approved the fittings and general arrangements of the vessel, with the exception of the passengers' galley, which they considered " was scarcely large enough for cooking for so many people." I observe, also, that one of the immigrants, named "Weir, presented a document, signed by eighty-two of the immigrants, complaining in general terms of the infraction of the Passengers Act, but making no specific charges as to what sections were infringed; that the complainants were requested to specify, in writing, the grounds of their complaint, but had failed to do so up to the date of the Commissioners' report. I notice, also, that the Commissioners recommend that a better quality of biscuit should be supplied to the immigrants in future ships from the Clyde, and that a baker should be appointed as in London. These recommendations shall receive due attention. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 95. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 1993.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 23rd December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No 312, dated 23rd October, 1874, forwarding the understated documents relative to the ship " Merope," which you inform me arrived at Lyttelton upon the 27th September:— 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I notice that the Commissioners report favourably upon the general arrangements on board the vessel, and upon the character of the emigrants. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 96. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 1994.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 23rd December, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 310, dated 23rd October, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Strathnavar," which you state arrived at Port Nicholson upon the Ist Septembor: —■ 1. Immigration Commissioners' report 2. Papers relating to an inquiry into the conduct of Dr. Jackson, the surgeon-super-intendent. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I have carefully perused the report and other papers, relative to the alleged misconduct of Dr. Jackson, and I observe that the Under Secretary of your department and Mr. Crawford, E.M., who were requested to inquire privately into the matter, reported to the effect, " that no irregularity had been proved against Dr. Jackson during the limits of his engagement," and that under these circumstances you did not feel justified in withholding payment of his gratuity, but had caused him to be informed that it was not considered advisable that he should again come out in charge of emigrants. Dr. Jackson's name has accordingly been erased from the list of surgeons eligible for appointment in our service. I have, &c, I. E. Featiierston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 97. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 2002.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sin,— 23rd December, 1874. In continuation of my letter of the 20th October, No. 1692,1 have the honor to inform you that two days after its despatch, Dr. Hosking, the surgeon-superintendent of the " Scimitar," having reported himself at this office, I had the opportunity of addressing to him certain plain queries in regard to the principal points upon which he had given evidence before the Eoyal Commission, and concerning which his testimony had formed the chief groundwork on which the report of the Commissioners, as well as the despatch of your predecessor of the 29th June, No. 186, imputing gross carelessness to this Department had been framed. 2. I enclose a copy of my queries, and of Dr. Hosking's replies. 3. At the close of my letter on the subject of the " Scimitar," above referred to, I quoted the following passage from Dr. Hosking's evidence, as reported to have been taken before the Commission. Dr. Hosking is alleged to have " stated that he had a long conversation with Dr. Eccles as to the propriety of sending away so many infected people, and also my opinion that they should be detained if practicable, for isolation and treatment ashore, until the epidemic had passed ; but this was deemed by him and Mr. Smith impracticable, and it was further urged that the mortality afloat would be no worse than if they remained ashore." Having placed this passage in contrast with other extracts from Dr. Hosking's evidence, I have to make the following comments upon it: —It is not merely that this statement is inconsistent with what precedes it; it is-utterly incoherent with the rest of the evidence." 4. I felt assured that there must be some very grave fault or error in the statement of Dr. Hosking's evidence, and having submitted to him queries in detail as to the charges which he was alleged to have made against Mr. Smith and Dr. Eccles, I found that he utterly denied ever having made such charges at all. 5. In Mr. Vogel's letter under reply, he said, in terms of whose natural indignation I should bo far from complaining, if the hypothesis upon which they were founded had proved to be correct, " If the evidence is reliable, upon which point the Commissioners do not appear to have entertained any doubt, it is difficult for me to express in terms of sufficient reprobation my opinion of the conduct of Mr. Smith, the Despatching Officer, and of Dr. Eccles, the Imperial Government Commissioner, who, in the face of the acknowledged fact of the existence of the infection of scarlet fever amongst the emigrants, and in defiance of the opinion of the surgeon-superintendent Dr. Hosking, who strongly urged that these unfortunate people should be detained on shore for isolation and treatment until the epidemic had passed, are stated to have insisted on sending the ship to Bea, arguing that the mortality afloat would not be worse than if the emigrants remained on shore. But Dr. Hosking absolutely denies that he ever protested against the ship being sent to sea, and says, that if he had thought it his duty to protest at all, he should have protested in writing. Not merely does he deny that he did not so protest, he avows that he perfectly concurred with Dr. Eccles that the ship should be sent to sea. He further declares that his evidence concerning Mr. Smith is incorrectly given, and that he has no recollection of having ever made any suggestion to that officer as to the propriety of delaying the dispatch of the ship. Furthermore, he urges as proof of the correctness of the judgment at which he and Dr. Eccles arrived on the subject, that, far from its being the case as Mr. Yogcl was led to assume, that "the ship was sent to sea with the seeds of infection notoriously on board," and " in the face of the acknowledged fact of the existence of scarlet feve amongst the emigrants," in reality there was probably only one infected case on board at the time the ship sailed—the child Brown, in whom symptoms of disease manifested themselves for the first time only after the "Scimitar" was five days out, and who was at once completely isolated. This is the case referred to in my former letter on the subject, respecting which I cited Dr. Hosking's. evidence before the Commission, that " no examination prior to our sailing could have detected disease in this case."

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6. In closing my first letter on this subject, I also stated that I had been informed by the Board of Trade that they had directed Dr. Eccles, their Sanitary Surveyor at Plymouth, to report on the charge which Dr. Hosking was supposed by Mr. Vogel to have brought against him, of having insisted against that gentleman's judgment in sending the " Scimitar " to sea with the seeds of infection notoriously on board. Finding the same statement repeated in a despatch of His Excellency Governor Sir James Pcrgusson to the Colonial Office, which was the basis of the Board of Trade's inquiry, Dr. Eccles simply and correctly reports, in reply, that it does not fall within his function as Sanitary Surveyor to direct emigrants to bo sent on board; that this duty wholly devolves upon the surgeon of the ship; that his duty is that of inspecting them on board at such time and place as the Imperial Immigration Officer of the port may appoint; and that, according to Dr. Hosking's evidence before the Commission, which he cites, the inspection which took place before the ship sailed was most careful, the best proof of which assertion of course is, that no sign of disease manifested themselves until the ship had been five days out, when the case of the boy Brown, above referred to, occurred. In general corroboration of what Dr. Hosking has already deposed as to the impossibility of discovering the signs of infectious malady in that case, I wish to draw 3 rour attention particularly to the following sentences from Dr. Eccles' report:—Referring to the statement of the Royal Commissioners that the seeds of scarlet fever and measles must have been in a state of vitality amongst some of the emigrants in the depot before Dr. Hosking directed their embarkation, he says, " Possibly so, but no one could know this until the seeds germinated and produced the rashes of scarlatina and measles. There are absolutely no signs of the presence of these seeds of disease whilst only in the stage of incubation, and even when the stage of sickening ensues, which lasts only two days before scarlet fever, and four days before measles, it is impossible to be quite certain that these diseases exist. The rashes alone are absolutely distinctive." In regard to the correctness of this statement, no medical man who has had any adequate experience of the way in which the maladies referred to first exhibit themselves, can, I presume to say, entertain a doubt. In my previous letter I have shown, by detailed reference to the Registrar General's quarterly returns, that the season was one during which all zymotic diseases, but especially measles and scarlatina, prevailed through England to an extraordinary extent, the deaths from the one disease being double, and from the other triple the number of the previous quarter. To detain hundreds of people crowded into a depot in a district where the infection of such maladies was at the time diffused through every channel of communication, would manifestly have been the surest means of subjecting them to disease in its most destructive conditions. To send them to sea, after a thorough inspection, with a clean bill of health, was to remove them at once from the known area of infection. This is what was done. Both medical knowledge and common sense guided and justified the course adopted; in regard to which I wish to direct your particular attention to the statement of Dr. Eccles and Captain Stoll in their subjoined reports to the Board of Trade, which, I am bound to say, I regard as entirely well founded. 7. I must also direct your attention to the great misapprehension which seems to have existed in your predecessor's mind as to the degree of assistance which the Colonial Government has a right to expect from the Sanitary Surveyors of the Board of Trade in connection with their emigration service in this country. Dr. Eccles did before Dr. Hosking arrived at Plymouth, at Mr. Hill's request, attend at the depot and look after the health of the people lodged there. But he was by no means bound to do so. The service was one for which he entitled himself on this occasion to my grateful acknowledgments, and by the discharge of which, lam convinced, he saved many lives and much suffering; but it was by no means one of his official duties. On this point I have to request that you will read with care what Dr. Eccles says in his report to the Board of Trade, and also what Mr. Hill, the proprietor of the depot, says in his letter to me, which is also appended. 8. The position and state of the depot have been somewhat crudely criticised by Dr. Hosking in his evidence; and the report of the Royal Commission and the despatch of the Minister both adopt his hastily-formed conclusion on the subject. I have referred in my previous letter to the state of the weather in England at the time, a circumstance as much beyond departmental control as the germs of the prevailing epidemics. Dr. Hosking's main complaint is, that the depot was damp, and his evidence is summed up in the following passage of the report of the Royal Commission : — " The depot at Plymouth is said to be damp, the bedding in many cases being damp. The situation is not a healthy one. The accommodation in the way of fire-places was too limited, and the front of the stove usually occupied by babies' clothes drying. The depot at the time was overcrowded. The weather was very rainy, and the emigrants going out and in got wet. Colds and catarrhs were prevalent in consequence, and during the voyage the imperfect ventilation on board was also productive of colds and sore throats." The pith of this paragraph is, I conclude, contained in the sentence that the weather was very rainy, and the people going in and out got wet. It was impossible to stop the rain or to treat the people as prisoners, and by consequence to prevent their domicile from being damp. These were additional reasons, I submit, for getting them out of a country where disease abounded, and a climate which was then at its worst, to sea as soon as possible. The criticism of the Commission on the situation and accommodation of the depot is, I respectfully submit, founded on a somewhat hasty deduction from an inadequate basis of facts. I am not aware that they had any other ground for so large and responsible a conclusion except Dr. Hosking's evidence. A careful perusal of the appended papers will, I trust, satisfy you that the opinion they express is not one which a Government should hastily act upon. The depot at Plymouth is, in the opinion of those best competent to judge, and who have had most experience of it, a model establishment. 9. I reserve the considerations of the Royal Commissipn, which are recommended to my careful consideration by Mr. Vogel as "very valuable." for examination in a separate letter. 10. It only remains to me to refer to the direction in Mr. Vogel's despatch, that if the facts prove

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to bo as stated by Dr. Hosking, Mr. Smith should be at once relieved of his duties in connection with this department. The evidence before me, and which I now submit for the consideration of the Government, including as it does Dr. Hosking's repudiation of the statement attributed to him on this subject, leads me, on the contrary, to conclude that Mr. Smith, in the anxious position in which lie was placed, acted with sound discretion and in the strict discharge of his duty. I therefore see no reason to withdraw the confidence which I feel in that officer, and which I have already expressed in my letter of 23rd September, No. 1624. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 97. Inquiry held before the Agent-General on Thursday, the 22nd October, 1874. Dr. HosTcing examined. 1. Did you ask Mr. Smith not to put any of " Mongol's " people into Scimitar," as you considered there was infectious disease among them, but that " Scimitar's " people were all healthy as far as you were aware ? —Tes. 2. Did you at any time suggest to Mr. Smith that the ship should be detained for the purpose of ascertaining whether there was likely to be any infection among the people ?—I do not recollect having done so. I stated to Dr. Eceles that, under the circumstances, I thought the ship should go. 3. Did you protest to Dr. Eceles and Mr. Smith against the people being embarked and the ship proceeding to sea with them ?—I never made any protest to that effect. Had I wished to protest, I should have sent in my protest in writing. I even concurred with Dr. Eceles in the propriety of the ship going to sea. My evidence on this head is incorrect so far as it relates to Mr. Smith. In proof of the correctness of our opinion, I would draw attention to the probability that only one case infected was taken to sea in the vessel, viz., the child Brown, the first case in which the disease appeared after the fourth day out, and which was completely isolated. 4. What medical inspection of "Scimitar's " emigrants was held by yourself and Dr. Eceles prior to embarkation and afterwards ?—I made a careful personal examination of all the emigrants who were in the depot shortly after my arrival, and was amongst them twice every day afterwards. Dr. Ecclos also visited the depot every day, I believe. After the emigrants embarked, a medical examination was made by Dr. Eceles and myself on the 23rd December ; this occupied several hours. 5. Question put by desire of Dr. Eceles —Did you state that Dr. Eixles inspected at the depot every morning ? —Tes. I was under the impression that he visited there every morning ; that is still my impression. 6. Question put by desire of Dr. Eceles—Why were not the Woolfrey family isolated in hospital, as Dr. Eceles directed? —I do not remember Dr. Eceles giving such a direction. If he had grave suspicions as to this family, he should have given directions for their removal. Immediately I was informed that the child was sick I inspected it, and sent it on shore. This was on the morning of the 24th December. I remember a family was placed in the hospital after Dr. Eceles had left the ship, and afterwards sent on shore, but I do not remember whether it was the Smith or Woolfrey family. William H. Hosking, Late surgeon-superintendent of the ship " Scimitar."

Enclosure 2 in No. 97. (No. 41.) Governor Sir James Eeroitsson to the Earl of Carnarvon. My Lord, — Government House, Wellington, N.Z., 4th July, 1874. I have been requested by my advisors to transmit to your Lordship a copy of the report of the Eoyal Commission which I appointed to inquire into the causes of numerous deaths which occurred during the voyage of the emigrant ship "Scimitar," which left Plymouth for Dunedin in December, 1873, with the view of bringing under your Lordship's notice the conduct of Dr. Eceles, the Emigration Commissioner, who, according to the evidence of Dr. Hoskiug, the surgeon in charge, persisted against that officer's opinion in sending on board persons probably infected by contact with others suffering from scarlet fever. 2. The evidence further imputes faulty and inadequate arrangements in the emigration barracks at Plymouth. Upwards of 700 persons were embarked from these barracks, on the occasion in question, in two ships, the steamer " Mongol " and the ship " Scimitar ; " in the former of which sixteen, and in the latter twenty-six, deaths occurred on the voyage, chiefly of scarlet fever in the case of the " Scimitar." I have, &c, James Fergusson, The Eight Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon. Governor.

Enclosure 3 in No. 97. (Memo. 12221.) The Board of Trade to the Colonial Office. Sib, — Board of Trade, Whitehall Gardens, 21st October, 1874. I am directed by the Board of Trade to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Bth nit., transmitting for their consideration copy of! a despatch from the Governor of New Zealand, enclosing a report of a Eoyal Commission on the emigrant ship " Scimitar," and calling attention to the conduct of Dr. Eceles, and the defective arrangements of the Emigrant depot at Plymouth.

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In reply, I am to forward herewith, for the information of the Earl of Carnarvon, copies of reports which have been received in the matter from Dr. Eccles and the Emigration Officer at Plymouth. The Emigrant depot at Plymouth is a private establishment, and the Passenger Acts give this Board no control over it. With the view of directing attention to the alleged defective state of the depot arrangements, the Board have caused copies of the Governor's despatch and of its enclosures to be sent to Dr. Feathorston, the Agent in this country of the New Zealand Government. The enclosures to your letter are herewith returned. I have, &c, The Under Secretary of State, Colonial Office. Heney G. Calceaft. Sub-Enclosure 1 to Enclosure 3 in No. 97. Dr. Eccles to the Boaed of Teade. Sic, — 1, Sussex Street, Plymouth, 25th September, 1874. I have the honor to make the following report on the points affecting the performance of my duty as Sanitary Surveyor, as referred to in the report of the Eoyal Commission on the ship "Scimitar." I would first remark that my duties as Sanitary Surveyor are entirely confined to the inspection of the emigrants, medicines, disinfectants, surgical instruments, and diploma of the surgeon of the ship, at the final muster previous to the sailing of the ship, and that I have nothing whatever to do with the emigrants officially previous to that muster, that is, during residence in the Emigration depot. Whilst in the depot they are in charge of the surgeon of the ship. Thus, Mr. Hosking says in his evidence, " I received a telegram on 17th December, from the Agent-General's office, to proceed to Plymouth to the depot, to take cjiarge of the emigrants." With regard to this, the Commissioners in New Zealand evidently laboured under a wrong impression, produced, probably, by it having been reported to them, in Mr. Hosking's evidence, that I was at the emigration depot every morning. It is true that I did call several times in the morning to learn if my attendance on any of the emigrants sent out of the depot was required; for with this duty I had been intrusted ; but this was no part of my official duty as Sanitary Surveyor under the Board of Trade. With respect to my official examination at the final muster, the Commissioners report: — " The medical examination at the time of embarkation seems to have been as efficient as the hurried inspection at the time of sailing usually is." Mr. Hosking says in his evidence, "The examination was very careful. I stood by him. In every case he looked at the tongue, and whenever ho saw a case of the slightest suspicion, he examined the throat and the skin of the chest." This testimony was fully borne out by the fact that the first case of scarlet fever which appeared on board the " Scimitar" after she sailed did not show itself until five days after m^ inspection ; and, as Mr. Hosking remarks, "no examination prior to our sailing could have detected disease in this case." Thus, then, by the testimony of Mr. Hoskiug, the surgeon of the " Scimitar," who was present during the whole of my inspection, I am acquitted of any carelessness in the performance of this duty, as is also acknowledged by the New Zealand Commissioners. I will now take up the report in detail, so far as concerns myself. In Sir James Fergusson's letter, it is said, " Dr. Eccles, the Emigration Commissioner, who, according to the evidence of Dr. Hosking, the surgeon in charge, persisted against that officer's opinion in sending on board persons probably infected by contact with others suffering from scarlet fever." To this 1 would reply, that I have nothing to do with sending the emigrants on board. This duty devolves wholly on the surgeon-super-intendent of the ship. Mv duty consisted in inspecting them when they were on board, and when called upon to do so by the Emigration Officer. I never appoint either the time or the place of the inspection. Section 3. Report of Itoyal Commission. —It is stated that " the ordinary medical stores were satisfactory, and the medical comforts liberal." This proves that the remaining part of my inspection was complete. Section 4. " On the fourth day after sailing, a child named Brown was observed covered with scarlatina." This case, I respectfully submit, proves that my inspection was efficient. Section 7. " The seeds of both scarlet fever and measles must have been in a state of vitality amongst some of the emigrants whilst in the depot before embarkation." Possibly so, but no one could know this until the seeds germinated and produced the rashes of scarlatina and measles. There are absolutely no signs of the presence of these seeds of disease whilst only in the stage of incubation; and even when the stage of sickening ensues, which lasts only for two clays before scarlet fever and four days before measles, it is impossible to be quite certain that these diseases exist. The rashes alone are absolutely distinctive. Section 8. " After embarkation, and before sailing, a family named Smith were sent on shore with strong symptoms of scarlet fever. A few hours before sailing, a child called Woolfrey was quite covered with scarlet -fever rash, and the whole family were immediately sent on shore. And this family came from Jersey, and there is reason to believe that several members of that family were only convalescent from scarlet fever before entering the depot." This family was seen by Mr. Hosking and myself at the inspection, and reserved for re-examination afterwards. I thought the symptoms suspicious. Mr. Hosking thought them hardly pronounced enough to send them on shore. I therefore directed him to put the whole family immediately into the hospital and to watch the* child, and if the slightest rash arose to send the family immediately ashore, which he did. Captain Stoll, the Emigration Officer, took a note of this at the time in his journal. Section 8. " There is reason to believe that several members of that family were only convalescent from scarlet fever before entering the depot." Mrs. Morgan's testimony to Mr. Hosking was, that other members of the family had suffered from scarlet fever from three to five weeks before entering

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Enclosure in No. 49. His Honor the Superintendent, Westland, to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sir, — Hokitika, 22nd February, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, noted in the margin, forwarding a copy of a letter sent to the Agent-General upon the subject of the Jackson's Bay Special Settlement, and expressing the hope that it may be satisfactory to me. Immediately on its receipt I telegraphed drawing your attention to the rate at which I had proposed the families from Home should be introduced, seeing that, from your letter, it was probable that the full number would be sent in two vessels instead of only twenty-five families monthly ; and I trust you will be pleased to alter your instructions in this particular. I may say that upon this point I feel that special care is necessary, as the difficulties of establishing a population in bush and entirely new country are so great, that if too large a number are introduced at one time, great extra expense is certain to be entailed on the Government through having to promote additional accommodation, and having to keep the immigrants until placed on their land. With this exception, I may say that the letter is in accordance with my wishes, and I am obliged to you for again drawing the attention of the Agent-General to the great want of female immigrants here. I have, &c, James A. Bonae, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Superintendent.

No. 50. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-G-eneeal. (No. 68.) Sic, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 11th March, 1875. I have the honor to forward copy of a letter from the Superintendent of Westland covering a resolution passed by the Provincial Council upon the 23rd February ultimo, as to the desirability of sending 100 female immigrants to the province at as early a date as possible. I shall be glad if you are able to give effect to the wishes of his Honor in this respect. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

Enclosure in No. 50. His Honor the Superintendent, "Westland, to the Hon. the Minister for Immigbation. Sic, — Hokitika, 24th February, 1875. I have the honor to forward herewith a copy of a resolution passed by the Provincial Council requesting me to urge upon the General Government the desirability of sending 100 female immigrants to Westland as soon as possible. As I have already pointed out to you, on more than one occasion, the great want of female immigrants in the province, it will be unnecessary for me to say any more on the subject. I have, &c, James A. Bonae, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Superintendent. Extract from Proceedings of the Provincial Council. Tuesday, 23rd February, 1875. Ordered, on the motion of Mr. Houlahan—" That His Honor the Superintendent be respectfully requested to urge upon the General Government the desirability of sending 100 female immigrants to the Province of Westland at as early a date as possible."

No. 51. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-General. (No. 74.) Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 13th March, 1875. I have the-honor to inform you that Mr. Coster, the Chairman of the New Zealand Shipping Company, has handed me officially a copy of a letter addressed by him to you, dated London, the 7th April, 1874, in which he remarks at length upon the subject of the alleged combination between his company and other shipping firms connected with the colony, and the various offers made by him with the view of coming to some reasonable arrangement with you for the conveyance of our emigrants. I must confess my surprise that you did not forward this communication to the Government, with your reasons for not entertaining the proposals of the company. Upon these points I shall be glad of an explanation. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson. 4—D. 1.

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(Copy of letter referred to above.) Mr. Costee to the Agent-Geneeal. Sib, — London, 7th April, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 30th ultimo, intimating that arrangements between the New Zealand Government and this company for the conveyance of emigrants will cease on the 30th instant. In accepting your notification, and having regard to the fact that you speak of a combination between ourselves, Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., and Messrs. Galbraith, Stringer, Pembroke, and Co., I think it necessary, in fairness to the London management of this company, to place on record the position which has been taken up with you in this matter. Early in January, or the close of December, you received a telegram from the Government instructing that their business should be divided in stated proportions between the three firms and companies trading to the colony. The wisdom of this course must have been apparent to you, for it was evident that no one firm or company could alone and unassisted supply your largely increased requirements for passenger space at certainly anything like a reasonable rate of passage money; and even if suitable vessels could be procured as wanted, the light cargo necessary for their loading would not be forthcoming. A division of the work was therefore agreed upon, and it was arranged between yourself and Mr. Turner, on behalf of this company, that our contract of June last should determine with February. The March ships Mr. Turner, I have been given to understand, declined in the first instance to find for you at £14 10s., but subsequently consented to do so to enable you to communicate with the colony, and be prepared for a higher rate thereafter. In due course it became necessary to arrange for the continuation of the service, commencing with the month of April. Mr. Turner and myself made our calculations, and found that, in the then existing state of the shipping, provision, and labour markets, the company could not remuneratively carry the New Zealand Government emigrants under £16 to £16 10s. On Monday, the 16th February, I saw you and repeated what had many times previously been told you —viz. that from the causes stated we could not in the future carry at the same rate as in the past —and made an appointment for Mr. Turner and myself to see you at 10.30 on the following Wednesday morning. (I should like at this point to express to you my sense of, and gratitude for, the urbanity, courtesy, and general kindness which you have ever shown to me during the many occasions on which I have had to trespass upon your time.) On the next afternoon, Tuesday, I was astonished to hear from our rivals that an appointment had been made for the representatives of the three firms and companies to meet you at your office at halfpast 10 on "Wednesday morning, that being the precise hour at which I had arranged for the interview between yourself, Mr. Turner, and myself ! So soon as we could leave the City, Mr. Turner and myself proceeded to Westmister Chambers, but did not reach there till 7 o'clock, to find you gone, probably for the day. We left word that we would call the next morning at 10 o'clock, and did so call, hoping to see you before our rivals kept their appointment: however, they arrived before yourself. Still you were good enough to give us a few seconds before admitting them, but opportunity was not offered for more than our again intimating to you that we could not see our way to carrying at the old rates, but that, whatever view the others might take, you might rely on the New Zealand Shipping Company not to see either yourself or the Government put in a strait, so far as our power and ability would go. The combination interview, which was not of our seeking, but was understood to have been arranged by yourself, took place. The questions of conditions and duration of the proposed new divided contract were discussed, and one of those present quoted a passage rate of £16 10s. on the old guaranteed numbers. On behalf of this company I offered to carry at £16, provided the minimum number guaranteed for the ports of Wellington, Canterbury (Lyttelton), and Port Chalmers, was made 250 for each ship, which I understood would be no objection. The representatives of the other firms said they would do the same. You intimated your determination not to pay such a price, and Mr. Turner and myself went away, leaving Mr. Galbraith, Mr. Savill, and Mr. Temple in your room. I again saw you on the 18th and 19th, and made you propositions on behalf of the company. This was near the end of February, remember, and we were under no engagements to find ships for April. The March ships had only been supplied pending the adjustment of a fresh contract, under protest, as it were, by Mr. Turner. I laid before you our calculation of the cost of carrying emigrants, as furnished me by Mr. Turner from his experience, showing that with the then ruling prices £16 was barely remunerative, for your information ; begged you to verify the calculations by reference to competent authorities in the City ; and made you the following alternative offers, with the view of preventing a stoppage of emigration, and to give you another chance of referring to the colony with the knowledge and experience you had gained: — 1. To carry our proportion of the emigrants for April at a price to be fixed in the colony, a proper consideration to be named for legal purposes. 2. To hand over for your benefit the charters we have effected, and to act as your brokers in dealing with the ships, and to effect on the best terms obtainable such other charters as might be required, we finding you the light cargo needful for their loading, at the current increased rates of freight, either you supplying the emigrants food and requirements and fitting up the ships, or we doing so on your account: all discounts, percentages, &c, to be returned to you, and we to charge you only the customary brokerage of 5 per cent. These offers you at once declined. Eventually I jotted down in your room the following proposal, which it seemed to me would certainly prevent the tide of emigration from being abruptly stopped, whilst equally with the other propositions it would show the good faith and good intentions of this company, viz., — 1. To provide the April ships required by the Agent-General, pending a reference to the colony; 250 guaranteed each Wellington, Dunedin, Lyttelton ; 150 other ports ; nominal rates, those paid for March, but subject to adjustment as follows: — 2. If the offer of £16 is rejected, and the Government carry on their own emigration, then the

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April ships to be paid for at the rates the May ships cost the Government, class and conditions being equal. 3. If the offer of £16 is accepted hereafter, then that price shall be paid for the April ships. 4. If the Government decide to discontinue emigration, then the rates for April to stand the same as those for March. The proposals, you were aware, were applicable, as were the others also, only to our agreed proportion of the emigrants, more than which we could not undertake on anything like the terms, from not possessing the control of an adequate quantity of light cargo for loading more ships, whilst you had no dead weight either for Wellington or Canterbury; but I told you that if you decided to accept them, I would endeavour to get the Albion Shipping Company and Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co. to agree to carry their proportions on the same terms. You telegraphed your acceptance of the first two and rejection of the last two in the following terms : —" Won't entertain your two last conditions, and won't telegraph them to the colony. Will agree to two first proposals." I was content without this, and accordingly accepted your decision, and saw Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., and Mr. Galbraith, who readily agreed to do the same with regard to their proportions rather than allow an involuntary cessation of emigration. I advised you that they would do so, and I presume they both stand with regard to the April chips iv the same position as we do, viz. to provide the April ships required by the AgentGeneral, pending a reference to the colony; 250 guarantee each Wellington, Dunedin, Lyttelton; 150 other ports; nominal rates, those paid for March, but subject to adjustment at follows : —lf the offer of £16 is accepted hereafter, then that price shall be paid for the April ships. Before concluding this letter, I think it right to remind you once more that the South. Australian Government has recently paid £16 16s. for emigrants to Adelaide, and the New South Wales Government a somewhat similar rate, I understand, to Sydney, and that both have experienced great difficulty in getting their emigrants carried even at those rates, although their respective conditions are far less exacting and expensive than those of the New Zealand Government, and less provisions required to be put on board, whilst it is a fact that owners of ships will charter to Australia at fully ss. to 10s. a register ton, or £250 to £500 per 1,000-ton ship, less than they will to any New Zealand port. In conclusion, I beg to state emphatically that the New Zealand Shipping Company have not been, are not, and I trust will not in the future be, parties to any combination which has for its object the demanding of excessive rates of freight or passage money, either from the public at large or the Government which you represent. I have, &c, J. L. Costee, For the New Zealand Shipping Company, Limited. The Agent-General for New Zealand, London.

No. 52. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-G-eneeal. (No. 76.) Sic, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 13th March, 1875. It has come to my knowledge that certain immigrants by the ship " Ocean Mail" left the colony in Her Majesty's ship " Blanche," having shipped as seamen on board of that vessel. As seafaring men, as a class, are not at all likely to settle in the country, and have such constant opportunities of resuming their proper avocation on board ship in our several ports, I think it inadvisable that they should be allowed, except married men under special circumstances, to take advantage of the regulations for giving free passages which are at present in force. You will therefore be good enough to give instructions accordingly. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 53. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Geneeai. (No. 79.) Sic, — Immigration Office, "Wellington, 16th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 6, of the 12th January, 1875, with enclosures, and to thank you for the full information afforded therein relative to the loss of the " Cospatrick," and the display of public sympathy evoked by that deplorable event throughout the United Kingdom. The action you report to have taken in the matter entirely meets the approval of the Government, who feel sure that, in contributing the amount of £1,000 to the relief fund, you adopted a course which will commend itself to the people of the colony, who most deeply sympathize with the poor women and children bereaved by this terrible calamity. I await with anxiety the result of the inquiry by the Board of Trade, which you inform me has been instituted, and which it gives me satisfaction to learn is to be of so full and complete a character. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

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No. 54. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Geneeal. (No. 89.) Sir— Wellington, 16th April, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 5, 10th January, 1875, and to say, in reply, that it appeared to me to be of so unbecoming a character that I felt it my duty to bring it under the notice of my colleagues. The question having been carefully considered, the Government decided to have expunged from the Public Records of the colony the record of your letter No. 5, dated 10th January, 1875, and it has been expunged accordingly. I have therefore to return your letter, and to point out what I should have thought must be very obvious —that it will be quite impossible to carry on the public business of the colony if such suggestions, whether reasonable or unreasonable, as those contained in my predecessor's letter No. 181, dated 29th June, 1874, are to be met and treated by you as they have been in the letter herewith returned. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 55. The Hon. W. H. Eetnolds to the Agent-Genebal. (No. 96.) Sib, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 9th April, 1875. I have the honor to ackowledge the receipt of your letter No. 64, dated 22nd January ultimo, transmitting a letter from your Despatching Officer, covering his remarks in reply to various subjects contained in the reports on certain emigrant ships which have arrived in the colony, and upon the new dietary scale ordered in my letter No. 338, of 18th November, 1874. I desire to call your attention to the printed copy of the new dietary scale which is appended to Mr. Smith's letter. In schedule B there appears a very grave error. Instead of the schedule as forwarded in my letter of 18th November being substituted for the old schedule, according to my instructions, it is embodied with it in such a way as to make the dietary scale absurdly large for infants under one year. I append a copy of the schedule as it should be under the instructions referred to. I find, on looking over the draft of the letter No. 338, 1874, that a mistake occurred in schedule C, as forwarded to you, the supply of Liebig's extract of meat having inadvertently been omitted. I have, &c, William H. Eeynolds, (in the absence of the Minister for Immigration). The Agent-General for New Zealand, London.

No. 56. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-G-eneral. (No. 105.) Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, Ist May, 1875. Eeferring to your letter No. 81, of the 9th February, relative to the lunatic immigrants who have arrived in Otago, copy of which was forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent, I have the honor to transmit copy of a memorandum upon the subject addressed to Mr. Macandrew by the Immigration Officer. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

Enclosure in No. 56. Imhigeation Officee, Dunedin, to His Honor the Superintendent, Otago. Sib,— Dunedin, 14th April, 1875. Two female immigrants, M A T ■ and A A , who arrived in the ship " Christian McAusland," were both insane on the ship's arrival in port. The former, T , was very violent, and had to be watched both day and night. The insanity of A A was more of a melancholy type. In my memorandum No. 372, of sth January ultimo, addressed to your Houor, referring to four female immigrants who were consigned to the Lunatic Asylum on their arrival —viz., Mrs. S , per "Buckinghamshire"; C S , per "Otago"; A A , per "Christian McAusland"; M A T , per " Christian McAusland " —I stated that there was sufficient proof adduced that the two former were insane some time before leaving Britain, but as to A and T there were no such proofs, and consequently the two latter could not be shipped to Britain with any show of reason. As regards the assertion that M A T showed symptoms of insanity before leaving the depot in London, my informants were her own sister who accompanied her, and other female immigrants by the same ship. Her eccentricities however did not, at that time, assume the form of insanity, which developed itself when a few weeks at sea. She has now quite recovered her reason, after having been five months in the Asylum, and is filling the situation of a domestic servant. I have, &c, Colin Allan, His Honor the Superintendent of Otago. Immigration Officer.

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No. 57. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-General. (Telegram.) Wellington, Ist May, 1875. "Tower," "Fritz Eeuter," " Aberdare," " Timaru," "Davie," "Fox," "Fernglen." Send Scandinavians to Wellington only until further advised. Featherston, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 58. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-General. (No. 112.) Sir,— Immigration Office, Wellington, 6th May, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 139, of the Bth March, in which you inform me that Captain H. Kitchener, who is coming to this colony via Melbourne, intends applying to the Government, upon his arrival in New Zealand, for the value of steerage passages for two female servants he is bringing with him. The instructions of the Government affecting this application were conveyed to you in Mr. Vogel's letter No. 54, of 12th March, 1874, which states that the Government would be prepared to make an allowance in such cases to the extent of a refund of half a contract steerage passage, but only upon certain conditions, one of which was that the passages taken should bo direct to the colony. Upon consideration of the whole question, however, the Government have decided that this allowance will not for the future be granted to persons bringing out servants simply for their own convenience. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 59. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-General. (No. 120.) Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 10th May, 1875. I have the honor to transmit herewith copy of correspondence with his Honor A. P. Seymour, Superintendent of Marlborough, who, being about to visit England, offers his services to assist in procuring suitable emigrants for his province, and I have to request that you will co-operate with his Honor, and afford him every facility for carrying out his wishes. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

Enclosure in No. 59. Correspondence between the Superintendent, Marlborough, and the Minister for Immigration. Sir,— Picton, 3rd May, 1575. I am compelled to visit England immediately, and I propose to leave by next mail via San Francisco, and to return in December next. It is during the period of this visit that the AgentGeneral has been instructed to provide a shipment of immigrants for Picton direct. I trust I may not be making an improper request, if I ask you to authorize me to communicate with him, whilst I am in England, with regard to these immigrants, and I think I may be of some service in inducing suitable persons to emigrate from that part of the country (Devonshire) where my friends reside and which will be my head-quarters. • I have, &c, A. P. Seymour. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Superintendent. (Telegram.) Wellington, Bth May, 1875. I shall be very glad to avail myself of your services in England, and will instruct Agent-General, by mail, to communicate with you. The Superintendent, Blenheim. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 60. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-General. (No. 123.) Sic, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 10th May, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 138, of the 9th March ultimo, in which, with reference to my representations of the objections to sending emigrants to other ports than those nearest their final destination, you remark that you desire to point out that you are compelled to send many nominated and other emigrants in this way, on account of the difficulty constantly experienced in obtaining vessels to sail direct for certain ports of the colony ; and instance

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the cases of emigrants for Nelson, Marlborough, Westland, and Taranaki. lam fully aware that, in these cases, sending the emigrants by direct ships is not always in your power to arrange, and I had no wish to embarrass you with restrictions in the matter: my remarks had reference solely to cases that have occurred, when, for instance, emigrants for Auckland have been sent out in Otago ships, or vice versa, when, by other arrangements, the heavy expense of transhipment in the colony might have been avoided. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 61. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Geneeal. (No. 125.) Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 11th May, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 26, of the 9th March ultimo, having reference to the report of the Commissioners upon the ship " Howrah." With regard to your remarks relative to permitting full paying passengers to proceed in Government emigrant ships, I am glad to find that it is your practice to require undertakings from all such persons that they will comply with and submit to the regulations of the Government, and the rules and directions of the surgeon-superintendent. This to a great extent appears to me to obviate what gave rise to the recommendations of Immigration Commissioners in this case, and I would only further add, to what I have already expressed in my letter No. 377 of 23rd December last upon this subject, that I think it would be desirable that steerage passengers paying their own passages should do so, if it can be arranged, through your office, and so prevent the possibility of their taking any other position on board ships than that of ordinary emigrants; and with regard to first and second class passengers, I would suggest that these also should be subject to your approval before their passages are secured to them. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 62. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Geneeal. (No. 144.) Sic, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 7th June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 202, of the 19th March ultimo, forwarding copy of a communication addressed to you by Dr. Darcy Sinnamon, the local agent at Portadown, on the subject of the assistance granted to emigrants by the Queensland Government. Mr. Sinnamon does not absolutely state, but certainly seems to imply, that he, as agent for the New Zealand Government, has no power to advance money to intending emigrants for their passage to a port of embarkation, and outfit. As in my predecessor's telegram of 11th October, 1873, you were instructed to authorize where necessary these advances, and I am aware have done so in many cases, I am at a loss to understand the position taken by this officer. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 63. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Geneeal. (No. 145.) Sic, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 7th June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 219, of 6th April, forwarding Mr. Kirchner's report of his emigration operations for the year 1874, which I have read with very great interest. 2. I have given careful consideration to Mr. Kirchner's remarks with reference to a translation of the New Zealand Handbook, but I am of opinion, and I think you will agree with me, that in the probable contingency of not continuing to encourage German emigration, the expenditure is unnecessary. 3. I shall be happy to receive, for distribution amongst the German immigrants, any letters for them which may be forwarded by Mr. Kirchner, and I will cause immigration officers to be instructed to receive in return all letters which the immigrants may wish to send home through the Government. I have, <fee, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 64. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Genebal. (No. 151.) Sib, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 7th June, 1875. The Hon. the Premier has notified to the Government his intention, previously to his leaving England, of making arrangements with you as to the conduct of emigration during the ensuing financial

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year; under these circumstances, I desire that, should, as may possibly occur, any instructions transmitted from here be found to conflict with what may have been so arranged, that you will, unless specially advised to the contrary, act in accordance with the latter. I have, &c, The Agent-Q-eneral for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 65. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Geneeal. (No. 152.) Sic, — Immigration Office, "Wellington, 7th June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 240, of the 15th April, 1875, in which you enclose a copy of a communication you have addressed to the President of the Board of Trade, suggesting certain amendments in " The Imperial Passengers Act, 1855," having special reference to the propriety of increasing the number of articles to be classed as combustibles, and so excluded from forming part of the cargo of emigrant ships. The Government entirely approve of the course you have taken in this matter, and trust that it may result in such amendments of the law as may give further security against the recurrence of such a melancholy accident as the burning of a ship at sea. Pending the legislation indicated, I feel confident that you will, in your arrangements with the shipping companies, take such precautions as will prevent the shipping of dangerous material on board ships conveying emigrants to the colony. I have, &c, The Agent-G-eneral for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 66. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Geneeal. (No. 159.) Sic, — Immigration Office, "Wellington, 30th June, 1875. I have the honor to transmit herewith copy of a letter from his Honor the Superintendent of Hawke's Bay relative to immigration to that province, upon which I despatched to you the telegraphic message of which a copy is also enclosed ; and I shall be obliged by your making arrangements to meet, as far as is consistent with your general arrangements, the wish of his Honor. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

Enclosure 1 in No. 66. His Honor the Superintendent, Hawke's Bay, to the Hon. the Minister for Imhigbation. Sib, — Superintendent's Office, Napier, 9th June, 1875. I have the honor to address you in reference to immigration to this province. I believe the " Countess of Kintore," which vessel arrived here yesterday, brought the last shipment the AgentGeneral had to send to complete the number ordered for Hawke's Bay. The immigrants that have been received have, on the whole, been of a satisfactory class, and have been readily absorbed. Had they arrived at the time of year the Agent-General was directed to arrange to send them, it would have been better for the immigrants and more suited to the requirements of the district: what I mean is that had the bulk of the immigrants arrived during the busy season of the year their labour would have been more valuable to the settlers, and the immigrants themselves would have had time to get settled before winter. My present object in writing is to ask that instructions may be sent to the Agent-General to despatch fufl immigrant ships to this province, so as to arrive in each of the months of October, November, December, and January; and I am certain that the province can advantageously absorb say from 1,200 to 1,500 immigrants during the coming year, and if it could be arranged for them to arrive at the season I have named it would be very suitable. I would suggest that the Agent-General should be requested to send in each ship a good proportion of single girls and single men, and to avoid sending large families of young children, as the difficulty in finding places for people so circumstanced is very great. I have, &c, J. D. Osmond, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Superintendent.

Enclosure 2 in No. 66. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Geneeal. (Telegram). "Wellington, 30th June, 1875. " Kintoee," " Zetland," "Dunedin," "Hindostan," "Cicero," ""Wennington," "Tintem," "Hannibal." Ormond wants emigrants to arrive October, November, December, January. Featherston, London. _ Atkinson.

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No. 67. The Hon. Sir J. Vogel to the Agent- General. Sib,— London, 7th April, 1875. I have just learned, with great surprise, that a number of emigrants for Taranaki, Nelson, and Westland are being sent to Wellington. 2. Nothing is more clear than that such a mode of forwarding emigrants is opposed to the instructions sent to you from the colony; and, in addition, it is one which is calculated to be very costly. 3. I believe I communicated to you, after my arrival in Europe, asking you not to make any fresh arrangements for shipping without consulting me; and I understood that you had meanwhile made arrangements for your ordinary necessities only. I have been so much occupied, and so unwell, since I arrived in London, that I have not been able to go into the matter with you as I should desire; but, at the same time, I have been under the impression that you were not making any but ordinarily necessary shipping arrangements, and that you were not departing from your instructions. 4. I have several times spoken to you about Taranaki, and have expressed the desire that emigrants for that province should be sent out direct. 5. I write this letter in order to place on record the fact that the information as to the intended despatch of these emigrants, which I have received from Mr. Carter, has been to me wholly a surprise. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Julius Vogel.

No. 68. The Hon. Sir J. Vogel to the Agent-Genebal. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 9th April, 1875. I have delayed acknowledging the copy, which you sent me, of your letter of November 25th, 1874, on the subject of Mr. Cashel Hoey, until the Minister for Immigration, to whom the original was addressed, has requested me to deal with the matter to which it refers. It is desirable to place on record a reply to your letter. 2. I have not the papers before me, but I have no difficulty in explaining from memory the facts which seem to cause you so much anxiety. 3. The principle laid down in the Colonial Secretary's letter of 2nd August had reference to the appointment of a Private Secretary. You speak of the officer as " Confidential Secretary." If that was the term used, it was meant to designate only a Private Secretary. The Government would still, I believe, be of opinion that you should select the officer. In the subsequent telegrams which you quote, the Government understood the reference to be to a Private Secretary: in one of them, indeed, the words are expressly used. 4. It seems, by your letter, that when you telegraphed on the 20th February, you had Mr. Cashel Hoey's appointment in view, but merely asked permission to give £GOO for salary of secretary. I must express the opinion that it would have been better then that you had stated your intention. I presume you are not unaware of the controversy which Mr. Hoey's appointment to the Victorian Agency caused in the colony of Victoria. 5. The reply sent you on the 2nd April was considered by the Cabinet. The condition that the appointment was to be temporary was imposed because the Government thought it probable that extensive alterations would be found desirable in your department, and did not wish new permanent engagements made. It was even then thought that, if it was decided to provide you with an officer to fill a position analogous to that of Under Secretary, a Private Secretary might be unnecessary. G. The reply to your subsequent telegram about Mr. Cashel Hoey was considered by the Government. I may observe that Ido not agree with you that it released you from the previous instruction concerning a month's notice. You complain that the reply said nothing about Mr. Hoey. The omission was not accidental. The Government did not wish to recall your freedom to choose your own Private Secretary, subject to the conditions already laid down. I may, however, observe that Ministers did take into consideration whether they should prohibit Mr. Hoey's appointment, but came to the conclusion that it was unnecessary to do so, because you stated he required a salary of £GOO a year, and they thought that the refusal to allow anything like that salary was sufficient. The reason why they were inclined to stop Mr. Hoey's appointment was, because they believed that that gentleman sought a much more permanent and influential appointment than they were prepared to sanction. Mr. Hoey, though nominally Private Secretary to the Victorian Agency, held an appointment more in the nature of Acting Agent-General. Mr. Childers was not able to give his whole time to the office, and Sir J. McCulloch only accepted the appointment temporarily. Your own letter bears out this view. Private Secretaries do not receive special votes of thanks from Governments ; and you point to qualifications beyond those required by a Private Secretary. Although the Government were willing, under the conditions named, you should select your own Private Secretary, they were, of course, not inclined to waive the responsibility of appointing an officer who would possess, or be likely to assume, much larger powers than they considered attached to a Private Secretary's office. In their opinion, Mr. Hoey's want of knowledge of New Zealand disqualified him from exercising, in the New Zealand Agency, the powers he exercised in the Victorian Agency. 7. My telegram to you from Melbourne was caused by my noticing in the papers of that city a telegraphic report about Mr. Hoey's engagement. As you had not advised it, I thought it might be a rumour, and I telegraphed that which was really my opinion—that with Mr. Kennaway's aid you would not require Mr. Hoey's. 8. So much by way of explaining the circumstances to which your letter refers. I may add, that though I do not concur in the claims which you seem to consider Mr. Hoey possesses, I am willing that he should continue to hold the position of Private Secretary until the Government have considered

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of firo or other matter to attract attention. Deponent had been below about three-quarters of an hour, when he was aroused by the cry of fire, jumped out of his berth, and rushed on deck undressed; met the master at the cuddy door in his shirt, who ordered the deponent forward to inquire the cause of alarm. Deponent rushed forward and saw a dense smoke coining up the fore scuttle. The chief officer was getting the fire-engine to work. The passengers and crew were all rushing on deck. The cry was, that the fire was coming up the boatswain's locker. Deponent returned aft, and assisted the master to endeavour to get the vessel before the wind, but the vessel had no steerage way. In a few minutes the flames came up the forecastle, and the foresail was hauled up. The vessel now came up head to wind, which drove the smoke aft, the flames bursting up the fore hatchway. The master sent for deponent, and asked if it were possible to get volunteers to see whore the fire was. It was impossible, as the smoke was suffocating. Deponent asked the master if he should put the boats out; the master said " No, but do as much as you can to put the fire out." The foremast boats had by this time caught fire. The flames were now coming up the main hatchway. Deponent sent men to clear away the boats on the skids. The starboard quarter boat was now lowered, and about eighty, mostly women, got into it, the davits bending with their weight. As the boat touched the water she turned over, and the people were all drowned. Hencoops and other movables were thrown over, but it was of no avail to save life. Deponent now stationed two men at the port boat, to prevent any one lowering except by the master's orders. The officers now made the attempt to get the long-boat overboard, but there was too much confusion to get proper help; her bows caught fire, and she was abandoned; and there was a rush for the port life-boat, which was lowered, and about thirty or forty people got into her. Deponent slid down, and got on board by the fore tackle. The boat was kept clear of the ship. The chief mate and a female jumped overboard and wore picked up. By the time the boat got clear of the ship the main-mast fell overboard. Shortly after the stem blew out, and then the mizen-mast fell. After first speaking to the master, deponent got the signal ammunition thrown overboard. At daylight the starboard life-boat was found full of people. Deponent heard shouts for an officer to take charge of her. Got alongside and took charge. Thomas Lewis, A.8., Edward Cotter, 0.5., and Mr. Bentley, an emigrant, also got into boat with deponent. The gear remaining in the boat was divided between them, deponent's vessel getting one oar and a broken one. The two boats kept company, hovering round the burning ship the whole of the day, and until the afternoon of the 19th, when the ship sank. There were thirty people in deponent's boat and thirty-two in the mate's boat. As had been agreed with the chief officer, deponent then kept to the N.E., for the Cape of Good Hope, as did the other boat. The boats kept company all the 20th and 21st November, when it commenced to blow, and they separated. We were without provisions or water, or mast or sail, and had but one oar and a half. The wind was southerly, and, by taking one of the footlings, they managed to rig a sail with a girl's petticoat, and so kept the boat her course. The boat contained the baker, emigrants' cook, three A.B.s, one 0.5., and twenty-three passengers, with deponent, making in all thirty people. The other boat contained the chief mate, four A.B.s, one 0.5., the butcher, and twenty-six passengers, including one baby, aged eleven days. The people rapidly sank from want of food and water, and by the 25th were reduced to eight in number, three of these out of their mind. On the 26th, before daylight, a barque passed, which they hailed, but were unseen. On the 27th, they were picked up by the ship "British Sceptre," of Liverpool, and the five people then remaining alive were received on board, and treated with every kindness. Two, however (Robert Hamilton, A.8., and one passenger, name unknown), died before reaching St. Helena, leaving myself, Thomas Lewis, and Edward Cotter, 0.5., as far as I know, the only survivors. Deponent considers that all the gear was regularly kept in the boats, and that it must have got thrown out in the confusion. The oils used for the side lights and for the lights in the cuddy were kept in the port quarter gallery. The crew, including deponent, had lucifer matches, with which they used to light the lamps when necessary. The boatswain was the ouly man having access to the boatswain's locker, of which he kept the key. Nothing was kept there but the stores already enumerated, and deponent does not know whether the boatswain had been there that day. There was one ordinary seaman (Pillow) told off to go into the coal-hole every day to fill the baskets, which were hoisted up by the emigrants. No other person was allowed to go into the coal-hole, and deponent, who used frequently to talk to him about the coals and their running out, heard no remark as to their heating or smell. Pillow was a steady, intelligent young man. Deponent can give no reason how the fire originated. That the above contents are in all respects correct and true according to the best of deponent's knowledge and belief. Heney McDonald, 9, Piggott Street, Limehouse, E., and 45, Castle Street, Montrose, Eorfarshire. Sworn at the Custom House, London, 2nd January, 1875, before me—J. C. Stocktok, Receiver of Wreck. Edward Cotter, O.S. of ship " Cospatrick," says: —That he was ordinary seaman of ship " Cospatrick," of the Port of London, 1,200 tons register, and her official number being 20400; that said ship was owned by Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., residing at No. 34, Leadenhall Street, in the City of London; that said ship was rigged as a «hip, and built of wood ; that crew consisted of fortyfour hands; that said ship had on board a general cargo, shipped by Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., of London, and consigned to various consignees of Auckland; that said ship proceeded from London on 11th September, at 5 a.m., the tide last-quarter flood, weather fine, and wind blowing a moderate breeze ; that deponent was in the second mate's watch; the crew were sober, and attentive to their duties. Deponent had been told off' to the port launch, foremost boat, which was in good condition when the vessel sailed, and well found with gear, five oars, mast, breaker, with water, &c. ; that on Tuesday, 17th November, at 12 p.m., the weather fine, and the wind in the N.N.W., blowing a light air, the said ship was in the Southern Ocean, oft' the Cape. Deponent had boon on watch from eight till twelve, when ho was relieved, and went to his bunk, which was right forward. When he turned in, there were no indications of smoke or smell of fire. At about a quarter to one a.m. of the 18th 9—D. 2.

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inst. deponent heard a cry of " Fire." Deponent ran on deck, and could smell burning rope and tar, and then saw smoke coming up from the fore scuttle. The foresail was hauled up, and the engines rigged, tons of water being poured down the fore scuttle. The smoke became very dense and suffocating, and the fire gained rapidly. Deponent was stationed at one of the fire-engines. The crew and passengers were stationed in lines to pass the water buckets along, and by these means and by the engines immense quantities of water were poured down the fore scuttle. The engine deponent was stationed at kept going until the firo drove the crew away. The flames burst up from the fore hatchway ; the women and children were nearly all on the poop ; the crew and male passengers striving to subdue the fire. The fire gained, and all hands were driven aft, and the engine was abandoned. Deponent and the rest of the crew continued to work with the fire buckets, but all was of no avail. Deponent then went to the long-boat to secure a life belt; the life belts were usually kept in the quarter boat, but deponent, with two other hands, had been employed two days previously in removing most of the gear out of the quarter boats, in order that they might be thoroughly scraped and cleaned inside. The oars were not taken out of the boats. The life belts were gone. Deponent was then going aft to get a life buoy, when he was directed by Mr. McDonald, the second officer, to station himself at the port boat to prevent a rush, and got into the boat as she was lowered. In pushing off from the ship, an oar was broken. There were thirty-five people in the boat when she was lowered. The starboard boat was discovered afloat with twenty-five people, and they called for some seamen to take charge. Deponent, with three other men and Mr. McDonald, transferred themselves into the starboard boat; the boats kept together, and remained by the ship until she sank. In two days afterwards, during the night, the boats separated. Deponent and the crew rigged a sail from an old petticoat, and made for the N.E. The people rapidly sank from want of provisions, &c, and on the tenth day after leaving the " Cospatrick " five only remained, who were picked up by the " British Sceptre." Two died, deponent, McDonald, and Lewis being the only survivors. They were treated with the utmost humanity and kindness by the master and crew of the " British Sceptre." The boatswain was a very careful man, and had the keys of the locker always in his own possession, and visited his locker very frequently. Deponent had been employed by the boatswain about three weeks before the fire to go into the boatswain's locker to clear it up. Observed in the fore part a number of tins of paints, oils, then a quantity of oakum, rope, and, near the door, brooms, brushes, sundries, and gear for present use. The day deponent went into the locker a lamp was lighted on the deck and carefully secured in a proper lantern, and taken down by deponent for him to see to work by. Deponent is of opinion that the fire originated in the boatswain's locker. The bulk of the water thrown down must have passed the boatswain's locker, ran down the trunkway, and flowed into the coal-hole. Edwaud Cottee, 4, Mall Cottages, Silver Street, Kensington. Custom House, London, 2nd January, 1875 — J. C. Stockton, Keceiver of "Wreck. Thomas Lewis, quartermaster of ship " Cospatrick," says : —That he was quartermaster of the ship " Cospatrick," of the Port of London, of the register tonnage of 1,200 tons, her official number being 20400; that said ship was owned by Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., residing at No. 34, Leadenhall Street, City of London; that said ship was rigged as a ship, and built of wood; that crew consisted of forty-four hands; that said ship had on board a general cargo, shipped by Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., of London, and consigned to various consignees of Auckland ; that said ship proceeded from London on 11th September last past, at 5 a.m., weather fine ; that said ship proceeded on her said intended voyage, deponent being at the wheel; that on Tuesday, the 17th day of November, at 8 p.m., the weather fine, and the wind in the N.N.W., blowing a light breeze, the said ship was in the Southern Ocean, off the Cape. Deponent was at the wheel from ten till twelve p.m., when he was then relieved; the ship had then barely steerage way. When deponent went to the topgallant forecastle to his bunk, there was no smell of smoke nor any indication of fire. In about forty minutes deponent was aroused by the cry of " Fire," and immediately sprang out of his bunk and rushed on deck, and heard that smoke was coming up out of the fore scuttle. The hose of the fire-engines and fire buckets were got to work, and tons of water thrown down the fore scuttle ; but without apparent effect, the fire gaining rapidly on the vessel, and the people were all driven aft. Deponent, who had been told off as one of the crew of the starboard quarter boat, went to her, and found her choked with people. Deponent lowered the fore tackle ; the boat had too much weight in her, filled, and capsized. Deponent climbed up the foremost tackle, went across to the port boat, and succeeded in getting away in her. The starboard boat was afterwards found righted, with twenty-five people in her. Deponent, Mr. McDonald, and Edward Cotter and two others were transferred to the starboard boat. After remaining by the ship two days, during the whole of which time she was burning, she sank. The people in deponent's boat were much exhausted from the first, and, there being no water nor provisions, many of them rapidly sank. On the tenth day, when picked up by the "British Sceptre," only five remained alive, of whom two afterwards died. Deponent, with his fellow survivors, were treated with all possible kindness and humanity on board the " British Sceptre." Before commencement of the voyage, deponent was stationed as one of the crew of the starboard life-boat; all gear, oars, sails, breaker, &c, were then complete, and in the boat. The boatswain was coxswain. It was deponent's duty as quartermaster to attend to the boats. The gear was kept in the boats during the voyage; but a few days before the fire, some of the gear had been removed from the boats for the purpose of thorough cleaning. Deponent never saw any of the crew worse for liquor on board the ship, and considers his shipmates were a good, serviceable erew —steady, and always attentive to their duties. Deponent had a few boxes of lucifer matches for lighting his pipe. The ship's regulations as to smoking were rigidly adhered to. Deponent cannot account for the cause of the fire. His Thojias x Lewis, Mark, Sworn at the Custom House, London, 2nd January, 1875, Molivo, Anglesey, N. 'Wales. before me—J. C. Stockton, Eeceiver of Wreck.

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No. 102. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigbation. (No. 37.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 22nd January, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 328. of 16th November, 1874, forwarding copy of the Immigration Commissioners' report upon the ship " Duke of Edinburgh," which, you inform me, arrived at Lyttelton upon the Ist November. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners reported very favourably upon the fittings and general arrangements of the vessel, and described the emigrants as "highly satisfactory as to physique," and in every way suitable to the requirements of the province. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 103. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigbation. (No. 39.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sis, — 22nd January, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 335, of 18th November, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Hydaspes," which arrived at Auckland upon the 6th October, and was placed in quarantine, viz., — 1. Preliminary reports from the Immigration Officer, dated 7th and 13th November respectively. 2. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I observe that the report of the Immigration Commissioners was not received at the date of your letter. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 104. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 40.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 22nd January, 1875. 1 have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 330, of 16th November, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relating to the ship " Invercargill," which, you inform me, arrived at Port Chalmers upon the 15th October, viz., — 1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners were able to report favourably upon the condition of the vessel, the treatment of the passengers, the quality of the provisions, Ac. I have, Ac, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 105. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Ministee for Ihmigeation. (No. 41.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 22nd January, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 331, of 16th November, 1874, transmitting copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Jessie Eeadman," which, you inform me, arrived in Port Chalmers upon the 26th of October, viz., — 1. Immigration Commissioners' report, 2. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage, I am pleased to observe that the Immigration Commissioners reported very favourably upon the fittings and general arrangements and condition of the vessel, and upon the conduct of the surgeonsuperintendent, captain, and other officers. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 106. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Imihgbation. (No. 45.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic, — 22nd January, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 325,"0f 16th November, 1574, forwarding copy of a letter from Mr. A. Bradley, relative to emigration from the North of Ireland.

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A copy of this communication shall be forwarded to Mr. Samuel Cochrane, who is specially referred to by Mr. Bradley. I think it right, however, to point out that I have always regarded the emigrants drawn from the North of Ireland as of a very desirable character, and the ship's books show that numerous selections have been made from this class. I have, &c, I. E. FEATnEESTON, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 107. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigration. (No. 47.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib, — 22nd January, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 327, of 16th November, 1874, forwarding copy of the Immigration Commissioners' report upon the ship " Gutenberg," which, you inform me, arrived at Lyttleton upon the 25th October. I am glad to learn that the health of the immigrants had been good, and that only one death (an infant) had occurred during the passage. I observe the Commissioners' remarks respecting the manner in which the married people were berthed, "the bunks being made to hold two families, without any division between them." This description is not, I think, strictly accurate, as a division board was placed between the bunks; but it was not carried sufficiently high, and when the beds were made, there was no real separation between the two couples. I protested against this arrangement of the berths before the vessel left Hamburg, but, as it was according to the requirements of the German Emigration Officer, I was unable to effect any alteration in that instance. I informed the contractor, however, that in the case of all other vessels a proper division between the berths must be made. I have, &c, I. E. Feathekston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 108. The Agent- Genebal to the Hon. the Miutstee for Immigeation. (No. 50.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 22nd January, 1875. Eeferring to your letter of 26th October (No. 319), and your telegram of the same date, on the subject of Scandinavian emigration, I have the honor to inform you that all the arrangements for the despatch of the "Fritz Reuter " to Hawke's Bay having been completed at the date when I was instructed by you by cable to despatch all emigrants of that nationality to Wellington, I did not think it expedient to alter the destination of that ship. When I received your letter, now under reply, in which Hawke's Bay is named as well as Wellington, I was satisfied to find that I had therein exercised a right discretion. 2. You have correctly understood the general order of my arrangements as to continental emigration. I may, however, with advantage recapitulate them for your information as they at present stand. Since the month of Ostober, in which your letter under reply was written, a considerable proportion of the number of Scandinavians and Germans to proceed under my old contract with Messrs. Louis Knorr and Co., have been despatched to the colony. By the " Humboldt," which sailed on the 10th of October from Hamburg for Wellington, 298 Swedes, as well as 58 Prussians, 14 Germans of other states, and 17 Swiss, were despatched ; by the " Fritz Reuter," which sailed on the 16th December from Hamburg for Hawke's Bay, 284 Swedes, as well as 37 Prussians, 95 Germans of other states, and 27 persons of various continental nationalities, proceeded to the colony. Only about 400 now remain of the number for which the contract with Messrs. Knorr was concluded, and I hope to be able to despatch these with the 1,665 included in the transferred Queensland contract in the course of the present year, should Messrs. Sloman be able to provide the requisite tonnage. I shall then proceed to carry into operation the agreement which I have entered into for the despatch of the 4,000 which Mr. Kirchner has undertaken to select. 3. I must, however, speak with reserve and uncertainty on the prospects of continental emigration. The obstacles raised by the different Governments to the emigration of their subjects during the period of life when they are liable to military service—the period at which they are also, I need hardly add, especially fit for purposes of colonization —are already considerable, and tend, I am sorry to say, rather to increase than diminish. The new military law of the German Empire will raise the number of men strictly liable to be called to arms in the event of war to a total of 2,800,000 men. In Europe, at present there are, in round numbers, not less than twelve millions of men held bound to military service ; and the bond of conscription is most sternly exacted in the countries of Northern and Central Europe, from which the colony has hitherto been most desirous to attract emigrants. 4. It is not so easy as you have been led to suppose to obtain that large proportion of single women suitable for domestic labour, which you wish me to secure, from.Germany. I have, however, spared no pains to carry out the wishes of the Government on this subject, and in order to give my agents a due sense of the importance I attached to this class of emigrants, I agreed, as you may have observed in my contract with Messrs. Louis Knorr and Co., that the rate of payment for the passage of single females of suitable character and qualities should be £14, while in the case of single men and married couples it was at the rate of £10 per statute adult. In my previous agreement with Messrs. AVinge and Co. in 1871,1 had also agreed that while married couples should at that time be charged £10 per statute adult, single females should have free passages.

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5. I enclose for your information a copy of my agreement with Messrs. Sloman and Loesener for the carrying out of the transferred Queensland contract now about to come into operation, and of my letter appointing Mr. Kirchner as my principal agent on the Continent to superintend the fulfilling of that contract, and of the one with Messrs. Kuorr, pending the conclusion of the contract which it is agreed shall be afterwards entered into for the 4,000 above specified. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 108. The A&ent-Geneeal to Mr. Kiechnee. Sic, — 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., I offer you herewith the agency for New Zealand to procure and superintend the shipment of emigrants from the Continent to that colony. I am willing to grant you the same terms that were allowed you while you acted for Queensland, viz., a fixed salary of £400 per annum, with travelling expenses and refundment of all other outlays, such as agents' commission, advertising, office charges, &c. The agreement to date from the Ist April proximo, and to remain in force until the completion of my two contracts with Messrs. Louis Knorr and Co., or their successor, for the conveyance of respectively 2,000 and 1,615 emigrants. After the expiration of the above two agreements I shall expect you to superintend the selection and shipment of 4,000 emigrants, for the conveyance of whom you will contract with Messrs. E. M. Sloman and Co., of Hamburg; your agency to be fixed at £1 per adult, which amount is to include n.ll other charges. I have, &c, I. E. Featiieeston, ¥m. Kirchner, Esq., Darmstadt. Agent-General.

Enclosure 2 in No. 108. Aeticles of Agbeement made this fourteenth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and seventyfour, between Her Majesty the Queen for and on behalf of the Colony of New Zealand, of the first part, Isaac Eael Featiieeston, of No. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, in the County of Middlesex, Esquire, the Agent-General in England for the Government of the said Colony of New Zealand as Agent for and on behalf of the said Government, of the second part; and Bobeet Miles Sloman and Fbedeeick Leopold Loeseneb, trading under the style or firm of and hereinafter designated "the said Eobert Miles Sloman and C 0.," both of the City of Hamburg, Shipowners, of the third part; and whereby it is agreed between the said parties hereto as follows, viz., — 1. The said Eobert Miles Sloman and Frederick Leopold Loosener do hereby jointly and severally agree with Her Majesty the Queen, on behalf of the said colony, and with the said Isaac Earl Featherston, on behalf of the said Government, to convey within eighteen months from the date hereof, from the port of Hamburg to any safe port or ports in the said colony to be selected by the said Government, or by the said Agent-General, or William Kirchner, or such other agent as may be lawfully appointed by them for the purpose, any number of statute adults (that is to say, persons above the age of twelve years), or any two persons between the age of one year and twelve years, the number of such adults not to exceed in the whole one thousand six hundred and fifteen, and any number of children under one year old, relations of the said statute adults (such children under one year old to be conveyed by the said Eobert Miles Sloman and Co. with a free passage), at such times from and after the date of these presents as shall be appointed by the said William Kirchner, the Agent for the said Government on the Continent for the time being: Provided always that not less than five hundred adults shall be conveyed in any one year. 2. Each vessel used for the conveyance of such emigrants shall be a first-class fast-sailing vessel, fitted with an efficient condenser, to be worked at the expense entirely of the said Eobert Miles Sloman and Co., and (subject to the terms of the proviso contained in the last clause) the number of persons to be conveyed in each vessel and the date of sailing shall be respectively approved and appointed by the said William Kirchner, or other the agent of the said Government on the Continent for the time being, it being however understood that no less a number than two hundred and fifty of the said statute adults, nor any larger number than the vessel provided by Messrs. Eobert Miles Sloman and Co., can properly carry, shall be shipped at any one date to any separate port, and that the day of sailing shall be named by the said William Kirchner, or other the agent of the said Government on the Continent for the time being, at least two months in advance, the said Eobert Miles Sloman and Co. having the privilege of fixing the exact date within a period of twenty days before or after the time appointed. 3. The space allowed to each statute adult before defined shall be fifteen superficial English measurement. The unmarried emigrants of the one sex shall be separated from those of the other sex by proper bulkheads and the hospitals; the supply of the distilling apparatus, life-boats, fireengines, and the fittings and general arrangements of the several ships in which the emigrants shall be conveyed, shall in all respects be in conformity with the Acts of the British Parliament relating to the conveyance of passengers or emigrants, and shall be such as shall be approved of in writing by the said William Kirchner or other the agent of the said Government on the Continent for the time being. In all other respects the laws and customs of the States of the German Empire shall be substituted for the English laws and customs, so far as may be deemed expedient by the Commissioners of the German Empire for the inspection of passenger ships, Captain Weickman, of the Imperial German Navy, and the said William Kirchner, or other the agent of the said Government on the Continent for the time being.

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4. The said Kobert Miles Sloman and Co., or one of them, will, during the voyage, and at their own cost, provide each statute adult upon the days and at the times specified in the following scale with the provisions of the descriptions and quantities following, (that is to say) for each statute adult, on every Sunday during the voyage, half a pound of preserved beef, and half a pound of flour for pudding, with four ounces of raisins ; on every Monday, half a pound of salt pork, half a pound of peas or saver-kraut; on every Tuesday, half a pound of salt beef and half a pound of barley or lentiles ; on every Wednesday, herring or half a pound of salt fish and half a pound of lentiles or of haricot beans; on every Thursday, half a pound of preserved mutton and half a pound of flour for pudding, with four ounces of prunes ; on every Friday, half a pound of salt pork and half a pound of peas for soup ; on every Saturday, half a pound of salt beef and half a pound of rice, with treacle. Every day three quarts of water, besides such as may be required for cooking purposes. And in addition, weekly, for every passenger, three pounds of potatoes, five pounds of white biscuits, five-twelfths of a pound of butter, two ounces of coffee, one ounce of tea, six ounces of sugar, four ounces of treacle, six ounces of lime juice, and the necessary vinegar, salt, and pepper ; and will supply each ship with a stock of provisions of the different descriptions sufficient for a voyage of one hundred and fifty-four days, allowing for each statute adult upon the said scale. The said Eobert Miles Sloman and Co., or one of them, will also at the like cost provide each ship with the medical comforts of the description and in the quantities following, (that is say) for every one hundred statute adults carried by such ship twenty-eight pounds of Carolina rice, twenty pounds of oatmeal, ten pounds of arrowroot, thirty pounds of barley, twenty-five pounds of sago, ten pounds of tapioca, two pounds of Liebeg's meat extract, or two hundred and fifty pounds preserved meat soup, forty pounds of preserved meat, twenty pounds of preserved beef and mutton in one-pound tins, two hundred pounds of loaf sugar inelis, thirty-six bottles of claret, eighteen bottles of sherry, twelve bottles of gin, twenty dozen of Bavarian beer, five gallons of vinegar, ten pounds of preserved milk, one hundred pounds of soap, three pounds hops, one hundred pounds of quick lime. The said Eobert Miles Sloman and Co., or one of them, will also at the like cost supply each ship with one chest containing the medicines and drugs usually found in a ship's medicine chest. (The surgeon-superiutendent appointed^to each ship providing his own instruments.) 5. The said ships with their fittings and arrangements, and all the provisions, medical comforts, and drugs shall, before the sailing of the several ships, be surveyed and examined by the said William Kirchner, or other the agent of the said Government on the Continent for the time being, who shall, when satisfied therewith, give to the said Eobert Miles Sloman and Co. a certificate of his approval thereof, as well as the number of passengers allowed to be carried by every ship under this contract. 6. The said Eobert Miles Sloman and Co., or one of them, will give a free passage out and home to the surgeon-superintendents appointed by the said Government, as hereinafter is mentioned, with a state room and mess at the captain's table, but without spirits (providing the said surgeon-superin-tendent with a bottle of good wine per diem on the outward passage) similar to what is furnished for saloon passengers. The return voyage of each such surgeon-superintendent to be commenced within two months from his landing in the said colony, or should any such surgeon-superintendent prefer to return by any other means than in a ship belonging to the said Robert Miles Sloman and Co., they, the said Eobert Miles Sloman and Co., or one of them, shall pay to such, surgeon-superintendent the costs of his passage homo, such costs not to exceed the sum of fifty pounds. 7. The said Government, by the said Agent-General, in consideration of the agreements hereinbefore contained on the part of the said Eobert Miles Sloman and Co., agree to pay to them the sum of seven pounds on account of the passage money for each statute adult sailing in any vessel so to be provided as aforesaid, such sum to be paid in London in cash ten days after the sailing of each such ship : Provided the said William Kirchner, or other the agent acting on behalf of the said Government, shall certify that each such ship has been properly equipped and found in accordance in all respects with the provisions of this agreement, and on the receipt by the said Agent-General of such certificate and of the usual return roll of the emigrants, signed by the said William Kirchner or such other agent as aforesaid, and a further sum of seven pounds, being the remainder of the passage money for every such statute adult who shall be landed in New Zealand within seven days of the arrival of the ship from which such adult shall have landed, such last-mentioned sum to be paid in bank bills on London at par. 8. The said Government will provide a German surgeon-superintendent for each ship, who shall receive his instructions direct from the said William Kirchner, or other the agent of the said Government on the Continent for the time being, and whose orders respecting the medical treatment and the arrangements regarding the comfort of the passengers shall be obeyed by the captain, officers, and crew, but no such surgeon-superintendent shall interfere with the working of the ship to which he shall be attached. 9. This agreement or the benefit thereof shall not be assigned or transferred to any other person or persons without the previous consent in writing of the said Isaac Earl Featherston, or other the Agent-General of the said colony for the time being. In witness whereof the said parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands and seals, the day and year first above written. (Signed) Eobebt Miles Sloman, Feedk. Leopold Loeseneb, I. E. Featheeston. Witness to the signatures of the said E. M. Sloman, F. L. Loesener, and I. E. Featherston— (Signed) W. Kibchneb. The payment of fifty pounds by Messrs. Eobert M. Sloman and Co. to the surgeon for his return passage is herewith revoked, and instead thereof the amount is to be devoted for the purchase of additional medical comforts. (Signed) E.M.S. F.L.L. (Signed) W.K I.E.F,

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No. 109. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 52.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir, — 22nd January, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd October, in which you express your satisfaction at being informed of the active measures taken by me in regard to "The Immigrants Land Act, 1873." 2. You proceed to observe that the department is still flooded with applications under the Act, of such an irregular character that they cannot be entertained, many of them emanating through this office. I have to request that you will direct an exact record to be kept in the department of the names, dates, and special particulars of all irregular applications purporting to emanate through this office. If a copy of such record be forwarded to me from time to time, I shall be enabled to investigate the cases. It is manifestly impossible for me to make any reply to a statement of so large and general a character as that the department is flooded with irregular applications emanating, in a considerable proportion, through this office. In asking you to direct such a record to be kept, I should, however, request you, beforehand, to read my remarks on a, precis of cases prepared by an official of the department, and appended to your predecessor's despatch of Bth September, No. 2G4. I submit, with much respect, that I have some right to complain that my time should be withdrawn from the arduous and responsible tasks which devolve upon me, in giving various and detailed replies regarding cases, many of them so futile and groundless. In that precis you will find gravely advanced as matter of charge against this department, that I did not give my certificate to persons who sailed for the colony before the Act had been sent to me from New Zealand—persons who were on their way to the colony as assisted emigrants when the Act reached England—persons who pleaded on their arrival in the colony that they were ignorant of the existence of the Act; and, on the other hand, it is also made matter of charge against me, that I gave my certificate or letter of recommendation to persons who seemed to me to fulfil all the conditions of the Act (as I have very fully explained my construction of it in my letter of 15th December, No. 195G), but against whom it was alleged, as an objection of manifest weight, that in one case the applicant was father-in-law to the master of a college, and in the other, that they had come to the colony as first or second class passengers. 3. I take note of your statement that you indorse the instructions conveyed in your predecessor's letter of Bth September, already cited; and I beg to refer you to my letter in reply of 15th December, No. 195G, in which I state my intention of carefully giving those instructions effect, except in respect to the point in which I am obliged, by the terms of the Act, to certify that to my knowledge the applicant has already paid his passage. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 110. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 75.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 9th February, 1575. In continuation of my letter of the 12th January, No. 6, I have the honor to enclose for your information a copy of a report, taken from the columns of the Times newspaper, of the inquiry instituted by the Board of Trade into the causes of the loss of the emigrant ship the " Cospatrick," which was held at Greenwich on the 3rd, 4th, and sth instant. 2. The report of the Court to the Board has. not as yet been made public, and I abstain from remarks on the results of the inquiry until it has been communicated to me. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 110. First Day. The official inquiry into the loss of the "Cospatrick" commenced yesterday, at the Greenwich Police Court, before Mr. Patteson and the Board of Trade Assessors —Captain Castle, Captain Pryce, and Mr. Turner. Mr. Arthur Cohen, Q.C., and Mr. Hargrave Hamel appeared for the Board of Trade; Mr. G. Wood Hill for the owners of the " Cospatriek." The Quean, on behalf of the Colonial Government of New Zealand, was made a party to the charter of the ship, together with the Agent-General for New Zealand, and Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., managing owners of the "Cospatriek;" and the Crown in that capacity, and so far as responsible for the emigration arrangements of the colony, under whose auspices the " Cospatriek " was despatched, was yesterday represented by Mr. Watkin Williams, Q.C., and Mr. Dennistoun Wood. It may briefly be said that the result of the evidence taken yesterday was to confirm on oath the accounts already laid before our readers. Mr. Cohen opened the case by narrating the facts directly connected with the burning of the " Cospatrick," and he made some observations on the main objects of the Board of Trade inquiries, as defined before the Commission on unseaworthy ships. He believed he was authorized to state that the main purpose for which this inquiry and inquiries of a like nature were instituted on behalf of the Board of Trade, was to enable a competent Court to ascertain the cause or causes of the loss, and to

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make such suggestions or to place before the Board of Trado and public at large information which would lead to such suggestions as might tend to avert similar disasters in future. The inquiry whether any officer on board the vessel was to blame, and whether his certificate should be suspended or taken away, was now considered but of secondary importance compared with the importance of thoroughly investigating the causes of the loss, and the means by which similar losses may in future be avoided, or rendered less frequent or less disastrous. These being the objects of this inquiry, it appears that the facts of the case at once raised two questions: What was the cause of the fire, and what was the cause of its spreading with such fatal rapidity and violence ? How has it happened that, although the ship did not sink until thirty-six hours after the fire broke out, so few lives were saved ? In connection with the former question, the important fact would be proved, that the cargo comprised a great quantity of goods of an inflammable and combustible nature, such as spirits, tar, pitch, oil, and turpentine. The 29th section of the Passengers Act, 18 and 19 Vie, cap. 119, directed that, — " No passenger ship shall clear out or proceed to sea if there shall be on board as cargo horses, cattle, gunpowder, vitriol, lucifer matches, guano, or green hides, nor if there shall be on board any other article or number of articles, whether as cargo or ballast, which, by reason of the nature or quantity or mode of stowage thereof, shall either singly or collectively be deemed by the Emigration Officer at the port of clearance likely to endanger the healths or lives of the passengers, or the safety of the ship." The object of the section was to give the Emigration Officer power to prevent the departure of a. vessel improperly laden, but it did not discharge those who had loaded the vessel from liability if they loaded a dangerous cargo, or stowed one in an improper manner. It would, he apprehended, be an important duty for them to consider whether the shipowners or their agents were negligent in allowing such a, cargo to be shipped at all in a wooden emigrant ship, with 430 passengers on board, or in stowing the cargo in the manner in which it was stowed. It would also, perhaps, be thought worthy of consideration whether further precautions than those adopted in this case should not be taken by the Emigration Officers, in order to ascertain the quality of the cargo shipped on board emigrant vessels, and the manner in which it was stowed. It would bo an essential consideration for them whether or not there was negligence or imprudence in reference to the management of the boats, and also generally whether the circumstances of the case did not suggest important recommendations as to what could and ought to be done with a view of lessening the danger likely to result from the breaking out of a fire on board wooden ships full of emigrants. Francis William Miller, a clerk in the office of the Principal Searcher of the Custom House, London, produced his abstract from the Customs' shipping bills to prove the nature of the cargo. The abstract showed the presence on board of 1,732 gallons of linseed oil, of oils of other sorts, paperhangings, bags, fruits, stationery, of measurement goods like furniture, wearing apparel, lace, cotton slops, oilman's stores, and a very largo quantity of spirits—276 gallons of brandy, 1,405 gallons of British spirits, mixed spirits, wine, and 2G gallons of proof spirits. Then there was on board (but not in cargo, Mr. Wood Hill contended for the owners) a gross of boxes of lucifor matches, and twenty gallons of paraffine. Charles Henry McDonald (sworn as Henry McDonald) repeated his statement already published. The regulations were put in, and Mr. Watkin Williams took this opportunity of referring to other documents which were attached to the charter-party. There was, ho said, the Queen's Order in Council relating to emigrant ships. These were regulations which fixed the time of rising and of retiring to rest. Fires were to be lighted at eight o'clock, and by the cook only, and extinguished by him at seven, unless otherwise required for the master or for the use of the sick. The master was to fix the order in which the fire-side might bo used by families. There were regulations about lights, and forbidding smoking between decks. No passenger was to take on board any spirits or gunpowder. There were instructions for the superintendents of emigrant ships, surgeon, and for the captains. Mr. McDonald then, in answer to questions, said that all the entries referred to were posted in the ship, and the regulations mentioned were observed. A miscellaneous cargo was taken in. The number of emigrants was below the statutory number (as defined in "The Passengers Act Amendment Act, 1855," 18 and 19 Viet., cap. 119, section 14). The New Zealand Government have also regulations of their own. Examined by Mr. Wood Hill, he said the stowage of the cargo was superintended by a stevedore, who was specially employed, and whose duty it was to stow cargoes. There was nothing improper in the cargo, and, in witness's judgment, it was properly stowed. He was acquainted with the character of the cargo usually carried in ships to Australia and New Zealand, and this was such as is usually sent to the colonies from London. Mr. Wood Hill: It has been suggested that there was an unusually large quantity of inflammable matter. Mr. Cohen : Not by me. Mr. Wood Hill: If there is no suggestion of that sort, I need not meet it. Mr. Cohen: If it is not unusual, it may still be improper. Mr. Watkin Williams supported Mr. Wood Hill's question about unusual quantity. Mr. Cohen said he was astonished the Crown should think proper to send emigrants abroad in ships without chartering the whole of the ship. The fact that spirits must be sent to the colonies was not enough to justify sending them in a wooden ship with more than 400 emigrants in her. Examination by Mr. Wood Hill continued : The captain was quite cool and collected, and remained bo till the last. There was no confusion preventing the men from working at first, and the force-pumps were quickly to work. The confusion was in the after part, among the women. The confusion arose among all when it became impossible to do anything. By Captain Pryce: They had a good crew. The only persons punished had been two emigrants. The coal-hole was not visited by any officer. An ordinary seaman went down and the passengers hoisted the coal up.

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By Captain Castle: There was no possibility of any of the crew getting down into the fore peak, taking a plank out of the bulkhead, and so getting into the cargo for beer or spirits, although it was true the officers had contemplated taking out a plank or two to get through to the coals. It was a very strong bulkhead and lined with tin, and all the coal and provisions were aft, and the men would have had a long way to go for spirits. There was nothing to prevent them getting down into the fore peak except the locks, and they could be broken. Ever since he had joined the ship he had never seen the l>oats, other than the two life-boats, off the skids, excepting the captain's gig. It would have taken about twenty minutes to get the long-boat out under favourable, circumstances. By Mr. Turner: The shaft between the single men and the boatswain's locker was 4ft-. by 3ft. The bulkhead in the 'tween decks was two inches and a half thick. The boatswain's locker was .secured to the beams. There were combings, hatches, and locks to each hatch. The hatches were removed several times during the voyage, but the passengers could not have access to the hold without breaking the locks. Thomas Lewis, examined by Mr. Cohen, said what McDonald said about the fire was, so far as ho knew, all true, but he knew nothing' about the cargo. He washed the starboard quarter boat every morning. He had a few boxes of lucifer matches to light his pipe. Every man had them, but none of the matches were taken down to the store. Edward Cotter, called by Mr. Cohen, said he was an ordinary seaman on board the " Cospatrick," and that what McDonald had stated about the fire was correct. He saw smoke coming through the cracks in the forecastle where he was asleep, before he rushed on deck. It was coming up the air shaft, and came between the cracks of the boards which separated the forecastle from the air shaft. He smelt tar and ropes burning. He had been ordered some three or four weeks before the fire to go into the locker and clear it up. The boatswain was in the habit of getting some one of the crew to go there and put it in order, and he might leave him there some time without looking after him. The locker was only cleared out twice after leaving London; but the boatswain would often in the course of the day send men down for ropes or anything that was wanted. When the witness cleared up the locker, he found oils, paint, oakum, rope, brooms, and brushes. The oils were in the eye of her, right forward. It was pretty dark in the locker, and when a man went down, he would take one of those round globe lamps, always covered —one which they used for a riding light in the Downs. Oakum and ropes were spread about when he went down. A tin of oil was sometimes brought on deck; otherwise the oil was kept in the eye of her. The oakum was next to the oils when witness cleared up the locker. By Mr. Wood Hill: He thought the fire broke out "in the fore peak —that is, in the boatswain's locker." The single-men passengers first found the fire out, and they ran into the forecastle crying " Fire," and said it was in the boatswain's locker. There was a deck between the boatswain's locker and the fore peak, but there was an opening in that deck, and the opening led down into the fore peak, where the coals were stowed. When the coals had been got up the flap was put down. There was a close hatch. The bar was put over the close hatch, and it was locked with a padlock. The thickness of the flap was about 3 inches. Coals were brought up twice a day. A lad used to go down without a light, the light from the deck shining down. McDonald, recalled by counsel for the Board of Trade, could not undertake to say there was any oil immediately abaft the bulkhead, nor anything about fifty drums of oil. There was coal under the water tanks, but only just a little to make a level flooring. The oil must have been higher up than the coals, not touching the coal at all. The inquiry was then adjourned till half-past eleven next morning. Second Dat. The official inquiry into the burning of the " Cospatrick " was continued yesterday at the Greenwich Police Court, before Mr. Patteson and the Assessors of the Board of Trade, Captain Castle, Captain Pryce, and Mr. Turner, Principal Shipwright Surveyor to the Board. Mr. Arthur Cohen, Q.C., and Mr. Hargrave Hainel appeared for the Board of Trade; Mr. G. Wood Hill for the owners of the " Cospatrick." The inquiry was watched on the part of the Colonial Government by Mr. Dennistoun Wood, with whom was Mr. Watkin Williams, Q.C. The nature of the cargo was proved by the documents put in on Wednesday, and the inquiry yesterday was principally directed to the mode of stowage. As to this, the evidence of the managing stevedore who stowed the vessel did not in some points agree with the accounts given yesterday and previously by the second mate, nor did cither's statement tally with the rough plan made from memory by the ship's husband. In the end, however, Mr. Patteson declared that the Court was satisfied that the cargo was projjerly stowed, although he guarded against any expression of opinion as to the propriety of carrying such goods as it included. The managing stevedore had previously admitted to counsel for the Board of Trade that the eventuality of a fire on board was not in this case, nor usually, one of the considerations present to the stevedore's mind in stowing the vessel. It should be mentioned here, that the word "bulkhead" will be found below to be used by the witnesses in two senses: first, as applied to the regular partition of timber and metal in the fore part of the ship ; secondly, as an arrangement of cargo in the hold, which serves some of the purposes of such a partition. Mr. Stephen Thompson, of George Thompson, jun., and Co., the owners of the Aberdeen Clipper Line, was examined by Mr. "Wood Hill. His firm, he said, was largely engaged in the China, Australia, and New Zealand trade, taking their own risks and not insuring. He had seen the manifest of the " Cospatrick," containing a list of oil, spirits, turpentine, pitch, and tar, and he saw no objection to those articles. His firm owned the ship " Samuel Plimsoll," at the launch of which Mr. Plimsoll assisted. She had sailed to Australia with emigrants on board, and loaded, as the " Cospatrick " was, with spirits, oil, and light measurement goods —a general cargo. In examination by Mr. Cohen, he said the "Samuel Plimsoll" was an iron vessel with collision bulkheads. ]Mo precaution was taken in his vessels about the boatswain's locker, but as a rule it was on deck. A fire broke out in one of them, the " Miltiades," under the cooking range, through the excessive 10—D. 2.

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heat of the condenser, but it was put out before it readied the cargo. It was confined to the deck. Asked if he thought any cargo objectionable, he said he would not like to carry acids; they might be ignited by concussion, and the ship could not be saved ; but he did not think spirits or oil objectionable, except so far as they might damage fine goods. You might as well have a whole cargo of brandy or oil, whether emigrants were on. board or not, for forty lives were as valuable as 400, and owners ought to be as careful of the lives of their crew as of any. Macdonnld had said that more than 200 could not have been saved by the boats of the " Cospatrick," and Mr. Cohen asked the witness whether the difference between means of saving forty and 400 by the boats might not be sufficient reason for greater precaution. There was no answer. By Captain Pryce: He had often had to pay damages to merchants for the plunder of the cargo. Isaac Carter, managing stevedore for Mr. Westhorp, called by Mr. Cohen, said he superintended the stowage of the "Cospatrick." He leaves a foreman in each ship, and visits the ship twice or thrice a day himself, examining stowage. The foreman who stowed the ship is ill. He did not know anything about the boatswain's locker; he had nothing to do between decks, but in the hold. He got down to the fore peak through two scuttles, one through the upper deck and one through the main deck. In passing through from one scuttle to another he did not pass through the boatswain's locker. There was a bulkhead between the shaft and the boatswain's locker. No cargo was put in the fore peak, but coals were. Abaft the fore peak there was a bulkhead, and between that and the forecastle, coals, water, salt provisions, pitch, and tar were placed, and a few tins of oil —forty or fifty, but he did not count them. He should think there were thirty or forty tons of coal in that space. He could give no idea of the quantity of pitch and tar. They were in casks of about 2 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft., and perhaps forty casks in the two wings. They were stowed in the wings of the water tanks. The forty or fifty cans of oil were stowed upon the coals upon the port side. If the wings were made up level they would take that. There was nothing in the wings but pitch and tar, except, perhaps, a few cases of provisions. The space between the bulkhead and fore-mast was full. The water tanks were up to the decks within a foot, and in the centre there was a space of three or four feet between cargo and deck. There were some coals under the water tanks, to a depth of 1 ft. to 16 in. Near the bulkhead, where they had run over, they were nearly up to the top, but the greatest height of them was 8 ft. or 10 ft. On the coal was the oil. Next aft were the water tanks; then general cargo. There were three lengths of casks of oil at the bottom, on the ship's keel, at the after part of the tanks. Above that were crates of glass, crockery ware, and rough ware, to prevent any communication between the fore-hatch and the main. The iron was abaft of the water tanks and the oil, and extended from the main to the mizen-mast. The oil was separated from the coal below the water tanks by means of flat wood placed along the ends of the casks. The light-measurement goods, such as paper, curtains, &c, would be stowed between the water tanks which were abaft the fore-mast and the main-mast. Measurement goods are used in all emigrant ships to close up all liquids, so that spirits cannot be got to. In stowing this ship they made a bulkhead, going up to the deck, of light, rough goods, about 12 ft. abaft of the water tanks. Immediately abaft the bulkhead was the bottled beer. As regards the passengers' stores, the provision stores were forward, the dry stores between the main and after hatch. Abaft the main-mast there was iron at the bottom, and above that cases of bolts for railway lines ; above them were the dry stores. Abaft the bolts were two rows of water tanks on top of railway iron. Abaft the water tanks wore tanks of malt and casks of cement. Above them were bales of light goods, blankets, &c. The spirits were stowed fore of the mizen-mast, and protected from any one getting at them by the bales of light goods. There were 1,000 or 1,500 cases of spirits on board —a large quantity. The spirits extended aft nearly or quite up to the sternpost. All the cases of spirits and part of the bulk were abaft the water tanks, but there were some in the fore part of the main hatch, in the wings of the malt tanks, including four butts of wine and twentyfive casks rum, protected from plunder with hardware in the wings, and covered with light goods. His firm loaded all the Auckland ships for Shaw, Savill, and Co., most of which are emigrant ships. He went to the "Cospatrick" when she first came to her berth, and when there were already barges and goods in the sheds waiting. By Mr. Wood Hill: He had heen nine years a managing stevedore, employed by the best firms in superintending the stowage of 100 or 120 ships a year. Many of those were engaged in the colonial trade. They know where the ship is bound for, and make arrangements for stowing accordingly. It was, in his judgment, good stowage to stow the vessel in the way in which she was stowed ; and the captain before starting expressed that opinion to witness. The coals, in pouring in, fell on each side of the bulkhead, which originally came up to the deck ; but they knocked two boards out at the top. The drums of oil forward of the tanks on the' coals were in iron tanks. If there are many of such drums they are constantly found to leak more or less. In Mr. Gr. Thompson's ships they do not allow them in the hold, but carry them in the cabin, and very few of them, for they are likely to damage other cargo. He had for many years stowed oil upon coal, and found no ill consequences arise. It was put to him that according to the manifest there were only twenty barrels of pitch and tar. He had thought there were more, but was not certain. The oil casks above the water tanks were on the skin of the ship, with the ordinary dunnage bods (of wood) in two tiers, and they were separated from the coals by the ordinary dunnage wood. The wood was used to prevent chafing. Leakage from the oil casks would go down the limbers and away to the pumps. The ship was trimmed properly, the bow being deeper by eight inches than the stern. This difference would be reduced to equality by gradual consumption of the coals and provisions in the bow. By Mr. Cohen : The leakage from the drums would go into the coals. The boards taken out at the top of the bulkhead were nailed in again after the coals had been got in. They could be removed with perfect ease in a few minutes with a hammer. 1,732 gallons of linseed oil, 100 of colza oil, and so on, is not a larger quantity than emigrant ships sometimes have. The oil was stowed near the coal to prevent it from damaging other cargo. That was the consideration which guided him throughout as to the oil. He could not say that the consideration of a fire breaking out ever entered his mind. If any part of the cargo caught fire he should not think there would be much chance for the ship—there

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were so many light goods on the top, and the fire would run rapidly. He assented to the suggestion of counsel, that it could not be better arranged to burn, and would make a capital fire. The captain examined the ship thoroughly every day during the loading, and the stevedore only looked to the trim of the ship. He never heard that oil on coal was dangerous. He did not go down the fore hold after the provisions were put in, and he could not say whether when he last saw it the boards had been put in again at the top of the bulkhead. By looking down the hatchway he could see that there were no ropes or hawsers in the forehold. By Captain Pryce: There were no hawsers put on top of the cargo, but it was impossible to get over the bulkhead without breaking some of the cases on the top, which were worked up close to the deck, and would have made the job very difficult. This bulkhead was nine or ten feet thick. By Mr. Wood Hill: In all emigrant ships he particularly examines the bulkheads which close up the liquor and the gangways between hatchways. McDonald, recalled by Mr. Cohen, repeated in contradiction to the last witness, a statement he made on Wednesday, to the effect that on the forward side of the air shaft there was no partition to prevent any one going forward into the boatswain's locker. Anything could be thrown through the grating of the single-men's compartment across the shaft into the boatswain's locker. There were some hawsers in the after part of the fore hatch, and piled right across the ship on top of the cargo, so that if they were all unwound there would be a space of about six feet. Under the hawser there was a tier of varnish or some fluid, and the beer was in the next tier aft. Coals were got up in the morning and afternoon, and about half of the quantity in the fore hatch had been consumed by the 17th November. Provisions were got up once or twice a week. They would be got up by going down the fore hatch. The third mate and emigrants got the provisions up. The hawsers were put there a month after they sailed. The two boards which were taken out were at the bottom of the hold, and that was to allow the coals to run in. The boards were taken out before loading, and the boards were put in again when there were enough coals in the after part. The fore peak was then filled with coals. There were two perpendicular boards, six or seven feet in height Mr. Carter recalled: The beer readied up to the deck. He saw that from the main hatchway, He believed the boards were taken out of the bottom first, and after that out of the top, when the coal-hole was full. He looked through the hole above. He was quite sure two were taken out atop. McDonald recalled: Did not see the two boards taken on top. By Mr. Wood Hill: You could go from the forward bulkhead along the hold till you came to the beer, and then you could not go along, for the beer itself was built up to the top. This bulkhead was composed of beer and light-measurement goods. From the other side it could be approached from the main hatchway. It would be quite easy to get to the beer, but not to get past it, on getting into the fore hold. He afterwards, on his deposition being read, added that the hatches were kept locked, but admitted that men could get in by removing a board in the bulkhead. But the hawsers, together with the wooden fenders there, were closely packed, although (he assented to Mr. Cohen) when the provisions were removed there would be a space. Mr. Wood Hill proposed to call stevedores to prove the mode of stowage was proper, but Mr. Patteson said the Court was convinced the cargo was properly stowed, though they expressed no opinion as to the nature of the cargo being proper. Mr. William Barclay Foulger, of the firm of Foulger and Sons, proved that their firm supplied ships' stores to the " Cospatrick," including 20 gallons of Young's patent paraffino oil, in 4> 5-gallon drums ; 14 gallons of colza oil; 30 gallons of raw linseed oil, 30 gallons of boiled oil, all in drums ; 5 gallons of turpentine, in 1 drum ;20 gallons of black varnish, in 4 5-gallon drums; 1 barrel of bright varnish, containing about 30 gallons; 1 barrel of tar containing about 28 gallons ; and 3 cwt. of solid Stockholm pitch, in 1 barrel; a -^-barrel of resin, 11 cwt; 2 cwt. of oakum, in bales; 99 lbs. of ground oil paint, in iron kegs ; 28 lbs. of cotton waste, in a bag ; and 20 lbs. of tallow. The inquiry was then adjourned till this morning, for the presence of Capt Forster, the Emigration Officer of the Board of Trade, the Surveyors who assisted him in inspecting the " Cospatrick," and the foreman of stevedores. Thied Day. The official inquiry into the loss of the " Cospatrick" was concluded yesterday at the Greenwich Police Court, before Mr. Patteson, assisted by the Board of Trade Assessors, Captain Price, Captain Castle, and Mr. Turner, Principal Shipwright Surveyor to the Board. No report or judgment was delivered by the Court, but they were asked by the counsel for the Board of Trade, in his concluding remarks, to recommend fire drill and the carrying of smaller numbers of emigrants in the ships. Mr. Arthur Cohen, Q.C., and Mr. F. Hargrave Hamel appeared for the Board of Trade; Mr. Dennistoun Wood (with whom was Mr. Watkin Williams, Q-C.) for the Colonial Government; Mr. G. Wood Hill for the owners. James John Bolt, examined by Mr. Hamel, said he is a Shipwright Surveyor to the Board of Trade, and surveyed the " Cospatrick," officially visiting her several times in Green's dry dock. The first visit was on the 21st of July, 1874, the last on the Bth of September, in the East India Dock, when she was nearly loaded. She was then undergoing repair, it being known that she had touched on a reef. The after and foremost part of the keel were removed and repaired. All the necessary repairs were instituted. He had seen her orignally building at Moulmein, and now he examined her and found her thoroughly sound. There could have been no better ship employed for the purpose. He was not concerned with the cargo. Samuel Thomas Cornish, another Board of Trade Surveyor, examined by Mr. Hamel, agreed with Mr. Boult's evidence. Ho saw the vessel three or four times. Mr. Wood Hill proposed to ask questions about other ships of Shaw, Savill, and Co. Mr. Patteson : Nobody doubts that the " Cospatrick " was a splendid vessel. Captain John Thomas Forster, examined by Mr. Cohen, said he had been an Emigration Officer since 1852, and Chief Emigration Officer for the last six or seven years. The Emigration Officers have about two years since been placed under the Board of Trade, having been until then under the

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Emigration Commissioners. The witness's principal duty is to visit the emigrant ships from time to time by himself and his officers, to see that the requirements of the Passenger Acts arc carried out. He inspected the "^Cospatrick" four times, three times when she was loading in the East India Docks. The first time she was taking in her dead weight, and so not completely loaded ; the second time she had received the bulk of her cargo ; the third time she was just finishing. He looked round the hold and in the sheds, and made inquiries of the persons on board, and ho knew generally the quantity of oil and spirits sho carried, and did not object to it. He examined her boats, and framed his report. (This document was put in.) She had more boat accommodation by a few cubic feet than required by the statute. As a rule, they considered that the boats of a full emigrant ship will carry about one-third of the persons on board the ship, or one-fifteenth of the number .of cubic feet. He saw that the abstract of the Order in Council was on board. On the last day he took down from the captain's mouth the cargo on board, having previously inquired himself. On the 10th of September, at Gravesend, the captain informed him that " there wore no acids or combustibles on board." He considered his duties as limited and defined by the Act of Parliament. By Mr. Dennistoun Wood: At one time the Emigration Commissioners chartered the ships, and then they had full power. Now the colonies have taken the emigration into their own hands, so that the duties of the Emigration Officers are confined to seeing the Acts of Parliament are complied with. There is a change of persons rather than system, for he thought the emigration before was considered so successful that it was still carried on according to the same system. The Agents-General for the colonies now stand to the vessel as the Emigration Commissioners used to. The practice was to carry such cargo as now. He was aware of the 29th section of the principal Passenger Act, and he did not think that oil, spirits, and things of that kind were within the meaning of the Act likely to endanger the safety of the ship or the lives of the passengers. He did not remember a fire on an emigrant ship before this. He believed that the Commissioners sent out 1,100 ships, of which only five were lost, and he did not think one of them was lost by fire. By Mr. "Wood Hill: The line of danger is drawn assuming there is proper discipline, stowing, and care. With proper discipline there is no danger from spirits, and they are not liable to spontaneous combustion. The oil also is safe, and spirits and oil are not what they call " combustibles." By that word ho meant such things as gunpowder and " gunpowder stores"—that is, blue lights, rockets, and lucifer matches. Spirits and oil properly stowed are a safe cargo. It is very desirable ships should have cargoes of all sorts. A cargo entirely of railway iron would scarcely bo a safe cargo. The general opinion is, that the number of boats prescribed to be carried on emigrant ships is as much as could be, and he believed Her Majesty's troop ships did not carry a sufficient number of boats to save all the people on board. The ships were surveyed under the officers of the Board of Trade from the time they came'into dock till when they clear. He suggested things, and they were often done, though not strictly required by the law. Pe-esamined by Mr. Cohen: The discipline on board Government ships is better than on these emigrant ships. If the cargo caught fire, a ship loaded as this was would have but little chance, but a fire happening to any general cargo of fine goods would, he thought, be equally dangerous as if there were oils and spirits in cargo. In the case of a wooden emigrant ship, with no water-tight compartments, it was almost certain that two-thirds of those on board must perish. That being the case and known, there would always be a rush to the boats, and there would be a great improbability that the boats would be successfully launched. He knew that the Board of Trade had made a regulation suggesting the assignment of a crew and officer to each boat, and directing that, when possible, the crew should be-exercised at sea. It is the rule to do that. The outward goods are chiefly dense, and light freight is wanted to trim the ship. If you could have nothing in the emigrant ships but emigrants, the other ships to the colony would be badly loaded. To carry in each emigrant ship only so large a number of emigrants as can be saved by the boats would be a question of expense. It would raise the cost to the Colonial Government and to the emigrants who pay, but would give less chance of importing disease. By Captain Pryce: Ho never heard of spontaneous combustion in the boatswain's locker. If sho had carried double the number of boats, he did not think more lives would have been saved. By Mr. Cohen: No doubt the certainty that the boats would contain all the people would bo a great help. By Mr. Turner : The two forward boats were on their keels ; the after two, on skids, were kept up. The forward bulkhead was fifteen feet from the stern, measured above. It was strongly built. George Sweeting: Is a foreman stevedore. Stowed the " Cospatrick." He remembered the fore peak of the vessel, which contained coals ; there was a bulkhead separating it from the fore hold. He saw some boards taken out of the top of the bulkhead. They were nineteen feet in length, and they were athwart the ship. They were fastened by nails. He did not know of any being taken out at the bottom, but the coals were in the fore peak before he began to stow the cargo. He got into the fore hatch down the hatchway. He saw the boards on top after they had been put up. In the fore hold there was, just abaft the bulkhead, coals about five or six feet high, and they sloped off towards the level of the water tanks. At the fore part of the water tanks there were forty or fifty drums of oil on the coal; the water tanks were within eighteen inches of the deck on both sides of the hatchway. The salt provisions were forward of the water tanks on the starboard side. There was no cargo within seven feet of the forward bulkhead. There was an open space. After that open space came the oil, about three feet high. You did not come to any goods which reached the deck for forty feet. That would be about the distance of the after part of the fore hatch, so that there was an open space on top right along to that part. The goods which touched the deck were large light hogsheads, containing earthenware cases and crates,the roughest stuff he could get tomake abulkhead. The beerwas abaft these goods, and the bulkhead would be eight or ten foot fore and aft. The beer also touched the deck. Next to the rough stuff forming the top of the bulkhead were casks of oil. The open space above the cargo till you came to the bulkhead was four feet amidships, and in a part a foot or eighteen inches. On the fore side there was nothing to prevent a person pulling the rough stuff off the bulkhead down. The beer was bottled beer in barrels. The boards in the bulkhead were nailed on the peak or fore side.

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Henry .Alfred Smitli, R.N., Despatching Officer to the New Zealand Government, examined by Mr. Hamel had been an Emigration Officer under the Commissioners for nineteen years, and for two years to the New Zealand Government. He has to see that ships offered are adapted for their service. Then he superintends the fitting out and provisioning, stowage of cargo —everything, in fact. He visited the "Cospatrick." She was properly fitted, provisioned, and stowed. He went down nearly every day while the cargo was being put in. He should have objected to any cargo that was wrong. Ho goes and sees what it is for himself. He has power to object to anything under the charter-party with the owners, which gives more power than the Act of Parliament. On the charter-party being shown to him, ho said there was no such clause in it, and that an old charter-party of two years ago was in his mind when he made the foregoing statement, and also when he inspected the ship, The old charterparty gave a power to object to cargo, but a good many ships had been sent out uuder the new charterparty. He had never objected to any cargo at any time except as to qualities. By Mr. Dennistoun Wood: The character of the cargoes carried under the Commissioners was such as now. Oils and spirits, a general colonial cargo, were carried then. He did not remember any fire arising in an emigrant ship so laden, and the casualty to the "Cospatrick" was the only one he had ever had to do with. He in one case objected to a portion of salt in a ship, which was put in damaged. He never had objections from the owners of the ships to do anything he asked them to do. Had ho seen anything objectionable in the cargo, he would have made the objection to it himself. About 100 vessels were chartered by the New Zealand Government last year, and they carried from 30,000 to 35,000 people. He was only speaking from guess. One ship ran on shore with all lives saved, and the "Cospatrick," were the only two casualties. The Government of New Zealand chartered four of the ships entirely, taking the whole of the ships. They had not sufficient freight of their own; they employed brokers, and were then unsuccessful in filling the ships. The bulk of the requirements of the Colonial Government is railway plant, which alone would not be a suitable cargo. To send out an emigrant ship in ballast would treble the cost per head. It was a common thing for plundering by the crew or passengers to go on. Erom the evidence he had heard, he thought, as he had from the first, the fire came from plunder. It never could have originated in tho boatswain's locker, for it could not then have got into the lower hold so soon as it did. By Mr. Wood Hill: The grating forward of the single-men's compartment was put up by witness's orders for tho purpose of ventilation. He cut off the forward part of the ship because ho did not think it a suitable place to keep the emigrants. The berths and fittings were made under his direction. Mr. Wood Hill said Mr. Temple (of Shaw, Savill, and Co.) was present, if the Court wished to ask him any questions ; but the Court, not desiring further evidence, was then addressed by counsel. Mr. Wood Hill said if his friend meant to suggest the prohibition of general cargoes in emigrant vessels, the question was one of Imperial importance, and could not be decided from the result of this short inquiry, but was rather for one of those Commissions which his friend had lately assisted. As to the question of fact in this case, there was no evidence that the cargo was dangerous, and such a cargo had been commonly carried for many years without evil result. As to tho cause of the fire, it would bo better to leave it an open question than, in the absence of positive evidence, to come to any conclusion against the crew or the emigrants. Precautions had been taken by the owners against men with lights plundering the vessel, but if any suggestion could be made by the Court, Shaw, Savill, and Co. would be glad to attend to it. Mr. Dennistoun Wood addressed himself to the observation of Mr. Cohen, that the Government should have chartered the whole of the vessel. There was no proof that the fire was due to the nature of the cargo, and the suggestion was impracticable. If the ships were to got out in ballast, emigration would be too expensive, and so, in order to make emigration safe, they would abolish it altogether. The Colonial Government was anxious to discover the cause, so as to assure emigrants that it would not exist in future. Unfortunately they had not succeeded. Mr. Cohen said he imputed no blame to the Government of New Zealand, although he failed to agree with Mr. Wood in thinking it a subject of congratulation that the same system of emigration had been carried on for twenty years without improvement. He did not impute any blame to the shipowners. They directed a cargo to be shipped which was approved by the New Zealand Government and Her Majesty's Government, and ordered it to be shipped by experienced stevedores. Nevertheless, 47G people had been lost. One would fancy that it was utterly impossible for an emigrant ship to catch fire, and yet we were told in this very case that the passengers and crew often plunder the cargo, and so cause special danger. He himself did not think the Government and the people of this country would remain inert, now that they knew we were in the habit of sending out largo numbers of emigrants in wooden ships, under such circumstances that if a fire did break out it was almost certain that scarcely any would escape. The rapidity with which the fire spread from stem to stern showed that tho load the ship carried was, in fact, a dangerous one. There was the boatswain's locker full of inflammable matter, and underneath it coal. Next to that more coal, upon the coal oil, then light measurement goods, like paperhangings, with beer close by, and next spirits, and then, quite in the stern, paraffine oil. He did not suggest tho theory of spontaneous combustion, but if such a ship once caught fire there was scarcely any means of escape. It was admitted, he said, that the boats could only save a third of the persons on board, and that being so, there is a life-and-death struggle for them, and the captain will not have them launched till tho last moment, for they are suro to be swamped. As to the cause of the fire, he could not help thinking that the light goods of tho bulkhead were pulled down (for there was nothing on the fore side to prevent it) to get to the beer. As to precautions for the future, it might be that if a ship carried this enormous number of emigrants, it ought to be an iron ship, and in water-tight compartments, or that the bulkheads, at least, ought to be of iron. It was an unfortunate circumstance in this case that there were planks which could be removed from the bulkhead, and so gave access to the entire hold. As to the boats, it did seem that nautical engineers might devise some means, whether by davits swung inboard or other appliances, for saving a greater number of lives ; and generally by increasing the number of boats, diminishing the number of emigrants in one ship, and by fire drill, something might be gained. Mr. Patteson then said, " We shall consider our report."

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No. 111. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 77.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 9th February, 1875. I have the honor to submit for your information the following summary statement of the numbers and nationalities of all emigrants despatched by me to the Colony in the course of the year 1874. The numbers stated are in souls, not statute adults. 2. I will first state the amount of emigration from the United KingdomEnglish (including Welsh 298, and Channel Islands 270) ... ... 21,369 Scotch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,819 Irish ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 6,831 making a total for the United Kingdom of 34,019 souls. 3. I now proceed to give the numbers of Continental emigrants of various nationalities : —-Germans, 770; Danes, 276; Swedes, 765; Norwegians, 27; Russians, 43; Swiss, 42; other countries, 636; making a total for the European continent of 2,559 souls. 4. The population of the United Kingdom amounted, at the last census, 1871, to the following numbers :— England, Wales, and the Channel Islands ... ... ... 22,856,904 Scotland ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 3,360,018 Ireland ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,411,416 The emigration to New Zealand for the last year, if divided notably in proportion to the respective nationalities of the United Kingdom, would give in round numbers to England over 24,000; to Scotland less than 4,000, and to Ireland less than 6,000. The returns of the department do not sustain these proportions ; England has sent about 3,000 less than she was entitled to, Scotland nearly 2,000 more, and Ireland nearly 1,000 more. It is impossible, of course, to draw a hard-and-fast line in the conduct of a service dependent on so many fluctuating conditions as that of immigration, in which at one time a strike in the labour market, at another, the temporary failure of a particular crop, or the depressed state of trade in the United States, may stimulate the movement towards the colony of the people of a particular province, or of some special occupation, who may prove to be a most desirable class of emigrants. But, as it has been repeatedly stated that I have not done my utmost to encourage emigration from Ireland, I take leave to submit to you the general result of my returns on the subject. I may add that I believe a considerable number of those who are classified as English and Scotch are, if not actually Irish by birth, the children of a vast number of Irish families, who have settled in England and Scotland since the period of the great famine of 1847. 5. The grand total of the results of the immigration policy of the colony from July, 1871, to the Ist of January, 1875, may now be distributed, in regard to nationalities, as follows: — English (including Welsh, 496 ; and Channel Islands, 270) ... ... 31,529 Scotch ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8,325 Irish ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 9,768 Germans ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,305 Danes ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,113 Swedes ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 794 Norwegians ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 849 Other countries ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,033 Total number of souls ... ... ... ... 54,716 I have, Ac, I. E. Featiieeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 112. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Mintsteb for Immigeation. (No. 81.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 9th February, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 311, dated 22nd October, 1874, forwarding copy of correspondence with His Honor the Superintendent of Otago on the subject of the shipment, by the " Christian'McAusland," of "certain lunatic immigrants who, it is reported, were clearly known as lunatics previous to their embarkation for New Zealand." Only one immigrant is named in the documents forwarded, and I therefore confine my observations to a consideration of the case of that person. In compliance with your instructions, I have made careful inquiry in this case, and I enclose copies of the following letters received in reply to communications addressed by me to the respective writers, viz.,— 1. Letter from Mr. Samuel Graham, the local agent who forwarded the immigraut's papers to this office. Mr. Graham states that he had known the woman for a long time as a servant; " obtained for her two situations," where she " gave entire satisfaction;" " never heard or saw with her anything touching insanity." Mr. Graham keeps a servants' registry office. 2. Letter from Mr. Richard Atkinson, with whom she lived one month. Mr. Atkinson remarks that " the thought of her being insane never crossed his mind;" that " during the short period which she lived with " him " she was perfectly sound in her mind."

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3. Letter from Dr. Sloan; who, after remarking that he had no recollection of the immigrant (whose certificate he signed seven months previously), adds, "of course, if she had shown any symptom of lunacy, I would on no account have signed it." 4. Letter from Mr. John Miller, J.F., who also signed the immigrant's certificate. Mr. Miller writes as follows :—" I saw no reason to suspect M A T of anything amiss with her when she called here. I have every reason to believe that she had been in several good places in and about here, but I do not know her family. I know those who signed her character, and the doctor who signed." 5. Letter from Mr. Arthur Hill, the proprietor of the Emigration depot at Plymouth and Blackwall. Mr. Hill, who is entirely trustworthy in every respect, writes thus : " I have questioned every person in the depot on the subject of the girl M A T , and neither the master, the matron, nor any of the staff has any recollection of the girl. I think nothing can more strongly show that it is quite impossible any symptoms of insanity can have shown themselves in her at the depot, &c. It is hardly probable or possible that symptoms of insanity, imbecility, or even peculiarity of manner could escape the notice of all the staff, and of your own ship's surgeon besides." Upon perusal and consideration of these papers, you will, I doubt not, be satisfied that no proper precaution was omitted when this case was dealt with ; and you will now, I trust, acquit the inspecting and shipping officers of this department of that gross carelessness of which in your letter you suggest they have been guilty. I have, &c, I. E. Featiieeston, Agent-General.

Enclosures in No. 112. Sic, — Lisburn, 24th December, 1874. I have no recollection of M A T , whose certificate I signed. Of course, if she had shown any symptoms of lunacy, I would on no account have signed it. As for her family, I know nothing about them. I have, &c, E. E. Sloan, M.D. Sir, — Lisburn, 21th December, 1874. In reply to your letter relative to M A T , I beg to say, the thought of her being insane never crossed my mind. During the short period which she lived with me as a servant, she was perfectly sound in her mind. Ido not know any of her relatives, as lam a stranger in this place. I dare Bay the agent here who procured the passage for her could give some information on the subject as to her relations, &c. I have, &c, Riciiard K. Atkinson. Sic,— Lisburn, 30th December, 1874. Tour favour of the 28th inst. duly to hand. lam very much surprised at its contents. I have known M A T for a long timeas a servant,and always considered her an excellent hard-work-ing girl. In fact, I obtained her two situations myself, where she gave entire satisfaction. I never heard or saw with her any thing touching insanity. I know nothing about her parents, whether dead or living, but shall make all the inquiries I can to find out her friends, and shall write you again. I have, &c, To I. E. Featherston, Esq. Samuel Graham. The Agent-General for New Zealand. Sir, — Eeading, 4th January, 1875. In reply to your letter of December 31, I have questioned every person in the depot on the subject of the girl M A T , who went in the " Christian McAusland," and neither the master, the matron, nor any of the staff has any recollection of the girl. I think nothing can more strongly show that it is quite impossible any symptoms of insanity can have shown themselves in her at the depot, because the matron invariably makes herself acquainted with every girl, and reports the smallest matter connected with health to the ship's doctor, and it is hardly probable or possible that symptoms of insanity, imbecility, or even peculiarity of manner could escape the notice of all the staff and of your own ship's surgeon besides in his special medical examination and daily inspection. I have, &c, A. Hill. Sir, — Lisburn, 29th January, 1875. I have to apologize for overlooking your letter of 22nd December, owing to its having been received during an illness. I only found it yesterday when looking over my papers. I see no reason to suspect M A T of anything amiss with her when she called here. I have every reason to believe that she had been in several good places in and about here, but Ido not know her family. I know those who signed her character, and the doctor who signed. I have, &c,, John Millar.

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No. 113. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 126.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir— 9th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 377, of 22nd December, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the "Howrah," which vessel arrived in Port Nicholson upon the 30th November : —l. Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. 4. Copy of a minute by His Honor the Superintendent of Wellington upon the Commissioners' report. I observe that the Commissioners reported favourably upon the general arrangements on board, remarking that " the immigrants were comfortably located as usual." I note also your instruction that, " unless the Hon. Mr. Vogel expressly directs to the contrary," I am to " insist in all future charter-parties that the whole passenger accommodation of emigrant ships is to be at the disposal of the Government. Tou proceed, however, to remark, that " these instructions are, of course, not intended to preclude persons approved (by me) as suitable emigrants, and paying their own passages, in order to take advantage of ' The Immigrants Land Act, 1873,' proceeding to the colony in Government emigrant ships." I shall, as you desire, confer with the Hon. the Premier upon this subject; but I think it right to point out that your object-will be entirely frustrated if you admit as passengers in our vessels those persons who, having paid their full fares, apply to me for land certificates under "The Immigrants Land Act, 1873." In point of fact, the great majority of full paying passengers who proceed in the second cabin and steerage of the vessels now apply for and obtain land certificates ; and it is my practice to require the shipping contractors to obtain from all such persons undertakings that they will comply with and submit to the regulations of the Government, and the rules and directions of the surgeon-superintendent. The object referred to by the Commissioners who inspected the "Howrah" will only be attained by rigidly excluding from Government immigrant ships all full-paying passengers, whether or not they have obtained land certificates. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 114. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration-. (No. 127.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sin, — Oth March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 379, of December, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the " Bcbington," which vessel, you inform me, arrived at Napier upon the 20th November : —l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Correspondence regarding the case of L P , who preferred a complaint against the captain and surgeon-superintendent. 3. Certified list of births and deaths. lam glad to learn that the Commissioners were satisfied with the condition of the vessel, &c. I observe that the Government deemed it necessary to direct that, pending full inquiry into the charge made by L 1' against the captain and surgeon, the payment of the gratuities to those officers should be suspended, but that a full consideration of the whole of the circumstances, as set forth in the correspondence, induced you eventually to consider that the treatment of the woman, although in excess of the powers conferred by law, was only actuated by a desire to inforce proper discipline, and that you therefore authorized the payment of the gratuities without restriction. I have, &c, I. E. Eeatherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 115. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 125.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir, — 9th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 365, of 18th December, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the "Waitangi," which vessel, you inform me, arrived at Auckland upon the 20th November: —1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Immigration Officer's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners reported favourably upon the condition and general arrangements of the vessel, ;md that the emigrants, who are described as of " a suitable class,1' obtained immediate employment. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 116. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 131.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 9th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 358, of 17th December, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the " Star of India," which ship, you inform me, arrived at Port Nicholson upon the 10th November last:—l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-Superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I observe that the Commissioners reported favourably upon this vessel, and upon the character of the immigrants. The suggestions of the Commissioners and of the Surgeon-Superintendent have been referred to the Despatching Officer of this department. I have, <&c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 117. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 133.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Bib,— 9th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 374, of 22nd December, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Soukar," which vessel arrived at Port Nicholson upon the 2nd November:—l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. SurgeonSuperintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I observe that on inspecting the immigrants and vessel, the Commissioners found everything in a satisfactory condition. The report of the Surgeon-Superintendent has been referred to the Despatching Officer of this department for his careful attention. I have, &c., I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 118. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 135.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 9th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 364, of 18th Deember, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the " Ocean Mail," which vessel, you inform me, arrived upon the 7th November at Nelson : —l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. SurgeonSuperintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I am pleased to learn that the Commissioners were of opinion that the " arrangements on board for insuring health and comfort were highly satisfactory," and that "the immigrants" were "a remarkably fine body." I have, &c., I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 119. The Agent- General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 136.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 9th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 353, of 16th December, 1874, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Auckland," which, you inform me, arrived at Port Chalmers from the Clyde upon the 21st November: —1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners were satisfied with the general arrangements on board, with the exception of the galley, which they remark " should be larger in future ships carrying so many immigrants as the " Auckland" had on board. A copy of this extract from the Commissioners' report shall be sent to Mr. Auld, under whose supervision this ship was despatched. I notice that the immigrants are described as of a superior class. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 120. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 135.) 7, 'Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 9th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 373, of 23rd December, 1874, in which you remark that a very "considerable number of immigrants upon their arrival either produce 11—D. 2.

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nomination papers for other ports of the colony than tho port of destination of tho ship, or produce evidence more or less satisfactory that they shipped for such other ports, and were assured at this office that there was no ship available, but that they would be forwarded at the Government expense." I note that you have directed a return to be prepared by the Immigration Officers at the principal ports, showing the names and other particulars respecting those persons who appear to have been so despatched. Under these circumstances I reserve my reply until the return is received. But I desire to point out that —as explained to tho Government in former letters on this subject—l am compelled to send many nominated and other emigrants in the manner described and objected to, on account of the difficulty constantly experienced in obtaining vessels to sail direct for certain parts of the colony. For example, a large number of immigrants, probably 150 adults or more, will proceed by the " Collingwood " for Wellington on the 7th April, who are destined for the following places, respectively, viz., Nelson, Marlborough, Westland, Taranaki. In all these cases it will be necessary to indorse the emigrants' contract tickets, to the effect that they will be forwarded from Wellington to their final destinations at the expense of the Government. On this subject, I beg to refer you to the Hon. Mr. Vogel's letter No. 70, 1874, of Ist April, in which, in certain circumstances, the Government distinctly authorize me to send emigrants for one province to the port of arrival in another. I have, &c, I. E. Featuerston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 121. The Agent-Genehai, to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 144.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir — 6th March, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 17th December, No. 356, in which you forward for my information copy of a letter from His Honor the Superintendent of Otago, commenting upon my letter of 23rd September, with reference to Mrs. Howard's engagement as an Emigration Agent, of which letter you had communicated a copy to the Provincial Government. I note His Honor's statement in reply, " that the Provincial Government never recommended Mrs. Howard, nor was its opinion asked upon, the subject. Had it been, the probability is, that her services would not have been availed of." With all respect to Superintendent Macandrew, I have to observe that the statement of His Honor is no reply to anything contained in my letter. If he will do me the favour of referring to that letter again, he will find that I never made any such statement as that the Provincial Government of Otago had recommended Mrs. Howard, or that its opinion had been asked upon the subject. But I may be permitted, with reference to the last clause of the sentence which I have cited from His Honor's letter, to add that, if the Provincial Government entertained so strong an opinion as to the impropriety of Mrs. Howard's employment, I might have expected, when it was notorious that she was proceeding to England with that intention, and with very strong recommendations from persons in high position and public bodies in Otago, to have received some word of warning from His Honor on the subject. 2. On referring to the correspondence concerning this subject, I find that Mrs. Howard's name was, in the first instance, brought under my notice in a memorandum from the Hon. Mr. Ormond, the Minister for Public Works, of the 4th September, 1872, which was followed by the letter of the Hon. Mr. Sewell, the Colonial Secretary, of the 29th September, 1872, No. 103. Mr. Ormond, in tho memorandum referred to, enclosed to me two letters addressed by Mrs. Howard to the Hon. Mr. Vogel, in which she appealed to his remembrance of her during his sojourn in Dunedin, and in connection with the Otago Daily Times, for which paper she states that she wrote the labour reports for seven years, and in which letter she also says she can safely rely on Mr. Vogel's saying or doing anything he can conscientiously say or do in her favour. These letters were forwarded to me by Mr. Ormond, in compliance, as he says, with Mrs. Howard's " desire to be accredited to the Agent-General," with the intimation that no promise of employment could be made to her until she had seen me; but I am bound also to add, with no intimation to me that her confident appeal to Mr. Vogel's knowledge and appreciation of her character and abilities was in any respect unfounded or unsanctioned. The Minister for Public Works and the Colonial Secretary, in addition, both forwarded voluminous and weighty testimonials on Mrs. Howard's behalf. On referring to that which came from the city of Dunedin, I find that it bears the signatures of the Hon. J. L. C. Eichardson, Speaker of the Legislative Council; of the Hon. Dr. Buchanan, M.L.C.; of Messrs. Eeid, Bradshaw, McGlashan, Mervy'n, members of the House of Eepresentatives as well as of the Provincial Council; and of Messrs. Shand, Duncan, and Armstrong, members of the Provincial Council; of the Mayor, the District Judge, the Eesident Magistrate, tho Incumbent of St. Paul's, the Eector of the High School, besides nearly 200 of the most influential inhabitants of the city, including many of the principal clergy, barristers, solicitors, physicians, bankers, merchants, journalists, and local officials. There is, besides, a memorial from upwards of 100 ladies of Dunedin. There are further memorials from the inhabitants of Queenstown, of Mount Ida, of Lawrence, Weatherstone, and Gabriel's Gully, to which I find the signatures of mayors, magistrates, clergy, and, in a word, a full representation of the most respectable classes of society. 3. Nevertheless, as you may be aware in my letter of the 29th November, 1872, No. 551, which was written immediately on the receipt of the Ministerial memorandum and letter above referred to, I at first hesitated ;is to the employment of Mrs. Howard in the capacity of an agent to promote female emigration, and it was only after I had subsequently very fully considered the unusual weight of the testimonials and letters by which she was accredited to me, that I felt bound to give her an opportunity

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of carrying out in connection with this department some of the ideas she had formed on tho subject, and submitted to the Government in her letters to Mr. Vogel. That, under these circumstances, the appointment should so long continue to be a topic of adverse criticism as regards this department, is, I confess, a subject of some surprise to mo. I k have, &c, I, E. Featiieeston, The lion the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 122. .The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Ihhigeation. (No. 172.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 19th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 3, of 12th January, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the " Crusader," which vessel, you inform me, arrived at Lyttelton upon the 31st December, 1874: —1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-Superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths. I observe your remarks with respect to the position of the pig-styes and sheep-cotes in this vessel; and upon the question " whether pigs should be allowed to be taken on board ships crowded with emigrants," I have referred this subject to my Despatching Officer, who will report to me thereon. I note the opinion of the Commissioners that " the class of immigrants appeared admirably adapted for the colony," and that " their conduct during the voyage was highly spoken of." I have, <fee, I. E. FEATIIERSTOir, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 123. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministeb for Immigbation. (No. 173.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S."W., Sic,— 19th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 15, of 16th January, 1875, forwarding the following documents relative to the " Assaye," which vessel, you inform me, arrived at Auckland upon the 2Gth December, 1874: —1. Eeport of the Immigration Commissioners. 2. Beport of the Immigration Officer. 3. Memorandum by the Immigration Officer relative to three single women found to be pregnant. 4. Certified list of births and deaths. I have carefully examined the surgeon's certificate submitted in support of their applications by the young women named, and entertain no doubt that the signatures are genuine. That of L C is signed by "John Denny, M.E.C.S., Stoke Newington," and the clergyman's certificate by " Charles George Foster, Curate of "West Hackney, Middlesex." The certificate of H L is signed by (surgeon) "D. Eice, Southam." The Eev. " Henry A. Eedpath, Curate of Southam, 'Warwickshire," also signed the paper. E 13 supplied two certificate papers. The first paper, dated 13th July, is signed by "J. P. Way, Surgeon, Landport," and by "H. H. McCreen, All Saints, Portsea." The second paper is signed by " Charles H. Newby, L.E.C.P. Lond., M.E.C.S.E., Cambrian House, Mile End, Landport," and by " G. E. Churchill, Vicar, All Saints, Portsea." The condition of the young women escaped the notice of the surgeon-superintendent and of the inspecting surgeon at Gravesend. I have also examined the papers of W D , who, it is stated, "exhibited symptoms of insanity during the voyage," and was after the arrival of the ship " sent to the Provincial Hospital" for treatment, "the symptoms not being of a violent or dangerous character." The surgeon's certificate is signed by "Allan McLean, M.8.C.E., L.E.C.S.E., Portland, Dorset." There can be little doubt that this man was perfectly sane when he left England. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 124 The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister for Imhigbation. (No. 174.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S."W., Sic — 19th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 1, of 12th January, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the "Pleiades," which vessel, you inform me, arrived at Lyttelton upon the 17th December, 1874: —1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Sur-geon-Superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths. lam pleased to learn that the vessel arrived in a satisfactory condition. I have, <fee, I. E. Featheestok, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, "Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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No. 125. The Agent-Geneeai to the Hon. the Motistee for Immigeation. (No. 187.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 19th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 12, of 16th January t 1875, forwarding copy of memorandum, with enclosures, submitted to the Superintendent of Otago by the Immigration Officer at Dunedin, relative to certain female immigrants who have arrived in Dunedin by ship from London, and who, having been found to be insane, have been consigned to the lunatic asylum. 2. You remark that "it appears that C S must have been insane before leaving London." I have referred to the papers of this woman, and I find that the surgeon's certificate was signed by "Edwin Etty Sass, M.E.C.S.E., &c, 36, York Place, W." The certificate appears to show that several persons of respectable position were interested in this woman, who was introduced to the office by Miss Faithfull, a lady who is well known for her philanthropic efforts in behalf of persons of her own sex. A communication shall be addressed to her with reference to her introduction of the woman named. 3. I have already addressed the Government with reference to Mrs. S . (See my letter No. 1940, of 17th December, 1874.) You will, I doubt not, readily admit that this office was in no way to blame in regard to the shipment of this woman. 4. I have also replied respecting M A . In this case also it is apparent that the office is not blameworthy. 5. It is not suggested that A A showed symptoms of insanity before leaving" London. The woman's certificate was properly signed by " W. F. Marsh Jackson, Surgeon, Smethwick," and by " Thomas Roper, Vicar." The agent concerned in the introduction of this woman was Mr. E. Edwards, of Smethwick. His agency lias since been discontinued. 6. I hope it is unnecessary to assure the Government that the emigration of any person known to be insane would not, under any conceivable circumstances, be sanctioned, either by any officer attached to this department or any official acting for the Board of Trade. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 126. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 201.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 19th March, 1875. A considerable number of persons accustomed to railway service having recently applied to this office for free passages, I have the honor to request that you will cause me to be informed whether persons of the following classes should be regarded as eligible for the free passages granted by the Government: —Guards, engine drivers and fitters, wagon-builders, signalmen, &c. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 127. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Imhigeation. (No. 202.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 19th March, 1875. As it is doubtless the desire of the Government to receive information as to the emigration operations of the Australian Government agencies in this country, I think it right to forward copy extract from a letter addressed to me, on the 26th February, by Mr. D'Arcy Sinnamon, the local agent for this office, at Portadown, County Armagh, Ireland, on the subject of the assistance granted to emigrants by the Queensland Government. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon, the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 127. Mr. Sinnamon to Mr. A. 0. Ottywell. Sib, — Portadown, 2Gth February, 1875. I beg you to accept my grateful thanks for the Agent-General's cheque on Bank of New Zealand for £28 12s. Gd., received this day. My grateful acknowledgment is also due to Dr. Featherston for his kindness, which please convey to him. The Queensland A gent-General has permitted me for some time past to give emigrants a free passage, and to advance to each, on promissory note, payable in the colony, a free passage from here,

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to ship at London or Queen stown, and also to furnish an outfit. On account of this liberality, I send hundreds of persons, strong, able-bodied men and women, who can provide nothing but clothes. This has also a considerable effect in lessening the number applying for New Zealand. The Province of Ulster, or the majority of its population, has, to my personal knowledge, been gradually getting poorer these several years past. This liberality of the Queensland Agent-General exactly suits the circumstances of the very persons who are best adapted for emigration—men and women always engaged at labour and service—who could not get out of the country only for it. I will, however, exert myself to get as many as possible for your superior colony. I have, &c, Albert 0. Ottywell, Esq. D'Aect Sinnamon.

No. 128. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immioeation. (No. 203.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 10th March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 371, of 21st December, 1874, forwarding copies of correspondence with reference to an " invalid female immigrant, named E N , who arrived at Auckland by the ship " James Wishart," upon the sth July last." I observe, that as it is considered improbable that the woman will ever be able to earn her own livelihood, you have decided to send her back to London, where, you understand, " she has friends who are able aud willing to maintain her," and that you will again communicate with me when she leaves Auckland. I have referred to the certificates which were submitted in support of the woman's application, and I find that the medical certificate was signed by John Hall, M.R.C.S.E., GS, Chalk Farm Road, N.W. The Rev. Chas. Phillips, vicar of St. Matthew, Oakley Square, N.W., also signed one of the certificates. In accordance with your directions, I forwarded to the surgeon a copy of the enclosure to your letter, and invited him to make any remarks which he might desire to offer in explanation. I enclose a copy of Mr. Hall's reply. The Government will not probably consider his explanation satisfactory. It may be sufficient to remark, in reply thereto, that the examination which the present certificate presupposes and requires would, if properly performed, have led to the discovery of the woman's impaired state of health; and that even the form of medical inspection which Mr Hall recommends would fail in its object, if the inspector neglected to conduct it. in a thorough and conscientious manner. I have, &c, I. E. Featiieeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 128. Mr. John Hall, M.E.C.S.E., to the Agent-G-eneeal. Sic,— 68, Chalk Farm Eoad, 6th March, 1875. I have no remembrance of this case; I certainly never told a girl that a voyage would do her fits good ; that must be a mistake. I may have said that a sea passage would benefit her general health. They probably concealed the fact of her being subject to epilepsy. I never attended her for it, as far as I know. Of course, with so many patients as I have, it may quite have slipped my memory, and I am sorry to say I am deceived every day by poor patients concealing what they ought to disclose as to their previous history. It would be a much better arrangement to have all intending emigrants thoroughly inspected by a properly paid official. The papers are sometimes sent to me by clergymen, with a message as to whether I would fill them up as a matter of kindness. The people themselves look upon it as a mere form, and seldom come prepared for examination. A few weeks since I had two young girls sent me, with papers to sign, whom I knew to be prostitutes; they were both pregnant, and had venereal. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Jno. Hall.

No. 129. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigeation. (No. 206.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 19th March, 1875. In continuation of my letter of the 12th January, No. 75, I have now the honor to transmit, for your information, a copy of a letter which I have received from the Board of Trade, with its enclosures, containing the official report of the Court of Inquiry held in the case of the " Cospatrick." I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

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Enclosure in No. 129. Mr. Geay to the Agent-Geiteeal. Sic,— Board of Trade, Whitehall Gardens, Bth March, 1875. I am directed by the Board of Trado to transmit to you the accompanying copy of the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry, held into the loss of the emigrant ship " Cospatrick." I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Thos. Geat. " Cospatrich." Eepoet* of the Covet of Inqtjiet, held under order of the Board of Trade, into the circumstances attending the loss by fire of the sailing ship " Cospatrick," about 12.30 a.m. of the 18th November last, in the Southern Ocean, in latitude 37° 15' south and longitude 12° 25' east, by James Henry Patteson, Esq., Stipendiary Magistrate, assisted by Captains Pryce and Castle, and W. H. Turner, Esq., acting as Assessors. Greenwich Police Court, 11th February, 1875. The "Cospatrick" was a sailing ship belonging to the port of London. She was built of wood, at Moulmain, in the year 185 G. She had two decks, three masts, was ship rigged, of 1,199 -nni tons register, and the property of Mr. Walter Savill and James W. Temple, of IJ-1, Leadenhall Street, in the city of London, shipowners, to the extent of twelve shares each; Mr. John Parker, of Goldsmith Street, in the city of London, shipowner, to the extent of sixteen shares ; James Wilkie Adamson and Thomas Eonaldson, of 34, Leadenhall Street, London, in the city of London, shipowners, to the extent of twelve shares each. It appears that in the month of July last the vessel underwent a thorough overhaul and repair in dry dock in London. She was then surveyed by Messrs. Bolt and Cornish, Board of Trade Surveyors, who pronounced her sound and well fitted to carry emigrants. On the 17th August, 1874, a charter-party was made between Her Majesty the Queen, for and on behalf of the Colony of New Zealand, the Agent-General of that colony, and Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., of Leadenhall Street, for the conveyance of emigrants from London to the port of Auckland, in New Zealand, by that vessel. The number of emigrants embarked was— 80 married couples 101 single (males) ") ~, 45 „ (females) j aduits <"S ? a c? r children between 1 and 12 years of age ®™ale, s ] children under 1 year old. 8 females ) J Also Mrs. Elmslie, the captain's wife, and child, making a total of 435 passengers. Her cargo consisted of about 340 tons dead weight, iron rails and cement, and about 700 tons of measurement goods. The latter included 1,732 gallons of linseed oil, 100 gallons of colza oil, 1 ton 8 cwt. of palm oil, 95 gallons of turpentine, 178 gallons of varnish, and some small quantities of pitch, tar, paints, and candles; also a quantity of rum, brandy, and other spirits, amounting to 5,732 gallons wine, 1,488 gallons, and beer 184 barrels. The remainder of the cargo consisted of light goods. These were exclusive of emigrant's stores. This cargo was described by the several witnesses as being an ordinary colonial cargo, and such as carried in emigrant and other vessels. This stowage of the cargo and stores is minutely described in the evidence. Part of the coals for the ship's use were in the fore peak, which was separated'from the fore hold by a wooden partition. The remainder of the coals, some 20 tons, were abaft this partition, and close to it. Some of theso coals were trimmed under the water tanks and by the sides of the hold, upon which stood some 40 cans of oil. The pitch and tar and salt provisions were stored in the wings of the foro hold. Abaft the water tanks the oil was stowed, then some bales of light goods, which formed a temporary bulkhead forward of the bottled beer, which was in casks. In the forepart of the main hatch were four butts of wine and 25 casks of rum, and further aft, extending to the stern-post, the wine and remainder of the spirits. The vessel carried six boats, their cubical contents together being 2,747 feet. They consisted of two life-boats, carried on davits, one on each quarter before the mizen-mast. A long-boat and the captain's gig were on skids between the fore part of the poop, and the main-mast, and the two other boats on skids forward. She was commanded by Mr. Alexander Elmslie, a skilful and brave officer, who held a master's certificate of competency, and manned by a crew of forty-four hands all told, making a total of 479 souls on board. On the 10th of September she was inspected at Gravesend by the Emigration Officers, who considered her to have fulfilled the requirements of the Passengers Act, and accordingly certified her for clearance. On the 11th of September she left Gravesend on her intended voyage, during which eight children died, and two were born. All went well till the night of the 17th of November. On the day before the two life-boats had been cleaned preparatory to painting, and all the gear had been taken out and placed on the poop ; the oars, masts, and life belts were, however, put back into them. At midnight of the 17th, the second mate's watch, Mr. Henry McDonald, expired. On being relieved, he walked round the deck, and finding everything apparently in good order, went below and turned in, and fell off to sleep. In about half an hour afterwards he was awoke by the alarm of fire. He at once came on deck and met the captain, who gave him orders to go forward and see what was the matter; he did so, and found a great quantity of smoke issuing from the fore scuttle and fore hatch. The watch on deck were in the act of getting the force pumps ready, and the passengers were rushing about * For the evidence as reported by the Times, vide p. 71.

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the after deck in a state of great excitement. The captain endeavoured to put the vessel before the wind, but there being no steerage way upon her, and little or no wind, he failed. By this time the flames were issuing from the fore scuttle, and the smoke was most dense. The foresail was hauled up, and the first light wind brought the vessel head to wind, and the flames and smoke rushed along the deck aft. The second mate then went and threw the ammunition overboard. The fire-engine was got to work at once, and the passengers and crew by means of buckets and tins poured large quantities of water down the fore scuttle and hatch, but without any apparent effect. The fire increased rapidly, and men were sent to clear away the two foremost boats ; while doing so the boats caught fire, and they were abandoned. The men then went to the poop to get the long-boat over—that was bottom upwards ; in this they failed on account of the flames. The captain's gig, however, was picked up and thrown overboard. The second mate next proceeded to the starboard life-boat, which was on davits, and found it filled with about eighty females ; their weight bent the davits, and on the boat touching the water she capsized, and all its inmates perished. A rush was then made to the port life-boat; that was successfully lowered, with about thirty persons in her. The second mate slid down the falls into it as she touched the water. The chief mate and a female at that moment jumped overboard, and were picked up by that boat. She just managed to clear the vessel when the main-mast fell; the fore-mast having fallen just before. The vessel's stern then blew out, and afterwards the mizen-mast fell. All this occurred within the space of two hours. The port boat lay by the burning vessel during the night. About 9 a.m., the starboard life-boat, which had previously capsized, was seen full of people, floating with the mast, but without oars or gear, they having been washed away when she capsized. The people in that boat shouted to the port boat for an officer to take charge of them. The port boat immediately made towards them, and it was arranged that the second mate (McDonald) and Lewis and Cotter (two seamen), and one of the male passengers, should be transferred to her, leaving the port boat in charge of the first mate, which had three oars, a broken oar, a mast, but no sail. One oar and the broken one were put into the starboard boat, and it was agreed to keep together if possible. Just after this exchange had been made, the port boat picked up a man from the sea, making thirty-two souls in the boat, about twenty-six of whom were passengers. There were thirty persons in the starboard boat, twentyfour being passengers. Both boats were without provisions or water ; the carcase of a sheep had been put into the port boat, but that had been thrown overboard to make room for saving life. These boats lay near the burning vessel till about 4 p.m. of the 19th (forty hours), when she was seen to go down. The crews of the two boats agreed to keep together, if possible, and to steer a north-east course, and they did so up to the 21st, when it began to blow; the boats were then separated, and the port boat was not seen again. Most of those on board the starboard boat sank rapidly for want of food, and on the 25th eight only survived, three of whom had lost their senses. On the 27th, there were but five alive in the boat, when the " British Sceptre," of Liverpool, rescued them and took them on board. They were treated with all possible kindness, but shortly afterwards two others died, leaving only Henry McDonald (the second mate), Thomas Lewis (an A.8.), and Edward Cotter (an ordinary seaman) the only survivors. They were ultimately brought to London. It appeared by the evidence as before stated, that the fore peak of the " Cospatrick " was divided from the fore hold by a wooden partition, formed of boards about eleven inches wide, nailed athwartship to the stanchions in the fore peak. The part so partitioned off from the hold was used as a coal-hole and held about fifty tons, the usual quantity carried for the ship's use being seventy tons; and it appeared to be the practice.to carry the remaining twenty tons in the fore hold, close to the partition; and in order to stow them there two of the top boards from the partition were removed from the fore peak, and afterwards replaced and nailed as before. This was done previous to the last voyage. It was further stated in evidence, that when the coals in the fore peak were consumed, one or more of the lower boards were knocked away in order to get at the coals in the hold ; and, at the time of the catastrophe, about one-half of those in the fore peak had been used. Immediately over the fore peak was an open locker used by the boatswain for his stores, which consisted of paints, oil, oakum, ropes, and other articles for the ship's use, and immediately above this locker was the seamen's compartment. The entrance to the locker, and also to the coal-hole, was by a hatch or air shaft which divided the locker from the single men's berths, which were over the fore hold. In these berths was an iron grating (sufficiently large to admit of a man's hand) for the purpose of ventilating the berths into the air shaft. This grating was nearly opposite to the boatswain's locker referred to. The above is a short summary of the facts proved in evidence. The two important questions on which we have to report our opinion appear to us to be— Firstly. —-What was the cause of the fire ? Secondly. —Was the "Cospatrick" sufficiently found in boats, and were they promptly lowered, and proper precautions taken to prevent their being overcrowded ? Before giving our opinion on the first of these questions, it is as well to state that during the inquiry suggestions were made that the fire might have originated from spontaneous combustion of some of the various articles kept in the boatswain's locker for the ship's use, or of some part of the cargo itself. Again, it was said that it might have been caused by a lucifer match, or the ashes of a pipe having carelessly been dropped through the open grating of the single-men's compartment into the open boatswain's locker. After carefully considering the whole of the evidence, we cannot agree in any of these suggestions. We think that if the fire had commenced in the boatswain's locker at all, from either of the causes suggested, it must have been more speedily detected, from its proximity to the main deck, and certainly before it had gained such complete mastery over the vessel, as described by McDonald, in the very short time, some three-quarters of an hour, which had elapsed since he had gone round the decks and found no indication of smoke or fire. In addition to this, the evidence proved that a watchman

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was always stationed at each hatchway during the night, who must have discovered it. Neither do we agree in the suggestion of spontaneous combustion of some part of the cargo itself. It cannot bo doubted that the cargo was of an inflammable nature, yet at the same time it was most carefully stowed, and was similar in all respects to the cargoes generally carried in largo passenger and emigrant ships trading to the Australian and New Zealand colonies. Our unanimous opinion is, that the fire originated in the fore hold, which was separated, as before stated, from the fore peak by a wooden bulkhead. It was given in evidence that the two upper boards in this bulkhead had been and could be easily knocked down when required, and an entrance thus gained to the fore hold. The manner in which the cargo was stowed in this fore hold has already been described. From the very rapid manner in which the fire spread, we can come to no other conclusion than that some of the crew or emigrants must have taken advantage of this access to the fore hold for the purpose of plundering the cargo, and that, using naked lights or matches, they must have set fire to straw or other inflammable material; the scuttle being open, the smoke and flames would probably be drawn to that spot where they would come in contact with the tar, oil, varnish, pitch, &c, which was comprised in the ship's stores, rendering any attempt to get the fire under to prove of little or no avail. Upon the second question, we are of opinion that the " Cospatrick " had her proper number of boats, the cubic capacity of which was in excess of that required by the law; and though it is to be regretted that at the first alarm of fire being given no steps were taken to have the boats in readiness on their being required, we cannot feel surprised at the terrible result, when we take into consideration that the fire broke out at 1 a.m., when all except the watch were below, the fearful rapidity of its progress, and the panic that would naturally bo caused among the men and women at such a time. Having given our opinion as to what we consider to have been the origin of the fire, as well as the part of the vessel in which we believe it to have first broken out, we are anxious, as requested by the Board of Trade, so far as lies in our power, to suggest some means which may in future be adopted to guard against the recurrence of such a fearful disaster. 1. We think it most important that all wooden vessels, carrying or about to carry passengers or emigrants, should have a coal-hole bulkhead fitted as strong as the ingenuity of shipwrights can suggest, constructed of hard wood, and secured to hard-wood stanchions of suitable dimensions. This description of bulkhead would effectually cut off all communication between the fore peak and the main hold, aud any attempt at plunder be frustrated. In iron vessels this object is attained by the collision bulkhead. 2. With regard to the boats, wo think the practice of stowing them keel uppermost most objectionable, as it happens in many cases that many lives are sacrificed before they can be turned up and launched. We suggest that they should always be stowed on chocks, and we consider that all ships carrying passengers or emigrants should be compelled to exercise their crew weekly, weather permitting, at fire and boat stations, and that an entry should be made in the official log-book certifying that such had been done. Further, that properly fitted gear for putting the boats over the side should be kept in readiness near them in case of an emergency. J. H. Patteson, We coricur in this report. Stipendiary Magistrate. John S. Castle. CUAELES E. PETCE. W. H. TIJENKE.

No. 130. TllC AOEUT-GrENEEAIi to the Hon. the MINISTEE for ImSIIGEATION. (No. 219.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, 'Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 6th April, 1875. In continuation of my letter of 22nd January, No. 50, on the subject of Continental emigration, I have the honor to forward, for your information, a copy of the report of my principal agent for this service, Mr. Kirchner, of Darmstadt, on his operations during the year 1874. 2. "With reference to Mr. Kirchner's various important suggestions, on the propriety of a translation of the Handbook into German, as to encouraging the emigration of Swedish single females, of railway labourers from Italy, and of subjects of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in general, I should say that I have deferred communicating his report to you in the hope that I might be able to have the advantage of conferring with the Hon. the Premier upon the several questions involved,before referring them for your consideration. Mr. Vogel's continued indisposition has, however, hitherto prevented my bringing business of secondary importance under his attention, and I feel that I should not longer delay informing your department on the subject. I will, however, take the first opportunity that offers of bringing the various subjects under his notice. 3. Meantime I do not hesitate to recommend Mr. Kirchner's suggestion, as to transmitting the correspondence of German immigrants settled in the colony through him, to your favourable consideration. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 130. Mr. Kirchner's Emigration Report for 1874. Darmstadt, 31st January, 1874. Btjeisg the last year four vessels were despatched from Hamburg to New Zealand, under your first

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contract with Messrs. Louis Knorr and Co., viz., two to "Wellington, and one each to Lyttleton and Napier, conveying in all 1,386 souls. 2. After the shipment of 453 adults remaining from the above contract, the second agreement for 1,611 adults will come into operation. These emigrants have to be selected under my control, and I intend then to reorganize the old agencies and to establish new ones. I trust that I shall thus be able to complete the two first contracts in the course of this year by the despatch of eight vessels. 3. I beg to hand you herewith the Emigration Eeturns from the German ports of Bremen and Hamburg during 1874, showing the total number of emigrants as 73,798 persons, against 270,510 in 1873, and 292,406 iv 1872. No return has been made of the number of emigrants who returned from the United States, but I have been assured that during the last six months of 1874 the departures of Germans from New York exceeded the arrivals. The news written home from the United States by Germans settled there are most discouraging, and it is stated that thousands of emigrants would gladly leave if they had the means to do so. 4. The decrease in emigration from Germany has mainly been caused by the above-mentioned bad news, and not from any disinclination in leaving the country. The position of the small-landowner farmer in Germany (who supplied hitherto the largest contingent of emigrants to the States) has not improved. They cannot contend against the large proprietors (salzbesitzer), with ample capital to cultivate their lands by modern improvements and machinery. Although wages rule high in Germany, these small landowners, rather than take service at home, prefer emigrating, and, forming the best materials for good settlers, we ought to profit by the present opportunity to divert the stream from the States to New Zealand, and thus secure, even after free passages may have ceased, a continued self-supporting emigration. Tor that purpose the attention to New Zealand ought to be called by a large circulation of a condensed German edition of your Handbook. I should also proposo to collect and publish the letters which have been and may still be received by the Germans from their friends in the colony. I find that nothing induces more confidence than good accounts sent home by persons who were known as trustworthy and reliable in the district in which they formerly resided. The safe transmission of such letters (many are addressed very indistinctly in German .letters, and sometimes insufficiently stamped) might perhaps be insured if they were collected by the Immigration Agents and forwarded to me for distribution. I have already offered to receive here and send on any letters which intending emigrants may wish to write ' to their friends settled in New Zealand. The restrictions against emigration have not been increased during the last year. Males between the ages of eighteen and twenty-eight are still prohibited to leave Germany. In some instances, however, where whole families emigrated, I succeeded in procuring passports for some who had not been actually enrolled in the army before they were twenty-one years of age. 5. Useful emigrants may still be got in Denmark, although wages there have increased; but much care is required to watch the agents, and to prevent their sending people collected in towns, and of doubtful character. Emigrants from Norway, farmers, who formerly went iv numbers to the United States, would be useful in New Zealand, and I hope to get a good many of them by the same means which I proposed to adopt in Germany. From Sweden, several hundred single females could be drawn every year, but they are so poor, that an advance of at least £3 would have to be made to them to purchase their necessary clothes and pay their expenses to Hamburg. Many of these Swedish women are employed in North Germany, mostly on farms, at wages from £4 to £7 each, part of which is advanced to them for outfit and travelling expenses. As female servants are so scarce in New Zealand, would it not be desirable to make the above advance of £3, which would have to be repaid out of the first quarter of wages ? I should think that the parties requiring a female servant would be glad to repay that sum to Government, and deduct it from the wages as it accrued. These Swedish girls are very industrious, good tempered, and faithful, but would require a little polish and teaching as domestic servants in towns. 6. Prom Switzerland and Italy many emigrants could be procured, but the people are also poor, and not many can raise the heavy cost of the journey to Hamburg. The Italians are the best railway labourers on the Continent, and are ever employed as such in the north of Germany. My Italian agents state that they could supply several hundred navvies on the following terms, viz.,—A cash advance for outfit and travelling expenses of £4 per adult, which they would repay, with their passage, in all £18, during the first year, and on obtaining a £20 land order ; but then they would require to have work guaranted to them for one year, viz., 15s. per week for unskilled labour, and 20s. for masons, carpenters, &c, including hut room and the usual rations, or additional 10s. in lieu thereof. 7. From Austria and Hungary numerous inquiries have been made, but, as in the case of Italy, few families can raise the heavy expenses of the land journey to Hamburg. If vessels could be despatched from Trieste, the emigration might assume large dimensions. 8. I was, as I mentioned to you some time ago, in correspondence with the agents of a large body of Menonites who wanted to leave Eussia. These people are the descendants of some Moravians who emigrated from Germany about the time of the Seven Tears' War, and settled mostly in southern Eussia and the Crimea. Their religion forbids them to carry arms, and when they left Germany they were promised immunity from serving as soldiers. The military law lately published in Eussia not exempting them, they were preparing to leave that country. I learn, however, that they have deferred their intention of emigrating, and that they are likely to accept a compromise made by the Eussian Government to serve in case of war as non-combatants only, being attached to the hospital and sanitary trains. I have, &c, ¥i. T. Kiechnee, Agent for New Zealand on the Continent of Europe. The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. 12—D. 2.

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Emigeation from Geemant during the Tear 1874. From Hamburg. From Bremen. To New York ... ... ... 26,333 20,928 New Orleans ... ... ... 104 841 Brazils ... ... ... 1,460 Chili ... ... ... 165 West India ... ... ... 340 70 Australia ... ... ... 1,750 Sundry Ports ... ... ... 473 583 Baltimore ... ... ... ... 7,842 Galveston ... ... ... ... 50 Charleston ... ... ... ... 39 Venezuela ... ... ... ... 1 West Coast Africa ... ... ... ... 1 Over Hamburg to England and New York ... 12,818 Total ... ... ... 43,443 30,355 Total Emigration from Germany ... ... 73,798

No. 131. The Agent-G-enebal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 220.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 6th April, 1875. With reference to correspondence on the subject of the character of the female emigrants despatched from Cork by the ship " Asia" last year, with regard to whom I regret to perceive that the prejudicial statements, on which I commented in my letter of the 2nd October, 1874, No. 1654, appear still to circulate as common-places in parts of the colony, I have the honor to enclose you a copy of a letter from the Rev. D. McCarthy, chaplain to the institution from which these girls came. While in Cork last October, I availed myself of the opportunity of visiting the institute referred to, which is a Servants' Home attached to the Cork Workhouse, where girls of good character are received and lodged, while awaiting engagement or re-engagement, under a very strict surveillance. The staff to which their care is confided consists of a matron, superintendent, medical officer, and chaplain; and having had opportunity of conversing with all these officials, and of seeing the arrangements of the establishment, I can confidently speak of their excellence and efficiency. I was assured by all that the girls referred to bore an irreproachable character. The chaplain in particular spoke of them from intimate knowledge in the same confident terms as he uses in the letter I now lay before you ; and, as corroboration of what the reverend gentleman says, I may mention that I spoke with him in the presence of his ecclesiastical superior, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork, who assured me that he had had charge of the institute for a period of from fifteen to twenty years, and had always displayed great zeal and care in its charge. I think it right again to draw your special attention to the case, as the fact that such charges apparently receive easy and credulous currency in the colony, is calculated to react most injuriously upon a branch of the immigration service which I believe the Government is particularly anxious to encourage. I have, &c., I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N. Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 131. ' The Rev. Mr. McCabthy to the Agent-Geneeal. Sic — . Cork, 18th November, 1874. Having been asked as to the character of the young girls who went from the Cork Workhouse to New Zealand by the ship " Asia " at the beginning of this year, I am happy to be able to state that they are all exceedingly well conducted, and regular in their attendance to their religious duties. For nearly four years they were under my constant observation, and during that time their conduct was all that could be desired. Their moral character was above reproach, and any imputation against them on this head is utterly without foundation. Dennis McCaetht, E.C. Chaplain, the Cork Workhouse.

No. 132. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 222.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 6th April, 1876. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 11, dated 15th January, 1875, forwarding copy of a letter addressed to the Under Secretary of your Department by the Immigration Officer at Riverton, complaining that certain immigrants nominated for that place have been sent to Auckland. I have carefully inquired into the cases referred to by Mr. Daniell, and I find the facts are as follow, viz.,—

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1. Fitzgerald, John. —Applied on the 7th August, 1874, under the ordinary regulations of this office, and sailed in the " Assaye " for Auckland, on the Ist September, 1874. He did not make application to be forwarded to Uiverton or to any part of the Province of Otago. He was nominated on the 6th July, 1874. The advice was received from the colony on the 19th September, about sis weeks after the date of the despatch of the ship named. 2. Lynch, Daniel, and Wife. —These persons made application on the 26th March, 1874, under the ordinary regulations of this office, and proceeded by the " Hydaspes " for Auckland, on the 10th August, 1874. They were nominated on the 24th June. The advice did not, however, arrive here until the 31st August, three weeks after the date of the despatch of the vessel named. Lynch, Catherine (mother of Daniel Lynch). —Also nominated on the 24th June, 1874. She proceeded under the nominated arrangement in her favour, in the " Gareloch " for Otago, on the 23rd November. 3. Cody, Lawrence and Patrick. —l am unable to find any memorandum of the nomination of these persons at Riverton. They applied under the ordinary regulations of the office, and sailed by the "Dilharee" for Auckland, on the 3rd October, 1874. It is singular that the Local Agent who forwarded the applicant's papers, Mr. B. Quinn of Galway, should have written on the 24th August as follows: —" As requested, I enclose you the characters of these young people, who are anxious to go to New Zealand, Auckland," &c. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 133. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 230.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— April 14th, 1875. I have the honor to enclose herewith, for the information of the Government, a copy of Mr. Patrick Mason's report of his emigration operations for the half-year ended 31st December, 1874 ; also, a copy of his report for the first quarter of 1875. The results of this agency have been so unsatisfactory, that I fully intended to have abolished it some months ago ; but I thought it better to defer takiug any measures in the matter until I have had an opportunity of conferring with the Hon. the Premier, which, owing to his continued indisposition, I have not yet had. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 133. Mr. P. Mason to the Agent-Genebai. Agency of the New Zealand Government, 22, Eden Quay, Dublin, Sib — 12th April, 1875. In compliance with your instructions, I have the honor to report, for the information of the New Zealand Government, the proceedings in connection with the emigration at this office since my report of Ist July of last year to the close thereof. 2. In addition to personal applications, there were sent by post in the remaining half of that year 346 letters, giving information, of which 220 were in the first, and 126 in the second quarter. 3. There were sent out 88 forms of application for passage, of which 58 were sent in the first, and 30 in the second quarter, and of these there were returned and sent to London 47, representing 138 persons, of which 43 with 88 persons were in the first, and 24 with 50 persons in the second quarter. As stated in my last report, I cannot say how many of these finally embark. I have had since since then to make a monthly return to a department of the Government here for statistical purposes of the number embarking, so far as known to me ; and. the numbers are —July, 26; August, 38 ; September, 11; October, 10; November, 5; December, 21: in all 111 for the six months. But the applications of several of these parties were referred to in my former report. 5. There has been a large decrease in the numbers, as compared with the first part of the year, caused chiefly, I think, by the notice of 6th June, restricting the emigration, but also by the discontinuance of advertising ; there has also been a diminution in the numbers emigrating from this country, to which I directed your attention in my letter of 27th November, part 2. I have, &c, Pateick Mason, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Agent.

Enclosure 2 in No. 133. Mr. P. Mason to the Agent- Geneeai. Agency of the New Zealand Government, 32, Eden Quay, Dublin, Sic, — 13th April, 1875. I have the honor to submit to you, for the information of the New Zealand Government, the proceedings at this office for the first quarter of the present year.

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2. The letters sent out with information were 101 in number. 3. The forms of application for passage issued were 32, and of these were returned and sent to London 25, representing 44 persons. 4. The return made to the Government comprised only 22 emigrants, 11 in January, 9 in February, and 2 in March. 5. The emigration from Ireland having commenced to America, the practice was introduced of sending the emigrants chiefly in spring ; and although the circumstances connected with our emigration are very different, this practice is still adhered to, and inquiries are now becoming more numerous. 8 applications, representing 21 persons, have been sent since the beginning of the present month, and a good many are out which will probably be returned before the end of it. 6. The number of applications sent during the last quarter contrasts very unfavourably with the corresponding quarter of last year. This I attribute to various causes : that named in my report of Ist July, part 5 ; the discontinuance of advertising, and to the diminished emigration from the country. This last, however, should not affect us, as that to America having been greatly checked, we should have more. Those coming forward are chiefly from the connections made in the two last years, as I understand the emigrants then sent have written home with favourable accounts. I have, &c, Patrick Mason, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Agent.

No. 134. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetart. (No. 240.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 15th April, 1875. I have the honor to enclose you a copy of a letter which I have addressed to the President of the Board of Trade, suggesting certain amendments in "The Imperial Passengers Act, 1855," which at present, with the Amending Act of 18G3, regulates the administrative surveillance exercised at the ports of the United Kingdom over emigrant ships. The circumstances which transpired on the inquiry into the burning of the " Cospatrick " have led me to the conclusion that, apart from the precautions recommended by the Court of Inquiry, the Act itself needs amendment in certain ways, upon which, after careful consideration, I have submitted my opinion to the Board of Trade. I have also communicated a copy of this letter to the Secretary of State for the Colonies; and I further enclose copies of the replies I have received from both departments. The Board of Trade have already instituted inquiries with regard to the propriety of increasing the number of articles to be classed as combustibles, and so excluded from such ships; and I have reason to hope that effectual legislation may take place, in the sense I have ventured to suggest, in the course of this session. I have, &c, I. E. Peatheeston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 134. The Agent-General to the President of the Board of Trade. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 23rd March, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Gray's letter of the Bth instant, transmitting a copy of the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry held into the loss of the emigrant ship " Cospatrick," and I think it my duty, as representing the Government of New Zealand, in whose service that ship was chartered, to submit, for the consideration of the Board of Trade, some observations and suggestions on the report of the Court. 2. I have, in the first instance, to state that I entirely concur in the conclusion, as to the origin of the fire, at which the Court arrived. It is notorious that the broaching of cargo for the purpose of getting at spirits or beer is only too common on board of Australian and New Zealand ships. In the fore hold of the "Cospatrick" "there was a quantity of bottled beer stored in straw in casks, and closely adjoining to a number of barrels of varnish. It was proved to the satisfaction of the Court that it was possible to reach the fore hold through the bulkhead which separated them from the fore peak. A light dropped in the straw, a slight leakage from a barrel of varnish in the vicinity, would thus suffice to account for a conflagration which, in the course of two hours, utterly destroyed the ship and 370 people who failed to reach the boats. If it be true, as I believe, that the fire originated in the vicinity of the varnish, the complete and rapid destruction of the ship was, from the first moment, inevitable— for the difference in inflammable quality between varnish and petroleum, or naptha, is only a difference of degree. There were also, as the report of the Court states, in addition to 178 gallons of varnish, 95 gallons of turpentine on board. Putting out of account the more or less inflammable character of the general cargo, which was largely composed of alcoholic spirits, I am hardly exaggerating when I say that here were combustibles enough to account for the utterly uncontrollable character of the fire. 3. When I turn to the Passengers Act and examine the list of articles which is given as a guide to the Emigration Officer, who is bound to certify that there are no combustibles on board, I find gunpowder, vitriol, lucifer matches, specified as of this class, but not one of the highly inflammable oils whose tendency it is to produce sudden conflagration. Gunpowder may destroy a ship by explosion,

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ritriol may generate, lucifer matches originate a fire, but varnish or turpentine, once kindled, will spread it in streams of flame that render everything they touch fuel to the full extent of its capacity for ignition. Petroleum was unknown when the Act was passed. The burning of the public buildings in Paris, in 1871, has shown what a terrible agent of arson it might become. Its carriage is, I believe, now generally forbidden on emigrant ships by your Emigration Officers, in virtue of the general discretion with which they are vested to object to any article likely to endanger the safety of the ship. But, as I have said before, the difference between varnish and petroleum is really a difference of degree; yet the Legislature having, as I have pointed out, given no indication in the Act that it regarded highly ignitible oils and spirits as combustibles, and no accident of this peculiar kind having, so far as is known, ever happened before, I desire to be understood as not making the least reflection upon the discretion hitherto exercised by the officers of the Board of Trade. 4. I do think, however, that with the warning of this terrible catastrophe before my eyes, I should not be fulfilling my duty if I failed to urge upon the Board the necessity, as it appears to me, of amending the Passengers Act, so as to include in future all highly ignitible oils in the category of combustibles forbidden to be carried on board emigrant ships, and to render not merely the owners of such ships, but the merchants shipping them, liable to severe penalties for any infraction of the law. The trade in such oils must of course go on. They are in demand in a new colony, which is as it were housing its population, in a very much greater degree even than in an old country. But I submit that the law should provide that articles of such a fiercely combustible nature may only be carried in cargo ships, or at least in ships which are able to carry boats or rafts enough to provide for the ready escape in the event of fire of all the people on board. I know how impossible it is to provide for such a supply of boats on board an ordinary emigrant ship. Such a provision of boats in the case of the " Cospatrick " would be equivalent to making the ship carry a second ship on deck. But the people on board such ships are entitled to every reasonable protection against a fate the most awful that can be conceived; and Ido not hesitate to declare my belief that the sudden and utter destruction of this ship was due to the presence, of those specific elements in its cargo. 5. Another suggestion which I venture to submit for the consideration of the Board of Trade is, that a clause should be introduced into the Passengers Act to compel the captain or one of the principal ship's officers delegated by him for that duty, under stringent obligation by penalty or otherwise, to make a daily personal inspection of the hold, and regular entry of the result in his log-book. Prom such a regular inspection of the state of the cargo, I should expect to obtain a great safeguard against fire in two important respects. In the case of fire arising, as it is believed it sometimes does from spontaneous combustion, a daily inspection of the state of the hold might be expected to lead to the detection and extinction of such fire while still in a smouldering condition. Por the fire of spontaneous combustion, originating generally in materials which while heating give forth strong odours, does not very rapidly mature into the condition in which it bursts into flame, and attention might thus be drawn to the danger while in a state in which it could be stamped out. Again, in regard to the risk of fire resulting from the broaching of cargo, I submit that if it were known on board that a daily inspection took place, naturally directed as such inspection would particularly be to those parts of the hold where spirits were stored, a certain deterrent effect would be exercised on the minds of those disposed to steal. Even if theft of this kind were under such circumstances to take place through some accidentally favourable opportunity, it would certainly be promptly detected, for cargo of such a character could not be broached without leaving traces ; and measures of punishment and prevention might thus be adopted at an early stage of the mischief. If the " Cospatrick " was, as I believe with the Court of Inquiry that it was, burned through this cause, I think the chances are considerable that it was not on the night of the fire that the bulkhead between the fore peak and the fore hold was broken through for the first time ; and had there been such a regular inspection of the cargo as I suggest on board the " Cospatrick," it is obvious that the bulkhead might have been in time guarded and strengthened, and the terrible fatality, fraught with so much misery and loss of life, thereby averted. 6. I beg, in conclusion, to express my concurrence with the special suggestions of the Court. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, Agent-General for New Zealand. The Eight. Hon. Sir Charles Adderley, K.C.M.G., M.P., President of the Board of Trade.

Enclosure 2 in No. 134. Mr. E. G-. C. Hamilton to the Agent- General. Sib, — Board of Trade, Whitehall Gardens, 7th April, 1875. I am directed by the Board of Trade to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 23rd ultimo, with reference to the report of the Court of Inquiry into the loss of the " Cospatrick;" and, in reply, to thank you for your suggestions, and to state that the subject of the carriage of combustibles in passenger ships is now under consideration by this Board. I have, Ac, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. E. G. C. Hamilton.

Enclosure 3 in No. 134. Mr. ~W. E. Malcolm to the Agent- Geneeal. Sib, — Downing Street, 2nd April, 1875. I am directed by the Earl of Carnarvon to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 24th of March, and to thank you for the copy which you have furnished to this department of the 13—D. 2.

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letter which you have addressed to the Board of Trade, suggesting certain amendments in the Passengers Act which have occurred to you in connection with the official report of the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry into the destruction by fire of the emigrant ship " Cospatrick," on her voyage from this country to New Zealand. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. W. E. Malcolm.

No. 135. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 258.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 28th April, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 30, of 13th February, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Carnatic," which vessel, you inform me, arrived at Pieton upon the 10th ultimo: —1. Eeport by the Immigration Commissioners. 2. Eeport by the Immigration Officer. I am glad to observe that the vessel arrived in a cleanly condition, and that the immigrants, who were in good health, " expressed themselves as fully satisfied with the treatment they had received, and had no cause whatever of complaint." I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 136. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 261.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 30th April, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 41, of 16th February, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relating to the ship " Humboldt," which, you inform me, arrived at Port Nicholson from Hamburg upon the 28th January, viz.: —l. Eeport of the Immigration Commissioners. 2. Eeport of the Surgeon-superintendent. 3. Certified list of births and deaths during the passage. I am pleased to find that the report of the Commissioners is very favourable as to the fittings and other arrangements of the vessel; and that the immigrants are described as " a fine healthy-looking lot of people—most of them well clothed and tidy in appearance." I observe the remarks of Dr. Yon Mirbach with reference to the supply and examination of medicines put on board the Hamburg vessels, and I shall forward the recommendation to the proper quarter. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 137. The Agent-General to the Hon. Sir J. Vogel. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 21st April, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th instant, Pr. O—so-75, in which you inform me that you have learned with great surprise that a number of emigrants for Taranaki, Nelson, and Westland are being sent to Wellington, and express the opinion that nothing is more clear than that such a mode of forwarding emigrants is opposed to the instructions sent to me from the colony, and is, in addition, calculated to be very costly. 2. I assume that you refer to the emigrants for those provinces despatched by the ship " Collingwood" to Wellington on the 13th instant, under circumstances explained, in advance of their departure, to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration in my letter of the 9th March, No. 138. Of these emigrants, 69| statute adults were on their way to Taranaki, 2-1 to Nelson, and 25 to Westland. 3. I submit that my action in regard to the despatch of those emigrants was in precise conformity with my instructions. 4. In your letter of the 22nd October, 1873, in which you carefully define the discretion I ought to exercise under such circumstances, you say —"The only circumstances in which I can recognize that it is desirable that you should send emigrants for transhipment are, that you have a vessel about to sail and are unable to fill her with emigrants for the port to which she is to proceed, or that you cannot obtain a direct ship. Whenever a sufficient number of emigrants can be obtained it is desirable that they should be sent direct to their destination." In the case under consideration I had not a sufficient number of emigrants to fill a ship either for New Plymouth or for Nelson. Nor could lat the time obtain a direct ship for either port, though I had some hope of obtaining one for New Plymouth. Had I succeeded in obtaining this ship for New Plymouth, I should still have had to send the Nelson and Westland emigrants to Wellington, for which port I had a vessel about to sail, as the more convenient port for transhipment. Under these circumstances I maintain the course I adopted •was the one more desirable of the two specified in your instructions ; and, indeed, it was the only course

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open to me to avoid causing great inconvenience to the people who were ready to proceed, and serious cost to the colony. 5. After the departure of the "Hannibal," on the 12th of March last, there remained of the 2,000 emigrants directed to be provided for Nelson, Marlborough, and Westland, by your letter of the 12th March, 1874, and who, with the exception about to be specified, had all been sent direct to the port of Nelson—there remained, I say, a balance of 136 to complete that order, and of those the number since despatched by the " Collingwood " were many of them urgently pressing to be forwarded. It was impossible for me to obtain a direct ship for such a number as these forty-nine adults, unless at a coat immeasurably exceeding that involved in the process of transhipment at Wellington for Nelson. 6. You state that you have several times spoken to me about Taranaki, and expressed to me the desire that emigrants for that province should be sent out direct. I beg to state that emigrants have been and are being sent to Taranaki direct in a very considerable proportion, as large a proportion as circumstances —and especially as the notorious indisposition of shipowners to send their vessels to the port of New Plymouth—will permit. It is not very easy to effect any summary change in the course of trade and navigation. At the same time, I may be permitted to mention that I received by the mail delivered on the 12th instant a letter from the Hon. the Minister for Immigration, dated 13th February, No. 27, which gives me good hope that the difficulties hitherto experienced will gradually disappear. The Minister writes referring to the safe arrival of the ship " Avalanche " at New Plymouth:— "It is very satisfactory to the Government to find that, in carrying out their wishes as to the sending emigrants direct to Taranaki, no trouble or inconvenience has been experienced by the charterers, and I trust that the experience of the ' Avalanche ' may tend to remove the unreasonable prejudice of the shipping firms with whom you do business against laying ships on for New Plymouth direct." I may add, that I have at present chartered the " Halcione " to proceed to the same port direct on the 26th May, and the v Dover Castle " to follow on the 9th June, calling afterwards at Nelson with the balance of emigrants remaining to be forwarded to that province. 7. It was, however, necessary to make some earlier arrangement in regard to the emigrants for Taranaki since forwarded by the " Collingwood." They had been specially selected with great care by Mr. Burton, the agent for the province in Lincolnshire, where he had been placed in co-operation with Mr. Carter and my local agent, and had succeeded in recruiting a very promising body of agricultural emigrants. As I have already said, I had for a time a hope that I should have been able to send these direct. But I found at the end that I could not get any ship to precede the " Halcione," and Mr. Burton very reasonably apprehended that he might not be able to keep the group of emigrants, which he had formed with some trouble, together until even the earliest date I could foresee for the departure of that vessel. She had not in fact arrived from the colony at the time when I was compelled to consider the circumstances as urgent. I adopted, therefore, the alternative which seemed, according to the letter of your instructions, to be the more desirable. 8. With reference to the third paragraph of your letter, I beg to state I only regarded the arrangements I have explained as ordinary shipping arrangements, and was of course well aware that I was in no respect departing from my instructions. I have, Ac, I. E. Featheestoit, The Hon. the Premier. Agent-General.

No. 138. The Auent-Genekal to the Hon. Sir J. Vogel. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 28th April, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th instant, in which you inform me that you have received a telegraphic communication, stating that in consequence of the intolerably disrespectful nature of my letter of 10th January, No. 5, dealing with the recommendations of the Royal Commission appointed to consider the causes of an epidemic of scarlatina which occurred on board the ship " Scimitar," the Government have determined that that letter shall not be recorded. 2. I confess I feel both surprised and grieved at this decision of the Government. If my views had been considered erroneous, or if it had been alleged that I had given insufficient attention to the proposals of the Commission, or to your letter indorsing them and urgently enforcing them upon my attention, I should not have a word to say. But when it is the " nature," by which I assume is meant the general character and tone of my letter, that is stigmatised as intolerably disrespectful, I take leave to say that the nature of a document so qualified necessarily depends upon the intention with which it is written ; and it is both my right and my duty to disclaim, in the most absolute terms, any feeling whatsoever of disrespect, either towards the Government or towards the Royal Commission, in the remarks which it became my duty to make on the proposals upon which you invited my judgment and action. It is quite impossible that the nature of a long and circumstantial public document should exhibit intolerable disrespect towards the Government to which it was addressed, without an official, who has had my long and responsible experience in the service of the colony, being in the very slightest degree conscious of such a sentiment. 3. Indeed, the very nature of the subject was such as to forbid the expression of any such animus, if it could possibly have existed. Tour letter brought before me a number of suggestions, some of which I adopted. There were others in which I differed entirely from the report of the Royal Commission which the Government had on those points, as to some absolutely, as to others partially adopted. I was aware, from the terms of your letter regarding the "Scimitar," from your letters in regard to the outbreak of infectious disease on other ships, and from the general sources of opinion in the colony, that I had been subjected to the imputation that all possible precaution had not been taken by me to prevent the outbreak of zymotic diseases, and to insure that none but emigrants of perfect

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physical stamina should be sent to the colony. It was proposed by the Eoyal Commission that emigrants should bo submitted to the same medical examination as recruits, or persons insuring their lives. It was necessary for me to answer this, by showing in detail that a physical examination of such a prolonged aud exhaustive nature was incompatible with the instructions I had received to send out a number which, at that time, had risen to 4,000 emigrants a month; that there were, besides, insuperable difficulties and grave objections to the institution of either of such examinations; and finally, that if it were practicable, such a system would involve an enormous expense, entirely disproportioned to the proposed advantage. It was further suggested that, in consequence of the alleged habitual neglect of infant children by their parents, the children should be messed together by themselves. I saw grave difficulties in establishing and working such a system. I saw grave natural objections to it, if these difficulties could be overcome. I repeat, it is not possible I could have treated such topics in a tone of intolerable disrespect. 4. I trust that after this complete disclaimer upon my part of the feeling which alone could have communicated a character of disrespect to my letter, the Government will see reason to reconsider their decision, as I should greatly regret, when the correspondence of this department is laid before Parliament, that it should suppose I had neglected to reply to the suggestions of such an important Commission, placed before me, as they had been, in so forcible a light in your letter of 29th June, 1874, No. 181. I have, &c., I. E. Featiieeston, The Hon. the Premier. Agent-General.

No. 139. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetaey. (No. 270.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— . 4th May, 1875. I have the honor to forward, for the information of the Government, copies of a despatch* which I have received from the Hon. the Premier on the subject of the letter which I addressed to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration on the 10th of January last concerning the recommendations embodied in the report of the Royal Commission on the ship " Scimitar," and also of my rejih't to Mr. Vogel. In asking you to submit the explanations contained in my letter to the Hon. the Premier for the consideration of the Government, I take leave to express the hope that they may avail to remove the misconception of my meaning which has evidently arisen, and to cause them to reconsider the decision at which lam informed they had arrived. I beg to repeat to you, and have the honor to request that you will convey to the Government, my sincere and solemn assurance that any thought of disrespect either to the Government or to the Koyal Commission, in the writing of that letter, was absolutely absent from my mind. I have, &c, I. E. PEATHEESTOIsr, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 140. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Peejiiek. 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 11th May, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 24th ultimo, Pr. 0 78-75, informing me that your attention has been directed to four letters of mine on the subject of the Immigrants' Land Act, written in reply to your despatches on the same subject. 2. I must begin by saying that I have read with most sincere regret your statement that you are willing to allow me all the satisfaction I may have derived from the fact that a certain advertisement issued by this office," of which you subsequently complained, was originally appended to your own despatch, with an instruction to me to give it general publicity. I owe it to my own character to say that lam incapable of deriving a feeling of satisfaction from any such circumstance. It is not, I take leave to say, by any means natural to me to make the utmost of that fact, or to make any other use of it than such as my official 'duty and the circumstances of the case oblige me to do. When in your despatch of the Ist July, 1874, No. 186, you communicated to me your telegraphic correspondence with His Honor the Superintendent of Otago, in which you stated that a "grave error had been committed somewhere in relation to that advertisement," and that you should be obliged to him if he would " telegraph you a literal copy of the advertisement, that you might discover where the fault rested;7' and when you stated in another telegraphic message to his Honor that you could not " suppose the Agent-General could be cognizant of an advertisement so inaccurate in its terms," and that "the General Government were free from any responsibility " in it —when, further, you invited his Honor to telegraph to the Otago Emigration Agent, Mr. Auld, to set the advertisement right, and. in your despatch to me above cited referred to it as a very grave error on my part, and proceeded thcnco to express your general disappointment with my conduct in relation to the Act, it became absolutely necessary for me, in defence of my own character and of this department, to draw your attention to the fact that the advertisement was, word for word, your own suggestion. I may add that it was my duty to the Government not to allow you to continue under the misapprehension which had * No. 70, D.—l, 1875. t ro. 138, ante.

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led you to make such statements, when the despatch, with the advertisement appended to it, was already actually published in the correspondence laid before Parliament. But lam sure I did not feel, and therefore could not exhibit, any such unworthy spirit as you impute to me, in discharging a duty concerning which I had no possible choice. 3. In your remarks relating to my conduct in administering the Act, both those contained in your despatches of Ist July, 1874, No. 186, and Bth September, 1874, No. 2GO, and those in your despatch now under reply, it seems to me that you overlook the effect which this advertisement, coupled with certain passages of your own despatch considered in my letter of 15th December, 1874, No. 1956, must have had in guiding my discretion. Tour advertisement informed all persons —" especially," but not solely, "those who desire to settle on land," and who were "willing to pay their own passages to New Zealand" —that they were " entitled to free grants of land" on " registering their names " at this office. These words, dictated by yourself, and at once circulated widely throughout the United Kingdom, would alone have sufficed to reduce my discretion under the Act to almost a nullity. Having announced that the mere desire to settle on land gave, with registry of name and payment of passage, a title to a free grant of land, how could I, without further authority, have imposed conditions inconsistent with an invitation so simply unlimited, and which, though written by you, was issued in my name on behalf of the Government ? There was nothing in the language of your despatch or in the provisions of the Act, as I have fully explained in my letter of 15th December, 1874, No. 1956, contradictory to or inconsistent with the terms of the advertisement; and I submit that my plain duty was so to exercise the discretion vested in me, that your advertisement, your despatch, and the Act might be interpreted in unison ; but especially to remember, in the situation in which I am placed here, that the advertisement was a notice to the emigrating classes throughout the United Kingdom, to which the honor of the colony was pledged. You say, referring to the time at which you wrote your despatches of Ist July, 1874, and Bth September, 1874, that the Government saw with dismay my inclination to give recommendations or certificates to whosoever applied for them. Until the latter date, certainly, I only heard complaints of my inaction, such as that in your telegram to the Superintendent of Otago, on the 3rd June, saying that I had not yet advised you that I had approved of a single person under the Act. In your despatch to me of the Ist July, you say that a few persons had, indeed, applied for land at that date under the-Act, but not one of them had been able to produce my certificate. It does not at all follow that that was my fault. I could not give my certificate to persons who never applied for it; and I think it is very probable that many persons, misled by the terms of the advertisement, proceeded to New Zealand at that time in the expectation of getting land, and utterly ignorant that my certificate was necessary. I think, too, I was morally justified in forwarding for the consideration of the Government the applications of persons who went to the colony under such a not unreasonable misapprehension^ Tou will remember that the schedule containing the regulations and forms of certificate under the Act was only issued at Wellington in May, was not sent to me until Ist July, and only reached me on the 31st August, being appended to your Despatch No. 186, condemning the terms of your advertisement. About a fortnight afterwards, on the 18th September, I received your telegram, saying, " Tou fail to understand Immigrants' Land Act. Not intended to give land unnecessarily, but to those who otherwise would be unlikely to come, and to those who intend to settle. Am visiting England to confer with you." I confess I could not help at this date yielding to a feeling of confusion, and to a sense of my utter inability to reconcile instructions, the completely conflicting character of which is best evidenced in your own expressions to Superintendent Macandrew, which show that you yourself had in June completely forgotten the form in which you had instructed me to invite the people of the United Kingdom to avail themselves of the Act. I began to see that, until I bad the promised opportunity of conferring with you, I could not pretend to understand what policy the Government really wished me to pursue in regard to the Act. Meantime, I felt it was necessary I should explain, for the information of the Government, and in my own vindication, my views as to the scope of the Act; and that I should also take notice of some of the applications under the Act contained in the precis of cases appended to your despatch of Bth September. Such were the motives and such the subject matter of my letters of 23rd September, No. 1663 ; 15th December, No. 1956; 22ud December, No. 1986 ; and 22nd January, No. 52, to which you have referred, and which I am sorry to see you regard as if they originated in a propensity to analytical criticism, or an argumentative disposition, and not in the difficulties in which conflicting instructions had placed me. 4. My memory is not in accord with yours as to the substance of what passed between us in conversation on the occasion to which you refer. I could not, as you seem to suppose, have doubted the authority of the Government to give instructions for guiding my selections, for the simple reason that I had already stated, in my letter of 15th December, that I would in all future selections observe certain rules you had indicated to me in your despatch of Bth September, No. 260. What I did and do maintain is, that your instructions of 21st October, 1873, read in connection with the advertisement and the Act, did not leave me any reasonable ground, before you had censured that advertisement and given me further instructions, upon which I could refuse my certificate to any person of either sex, and of any age between eighteen and sixty, who satisfied me that it was his or her desire to settle on land, and who produced evidence that he or she had paid the passage. If, however, I had entertained any doubt as to the power of the Government so to instruct me, the opinion of Messrs. Mackrell, to which you refer, would so far have sustained me, for they say that, under the Act, " no authority is given to the Government to instruct the Agent-General as to how he shall exercise his judgment; but he would doubtless be guided by the views of the Government upon the subject." As a matter of fact, , however, my own desire was to follow your instructions, so far as I could understand them, reading the Act, the advertisement, and your despatches in concordance. Tou say, referring again to my conversation with you, that I would only concur in regulations for guiding my selections upon your obtaining legal advice on the subject. The opinion of Messrs. Mackrell says nothing of regulations for guiding my selections. It says " that there is no objection to conditions being prepared and published as a guide to persons desiring to know whether or not they would be suitable emigrants." Messrs. Mac-

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krell add that such regulations should be addressed by me to the public, and not by the Government to me as you seem to suppose. I certainly did think, and I still think, that I had no right to devise regulations as to my own discretion in selection incompatible with my original instructions, pending official communication to me of other instructions. But when such instructions came, lat once made them the rule of my conduct. You say that your instructions, to which I then referred, were simply that I should exercise discretion. You forget that, in the despatch to which I was then replying, you had laid down two leading principles, which I was for the future to bear in mind in administering the Act—(l) That the applicant must be specially led to emigrate by the Act; and (2) must be a person whom I could fairly regard as a permanent settler ; and that you further instructed me, except in very rare cases, not to give my certificate to persons who had already paid their passages. It is impossible to read these last stipulations in connection with your advertisement and your original despatch, and not see that they amounted to something more than a general injunction to me to use discretion. Neither could I possibly have said to you, as it is your impression that I did, that I had no power to exercise discretion. The question throughout the entire correspondence has been how I should exercise the discretion vested in me by the Act, so as to make the terms of the Act accord with your views at the time you sent me the notice to be issued inviting emigrants under the Act, and the time when you censured and repudiated that notice. 5. As to the actual exercise of my discretion in issuing my certificate, I may here be permitted to say that from the commencement I have made it my rule, when my certificate was applied for, to see the applicant personally, to inform myself as far as I could as to his circumstances and intentions, especially as to his desire to take up land either personally or by means of some members of his family ; to ascertain that he had a general knowledge of the obligations of the Act, and that he could produce his contract ticket. My instructions to Mr. Ottywell, who on occasion of my absence from London acted on my behalf, were to direct his inquiries to the above effect; and such were my directions to Mr. Adams, to whom I have delegated the power of issuing certificates in Scotland. 6. You observe you think that I should endeavour to understand your meaning, when you say that I should not give certificates, except in very few cases, to persons who have already paid their passages before asking me to approve of them as " suitable emigrants," though the certificate appended to the Act obliges me to certify that I have in each case seen the applicant's contract ticket. Let me say that if the Act is to operate at all, this rule must be relaxed in far more than the very few cases in which you would allow it. How does the Act in fact operate as an inducement to emigration ? Persons generally from the agricultural districts, almost always at long distances from my office, have read in the advertisement on the subject, or the Official Handbook, or in the Act itself, that (to quote the first words of the Act) they will be " permitted to acquire land free of cost in proportion to their expenditure on immigration." Naturally, they considered that they should come to me prepared with satisfactory proof of the extent of their expenditure on immigration. In the second clause of the Act, again, the payment of the passage money is stipulated in the first instance, and my certificate in the subsequent proviso. The emigrant is not directed to come to me in the first instance, as should have been the case had such a rule as you lay down been contemplated ; but the words of the Act are, "before leaving the place of departure for New Zealand." Accordingly, the very class of emigrants who are most anxious to avail themselves of the advantages of the Act, and who have most carefully considered its provisions, have hitherto been led to conclude that there is little use in seeing me before they are in a condition to satisfy me as to their expenditure on immigration, and do net as a rule come to me until the eve of their departure for New Zealand. 7. I am sorry to be obliged again to refer to the case of Mr. TJ'Ren, but when you say that the objections to the course I took in that case were not that I failed to give him a certificate, but that I forwarded the application, with a recommendation to the Government to favourably consider it, you evidently forgot the terms of your despatch of Ist July, 1874, No. 18G, in which you say, " I think the correspondence in this case supplies evidence, if evidence be wanted, that, had you exerted yourself as I asked you in my letter already referred to, there would have been no lack of people glad to take advantage of the Act." I failed to see how the case of a man who sailed for New Zealand before I had seen the Act could in any way afford evidence that I had omitted to exert myself properly in administering it. With reference to your objection now stated for the first time, I must however submit that, under the circumstances, I could not well have done otherwise than I did. The case was brought before me by a minute of the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Lowther, who had been moved in the matter by an eminent member of Parliament and late Minister, Mr. Horsman. I said, as you will find in my letter of -Ith May, 187-4, No. 1214, that I had no power in the matter, but would recommend the case to the favourable consideration of the Government. Ido not think I could, in common courtesy or official propriety, have treated the recommendation of the Colonial Office in any less respectful way. 8. I readily admit that the case of the " Otago settler," to which you refer, was not one which I need have submitted for the consideration of the Government. 9. I must, however, adhere to the grounds of objection urged in my letter of the 22ud December, 1874, No. 108G, to the manner in which a precis of cases of application to the department at Wellington was prepared as matter of charge against me by one of its officials. I objected, and I still object, to a number of cases being huddled together, in general without names, dates, investigation of the circumstances, or inquiry into the veracity of the persons, and made the groundwork of grave charges against me. You say yourself that the reference to a particular applicant as being a father-in-law " was meant to help in describing who he was, the officer probably not remembering at the moment his name." I think lam entitled to ask, is this a way in which charges should be received and recorded against me by the officer of any department of the Government ? I will go further. I will ask you, is it a way in which such charges against me should be submitted to you, the head of the Government, by a subordinate official ? lam very sorry to see that, in the haste with which you have evidently read my letter, you have attributed language which I used with reference to myself as if I had applied it to your letter. You tell me that I have managed to insinuate that you " father a frivolous plea " —words

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which I find quoted as if from my letter, but which I beg to say I never used ; and also that I have said or insinuated that your letter should be treated with either suspicion of your motives or doubt of your capacity. What I did say was this, as you will find if you will refer again to the concluding sentences of my letter: —" I have little doubt that if I were to raise such a frivolous plea in one of the Courts of this city, in the event of my being called upon to show cause for not fulfilling my duty under the Act in the case of an emigrant who happened to be father-in-law of auy person whatsoever in the colony, that I could only expect it to be treated with either suspicion of my motives or doubt of my capacity." I need hardly say it is impossible to imagine that such a sentence could have the very remotest reference to you. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Premier. Agent-General.

No. 141. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Premier. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 12th May, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th instant, in reply to mine of the 28th April. 2. I have carefully re-considered the whole subject, and I adhere to my declaration that it is absolutely impossible I could have been guilty of addressing a communication of an intolerably disrespectful nature to the Government without having the least intention or consciousness of exhibiting disrespect. I also repeat my positive disclaimer of having entertained any such sentiment towards the Government. 3. In order to justify the terms of a telegram, sent from Wellington last month, which imputes the offence of intolerable disrespect towards the Government to me, you refer to a marginal note on the copy of the original despatch addressed to me, and now in my office, which, at your own request, I unhesitatingly placed in your hands, in order to enable you to consider the terms of your reply to my letter defending myself against that charge. Ido not presume to characterize your conduct in referring in an official despatch to my private memoranda on an official document addressed to myself, and placed by me with full and honourable confidence in your hands, except by saying that I believe it would be difficult to find a precedent for such a proceeding in official intercourse. I might have erased the original memorandum you refer to before placing the document in your hands, for it formed no part of its official substance. I might have sent you a copy of the despatch, and such would certainly have been the more strictly correct course in regard to a paper duly recorded in my office. But, having placed the paper as it stood in your hands, I could not have conceived that you would look among my first crude impressions, jotted down as I read the despatch, for material to justify the judgment of the Government, communicated in such an unusual manner, on the character of my reply to that despatch. It may be that the course of making such memoranda on official papers is open to objection. It is, however, for Ministers and heads of departments, through whose hands a multiplicity of papers on very various business, sometimes with great rapidity, passes, far from unusual. When you once casually spoke to me on this point, you may remember I told you I had just received a despatch from Wellington, in which the somewhat scathing epithet "nonsense " was no less than five times written opposite the suggestions of one particular report, in the handwriting, as I believe, of the Minister ; and with the intention no doubt of giving me a broad hint that I was not expected by the department to pay any very particular attention to the recommendations in question. 4. On referring to your original despatch, I find that the words " absolutely absurd" are written opposite a sentence quoted by you from the report of Messrs. Bathgate, Strode, and Hocken, on the ship " Scimitar." This sentence, which you insert in inverted commas, is, " Tbe children should be messed together by themselves." Therefore the phrase cannot be said even to colour the charge of intolerable disrespect to the Government. It was not applied to anything the Government had said or cfone. In your own remarks upon this suggestion of the Commission, you say that you doubt whether such an arrangement would prove to be "in all cases practicable." But you leave it to my consideration whether " such an arrangement might not be made at all events in ships conveying a large number of children." My belief was, and is, that the arrangement would prove to be impracticable, or, if practicable at all, most costly ; and I set forth my reasons with that degree of detail which it seemed to me your recommendation of the subject to my consideration required. In your letter now under reply you return to the topic, and say that " The practice of having a separate mess for children, so far as first-class passengers are concerned, exists in the best steam lines; and both in respect of the nature of the food and the means of cooking it, the plan is at once a boon to the children and a con* venience to the parents." I do not doubt that in a Cunard, or in a Peninsular and Oriental steamer with first-class passengers, whose children are attended by their own nurses or other servants, and where there is besides a large staff of attendants on board, a children's mess may be all that you describe it. But I think that you will find that it has not been found practicable to make such an arrangement for the steerage passengers, even with the spacious accommodation and ample stewards' staff of the great Atlantic steamers. You must remember, besides, that the reason why you commended the suggestion to my consideration was, that it had frequently been brought under your notice " that the children suffer from the ignorance of the parents in improperly cooking the food, or in diverting to their own purposes the farinaceous articles of diet." Now amongst the most deserving emigrants to New Zealand are young married couples with two or three small children. I did not believe that women of that class, accustomed to nurse their own children, could with advantage be replaced in their charge; and I believe that the greater the number of children, the greater would be the difficulty and expense of organising such a system, especially if I am to take into account your illustration of what

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you had in view from the service of the best steam lines. I regret that you should regard my reply upon this point as " a laboured attempt to see in the proposal an insult to the female immigrants, and a violation of the duties and rights of maternity." I utterly deny the imputation. I simply dealt with the suggestions of the report in the spirit and on the grounds because of which it was referred for my consideration, in the passage I have quoted above from your own despatch. 5. I regret to perceive that, besides insisting that my letter must have been "most disrespectful," whether I intended to exhibit a feeling which, I am aware, I never harboured or no, you accuse me of habitually regarding with suspicion and something allied to contempt the instructions or recommendations sent to me from the colony; of a " tendency to object to anything proposed by the Government;" of a " disposition to seize particular points of letters, instead of the broad and general meaning, and, ignoring the context, to found upon such points pages of unnecessary writing." In regard to the particular letter, the cause of this correspondence—my letter of 10th January, No. s—l find that of the seven suggestions of the Eoyal Commission, to which you directed my attention, I signified my concurrence with four; reserved one (the depot question) for further consideration when you should have had the opportunity of examining the institution at Blackwall, and that at Plymouth, after your arrival in England; and only dissented from two, upon which you yourself had declined to express a positive opinion, but invited me to give them my very earnest consideration. These points were the establishment of a children's mess on all our ships, and the institution of a medical examination as stringent as in a case of life assurance or a recruit for the army. I gave these proposals, as you desired, my very earnest consideration; and as I differed entirely from the report of the Royal Commission on these points, I thought it the most respectful course I could adopt, both towards the Government and the Eoyal Commission, to give my reasons for dissenting from them in a very earnest and detailed way. Ido not think that there is evidence here of any of the serious faults which you impute as belonging to the character of my correspondence. That it unfortunately has contained, especially during the last year, much writing which I could wish had been unnecessary, lam sadly conscious. During that time there arc not many charges that could be brought against the character of a public officer, respecting which I I have not had occasion to defend myself in my replies to your despatches. I have been obliged, with great regret and reluctance, to withdraw very much time from the proper duties of my office and the service of the colony, in defending my honor, as a public officer, against such imputations. It was my duty to my own character, it was my duty to the colony, in whose service I have spent many happy and not useless or unhonored years, not to leave such charges unanswered, even though I might subject myself to your further strictures on my letters as being " controversial," or as containing " unnecessary writing." I may be permitted to add that such an experience was a novelty in my career. I have, as you well know, served the colony for over twenty years in many and responsible offices, to which, generally in moments of emergency and difficulty, I was called by various Ministries, without distinction of party. I am proud to remember that on no occasion did I fail to receive the cordial and complete support, the generous and ungrudging acknowledgment of such service as I was able to render to the colony by those who employed me, as well as the warmly testified goodwill of the Imperial and Colonial Governments to which T was accredited. And not less now than at any previous time, have I the satisfaction of knowing that the arduous duties, which have devolved upon me in connection witli the organization and conduct of the Agent-General's department, have been discharged with unabated zeal, and with continuous success. Nor do I in the least lose confidence that the services of this department will, notwithstanding temporary misconception, be yet fully and truly appreciated by the people of New Zealand. I have, &c, I. E. Featiierston, The Hon. the Premier. Agent-General. By Authority : Geobge Didsbcet, Government Printer, Wellington.—lß7s. Price 3s. 6d.]