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

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

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1875. NEW ZEALAND.

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

Presented to both Souses of the General Assembly by Command of Sis Excellency.

No. 1. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 336.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir, — Ist June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 60, of 10th March, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Hudson," which, you inform me, arrived at Napier upon the 12th February, viz.: —l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Immigration Officer's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths during the passage. I notice that the Commissioners reported favourably upon the general arrangements of this vessel, remarking that they are able to report " everything, without exception, perfectly satisfactory, so much so that no further comment is requisite;" and that His Honor the Superintendent concurred in that opinion, adding the observation that " the immigrants are a very good class, the whole being engaged within forty-eight hours." I note also that, at the date of the papers under acknowledgment, no demand existed in Napier for tailors, or for persons of some other trades who proceeded in the " Hudson," the latter trades not specified. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 2. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 337.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir, — Ist June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 57, of 9th March, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Wild Deer," which, you inform me, arrived at Port Chalmers upon the 20th January, viz.:—l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I am glad to learn that the Commissioners approved the general arrangements onboard, remarking that the ship was "beautifully clean in every compartment," and that "the immigrants were well satisfied with their treatment." The observations of the Commissioners respecting the slight construction of the booby-hatch over the married people's compartment shall bo referred to the Despatching Officer, in order that he may arrange that similar work in future ships shall be of a more substantial character. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 3. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 338.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir, — Ist June, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. S3, of 16th March, 1875, forwarding the following documents relative to the ship " Wenuington," which, you inform me, arrived at Port Nicholson upon the 25th February, viz.: —l. 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 fittings, general arrangements, and condition of the vessel. I have, &c. I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General. I—D. 2a.

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No. 4. The Agent-G-enekal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 339.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— . Ist June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 55, of 9th March, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Invererne," which, you inform me, arrived at Auckland upon the 29th January, viz.: —l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Immigration Officer's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I am pleased to learn that the Commissioners reported very favourably respecting the fittings and condition of the vessel, the supplies of provisions and water, the behaviour and treatment of the passengers, &c. The emigrants are referred to as "perhaps above the average," and the " large proportion of single men " in this shipment is mentioned with approval. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 5. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 340.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir — Ist June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. G2, of 10th March, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents, relative to the ship " Gareloch," which, you inform me, arrived at Port Chalmers upon the 12th February, viz:—l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Letter from the Superintendent of Otago, enclosing a report by the surgeon-superintendent, relative to the outbreak of scarlet fever. 3. Certified list of births and deaths on the voyage. With reference to the suggestion of Dr. van Hemert, that the scarlet fever which broke out on board the ship "had its origin at the depot at Blackwall," careful inquiry into this statement shall be made, and the result shall be communicated to the Government at an early date. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 6. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 341.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— Ist June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 82, dated lGth March, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Berar," which, you inform me, arrived at Port Nicholson upon the 22nd January: —1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Report of surgeon-superintendent. 3. Certified list of births and deaths during the voyage. The Commissioners explain that the vessel having been quarantined, the fittings were removed prior to their visit on board, and that they were in consequence unable to report fully upon the between-deck arrangements. They report that the immigrants "as a body appear to be a good class of people, and many have already found employment." I notice that a Eoyal Commission had been appointed " to inquire into the cause of sickness on board this vessel." ! I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General,

No. 7. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 342.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sir, — Ist June, 1875. 1 have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 59, of 10th March, 1875 forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " City of Dunedin," which, you inform me, arrived at Port Chalmers from the Clyde upon the 20th February, after a long passage of 112 days, viz.:—l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Certified list of births and deaths upon the voyage. I note that the Commissioners were satisfied with the general arrangements on board, the quality of the provisions and water, and the conduct of the captain, surgeon-superintendent, and other officers. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

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No. 8.

The Agent-G-ekeeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigeation. (No. 343.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— Ist June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter itfo. 58, of 9th March, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Lady Jocelyn," which, you inform me, arrived at Lyttelton on the 21st January, viz.: —l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths. I am glad to observe that the Commissioners approved generally of the arrangements on board the vessel, and described the class of immigrants as " highly satisfactory," and " well adapted for the colony." I notice also that the Commissioners approved of the berths erected in the married compartment "on the principle of Johnstone's patent," which they state " appear admirably suited for immigrant ships, as they not only permit privacy, but materially assist in keeping thorough cleanliness, as the whole of the fittings are easily removed." I have, &c, I. E. Peathebston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 9. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 344.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib, — Ist June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 56, of 9th March, 1875, forwarding copies of the following documents relative to the ship " Waimate," which, you inform me, arrived at Lyttelton upon the 25th January, viz.:—l. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Sur-geon-superintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths on the voyage. I notice that the vessel arrived in cleanly condition, and that " the immigrants spoke in high terms of the treatment they had received." The other matters to which the Commissioners direct attention—the condition of the cooking apparatus, the defective state of the single women's bath, &c.—shall be referred to the Despatching Officer. I have examined the papers of H Gr , who is described by the surgeon-superintendent as " suffering from loss of voice of two years' duration," and who subsequently " became paralysed in one side." I find that the young woman was introduced by the National Agricultural Labourers' Union, Leamington, the application paper having been signed by Mr. Henry Taylor, the General Secretary ; and that the certificate of health was properly signed by " Frederick Stockwell, M.D., Woodstock." I had, therefore, no reason to suspect that the woman was not in a perfect condition of health when her application was approved. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 10. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigration. (No. 345.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— Ist June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 63, dated 11th March, 1875, forwarding the following documents relative to the ship " Eakaia," which you inform me arrived at Port Lyttelton on the 7th February, viz. :■ —1. Immigration Commissioners' report. 2. Surgeonsuperintendent's report. 3. Certified list of births and deaths during the voyage. With reference to the matron appointed to this vessel, I find that the person selected for this office, Miss E F , was chosen from among the emigrants after their arrival at Plymouth, no regular matron having been appointed to the vessel. It does not appear that she had been previously employed in a similar capacity; but she was regarded as the most suitable person that could be found among the single female emigrants. I note your remarks upon the general question of the appointment of matrons to emigrant vessels. The subject shall receive my careful attention. I have, &c, I. E. Peatherston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 11. The Agent-G-eneral to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 347.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sm- I=SS-^-^=2Bth May, 1875. I had the honour to address to you on the 20th October, 1874, a letter, No. 1664, in which, with reference to a resolution passed by the Provincial Council of Otago, representing the necessity of increased care upon the part of the officers of this department in the selection of immigrants, I

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reviewed in detail the evidence supplied by the despatches of the then Minister, and'the reports of the Commissioners who examined the several ships despatched by me between the months of September, 1873, and the month of June, 1874, amounting in all to forty-eight vessels. I submit that the present is a time when I may with advantage, in continuation of that letter, review, for my own guidance and the information of the Government, the similar evidence which has reached me, as to the character of the immigrants since despatched, in the correspondence of your department. 2. I feel bound, however, in the first instance to express the great gratification with which I have heard that, at the last circuits of the Supreme Court, the Chief' Justice at Auckland, Judge Johnston at Wellington, Judge Richmond at Nelson, and Judge Chapman at Dunedin, all bore testimony from the bench to the character of the immigrants despatched to the colony in such large numbers by this department. No conceivable evidence can be of greater weight with' the Government and people of the colony than the words of the Judges of the land; and no recognition of the care and zeal devoted by the officers of this department to the selection of those who already form such a considerable proportion of the. population of New Zealand can be so satisfactory to me. I shall have occasion to refer to the terms of almost invariable commendation which the Commissioners who survey the ships on their arrival often bestow on the physical and moral character of the immigrants, as manifested by their appearance and by their conduct on the voyage. But the examination of the Commissioners is necessarily rapid and superficial; and the people as they arrive are, lam happy to learn, soon absorbed in the ranks of labour in the interior of the country, and the authorities at the port of arrival then know them no more. The true test of a good immigrant is his promptly becoming a good colonist, a useful citizen, bearing his share in the development of the resources of the country, and not a charge on its criminal calendar. It is for this reason that I am proud to be able to acknowledge the testimony borne by their Honors the Chief Justice and Judges Johnston, Richmond, and Chapman, that the 55,500 immigrants despatched by this department not merely augment the numbers, but are being absorbed without prejudice to the prevalence of law and order among the population of the colony. 3. The last letter of your predecessor to which I referred was that which contained the report of the Commissioners who surveyed the ship " Buckinghamshire," which arrived at Port Chalmers on the 29th May, 1874. The next which reached my hands was that on the " Ballochmyle," a favourable report in all respects. The Commissioners who surveyed the " Rooparel," which arrived at Auckland on the 30th of May, report, " The immigrants by this vessel generally appear to be of a satisfactory description, and their conduct, while on board, is very favourably spoken of." The report on the " Schiehallion " states that the condition of the vessel is satisfactory, but that they had received complaints of want of efficiency on the part of the ship's constables. The report on the "Scimitar," debatable on other grounds, in no way reflects on the character of the immigrants by that ship, which I believe to have been unimpeachable. Of the people embarked by the "La Hogue," the Commissioners say, "We are pleased to be able to report very favourably of the immigrants as a whole; the fact that there has been no difficulty in disposing of the immigrants by the last two ships speaks well for the character of the people." That on the " Cartsburn " says, " The immigrants by this ship are a superior class, and will readily meet with engagements." The report on the " Stonehouse " mentions, in particular, that " The single women are well reported of, and their appearance satisfactory." The reports on the " Lochawe " and the " James Nicol Fleming " are in general terms satisfactory. That on the " Hereford " says, " Health of the immigrants good; character very good." That on the " Hindostan " says, " The people, with few exceptions, appear to be suitable for the requirements of the colony;" and the arrangements on board are highly praised. The reports on the " Northampton " and " Halcione " are in general terms favourable. On the former ship a certain amount of illness prevailed; but the Commissioners report that " the arrangements were quite satisfactory," and on the " Halcione " " all that could be desired." Of the " Waikato " the report praises the general arrangements, and describes the immigrants as "a fair sample," while taking exception to some of the single men. The reports on the " Sussex," "Peter Denny," and " Miltiades " are in general terms satisfactory. The immigrants by the " Carnck Castle " are described as " all of the labouring class, and on the whole better fitted to meet the requirements of the district than those previously sent out." Those by the "Adamant " are said to have received JJ an excellent character for cleanliness, cheerfulness, and general good behaviour; they appear to be a useful class, well selected, and likely to be serviceable to the colony." On the other hand, the Commissioners, while reporting in favourable terms of the arrangements of the " Conflict," expressed an opinion as to the immigrants that " many of them should not have been selected as immigrants to the colony." Those by the " Reichstag," which arrived about the same date, are described as " a very fine body of people ;" and those by the " Peeress " as " a class very suitable for the wants of the district." The report on the " Winchester" is favourable, except in regard to the ventilation of part of the ship, a subject to which I give an increasing share of attention. The reports on the "Eastern Monarch," " Marie Bahn," " Corona," and " Otago " are all of the same satisfactory character; or if there be complaints, as in the case of the " Marie Bahn," they are regarded by the Commissioners as not of a serious nature. The report on the "Canterbury " says that the people "appear to have been selected with great care." Of the " Cathcart," the Commissioners say they are "pleased with the class of immigrants by this ship, more particularly the single women." The immigrants by the " Euterpe " are described as " a fine healthy lot of people." On the " Carisbrooke Castle " there was an outbreak of measles, but the report is otherwise satisfactory on all points ; so, with the exception of some complaints as to stores, is that on the " Oxford." In the despatches of your predecessor, my attention is directed to the fact that the report on the " Tweed" is "very satisfactory;" and that on the " Strathnaver " is described as also "on the whole satisfactory." The Commissioners who surveyed the " Merope " report that " the single men, for the most part, are wellselected agricultural labourers, from the West of England; the single women also appeared very suitable. The married men, chiefly from the West of England also, were of a good class ; but the proportion of mechanics was too large." In regard to this latter complaint, however, as to the excess in numbers of mechanics, I find by your letter of 29th October, No. 322, that when you referred to his Honor the Superintendent of Canterbury on this point, he replied, " I should be very sorry to send any away at present. There is no real discontent." The report on the " Gutenburg" is favourable

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as to the general character of the people. In your despatch of the Ist November, you direct my attention to the report on the " Duke of Edinburgh," and say, " The Commissioners report the class of immigrants as highly satisfactory, and well suited to the requirements of the province." Of the " Chile," you say, " Commissioners report favourably of the class of immigrants and their conduct during the voyage." Of the " Star of India," you observe that " the Commissioners reported favourably on the ship and the immigrants she brought." In regard to the report on the " Ocean Mail," you express your satisfaction that the " Commissioners report so favourably of the immigrants and the arrangements made for their health and comfort." In regard to the " Waitangi," you observe that the report shows, " The vessel was in a very satisfactory condition, and immigrants appeared to be a suitable class, and obtained immediate employment." The report on the " Cartvale " takes exception to some of the married couples, but describes the " single men and women" as " fine healthy people." The reports on the " Zealandia," " Invereargill," " Jessie Eeadman," " Helen Denny," " Bebington," " Howrah," and " Hydaspes " are in general terms satisfactory, though there was a certain amount of illness on several of those vessels. The report on the " Soukar "is especially satisfactory. Complaints is made of certain immigrants by the " Douglas," who had been selected by the Emigrants' Aid Corporation. On the other hand, the immigrants by the " Auckland " are described as of a " superior class, most suitable for supplying the wants of the province." The Commissioners who surveyed the " Pleiades " say that " The captain and surgeon give a very good character to all the immigrants—the class of immigrants generally good;" but exception is taken to some of the married people as apparently wanting in stamina. The report on the " Geraldine Paget" says, "The class of immigrants were very good, and appeared well adapted for the colony." The report on the " Crusader " says, " The class of immigrants appeared admirably adapted for the colony, and their conduct during the voyage was highly spoken of." The Immigration Officer at Auckland states that two-thirds of the immigrants per the " Assaye " were almost immediately engaged. In regard to the <: Avalanche," you say to me, in your despatch of 13th February, No. 271, " You will be pleased to learn that the appearance of the ship and immigrants met with the entire approval of the Immigration Commissioners." The Commissioners report on the " Nelson "as follows : —" The immigrants by the ' Nelson ' are a very good class, who appear to have been judiciously selected to supply the present demand for agricultural labour in the province." The Immigration Officer's report on the " Carnatic " says of the immigrants, " They appear to be in good health and spirits, and pleased with the country to which they have come, and the reception they have had." The report on the " Margaret G-albraitb. " says, " The immigrants appeared to be a superior class." On board the ship " Clarence " there was a great mortality among the infant children of the Shetland Islanders, who formed a large proportion of its passengers, and their habits are severely spoken of by the surgeon; but the other immigrants are described as " for the most part healthy and desirable colonists." The report on the " Dilharree " is,in general terms, satisfactory as to the state of the ship and people. The Commissioners describe the immigrants by the " Humboldt " as " a fine healthy-looking lot of people, and most of them well clothed and tidy in appearance." The report on the " Warwick "is satisfactory. That on the " Invererne " says, " The immigrants by this ship are perhaps above the average in point of suitableness, especially as respects the large proportion of single men among them, who as a rule, on account of the scarcity of house accommodation, meet with more ready employment in the country districts." The Commissioners describe the class of immigrants by the " Waimate " as "very good." The report on the " Wild Deer" is in general terms satisfactory. The report on the " Lady Jocelyn" says, " The class of immigrants was highly satisfactory, and appeared well adapted for the colony. The " City of Dunedin " had an outbreak of measles on board, but otherwise the report is highly satisfactory. His Honor the Superintendent of Havvke's Bay writes of the immigrants by the "Hudson," "The immigrants by the ' Hudson ' are a very good class of people, the whole being engaged within forty-eight hours." In the same way the Emigration Officer speaks of those by the "Rakaia" as having at once found employment. The reports on the " Gareloch," " Wellington," and " Michael Angelo " are, as to the general character of the people, satisfactory; and as to those who went by the " Berar," the Commissioners say that, " taking the immigrants as a body, they appear to be a good class of people." 4. I am much gratified to learn, by your despatch of 11th March, No. 67, that you have directed the Immigration Officers' reports for the several provinces to be addressed to your department monthly, and thence forwarded to me. These papers afford, as you suggest, much valuable information to the officers of this department, and important indications as to the proper guidance of the stream of emigration hence towards the colony. They at the same time corroborate, in a manner very interesting from its careful detail, the evidence, supplied from the higher sources to which I have referred, of the good average standard of the class of immigrants despatched to the colony. For example, I read in the report of the Auckland Immigration Officer for the mouth of January —" Of the immigrants by four ships arriving here between the 26th December and the 29th January, amounting in all to 1,022 statute adults, only 13 are at this date (Bth February) unemployed. Most of these are temporarily invalided from various causes." The proportion, 13 to 1,022, would, I need hardly suggest, be a very small one among persons of the highest average of health in any country. In all the other reports I find unqualified recognition of the good general character, moral and physical, of the immigrants, and of their rapid absorption in various industrial pursuits. It is of always of great advantage to receive clear indications, as in the report of the Immigration Officer at Tarannki, what classes of skilled labour are and are not required in particular provinces. In the report of the Officer at Riverton, specially forwarded by you on the 13th March, No. 75, I observe that he regrets he cannot report so favourably of the selections by the Agent-General as of those whom he calls the Brogden immigrants ; but at the same time he says that on the whole the immigrants who arrived in his district during 1874 " have found suitable employment, have done well, and in many instances extraordinarily well." Nor can I read, without a sense that the immigration service of the colony has already achieved a solid success, such statements as that the " immigrants who arrived during the previous year (1873) have become fully settled, and have, many of them, from the class of labourers merged into that of load contractors and employers of labour." Such facts tend to show, if I may be excused the expression, that there is a rapid and solid stratification of society in progress in the colony.

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5. In concluding my letter of 20th October above referred to, I expressed the hope " that under the extreme pressure now put upon this office to supply the colony with so large 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." Since the date of that letter, I have been advised of the safe arrival in the colony of the seventy-four ships above specified. It is matter for grateful recognition upon my part that, in a service conducted on such a large scale and under such great pressure, with the single exception of the lamentable disaster of the " Cospatrick " there has been no casualty of account; as well as that among the myriads of people, of all ages and conditions, whom it has been my duty, in obedience to the orders of the Government, to despatch to the various provinces of the colony, it has been possible to maintain, with such inconsiderable exceptions, that high standard, both physical and moral, which the people of New Zealand have a right to expect on the part of those whom they have chosen to associate with themselves in the task of colonizing their islands. I have, &c, I. E. Peatiieeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 12. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Colonial Secbetabt. (No. 356.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 29th May, 1875. In continuation of my letter of the 13th May, No. 283, I have the honor to forward, for the information of the Government, a copy of a despatch which I have this day received from the Hon. the Premier on the subject of the Immigrants' Land Act, in reply to my letter of the 11th May, communicated to you in the letter of the date and number above specified. As the Hon. the Premier expresses a desire that his letter should close this correspondence, and as indeed I have nothing to add to the opinions I have already so fully expressed on the subject, it only remains for me to lay his despatch before the Government. I have, &c, I. E. Feathebston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 12. The Hon. Sir J. Vogel to the Agent-Geneeal. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 28th May, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter .of 11th May, in reply to mine of 24th April. 2. In stating that I was willing to allow to you all the satisfaction you could derive from the fact that the advertisement complained of —as to the Immigrants' Land Act—was sent to you by myself, I did not accuse you of acting in an " unworthy spirit." You have chosen to consider that such satisfaction is unworthy. Whether it be so or not, your letter under reply affords proof that you do not undervalue the importance of the advertisement having been sent to you by me. Indeed, you appear to be now laying more stress upon the advertisement than you have done before. 3. I cannot accept your recollection of what passed at our earlier interviews here. lam satisfied that you gave me to understand that it was your opinion that the Immigrants' Land Act left you no discretion in your approval of immigrants. If you had not expressed such an opinion, what possible reason could I have had for asking Mr. Mackrell to advise whether, under the Act, "the Agent-General is entitled to use any discretion in his judgment as to who are or are not suitable immigrants "? lam quite clear in my recollection that the advertisement and my instructions were not the causes you alleged to me, at our interviews, of your not having the right or power to exercise discretion. 4. I accept the responsibility of having sent the advertisement; but since you have dwelt so much on its effect, I must say that, had you not from the first regarded the Act with disfavour, you might easily, and no doubt you would, have remedied the mistake of the advertisement. In the body of the letter covering the advertisement, I said, " You will observe that immigrants who pay their own passages to the colony will be entitled, under conditions of occupation and settlement, to have purchased on their account £20 worth of land, in any part of the colony they may select, at any time within five years of their arrival." Again, I said, " All emigrants coming under the Act will have to be approved by yourself, or by some one appointed by you." I also made some remarks upon the character of the immigrants required, which showed that you were expected to exercise discretion. Eeferring to the advertisement, I said, " I suggest that you should widely publish in the newspapers a notice to the effect of the one appended hereto." Whilst, then, Ido not shrink from responsibility in the matter, I must point out to you that there was in the body of my letter abundant material to lead you to conclude that it was desirable you should amend the advertisement before publishing it. By using the words "to the effect of the one appended hereto," I certainly avoided shutting you out from altering the terms of the notice. lam primarily responsible for the advertisement, but lam not prepared to admit that its publication laid the foundation for such claims as you now suggest; and, if it did so, you were not free from responsibility for failing to alter the terms of the notice. 5. Respecting the case of Mr. U'Ren, the objection of the Government was to your favourably recommending the application for consideration. In saying this, I do not forget the terms of the

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despatch of Ist July, 1874. The sentence you quote from it was meant to express the opinion of the Government, that if persons not entitled to land under the Act were making such efforts to obtain it, there would have been no lack of persons glad to take advantage of the Act, and entitled to do so, had you exerted yourself in the matter as you had been asked to do. You now justify your recommendation in the case of Mr. TT'Ben, on the ground that you had received a memorandum from Mr. Lowther, the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, who had been moved by Mr. Horsman, " an eminent member of Parliament and late Minister." You say you do not think you " could in common courtesy or official propriety have treated the recommendation of the Colonial Office in any less respectful way." I concur with you that you should treat the Colonial Office respectfully; but your idea of respect is in this case somewhat extreme, and, you will permit me to say, remarkable, considering the unreserved terms in which you address the Government you more immediately serve. You have admitted that Mr. U'Ren had no more claim to land than the persons who went to New Zealand with Captain Cook ; and, so believing, it seems to me to have been wholly unnecessary to lead Mr. Horsman and Mr. Lowther to believe the contrary. It would have been quite consistent with propriety, and respectful, had you replied that the power of approving immigrants was expressly given to you by the Act, and that you were of opinion Mr. U'Een's case was not one to be dealt with under its provisions. Mr. Horsman and Mr. Lowther did no more than bring under your notice the case of a gentleman who had been reputably recommended to them. Cases of the kind constantly occur; and it would be very embarrassing if feelings of propriety and respect compelled an Agent-General to recommend all such cases to the favourable consideration of his Government. 6. I cannot agree with you that blame attaches to the officer who prepared the precis of cases. 7. I must decline to follow you in your various arguments respecting the Act. Correspondence of this kind entails a great deal of unnecessary trouble. In preparing my letter of instructions, I thought the easiest escape from such correspondence was to go again into the general question of the Act, and put the matter before you in such a shape that it would be almost impossible for you to misunderstand the wishes of the Government. 8. It was not through reading your letter hastily that I came to the conclusion, " that, following the not very novel device of raising a fictitious case," you wished to image the position I should have been in, had I adopted the course you supposititiously attributed to yourself. I saw no other reason for giving the rein to your imagination, in your effort to conjecture what a Court of Law would have thought of you, had you adopted a certain course. I am glad to accept your explanation that you did not mean the sentence to apply to me; but you must permit me to say that, if you adopt imagery of this nature, you must not be surprised at its being misunderstood. 9. I hope you will not deem it necessary to renew this correspondence. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Julius Vogel.

No. 13. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Colonial Secbetaey. (No. 357.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 29th May, 1875. In continuation of my letter of the 13th instant, No. 284,1 have the honor to enclose, for the information of the Government, a copy of a despatch which I have this day received from the Hon. the Premier in reply to my letter of the date and number above specified, on the subject of the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the ship " Scimitar," and of my repeated and most earnest disclaimer that my letter on that topic of the 10th January, No. 5, was of " an intolerably disrespectful nature." Ido not think there is anything in the Hon. the Premier's present despatch that calls for further remark upon my part. I have, &c, I. E. FeaThebston, The Hon. the (Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 13. The Hon. Sir J. Vogel to the Agent-Genebal. 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 28th May, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 12th May, in reply to mine of 4th May. 2. I do not think that disrespectful memoranda made by the Agent-General on letters addressed to him by Ministers are to be justified by the necessity, which Ministers sometimes find themselves under, of noting their opinions upon documents. Notwithstanding the extraordinary insinuations you throw out, I have no doubt whatever as to my right to require to see public documents, and to remark upon them, and upon any notes which officers in the public service may attach to them. 3. You complain of my correspondence, and of the letters which you have found it necessary to write " during the last year." Ido not think your letters during the past year were more objectionable than some previous ones. You must recollect that before last year the Government very much objected to the tone of your correspondence. I need only remind you of the Colonial Secretary's letter to you No. 101, of 27th August, 1873.

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4. Since your appeal to the people of New Zealand, I feel myself justified in saying that I believe the general opinion in the colony is, that the Government have displayed great forbearance ; and it is well known that personally I have endeavoured to stand between you and much indignation which has been expressed. 5. It is needless for me to remark upon the disrespectful tone of the letter to which I am now replying ; and I hope you will not consider it necessary to continue this correspondence. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Julius Vogel.

No. 14. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Ministee for Ihmigbation. (No. 369.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 10th June, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 16th March, No. 87, transmitting copies of the Immigration Commissioners' report, and certified list of births and deaths on the voyage of the ship " Oamaru," which arrived at Port Chalmers on the 17th February. 2. Having regard to the several occasions, during the past year, in which the outbreak of infectious diseases among children on board ship has been attributed to negligent inspection before embarkation, or has been connected with inadequate dietary or defective sanitary arrangements, I think it my duty to submit a few observations on the report of the Immigration Commissioners concerning the cases of scarlet fever which occurred on board this ship. 3. The Commissioners report that two cases of scarlet fever, both being in one family, occurred on the sth February, only twelve days before the ship arrived at Port Chalmers, and after it had been no less than sixty-six days at sea. They further state that they " found everything on board in firstrate order, the several compartments being well fitted and scrupulously clean;" the ship, " on her first voyage," " expressly built for the New Zealand trade, furnished with every improvement calculated to promote the health and comfort of passengers, her 'tween-decks being lofty and well ventilated." They say "the energy and skill" of the captain and surgeon-superintendent "cannot be too highly commended," in regard to the measures which "they at once took to stamp out the disease on board." I recapitulate all these circumstances in the words of the report, because I think, when considered collectively, they amount to proof positive that no possible precaution, no care in previous inspection, no completeness of sanitary arrangements and appliances, can be absolutely relied upon to prevent an outbreak of this terrible malady among the children on board an emigrant ship any more than among the children in a country village. Ido not doubt that if these cases of scarlatina had appeared within twelve days after the ship sailed from England, instead of within twelve days before she anchored oS New Zealand, you would, and not at all unnaturally, have thought it your duty to draw my attention to the circumstance, and to express a doubt whether sufficient precaution had been taken in the way of previous medical inspection to prevent a family, in which were evidently the seeds of this terrible infection, from being embarked. The period of incubation of scarlet fever is ordinarily reckoned at fourteen days, and, taking even the hypothesis of its outbreak twelve days after the ship left England, I venture to say that no medical inspection, however minute, could detect the germs of the disease in so early a stage. But on what hypothesis can its outbreak after nearly seventy days at sea be accounted for ? One hypothesis occurs to me as barely possible —that clothing not worn by the children until that stage of the voyage may have contained the seeds of infection; but I must say, in stating it, that I think this hypothesis highly improbable. I think, if the origin of the malady could possibly be traced in this way, that the Commissioners and surgeon-superintendent would not have failed to notify their opinion that such was the result of their inquiry into the immediate history of the case. On the other hand, if, as I prefer to belieye, the disease was spontaneously generated, in a way for which the present state of scientific knowledge does not enable us to account, it must be admitted, I think, that all the arrangements and appointments of the ship were most carefully calculated to avert, humanly speaking, the very possibility of such a misfortune. I* do not remember to have ever read a report in which such unreserved and unqualified praise was given to all the materiel and •personnel of a ship, considered from a sanitary point of view. I think, when you consider all the circumstances of this case, in connection especially with your predecessor's letter concerning the outbreak of the same malady on board the ships " Scimitar " and " Mongol" last year, you will recognize the fact that, although no doubt previous medical inspection cannot be too vigilant, jet that no human care or skill can have more than a limited operation in coping with a danger so extraordinarily subtle. The " Oamaru " is not indeed the only case among our ships in which an outbreak of infectious disease has occurred during the voyage at a distance of time, after the sailing of the ship, such as to render it impossible to believe that even the most remote initial stage of the malady had commenced on shore. In Dr. Eccles's reply to the charges made-against him in connection with the case of the " Scimitar" (appended to my letter of 23rd December, No. 2002, on that subject), he mentions such an epidemic as having arisen in the course of one of the voyages of the " Atrato." " She lay at Plymouth," he says, " several weeks, was carefully inspected, and no disease found in any of her people. Yet, thirty days after she sailed from Plymouth, and had doubled the Cape of Good Hope, an epidemic of contagious disease broke out, and there were thirty-six deaths." I would, in conclusion, very earnestly submit for your consideration that it should be an urgent instruction to the Immigration Commissioners, in any such cases as may in future arise, to make the history of the origin of the contagion a subject of minute and exhaustive inquiry. I believe that such inquiry might lead to scientific results of great public value. I have, &c, I. E. Feathekstoi.', The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

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No. 15. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeatioit. (No. 384.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 10th June. 1875. Eeferring to your letter No. 16, of the 19th January, 1875, I have the honor to inform you that, in accordance with the instructions contained therein, I directed the Rev. P. Barclay to proceed to Pair Island, and report as to the eligibility and willingness of the inhabitants to emigrate to New Zealand. I have to-day received his report, from which it appears that the people are not willing to emigrate en masse; but two or three families may probably proceed to the colony in August. A copy of the instructions given to Mr. Barclay, and his report, will be forwarded to you by the next mail. I have, &c, I. E. FEATHEBSTOIf, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, "Wellington. Agent-General.

No. 16. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 387.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sib,— 28th May, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 75-273, of the 11th March, enclosing copies of a letter from the Superintendent of Westland, and of a resolution passed by the Provincial Council as to the desirability of sending 100 female immigrants to the province at as early a date as possible. I will endeavour, as far as possible, to give effect to the wishes of his Honor ; but, at the same time, I think it right to point out that increasing difficulty is felt in obtaining single female immigrants. The demand for the services of female domestic servants in the United Kingdom is continually on the increase, and the high rates of wages given greatly diminishes the inducement which in former years could be held out to that class of emigrants. I enclose, for your information, copy of an advertisement which has lately appeared in the Times newspaper. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 16. Female Sebvants. —Owing to the excessive demand for respectable plain cooks and house and parlour maids in London, clergymen and ministers are urged to make this want known. Information will be given to applicants or letters, and respectable homes named. —Agency, Solio Bazaar.

No. 17. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 390.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sib,— Ist June, 1875. In accordance with the directions contained in the letter addressed to me by the Hon. J. Vogel on the 30th April, I have the honor to furnish you with the following report as to the proceedings of my department during the four weeks ending 31st May, 1875. Within the period named the following ships have been despatched with emigrants for various ports of New Zealand : — 1. On 4th May, the "James Nicol Fleming," from London for Port Chalmers, Otago, with 296 souls, equal to 225^ adults. 2. On 9th May, the " Alumbagh," from London for Auckland, with 418 souls, equal to 334£ adults. 3. On 12th May, the " Friedborg," from Hamburg to Hawke's Bay, with 289 souls, equal to 250-| adults. 4. On 27th May, the " Dover Castle," from Belfast to Auckland, with 364 souls, equal to 332| adults. 5. On 27th May, the " Halcione," from London to New Plymouth and Wellington, with 298 souls, equal to 228| adults. 6. On 29th May, the " Christian McAusland," from the Clyde to the Bluff, with 339 souls, equal to 281 adults. 7. On 30th May, the " Blair Gowrie," from Plymouth to Canterbury, with 441 souls, equal to 384 adults. Seven vessels have thus been despatched during the month, conveying a total of 2,445 emigrants to the colony. By the " Halcione," a small party of Swiss, twenty in number, proceed to New Plymouth. They are accompanied by Mr. Hunger, who haw been previously in New Zealand, and through whose representations they have been induced to emigrate. The "Friedborg" takes emigrants selected by Mr. Kirchner, my agent at Darmstadt: 72 adults belong to the first contract made with Messrs. Louis Knorr and Co., and 159J to the contract transferred from Queensland. There were also nineteen full-paying passengers on board, including six in the saloon. lam informed, on good authority, that many, of these emigrants take with them considerable means for persons of their class. 2—D. 2a.

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Up to this date the following ships have been engaged to take emigrants to the ports mentioned, nailing on the dates named: — 1. 3rd June, " Carisbrooke Castle" ... From Belfast to Auckland. 2. sth „ "Rodney" ... ~ London to Wellington. 3. 9th „ "Chile" ... „ London to New Plymouth, Nelson, Westland, and Marlborougn. 4. 15th „ "Waimea" ... „ London to Port Chalmers. 5.20 th „ "Herschel" ... „ Hamburg to Wellington. 6. 23rd „ "Waikato" ... „ London to Canterbury. 7. 25th „ "Helen Denny" ... ~ London to Hawke's Bay. 8. 30th „ "Adamant" ... „ London to the Bluff. 9. „ „ " Invercargill" ... „ the Clyde to Port Chalmers. 10. „ „ " Merope" ... „ Plymouth to Timaru. 11. 7th July, " British Empire " ... „ London to Auckland. I estimate that the above vessels will convey over 2,500 souls to the colony, and at this date about 1,900 out of that number have been finally accepted, and have paid the outfit-money required by the regulations. In accordance with my directions, the Rev. P. Barclay has proceeded to Fair Island, and is now engaged in inspecting its inhabitants, prior to his reporting to me as to their suitability and. willingness to emigrate to New Zealand. In conformity with your instructions, I have authorized him to offer special facilities to those islanders as regards the payment of the ship outfit-money, and the cost of their conveyance from their present home to the port of embarkation. In the absence of any definite instructions, I propose to send them, if they are willing to go, to Port Chalmers. I have received information from Mr. Kirchner that the sailing of the ship "Herschel" will be postponed to the 20th June, but that, as the authorities will not allow passports to agricultural labourers until the harvest is over, he does not expect to send in that vessel more than 100 passengers. He considered that it will be expedient to postpone the sailing of another emigrant ship from Hamburg until October, proposing to send one in that month and another in November. Early in May I engaged, through the New Zealand Shipping Company, the ship " Carisbrooke Castle " for the conveyance of the special settlers emigrating to the Province of Auckland, under the provisions of the agreement entered into with Mr. George Vesey Stewart by the Government of New Zealand. Thirty-seven families of special settlers (inclusive of Mr. Stewart's and the doctor of the ship) will proceed in this vessel, and with them a number of single women and married couples, under the ordinary regulations. Two families belonging to the same party have already started for the colony, and about fifteen more will, I understand, leave for the same place in the month of September. I shall proceed to Belfast for the purpose of personally superintending the embarkation of the passengers by the " Carisbrooke Castle." lam glad to be able to report that the necessary arrangements for the organization of this party, though attended with some difficulty and delay, have on the whole been made in such a manner as will, I trust, eventually prove satisfactory to all those interested in the success of- the new settlement. The operations of the Dublin agency have been reduced lately to so limited a scale that, in view of the new footing on which the Government propose to establish a distinct agency for Ireland, I have given notice to Mr. P. Mason, the special agent at Dublin, that his engagement will terminate on the 30th June next. I have caused new regulations to be prepared as regards the passages of emigrants to New Zealand, in accordance with the terms mentioned in Mr. Vogel's letter of April 30th. Meanwhile I have issued a circular letter to the local agents throughout the United Kingdom, informing them that a modification of the terms under which emigration to New Zealand is conducted will come in force at an early date. The form of petition which it is proposed to be sent in by persons desiring to obtain information as to the colony, and the mode of emigrating thereto, from one of the special emigration agents, has also been drafted. I have engaged Mr. C. Holloway to act as Emigration Officer for the purpose of lecturing and giving information as to the prospects of persons emigrating to New Zealand. He commenced the duties of his office by holding meetings at Twyford and Castle Thorpe on May 17th and 18th, and is to be at Birmingham on the occasion of the meeting of a large number of the representatives of the Agricultural Labourers' Union, after which he will give lectures in Gloucester-shire. I have also arranged with Mr. W. M. Burton to continue his services as Emigration Officer for the whole of New Zealand, as soon as he has completed his work on behalf of New Plymouth. During the month of June he will continue to select emigrants from the agricultural districts of Lincolnshire, acting in co-operation with one of my local agents, Mr. White, of Laceby. As soon as the charter-party has been finally revised, and I have settled the shipping arrangements for the present season, I shall communicate with Mr. Andrew as to the intentions of the New Zealand Government as regards the Scotch agency, and point out to him the position in which it is proposed to place that agency. By an estimate which he has furnished me, at my request, after conference with Mr. Adam, 1 find that he thinks it probable that about 5,000 emigrants can be sent from Scotland during the next twelvemonths. I shall issue shortly special instructions to the Emigration Officers appointed to lecture and select emigrants in the various districts of the United Kingdom. I have received the copies of the conditions under which the settlement of Jackson's Bay is to be established, and will take measures to have them distributed in accordance with the wish of His Honor the [Superintendent of Westland. I have given every facility to Mr. Mathias, and he is now in Germany acting with my agent, Mr. Kirchner, with a view of obtaining emigrants from Pomerania. The demand for female servants in England is so large that increasing difficulty in obtaining single girlw for emigration to New Zealand must necessarily be anticipated. I am inclined to think that the feeling in favour of emigration in the agricultural districts is not

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so strong as was the case last year, and that it is quite possible that the withdrawal of the free-passage system, and near approach of what is expected to be a bountiful harvest, will necessarily curtail the number of emigrants proceeding to New Zealand. I shall do my utmost to send out on the average the numbers mentioned in Mr. Vogel's letter of the 30th April. I have caused the charter-party to be carefully revised, and, after conferring with Mr. Vogel, Mr. Mackrell, the solicitor, being present, have finally approved of certain alterations. The list of medicines has been carefully revised by Dr. Husband and Dr. Harding, two experienced ship surgeons, and the revised list, with a few alterations, has been approved of by Mr. Humphreys, the Imperial Government medical officer. The New Zealand Shipping Company have been, invited to send in an offer, which they have undertaken to do on or before the 2nd June. The advertisement relating to the Immigrants Land Act has been amended in accordance with the instructions contained in Mr. Vogel's letter of the 30th April. During the last four weeks, forty-two certificates have been issued, under the provisions of the Act, to persons paying the cost of their passage to the colony, from this office. Eighteen certificates were issued by Dr. Kirchner to passengers paying their own passages by the ship " Friedborg." The following shipments of material and stores have been made since the 30th April:— 1,951 tons of rails and fastenings. 80 sets of switches and crossings. 2 brake vans. 1,680 packages of railway stores. 81 packages galvanized iron and guttering. 55 boxes of glass. 23 packages of telegraph stores. 2,520 gallons of lighthouse oil. 5 cases of material. 8 cases containing copies of the Official Handbook of New Zealand. 1 case each of clothing, patent specifications, despatch-boxes, and Chubb's locks. You will receive separate detailed advices of these shipments in due course. During the month I have accepted tenders —For additional spans for the Eangitikei Bridge, from Horton and Sons; for ten bogie wheels, from Neilson and Co.; and for bookbinding materials and stationery, from Waterlow and Sons. A large amount of material having to be shipped to the Bluff, Southland, I have charteied the ship " Maitland," to load at Middlesborough with railway iron for that port, and she is engaged to sail on or about the 20th July. Having decided upon retaining a certain number of clerks whom I consider I shall require permanently on the staff of the department, I have fixed the amount of their salaries at somewhat higher rates than they have hitherto been obtaining. I have done this, keeping in view the desirability of due economy being used, but at the same time of giving such remuneration as will give reasonable inducement to efficient officials to remain in the service. The large amount of emigration business which has to be transacted during the next four months will oblige me to temporarily engage for that period three or four additional clerks, at from £60 to £80 per annum. You will have heard before this reaches you that the New Zealand March mail, coming by way of San Francisco, was put on board the steamer " Schiller," which was unfortunately wrecked. Many of the mail-bags were recovered, and amongst them are several containing New Zealand letters. A large number, if not all, of the Government letters addressed to this office were duly delivered, and their contents, after some trouble had been taken in drying them, were perfectly legible. Letters acknowledging their receipt, and containing information on the various matters connected with the agency, will be forwarded by the mail leaving London this day. I have, &c, I. E. Featheesxon, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, "Wellington. Agent-General. By Authority : (i kuki.b Didsbuet, Government Printer, Wellington.—lB76. Price 9d.]