THE KATIKATI SPECIAL SETTLEMENT (CORRESPONDENCE IN THE MATTER OF ITS FURTHER EXTENSION.)

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1878 Session I, D-03

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1878. NEW ZEALAND. THE KATIKATI SPECIAL SETTLEMENT (CORRESPONDENCE IN THE MATTER OF ITS FURTHER EXTENSION.)

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

No. 1. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sir, — Mount Stewart, Katikati, Auckland, 27th January, 1877. I am at present making arrangements with the Waste Lands Board in Auckland to extend this settlement by 10,000 acres, in accordance with a promise made by the Hon. the Minister for Immigration in 1873, and also by the Agent-General for New Zealand, under date 10th July, 1873. The Hon. Dr. Pollen, on his recent visit to the Katikati Block, in reply to an earnest and unanimous request by the settlers, assured them that the Government would do all in their power to assist the extension of the settlement, and informed me that there would be no difficulty in obtaining from the Government a ship direct from Belfast upon the same terms of assisted passages as those granted to the immigrants per "Carisbrooke Castle," in June, 1875. In consequence of Dr. Pollen's kind assurance on behalf of the Government, I submitted a fresh proposal, dated 22nd instant, to the Waste Lands Board, which I have every reason to believe will be accepted. As these matters belong to your department, I should feel much obliged to you to send me a letter to the A gent-General, instructing him to give us a ship upon the terms promised, and remainder of which ship can be filled up by single females, which is the only class of immigrants (except small capitalists) now required in this province. The ship can be chartered in Liverpool or Glasgow, and take in her cargo at either of those ports, and which will not entail any additional expense upon the Government or the charter-party. As you might wish to communicate with the Hon. Dr. Pollen, I have requested Mr. H. W. Farnall to call upon you on this matter, as he is familiar with the history of this settlement, and, being on the spot, will afford you any information you may require, which will save time and correspondence. I have, &c., The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Geo. Veset Stewart. Wellington. P.S.—I should state that my offer to the Waste Lands Board was based upon the Hon. Dr. Pollen's promise of assisted passages.

No. 2. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 19th February, 1877. I have the honor, by direction of Mr. Reid, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th ultimo, stating that you are negotiating with the "Waste Lands Board for an extension of the Katikati Block, and requesting that the Agent-General may be instructed to lay on a ship from Belfast, to carry emigrants for the settlement, upon same terms of assisted passages as were granted to the original party by the " Carisbrooke Castle." In reply, I am directed to inform you that the Government will be prepared to render any assistance it can towards forwarding the settlement, but as the request you make appears to be contingent upon your negotiations with the "Waste Lands Board being satisfactorily arranged, Mr Reid will give you a definite reply upon learning from you that these negotiations have been completed. I have, &c, J. Giles, G-. V. Stewart, Esq., Katikati, Tauranga. Under Secretary. I—D. 3.

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No. 3. The Chairman, Waste Lands Board, Auckland, to the Hon. the Secretary for Crown Lands, Wellington. Sir, — Crown Lands Office, Auckland, 20th April, 1877. I have the honor, at the instance of the Waste Lands Board, to forward to you the accompanying copy of a resolution embodying the price, terms, and conditions upon which it is proposed, with the sanction of His Excellency the Governor, to sell to Mr. George Vesey Stewart, 8,000 acres of land, for the purpose of establishing a special settlement in the neighbourhood of the Katikati, District of Tauranga. A tracing, indicating the position of the lands proposed to be dealt with as above, is herewith enclosed. I beg to request that I may, at your earliest convenience, be informed of the decision of the Government with regard to the present recommendation of the Board. I have, &c, The Hon. the Secretary for Crown Lands, D. A. Tole, Wellington. Chairman, Waste Lands Board.

Enclosure in No. 3. Copy of Resolution of Waste Lands Board. Resolved, That the Waste Lands Board recommends to Government the sale to Mr. George Vesey Stewart of 8,000 acres, more or less, comprising lands adjoining the Katikati Special Settlement Block (as per tracing attached hereto), and the forfeited and unallotted lands (roads and reserves excepted) comprised therein, at the rate of £1 per acre, for the purpose of establishing a special settlement, onehalf of such amount —viz.,. 10s. per acre, or £4,000 —to be paid in cash to the Agent-General of New Zealand in London, on or before the Ist day of October, 1877 ; payment of second 10s. per acre to be made by the introduction from the United Kingdom of one adult immigrant of 18 years of age or upwards for every 75 acres of land —that is, 107 adult immigrants—subject to the approval of the AgentGeneral of New Zealand, or his agent at port of embarkation, and to place all the said immigrants on the land above described, or on such part thereof as may be most convenient (two persons under 18 years of age to count as one adult) ; and in the erection on the said land of twenty-eight weatherboarded houses, or other more permanent dwellings, of not less than three rooms each; and that sufficient laud be set apart to provide a common-school education for the population introduced ; that one-fifth of the total area of 8,000 acres of land shall be put under cultivation; and that all these conditions shall be fulfilled on or before the Ist day of January, 1883. That as a guarantee for the due fulfilment of these conditions the Crown grant, reserving all precious metals, and containing the usual covenants to lay out roads, shall issue only on the due performance of the stipulations herein contained. If all these conditions be not fulfilled before the Ist day of January, 1883, the said sum of £4,000 shall be absolutely forfeited, and be treated as a portion of the land revenue of the Colony of New Zealand.

- No. 4. The Hon. the Secretary for Crown Lands to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Auckland. Sir, — General Crown Lands Office, Wellington, 23rd May, 1877. I have the honor, by direction of the Hon. the Secretary for Crown Lands, to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 20th ultimo, forwarding a resolution of the Auckland Waste Lands Board, relating to a proposed sale to G. V. Stewart, Esq., of a block of 8,000 acres of land for the purpose of establishing a special settlement in the neighbourhood of the Katikati, District of Tauranga, and requesting the decision of the Government on the recommendation of the Board. In reply, I have to inform you that the Government approves of the proposal to sell to Mr. G. V. Stewart, for the purpose named, a block of 8,000 acres of land in the neighbourhood of Katikati, at the terms and conditions, as to payment of the first moiety of the price, agreed to by the Board. In regard to the second payment of 10s. per acre which is proposed to be made by the introduction of immigrants to be settled on the block, I have to state that the Government approves of the proposed method of payment, provided Mr. Stewart will agree to introduce and place on the land, within twelve months from this date, 200 immigrants of 18 years of age or upwards, approved of by the AgentGeneral, or to pay within the same time to the Receiver of Land Revenue at Auckland the sum of £20 per head on the difference between the number of 200 and any smaller number actually introduced and located by him. The conditions as to erection of dwellings, cultivation, date of issue of grant, and forfeiture for non-fulfilment of conditions are approved ; but it is not considered expedient to make the provision which has been stipulated for school reserves, as it is so vague as to be likely to lead to future difficulties. I have, &c, The Commissioner of Crown Lands, Auckland. J. Giles.

No. 5. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Hon. D. Reid. Sir,— Mount Stewart, Katikati, Ist June, 1877. Kindly excuse me for again troubling you, but the copy of the enclosed official letter to Mr. Tole will explain itself. Might I trouble you to be so kind as to look into the cause of delay. Some time

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after the last meeting of the "Waste Lauds Board, I wrote to Mr. Farnall asking him to expedite matters at "Wellington, and he wrote, in reply, that no official intimation had been received there. The longer lam delayed here, of course the later will be our return to this country —I will find myself, with my new party, arriving here at the commencement of winter, homeless and houseless, and exposed to our severe rains, which will give bad impressions at the start; —and I believe in first impressions. Would you kindly telegraph to me here if you think the agreement can be sent me down from "Wellington in time to leave by the Pr'isco mail on 2nd July. I have, &c, The Hon. D. Reid. G-eo. Vesey Steavart. 11l 1 _ *«j t ■ _ * .a*. «. [V I & r*

Enclosure in No. 5. Mr. G. V. Stewart to Mr. D. A. Tole. Sir, — Mount Stewart, Katikati, Ist June, 1877. I beg to bring before the notice of your Board the delay that has occurred in getting my affairs concluded between your Board and the Government. All was concluded between us in April, and you promised to telegraph to Wellington to expedite matters ; and though I had made my arangements to leave for London by next week's mail, I now find myself as far off the conclusion of the business as I was two months ago. The surveyor from Auckland has been in my house for the last six weeks waiting for official instructions to commence, and he informs me that in consequence of the unfavourable weather it will take from two to three months to survey and map these lands. The map has to be attached to my agreement with the Government, and I cannot sign this agreement till such map and surveys are completed. Therefore at the earliest date I cannot leave this till the August mail, reaching London towards the end of September, and you have bound me to pay down the purchase-money by the Ist October. I need not point out that this is a hardship to me, and a great drawback to the new settlement, as we could not reach this country till the end of our New Zealand summer, the very worst season for the landing of agricultural immigrants, as they will be exposed to our severe winter rains before their homesteads could be erected. I should therefore feel much obliged to you to ask your Board to lay these matters before the authorities at Wellington in the strongest possible manner, and to give a further extension of time for payment of the money if required. I have, &c, D. A. Tole, Esq. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

No. 6. The Hon. the Secretary for Crown Lands to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — General Crown Lands Office, Wellington, Bth June, 1877. I have the honor, by direction of the Hon. the Secretary for Crown Lands, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Ist instant on the subject of recent arrangements respecting the extension of the Katikati Settlement, and in reply to inform you that the Government is most anxious to render any assistance in advancing the settlement. But as the 8,000 acres proposed as the extension of the block was sold by the Auckland Waste Lands Board on the condition that the first moiety of tho payment was to be made in cash, and the second on the introduction of immigrants to be settled on the land, the Government cannot agree to waive that part of your agreement which requires that a certain number of immigrants shall be introduced and settled on the land unless you are prepared to pay a money equivalent. I have, &c., G. Vesey Stewart, Esq., Katikati, near Tauranga, Auckland. J. Giles.

No. 7. The Chairman, Waste Lands Board, Auckland, to the Under Secretary of Crown Lands, Wellington. Sir, — Crown Lands Office, Auckland, 15th June, 1877. I have the honor, at the instance of the Waste Lands Board, to forward to you the accompanying copy of a resolution embodying the price, terms, and conditions upon which it is proposed, with the sanction of His Excellency the Governor, to sell to Mr. George Vesey Stewart an additional area of 2,000 acres of land for special-settlement purposes, adjacent to the Katikati Block, District of Tauranga. I beg to request that I may, at your earliest convenience, be informed of the decision of the Government with regard to the present recommendation of the Board. I have, &c, D. A. Tole, The Under Secretary for Crown Lands, Chairman, Waste Lands Board. Wellington.

Enclosure in No. 7. Copy of Resolution of Waste Lands Board. Resolved, That the Waste Lands Board is prepared to recommend to Government the sale to Mr, George Vesey Stewart of an additional area of 2,000 acres of land adjoining the Katikati Settle.

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ment, upon the same terms and subject to the same conditions as those set forth in a resolution of the Board, of date 10th April, 1877, except as regards the number of weather-boarded houses or other more permanent dwellings to be erected, which is now increased from twenty-eight to thirty-five. The Board is further prepared to recommend that the purchase-money be paid within three months from the date of the completion of the survey (to be undertaken at Mr. Stewart's own cost) of the total area of 10,000 acres proposed to be sold to Mr. Stewart, such survey to be commenced and proceeded with whenever the necessary instructions for its execution shall have been issued by the Chief Surveyor.

No. 8. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Hon. D. Reid. Sic,— The Club, Wellington, 25th June, 1877. With reference to our conversation of this morning, I should feel much obliged to you to write to me in your official capacity to the effect that the parties forming the extended Katikati Special Settlement may (if they feel so disposed) obtain Crown grants for their holdings direct from the Government, upon my certificate, and also upon the certificate of the Commissioner of Crown Lands that they have complied with the provisions of the agreement as to cultivation, &c. 2. That instructions will be sent to the Agent-General to despatch a ship direct from Belfast, and that the Government is prepared to further and assist the undertaking by every reasonable means in their power. 3. That you will kindly order a small parcel to be made up, containing maps, statistics, or any other information on New Zealand (independent of the Province of Auckland) likely to diffuse sound information on the resources of the colony.' Waste Lands Board. In order to guard against any possible misapprehensions on my return to Auckland, but which I do not anticipate, I should feel much obliged to you, when sending instructions to Mr. Tole, to intimate to him that the 10,000 acres now intended, to be sold to me are the lands referred to in the resolutions adopted by the Auckland Waste Lands Board on 14th April and 14th June respectively. I should also feel obliged by your kindly giving me a proof copy of the proposed amended agreement before it is finally despatched to Mr. Tole. With many thanks for your uniform courtesy and attention, I have, &c, The Hon. D. Reid. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

No. 9. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Hon. D. Reid. (Telegram.) 30th July, 1877. I leave via Frisco on Wednesday ; kindly send agreement for my signature to Agent-General; also wire me here letters promised re Belfast ship. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

No. 10. The Hon. D. Reid to Mr. G. V. Stewart, Mechanics' Institute, Auckland. (Telegram.) 31st July, 1877. I sekt letter to above address on 23rd instant informing you that, as Board appeared to attach importance to alteration in draft agreement, Government could not reverse decision of the Board. The land was proclaimed under Act of 1876 on the 13th instant, but I have not received resolution of Board setting land apart for purpose of special settlement. I think it would be well to have agreement finally settled before you leave, to avoid any misunderstanding. When the agreement has been completed I will give you letter to Agent-General. D. Reid.

No. 11. Mr. D. A. Tole to the Under Secretary for Crown Lands. Sir,— 23rd August, 1877. Referring to your memorandum of the 16th July ultimo, I have the honor to inform you that the accompanying resolutions on the above subject were passed by the Waste Lands Board at a meeting held on the 31st July last, but that, owing to unavoidable delay in obtaining from the Survey Office a description of the land to be dealt with, their transmission was necessarily allowed to stand over until now. I beg to add that a classification of the land has been made with the following result, viz.:— Ist class ... ... ... ... ... 4,200 acres. 2nd class ... ... ... ... ... 1,675 acres. 3rd class ... ... ... ... ... 4,125 acres. I have, &c, D. A. Tole, The Under Secretary for Crown Lands. Chairman, Waste Lands Board.

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Enclosure in No. 11. Extract from Minutes of Meeting of Waste Lands Board. Resolved, —(1.) That in pursuance of section 56, Part V., of " The Auckland Waste Lands Act, 1874," His Excellency the Governor be recommended to set apart for special-settlement purposes the lands described in the accompanying Schedule : — Schedule : All that parcel of land bounded towards the North by the confiscation boundary to the south-west corner of Lot 97, Parish of Katikati; towards tho North-east by a road bounding Lots 97, 20, and 94 of the parish aforesaid to the Tauranga Harbour; towards the East by the Tauranga Harbour aforesaid to the north-west corner of Lot 3 of the Parish of Tahawai, thence by that lot 2904 links to a road, thence by that road and by Lot 4 of the aforesaid parish 479 links to the Tuapiro Creek, thence by that creek and by the Tuapiro River to part of the western boundary of Lot 34 of the aforesaid Parish of Tahawai, thence by the western boundaries of Lots 34, 35, 69, 68, 51, 53, 66, 65, 55, and 57, 34,094 links and 250 links; and thence by Lot 58, Parish of Te Mania, 4616 links, to a road; towards the South by the aforesaid road ; towards the West by lines 7604 links, 7545 links, 7700 links, 0500 links, 9000 links, 11300 links, 5700 links, 6300 links, 4700 links, 8600 links, 6300 links, and 6100 links ; again towards the North by a line 19800 links; again towards the West by lines 13400 links, 1858 links, 2516 links, 276 links, 837 links, 1206 links, and 1230 links; again towards the South by lines 3300 links and 4600 links ; again towards the West by lines 2000 links, 4600 links, and 2600 links, to the confiscation boundary at the point of commencement; and also Allotments Nos. 27, 29,32,46, 65, 06, 67, and north-western portion of Allotment No. 70, of the Parish of Tahawai, and Allotments No. 60, 66, 67, 73, 74, 75, and 76, of the Parish of Mania: the said parcels of land containing in the aggregate 10,000 acres. Resolved, —(2.) That His Excellency the Governor be requested to enter into a contract with Mr. George Vesey Stewart, under Part V., of " The Auckland Waste Lands Act, 1874," for the occupation by emigrants forming a special-settlement party of 10,000 acres of land at Katikati, District of Tauranga, the classification of which has been determined as-follows : Ist class, 4.200 acres ; 2nd class.--1675 acres ; 3rd class, 4125 acres. Resolved, —(3.) That His Excellency the Governor be recommended to approve the amended draft agreement relating to the said contract. Resolved, —(4.) That in so far as relates to the lands specified in the said contract, His Excellency the Governor be recommended to negative the provisions of Part IV. of " The Auckland Waste Lands Act, 1874," and to substitute in lieu thereof the conditions embodied in the said amended draft agreement.

No. 12. The Under Secretary for Crown Lands, Wellington, to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Auckland. (Telegram.) Bth September, 1877. Vesey Stewart Settlement. Board cannot make three classes of land for this settlement; only first and second class allowed by section fifty-six of Act; this must be amended. The resolution which the Board should pass is set out at length in draft printed agreement as amended by you. J. Giles.

No. 13. Draft of Agreement arranged between the Hon. the Minister for Immigration and Mr. George Vesey Stewart. Articles of Agreement made and entered into this day of , one thousand eight hundred and seventy-seven, between the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand of the one part, and George Vesey Stewart, of Katikati, in the Provincial District of Auckland, Esquire, of the other part. Whereas the Waste Lands Board of the said district, under the provisions of Part V. of " The Auckland Waste Lands Act, 1874," has recommended the Governor to set apart the land hereinafter mentioned, being a block of class land, for the occupation by persons forming a special settlement: and the same land has, by a notification in the New Zealand Gazette, been set apart for such purposes accordingly. And whereas the said Board has passed a resolution of which the following is a copy : —• " Resolved this 18th day of September, 1877, that the Governor be requested to enter into a contract with Mr. George Vesey Stewart, under Part V. of ' The Auckland Waste Lands Act, 1874,' for occupation by emigrants forming a special settlement party of ten thousand acres of first and second class land at Katikati, Tauranga District. The land to be surveyed by Mr. Stewart at his own cost (except for minor triangulation), but subject to the approval of the Surveyor-General. Roads to be laid out in convenient directions. The price to be one pound an acre, ten shillings to be paid in cash to the Agent-General in London within six months from the date of agreement; the payment of the second ten shillings per acre to be made by the introduction by Mr. Stewart from the United Kingdom of one adult emigrant for every seventy-five acres of land—that is, one hundred and thirty-three emigrants in all. The emigrants to be approved by the AgentGeneral or his agent at the port of embarkation, and to be placed on the land on or before first November, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight. An adult emigrant to mean a person of either sex of eighteen years of age, and two persons under eighteen to count as one adult. That within eight months after the arrival of the emigrants he shall erect at least thirty-

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five weather-board houses, one house to each block occupied, and each to contain three rooms. That the emigrants shall be placed on the lands, and continuously reside thereon, and that onefifth of the total area of land shall be put under cultivation, and that each emigrant shall be entitled to purchase the land he occupies at such price as he and Mr. Stewart may agree, payment of the price to be certified by him. That if all these conditions be fulfilled on or before the first of January, 1883, to the satisfaction of the Board, Crown grants shall bo issued to the emigrants for the land selected, and to Mr. Stewart for the balance of the land not occuplied by the special settlement party. Each grant to contain the usual reservation of right to take not more than five per cent, of the land for roads, railways, or other public works ; and that if the terms be not fulfilled the agreement to be void, and the ten shillings per acre paid in cash forfeited and dealt with as land revenue of the district, with a saving of the interests of emigrants who have fulfilled the conditions of settlement; and, lastly, that the provisions of Part IV. of the Act shall be modified or varied as may be requisite by the special conditions to be inserted in the contract:" And whereas it is expedient that the agreement hereinafter set forth should be entered into for the purpose of giving effect to the said recommendations of the Waste Lands Board: Now, therefore, these presents witness that the Governor, in pursuance and exercise of the authority given him under the said Act, and in accordance with the recommendations aforesaid, doth hereby covenant and agree with the said George Vesey Stewart, his executors, administrators, and assigns ; and the said George Vesey Stewart, for himself, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, doth hereby covenant and agree with the Governor in manner following, that is to say, — 1. In the construction of this agreement, unless the context shall otherwise require, the following terms and expresions shall have the meanings hereby given to them :— " Governor " includes the Governor of the colony for the time being. " Agent-General " means the Agent-General of the colony for the time being in London. " The Board " means the Waste Lands Board for the time being constituted under any Waste Lands Act in force in the district. " Contractor " means the said George Vesey Stewart, and includes any person to whom this contract may be assigned with the written consent of the Board. " Land " means the block of land hereinafter described. " Emigrant " means a person forming one of a special settlement party for the purposes of the said Act, and the emigrants introduced hereunder shall be deemed a special settlement party. " District " means the Provincial District of Auckland. " Month " means a calendar month. " The said Act " means " The Auckland Waste Lands Act, 1874." 2. The land affected by this agreement is bounded and described as follows: — All that parcel of land in the Provincial District of Auckland, situated in the Katikati and Aoangatete Survey Districts, containing eight thousand eight hundred and twenty (8,820) acres, more or less. Bounded towards the North and North-east by the confiscation boundary eight thousand one hundred (8100) links, by a road one hundred (100) links wide one thousand one hundred and forty (1140) links, five hundred and one (501) links, and two hundred and fifty-one (251) links; towards the East by the road aforesaid two thousand one hundred and sixty-three (2103) links, four hundred and fifty-four (454) links, one thousand six hundred (1600) links, one thousand and fifty-seven (1057) links, six hundred and seven (607) links, seven hundred and seventy-three (773) links, five hundred and seventy-eight (578) links, two hundred and ninety-seven (297) links, and across a road one hundred (100) links; again towards the North-east by that road fifty (50) links, seven hundred and sixty-six (766) links, seven hundred and twenty-six (726) links, one thousand four hundred and fortyeight (1448) links, and one thousand and seventy-four (1074) links, thence across a road one hundred (100) links, and by the road aforesaid seven hundred and twenty-seven (727) links, and six hundred and sixty (660) links to high watermark of the Tauranga Harbour; again towards the East by the aforesaid harbour and by Lot 3, Katikati District, four hundred and six (406) links, eight hundred and ninety-five (895) links, and two thousand nine hundred and four (2904) links, across a road (100) links wide, and by that road six hundred and twenty (620) links, and by Lot 4 of the aforesaid district four hundred and seventy-nine (479) links to the Tuapiro River, thence by that river to its intersection with a line forming the western boundary of Lot 34 of the Katikati District aforesaid, thence by a line thirty-nine thousand two hundred and eighteen (39218) links forming the western boundaries of Lots 34, 35, 69, 68, 51, 53, 66, 65, 55, and 58, all of the District of Katikati aforesaid, and by the production of the aforesaid line to a road ; towards the South by the aforesaid road four hundred and ninety-eight (498) links, three thousand four hundred and forty-seven (3447) links, six hundred and ninety-two (692) links, one thousand two hundred and seven (1207) links, seven hundred and fifteen (715) links, three hundred and five (305) links, two hundred and ninety-one (291) links, five hundred and fifty-one (551) links, three hundred and forty-two (342) links, six hundred and fifteen (615) links, six hundred and ninety-eight (698) links, five hundred and eighty-seven (587) links, one thousand two hundred and forty-two (1242) links, six hundred and forty-three (643) links, three hundred and seven (307) links, eight hundred and eighty-six (886) links, seven hundred and forty-eight (748) links, six hundred and seventeen links (617) links, one hundred and fifteen (115) links, one hundred and seventy-two, (172) links, two hundred and eighty-seven (287) links, three hundred and eighty-seven (387) links two hundred and forty-two (242) links, two hundred and sixty-seven (267) links, one hundred and fifty-three (153) links, three hundred and ninety-six (396) links, two hundred and forty-three (243) links, one hundred and ninety-four (194) links, three hundred and sixty-two (362) links, one hundred and eighty-four (184) links, three hundred and ninety-eight (398) links, two hundred and thirty-three (233) links, one hundred and seventy-three (173) links, and five hundred and thirty-six (536) links; towards the South-west by a line seven thousand six hundred and four (7604) links ; towards the West by lines seven thousand five hundred and forty-three (7543) links, seven thousand seven hundred (7700) links, six thousand five hundred (6500) links, and nine thousand (9000) links; again

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towards the South by a line eleven thousand three hundred (11300) links; again towards the West by lines five thousand seven hundred (5700) links and six thousand three hundred (6300) links; again towards the North by a line four thousand seven hundred (4700) links ; again towards the West by a line eight thousand six hundred (8600) links ; again towards the South by a line six thousand three hundred (6300) links; again towards the West by a line six thousand one hundred (6100) links; again towards the North by a line nineteen thousand eight hundred (19800) links; again towards the West by lines thirteen thousand four hundred (13400) links, one thousand eight hundred and fiftyeight (1858) links, two thousand five hundred and sixteen (2516) links, tw ro hundred and seventy-six (276) links, eight hundred and thirty-seven (837) links, and one thousand two hundred and six (1206) links ; and again towards the South and West by lines one thousand two hundred and thirty (1230) links,-three thousand three hundred (3300) links, four thousand six hundred (4600) links, two thousand (2000) links, four thousand six hundred (4600) links, and two thousand six hundred (2600) links to the confiscation boundary at the point of commencement, excluding Lot nineteen (19) of the Katikati District aforesaid. And also Allotments numbered twenty-seven (27), twenty-nine (29), thirty -two (32), forty-six (46), sixty-five (65), sixty-six (66), sixty-seven (67), and north-western portion of Allotment number seventy (70) of the Katikati District aforesaid, and Allotments numbered sixty (60), sixty-six (66), sixty-seven (67), seventy-three (73), seventy-four (74), seventy-five (75), and seventy-six (76), of Aoangatete District aforesaid, containing by admeasurement one thousand one hundred and eighty (1,180) acres, more or less. 3. The Contractor shall, at his own expense, cause the said land to be properly surveyed and laid off in blocks of convenient size for occupation by the emigrants, and such survey shall be prosecuted so that it may be wholly completed before the location of the emigrants, and within one month after their arrival. Convenient roads shall be laid out through the lands so surveyed, and the survey shall be conducted in accordance with directions to be given by the Surveyor-General of the colony, and subject to his approval. The cost of the minor triangulations shall be borne by the Government of the colony, and shall be paid and borne out of funds available for the expense of surveys of waste lands in the district. 4. If on survey the land is found to contain a greater area than ten thousand acres, the Contractor shall pay one pound per acre for every acre in excess of ten thousand acres ; but, if the same shall be found to be less than ten thousand acres, the Contractor shall be entitled, in making payment thereunder, to credit for every acre less than ten thousand acres. Payments under this clause shall be made by the Contractor to the Receiver of Land Revenue for the time being of the district. 5. Within three months after completion of the survey, and not in any case later than the first day of January next,, the Contractor shall pay to the Agent-General the sum of five thousand pounds, and any receipt given by the Agent-General on such payment shall be sufficient discharge for the payment of the moneys therein expressed to have been received. The balance of the purchase-money shall be deemed to be paid by the performance of the conditions of this agreement by the Contractor, and if these be performed no further payment shall be made. All moneys received by the Agent-General under this agreement shall be deemed to be and shall be dealt with as revenue derived from the sale of waste lands in the district. 6. The Contractor shall, on or before the first day of November, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-eight, bring out to the colony from the United Kingdom, and place upon the land, at least one hundred and twenty-two adult emigrants. An " adult emigrant " means a person of either sex not less than eighteen years of age; but two persons under eighteen shall be reckoned as one adult. 7. No person shall be deemed to be an emigrant for the purpose of this agreement unless he shall have received from the Agent-General, or some person appointed by him for that purpose at the port of embarkation or elsewhere, a certificate in writing that such person is accepted as an eligible person to form one of the special-settlement party. 8. In the event of deaths occurring amongst such emigrants on the voyage, or other unforeseen casualty happening, the Governor may, at his discretion, extend the period within which such emigrants may be placed on the land, for such a period to be fixed by him as will enable the Contractor to carry out this agreement. 9. As soon after arrival as possible, the emigrants shall be placed on the land in such blocks or allotments as they may have agreed with the Contractor, but no one person shall be entitled to occupy more than one block of five hundred acres, and no family shall be entitled to occupy more than one thousand acres in the whole; but at least ten families of emigrants must be settled on the land set apart for the purposes of this agreement. 10. Within eight months after arrival, the Contractor shall erect or cause to be erected on the land thirty-five dwelling-houses, to be well and substantially built of timber or other durable materials, each of such dwelling-houses to contain at least three rooms; and there shall be a dwelling-house to each block occupied by an emigrant. If the Contractor fails to erect such dwelling-houses, no emigrant shall be entitled to his grant under this agreement till this condition be complied with. 11. Each emigrant shall continuously reside on the land selected or occupied by him until the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. One-fifth of the land so occupied shall be brought into cultivation before the said first day of January, and for the purposes of this agreement cultivation shall mean — (1.) Fencing the land with timber or other durable materials not being a brush fence; or, (2.) Breaking up and laying down the same in English or other cultivated grass ; or, (3.) Breaking up and planting or sowing root or other crops therein. 12. Each emigrant occupying a block of land shall have the right, at any time prior to the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three, to acquire such block by purchase, at a price per acre, and payable in such manner, as may be agreed upon between the Contractor and the emigrant. But the emigrant shall be entitled at any time to pay up the balance unpaid of such purchase-money, and to get his Crown grant hereunder.

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13. Each emigrant shall be entitled to his grant upon proof to the satisfaction of the Board that he has fulfilled the conditions herein contained as to cultivation, and also that he has paid to the Contractor the price agreed upon for the purchase. The written statement of the Contractor that ho has been paid in full shall be sufficient evidence that full payment has been made. 14. The provisions of sections 45 to 48 both inclusive, and section 50 of Part IV. of the said Act, so far as applicable and as varied by the express terms thereof, shall be deemed to be incorporated with this agreement, and shall apply to the Contractor and the emigrants, and all other provisions of the said Part IV. shall be and the same are hereby negatived. 15. If on or before the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three, the Contractor shall have well and faithfully performed and fulfilled the terms and conditions herein contained, and on his part to be observed and performed, the Governor shall cause a grant from the Crown to be issued to the Contractor for so much of the said land as has not been taken up by emigrants, but such grant shall only issue on compliance with the provisions hereof as to continuous occupation and cultivation of -one-fifth of the land. 16. Every grant issued under this agreement shall contain an express power to the Governor to take not exceeding five per cent, of the land comprised therein for roads, railways, or other public works, without payment of any compensation for the land so taken, and each grant shall be issued subject to the payment of the usual Crown grant fees. Neither the Governor nor the Government of the colony shall be liable for any delay in the issue of Crown grants hereunder. Where land is occupied by a family, the grant shall issue to the head of such family, and in other cases to the emigrant or emigrants purchasing from the Contractor. 17. If the Contractor shall not well and faithfully perform this agreement, or shall commit or suffer any breach thereof (of which breach the Board shall be the sole judges), or shall fail in the observance or performance of all or any of the said conditions, then this agreement and every clause therein contained shall cease and be void, and neither the said Contractor nor any emigrant or other person whomsoever shall have any claim or demand to or in respect of the said land, nor for any compensation on account thereof, or of this agreement; and if the sum of five thousand pounds has been paid as aforesaid, the same shall be and be deemed to be wholly and absolutely forfeited, and shall be retained and dealt with as revenue arising from the sale of waste lands in the said district: Provided that if any emigrant has fulfilled all the conditions hereinbefore prescribed, he shall nevertheless be entitled, to his grant, and the Board may receive and act upon such evidence as it shall deem sufficient as to the payment of purchase-money by the emigrant, and the grant may issue accordingly. 18. Nothing herein shall be deemed to confer or imply any personal liability on the part of the Governor to the said Contractor, or to the emigrants or any of them, or to any other person or persons whomsoever. In witness whereof, &c, &c.

No. 14. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Hon. D. Reid. Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, Ireland, 12th October, 1877. I have the honor to enclose you copy of letter that I have received from the Agent-General, by which you will perceive that he declines to assist me, or to take any part in my proposed special settlement at Katikati. When at Wellington I urged to you to give me a letter to the AgentGeneral, and again on the steamer I repeated my request. On each occasion you distinctly promised I should get such letter when all was concluded between us. Everything was concluded at the special meeting of the Waste Lands Board on Tuesday, the 31st July. The resolutions that you sent down were passed and returned to you. Two mails have reached this country and no letter from you has come, and the Agent-General states he can take no steps to assist me. lam at present out of pocket £1,000 in this business. I think I have great cause to complain. I have one batch of first-class emigrants ready to go to New Zealand by steamer, but no certificates can be issued, and if they applied at 7, Westminster Chambers, they would naturally so be informed, and strangers would regard the entire scheme with distrust. I should therefore feel obliged to you to telegraph to Sir Julius Vogel on receipt, as he could not have your reply before next February, and request him to give me all required assistance. Ido not ask the slightest compliment from him, but the mere fulfilment on the part of the Government of New Zealand of their part of the agreement, while I am prepared, able, and willing te perform mine. I will now be kept back from September till December before your telegram can reach the Agent-General. I am bound to pay £5,000 on Ist January; therefore, in common justice, honesty, and fair-play, I would ask an extension for payment of the money till such time as you consider reasonable, and which should not be less than two months. At present my hands are tied, and I cannot move by this action of your Agent in London. I offered to send the Agent-General a copy of the agreement that I had received from the Chairman of the Waste Lands Board with the Chairman's original letter, but to that suggestion no reply was sent. I have, &c, The Hon. D. Reid. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

No. 15. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir,—- Wellington, 17th December, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 12th October, addressed to my predecessor, upon the subject of the proposed extension of your special-settlement land at Katikati,

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and the agreement relating thereto. I have also received from the Agent-General copies of correspondence between yourself and him upon the same subject. I much regret that you have sustained any inconvenience by the delay which has taken place in getting this matter completed, but I must point out to you, in reply to your complaints upon this subject, that, in a telegram addressed to you by Mr. Reid on the 31st July, and sent to the Mechanics' institute, Auckland, the following passage occurs: " I have not received resolution of Board setting land apart for purpose of special settlement. I think it would be well to have agreement finally settled before you leave, to avoid any misunderstanding. When the agreement has been completed I will give you letter to Agent-General." It is, I think, to be regretted that, notwithstanding the above intimation, you should still have entertained the belief that the matter was practically completed, and that nothing material remained to be done. But the preliminary steps which were necessary before the agreement could be completed occupied much more time than was anticipated. It was requisite that the Waste Lands Board should pass certain resolutions, and that the land for the extension of the settlement should be described and set apart. A correct description of the land was only received in this office in time to be proclaimed in the Gazette of 29th November, and the agreement which recites such setting apart could not be made until that necessary preliminary had been accomplished. I must observe upon this that had you remained in the colony these causes of delay would have been known to you, and much misapprehension on your part would have been avoided. But from the 30th July, the date of your last telegram, nothing was known of your movements by the Government until quite recently, neither had your address been left at this office, nor any request to communicate with you. I have now to inform you that the agreement has been forwarded to the Agent-General, and will arrive by the same mail as this letter. Instructions have also been given to the Agent-General to accede to the request contained in your letter of 12th October to Mr. Reid, that the £5,000 payable by you may be paid in two separate moieties, so far as the date of his receipt of my letter will admit. The wording of the agreement as to the payment on Ist January has not been altered, but if you think it necessary this can be done. With reference to your correspondence with the Agent-General on the subject of the assistance which you have desired to obtain from him, I cannot admit that the Agent-General has withheld any aid which you were entitled to expect from him as the representative of the Colonial Government. The Government is not under any obligation to assist in obtaining emigrants for the Katikati Settlement, but it is at the same time desired that the Agent-General should, when he is cognizant of the terms of the agreement, do anything in his power to forward your views consistently with the entire freedom of the Government from all responsibility in the selection and sending out of the proposed settlers. I enclose for your information and use a copy of the notification setting aside the land, and three copies of the proposed agreement. I have, &c., G. V. Stewart, Esq., J. Macandrew. Martray House, Ballygawley, Ireland.

No. 16. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sir,— 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 18th October, 1877. I have the honor to transmit copies of correspondence which has taken place with Mr. George Vesey Stewart, and to request you to furnish me, if you have not already done so, with instructions as to the course which I shall adopt in the matter it deals with. I would venture to express an opinion that, whilst it seems to me desirable to aid special settlements of the kind with which Mr. Stewart's name is associated, yet I doubt if it is right to give them a quasi- Government character by sharing the responsibility of seeking the emigrants for them. Much more is this the case if the aid Mr. Stewart wants is to assist him to obtain money contributions. I am writing in entire ignorance of the nature of the agreement which Mr Stewart has made, or thinks he has made, with the Government, and therefore am quite unaware to what a gwasi-official assistance would bind the Government. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 16. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Sir,— Martray House, Ballygawley, 26th September, 1877.^ I have the honor to state that I have returned to Ireland with a view to submit the Katikati Special Settlement by the introduction of 133 emmigrants and other conditions upon 10,000 acres additional sold to me by the Government of New Zealand upon the recommendation of the Waste Lands Board. (1.) I intend to publish a pamphlet on New Zealand as a field for emigration—have numerous letters from settlers, a large quantity of newspaper articles and wish to attach a map- of New Zealand, same as in Rev. Mr. Barclay's pamphlet. Will you kindly order 1,000 of such map* to be sent to the printers, as the pamphlet will be of considerable value on public grounds. I am quite willing to send 2—D. 3.

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you a draft copy of the pamphlet for your approval if you so desire; and perhaps, on public grounds, you will kindly give me an order for a number for circulation. (2.) I will require a map made of the central districts of Auckland, and would feel obliged by your kindly giving me the names of the printers of the map. I think it was some firm —" Street and Co." —but forget the correct name and address. (3.) Will you kindly send me a list of all your Emigration Agents in Great Britain, and be so good as to send them a circular recommending this New Zealand emigration party to their favourable consideration. The agreement between the New Zealand Governor and myself was only finally approved of two or three days before I left Auckland, so that you may not have received a final copy. (4.) Is there any chance of my having the pleasure of meeting you in this country, so as to arrange the form and necessary certificates, and other matters of detail which may occur to us. I have, &c., Geo. Vesey Stewart. The Agent-General for New Zealand.

Enclosure 2 in No. 16. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 2nd October, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 26th instant, and, in reply, have to inform you that I have received no information from the Government of New Zealand on the matter to which it refers, nor any instructions to take any steps whatever with regard to it. Under these circumstances I am not able to comply with the main requests contained in your letter, nor can I take any part in the publication of the pamphlet to which you allude. Mr. Barclay's pamphlet, to which a small map of New Zealand was attached, was published by Messrs. George Street and Co., 30, Cornhill, London. With regard to supplying you with a list of the Local Agents attached to this office, or issuing a circular to them of the nature you describe, I must await instructions from the colony before taking any such steps. I have, &c, G. V. Stewart, Esq., Julius Vogel, Martray House, Ballygawley. Agent-General,

Enclosure 3 in No. 16. Mr. G. V.- Stewart to the Agent-General. Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, Ireland, 3rd October, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication dated the 2nd instant, and must confess I feel disappointed at its contents. I thought that my position in the colony was well enough known and established to warrant you in giving me the slight information I desired in the absence of the official letters from the colony. I have the original letter from the Chairman of the Waste Lands Board, enclosing the draft agreement approved of by His Excellency the Governor, and if you refer to the Auckland Herald of the Ist August, you will see a report of a special meeting of the Waste Lands Board, held on the previous day, at which the Governor's consent was given to my agreement. I have referred several intending emigrants to your office, and your action will place me in a most unpleasant position with regard to strangers. If you doubt the verity of my statements, I can send you the letter referred to, or if such would expedite the objects I have in view. I have to pay £5,000 into your office on account of this land by the Ist January next, and I do think I am entitled to every official assistance in the matter. I should feel obliged by your giving Messrs. Wyman and Sons, of 74, Great Queen Street, London, the required official authority to print maps of New Zealand required for my pamphlet from the stone which was prepared for the official handbook. Tour reply in course will much oblige. I write this officially, in accordance with instructions received from Mr. Kennaway. I have, &c, The Hon. Sir Julius Vogel. K.C.M.G. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure 4 in No. 16. The Agent-General to Mr,-G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 10th October, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant. The mail via San Francisco, which was delivered yesterday, brings me no instructions or information from the Government as to the extension of the special settlement at Katikati, or as to the sending out of settlers to be specially selected for it, or as to any arrangement having been made with you. On reference to the paragraph in the Auckland Herald, to which you refer, I observe that it is reported that a letter was received by the Waste Lands Board at Auckland, instructing them to commence the matter de nooo, so that, at that date, the matter was not concluded, as you seem to suppose.

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Under these circumstances I cannot take the action you ask, more especially as it seems to me that if the arrangement were completed the Government would not desire me to be responsible for or take part in the selection of emigrants beyond approving or disapproving those selected by you. At present, however, I am utterly unaware of the nature of the arrangement which you seem to consider has been concluded. I have, &c, Or. V. Stewart, Esq., Julius Vogel, Martray House, Ballygawley. Agent-General.

Enclosure 5 in No. 16. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, Ireland, 12th October, 1877. I wrote to you on the 3rd instant, and, as a week has now elapsed since the time on which I should have received a reply, I have again to ask you whether you will give your permission to Messrs. Wyman and Sons to print maps for the use of my New Zealand pamphlet upon the stone the property of the colony. I should also be glad to know if you have received from New Zealand any instructions respecting the addition to the special settlement at Katikati by the last mail, that has reached me four days ago. My proceedings are at present at a standstill if you cannot give any official assistance in the matter, as the business must pass through your office, as arranged between the Government and myself. I should add that, from the manner in which you disposed of the late Dr. Featherston's obstructive conduct towards me, I felt that every reasonable assistance would have been afforded towards me in the formation of my second party. I have, &c, The Hon. Sir Julius Vogel, K.C.M.G. Geo. Vesey Stewart. P.S.—I should further observe that I have to pay £5,000 into your office on the Ist January next, and nothing can be done by me in the matter of receiving any money on this account without your co-operation.

Enclosure 6 in No. 16. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 13th October, 1877. I am in receipt of your letter of the 12th instant, and can only repeat that I am utterly unacquainted with the nature of the new agreement you have made with the Government, and you will therefore see it is impossible for me to do anything in the matter. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, G. V. Stewart, Esq. Agent-General.

Enclosure 7 in No. 16. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General, (Telegram.) Received 13th October, 1877. Have you received any advice relative to my special settlement by last New Zealand mail; kindly wire reply. Geo. Vesey Stewart. Enclosure 8 in No 16. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. (Telegram.) Sent 13th October, 1877. Have received no advice whatever relative to your special settlement. Julius Vogel.

No. 17. The Agent-General to the Minister for Immigration. (Telegram.) 2nd November, 1877. Vesey Stewart urgently applies allow Local Agents help him. Think would make Government indirectly liable. Instruct me. Julius Vogel.

No. 18. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to the Agent-General. Sir,— Wellington, 28th November, 1877. I have received your telegram of 2nd instant communicating Mr. Stewart's request that the Local Agents may be allowed to help him, and in reply to inform you that there is no objection to the

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Local Agents giving Mr. Stewart any help which they conveniently can, provided that this is not done in such a way as to commit the Government to any liability either of a pecuniary or any other character. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. J. Macandrew.

No. 19. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 12th December, 1877. I have the honor to forward copy of further correspondence with Mr. Stewart. As you will observe, he is very discontented with me for not more actively aiding him. Tou will observe by my letter of this day's date the view I take, and I can only express the hope that I have correctly interpreted the view of the Government. I have of course taken no notice of the aggressive, not to say offensive, tone of Mr. Stewart's letter of the 6th instant, but have endeavoured, to the best of my ability, to decide as I think the Government would direct me to do. According to Mr. Stewart's opinion, the certificates I am to issue are to be merely echoes of his own. If so, they are surely unnecessary. Mr. Stewart himself supplies a reason why I should exercise an independent judgment, for I cannot agree with him that the mere fact of a person being a gentleman makes him a suitable emigrant. Such a theory might lead to much misery, for unfortunately there are many gentlemen who, from lack of means or ability, or experience, or disposition, or power to work, or wanting other qualifications, would not meet with success in the colony. Regarding the other point, I cannot believe that, with the proviso attached to clause 17, as printed in Mr. Stewart's pamphlet, which would make the Government liable to the emigrant, it can be intended any deposits should be taken or emigrants passed until Mr. Stewart pays the £5,000. I have, &c., Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 19. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone, October 16th, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt this day of your letter dated 10th instant, and really am at a loss to know my present position in the matter. If you again read the report in the Herald you will find "that the amended terms upon which the Board had decided to make an additional grant of land to Mr. George Vesey Stewart, for his special settlement scheme, had been submitted to, and approved by the Governor." The instructions to commence de novo, to which you refer, applied to the four resolutions which " were then proposed, seconded, and agreed to unanimously," and there the business is thus concluded, so far as the Waste Lands Board and the Governor are concerned. The Hon. Donald Reid telegraphs to me on Ist August —received as the mail steamer was starting—" that the land was proclaimed under the Act of 1876, on the 13th July." Tou may probably have the New Zealand Government Gazette, and I would refer you to that date. If, therefore, I was a most complete stranger to the colony and to yourself, I respectfully submit that I have produced sufficient documentary evidence to satisfy any reasonable man that my scheme has met with the approval of the New Zealand Government, and of the colony, through the Waste Lands Board. I do not understand the concluding clause of your letter, as to the " approving or disapproving of the emigrants selected by me," or whether I am to understand that the Government had desired you to be responsible for or take part in the selection of such emigrants." Will you also kindly let me know, if I have now succeeded in satisfying your mind as to the bond fide nature of my scheme, and thereby enable you to give satisfactory replies to any of my intending emigrants who may make official inquiries at your office. I have, &c, The Hon. Sir Julius Vogel, K.C.M.G. Geo. Vesey Stewart. P.S. —I enclose you the original letter, on official paper, signed by Mr. D. A. Tole, Chairman of the Waste Lands Board, dated Auckland, 11th July, 1877, enclosing the draft agreement. I returned this draft agreement duly approved, and it was confirmed by the Waste Lands Board at their meeting on 31st July last, and reported in the Herald on Ist August. Kindly return same, as it is an original document, and I wish to keep it safe. G. V. S.

Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure 1 in No. 19. Provincial District oe Auckland.—Memorandum. Sic, — Crown Lands Office, Auckland, 11th July, 1877. I have the honor, at the request of the Under Secretary for Crown Lands, to forward to you the accompanying copy of draft agreement re Katikati Special Settlement. At the same time I beg to inform you that this agreement, subject, however, to some slight amendment duly noted, but which you will observe is not at variance with the terms of your arrangement with the Waste Lands Board, has been recommended by the latter body to the Government for His Excellency the Governor's approval and adoption.

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Requesting you would be good enough to accept this letter as conveying a reply to yours of the 2nd instant, I have. Ac, G. V. Stewart, Esq., Katikati. ' D. A. Tole. P.S. —Tour request to have the agreement printed on parchment has been agreed to. —D. A. T. I wrote, in reply to this letter, returning the draft agreement approved of by me, and which was subsequently confirmed by Waste Lands Board on 31st July, and reported in Herald on Ist August. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure 2 in No. 19. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir,— 23rd October, 1877. Referring to your letter of the 16th instant, I have to inform you that I cannot find the Gazette notice of the 13th July to which you refer in any of the Gazettes issued about that time, received at this office. I must again repeat that I am without any knowledge whatever as to the nature of the agreement which you state that you have entered into with the Government in New Zealand. If, however, you will furnish me with a copy of the agreement, as finally concluded, I will endeavour to act in accordance with it so far as this office is concerned. I am, &c, Julius Vogel, G. V. Stewart, Esq. Agent-General.

Enclosure 3 in No. 19. Mr. G. V. Stewaet to the Agent-General. Sic, — Chambers, 50, Dawson Street, Dublin, 27th October, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 23rd instant, forwarded to me from home. The agreement which you desire is locked up, and I do not think any person can get it in my absence. I have therefore desired the printers to forward you a copy of my pamphlet, and at pages 102,103, and 104 you will find a verbatim copy of my document. With reference to the lands having been proclaimed, I have at home an original telegram dated Ist August, 11.30 a.m., Government Buildings, Wellington, from Hon. Donald Reid to myself, stating that the lands had been proclaimed under the Act of 1874, on the 13th. This telegram was handed to me as the mail steamer was leaving. I am glad to find these difficulties are now likely to be cleared away, as I have already lost six valuable weeks of my limited time. I have, &c, Geo. Vesey Stewart. P.S.—Will you kindly return me Mr. D. A. Tole's letter that I enclosed you in my last, and I trust you will be good enough to give me a circular letter to your various Local Agents, requesting them to give me their co-operation. G. V. S.

Enclosure 4 in No. 19. The Secretary, Agent-General's Department, to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir,— 30th October, 1877. I am directed by the Agent-General, in reply to your letter of the 27th instant, to return to you Mr. D. A. Tole's letter. lam also to inform you that the Agent-General has not yet received a copy of your pamphlet which you state you have desired the printer to forward to him. I have, &c, Walter Kennaway, Geo. Vesey Stewart, Esq. Secretary to the Agent-General's Department.

Enclosure 5 in No. 19. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 27th November, 1877. Referring to the form of certificate which you left at this office on Saturday in favour of Mr. P C and family, I do not think, so far as I can judge from the tenor of your agreement with the Government of New Zealand, as published in your pamphlet, that it is sufficient. The Government, in reserving to the Agent-General a right of approval, could not have intended him to approve simply on your certifying that the intending emigrant was a fit and proper person for your special emigration party. The mere fact of your selecting the person would indicate your opinion, and if such a certificate was sufficient there would be no need for the Agent-General's approval. I expressed to you the opinion, when you lately called on me, that I should be furnished with at least the following information as regards the persons you wish me to approve —namely, names and addresses, ages, assurance that they are in good health, their previous occupation, their intended pursuit in the colony, and whether they have made any arrangement to settle on the land.

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I do not wish to put difficulties in your way, and I am really only asking you for the information which it is to be presumed, in the interest of the settlement, you have yourself obtained. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, Geo. Vesey Stewart, Esq. Agent-General.

Enclosure 6 in No. 19. Mr. G. V. Stewaet to the Agent-Geneeal. Sic, — Martray House, Ballygawley, 6th December, 1877. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 27th ultimo, forwarded to me here on my return home from Belfast. Referring to your observations relative to the certificate I left at your office in favor of Mr. P. C and family, I consider that, if you again refer to that certificate, you will observe that it contains all the information you desire. It states Mr. P C , aged 43 ; Mrs. A C , aged 26; P C , aged 7 ; C M C , aged 3J ; M C , 6 months : address, Royston, Herts; saloon passage engaged. I informed Mr. Kennaway that Mr. P C was a gentleman, and in this country (at all events) such is usually considered the highest qualification any man could enjoy to qualify him for any position in life. The certificate further states that Mr. P C has paid me in cash the stipulated amount " of deposit for the purchase of his land, and has fulfilled with me the required conditions, as stated in my pamphlet." Surely no sane man would pay cash, contract further liabilities with me, pay his saloon passages to Auckland and forfeit same, if he did not intend to follow the occupation of a settler upon my settlement. As to your inquiries relative to Mr. P C ——'s state of health, I should remark that, so far as I could observe, Mr. and Mrs. C both appeared in most excellent health when I had the pleasure of meeting them in London some ten days ago. The late Dr. Featherston, who (we must all admit) was a most perfect gentleman, informed me (and your own efficient officer Mr. Kennaway will substantiate my statement) that he would certify, as a matter of course, for all my emigrants under a similar clause of my former agreement, believing that I could form a far better opinion than he could as to their eligibility or otherwise; and in this instance the case is much stronger for adopting his course, as my present emigrants pay for their land, pay for their passages, and do not receive or expect the slightest assistance from the Government. It would be, therefore, most unfair towards me to give any opposition in carrying out my personal heavy responsibilities contracted between the Government and myself. I am pleased to observe that you do not wish to put any such difficulties in my way, as, reviewing the correspondence that has hitherto passed between your office and myself, I cannot form any other opinion than that every obstacle which the ingenuity of "red-tape" could suggest had been placed across my path. I return Mr. C 's certificate. He has left Royston, and has taken lodgings in London, as he expects to sail for Auckland in a few days. I also enclose you Mr. J X 's certificate, who proceeds to Katikati, via Auckland, by steamer, in saloon first-cabin passage. I further enclose you Mr. G 's certificate, with address and particulars required. I should feel obliged by your sending me your certificates for these gentlemeu. I have, &c, Sir Julius Vogel, K.C.M.G. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure 7 in No. 19. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sic,— 12th December, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 6th December. I have delayed answering it for two or three days, thinking that some information on the subject might reach me by the mail, but none has come, nor have I yet a reply to my telegram in which I asked for instructions. Mr. Kennaway does not recollect Dr. Featherston having expressed the view which you attribute to him, but Ido not doubt your statement. Though I regret differing from my predecessor, I am unable to adopt the same view. It seems to me if the Government merely wished the Agent-General to indorse your opinion, the Agent-General's certificate would be unnecessary. I think, therefore, his inquiries should be, to a certain extent, independent. I am, however, willing to leave the decision to the Government, and to that end I will consider you have presented your certificates before the emigrants sail. It the Government consider the certificates sufficient, I can subsequently give you the certificates under the agreement. I must, however, observe that I have no instructions or knowledge of the agreement beyond what appears in your pamphlet, and there it is not set out in full, nor does it appear to have been signed. But assuming that it was approved without signature, I cannot think it was intended you should receive deposits or send out emigrants until after you paid the deposit stated to be due on the Ist January. The proviso to which you refer in your pamphlet, by which the Government are to be bound to the emigrant if he has paid the purchase-money, notwithstanding your having failed to faithfully perform your agreement, cannot be meant to have force before the £5,000 is paid, otherwise the Government might have to give the land away. Clearly to my mind it was not contemplated that emigrants should be despatched or deposits taken until after the payment of the £5,000, and, in the absence of instructions otherwise, I must adhere to that view.

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Tour complaint of delay being interposed seems to me unreasonable, seeing that I have no instructions, no copy of any signed agreement, and that tho condensed agreement you publish appears to me to presuppose no action of the kind you desire until after the payment of the money. I may add that I much regret I do not see my way to adopt opinions more in consonance with your own. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, G. V. Stewart, Esq. Agent-General.

No. 20. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 3rd January, 1878. I have the honor to transmit copy of further correspondence which has taken place between Mr. G. Vesey Stewart and myself, together with copy of a telegram received from the Hon. the Premier on the same subject. I have paid the £5,000 received from Mr. Stewart into the credit of the Public Account of New Zealand. I have, &c., Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 20. Cory of Telegram received from the Hon. the Premier. Received 15th December, 1877. To Vogel, London. Dated 29th November, 1877. Vesey Stewaet agreement per mail. ###### Geey.

Enclosure 2 in No. 20. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Reply to Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, Ireland, 20th December, 1877. I beg to enclose you my cheque for £5,000, payable to you as Agent-General for New Zealand under my late agreement with the Government. I have, &c, Sir Julius Vogel. Geo. Vesey Stewaet.

Enclosure 3 in No. 20. Mr. J. Cashel Hoey to Mr. G. V. Stewart. 22nd December, 1877. Tours of the 20th instant, with enclosure, is received. A further acknowledgment will be sent on the Agent-General's return to town next week. I have, &c, G. V. Stewart, Esq. J. Cashel Hoey.

Enclosure 4 in No. 20. The Agent-Geneeal to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 27th December, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th December, enclosing a cheque for £5,000, which you send me, you state, "under my late agreement with the Government." I have not yet received the agreement, but I have a telegram from New Zealand informing me that it is coming by mail. It is much to be regretted that the agreement and instructions have not been sent earlier. Several inquiries are being made of me concerning the settlement and your agreement, to which I am replying that I have received £5,000 from you, and that the Government have telegraphed that I will receive by mail a copy of the agreement. I have, &c, G. Vesey Stewart, Esq., Julius Vogel, Martray House, Ballygawley. Agent-General,

Enclosure 5 in No. 20. Mr. G. V. Stewaet to the Agent-Geneeal. Sic, — Martray House, Ballygawley, 28th December, 1877. On my return home from a round of visits and lectures in Ulster, I have received your letter of the 12th instant.

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With regard to the certificates already sent you, I do not wish to ask. any favour or compliments at your bands, and I am quite willing to give you the fullest information you may ask or require. I have already replied fully to all the queries you sent me as to Messrs. X , C , and G- ; but from past experience I object to the shifting of the responsibility to the Government as proposed by you. I would ask you to approve of my certificates when all your necessary inquiries have been fully satisfied, or else, if you so feel disposed, to disapprove of them. lam even anxious to give any further information you may choose to demand; and, if you should then disapprove of these gentlemen without any just or reasonable grounds, I feel quite confident that the Government of New Zealand will deal rightly and act honorably in the matter. I sent yon two months ago Mr. D. A. Tole's original letter, stating such draft agreement had been approved of by His Excellency, and I cannot but think that if there was any disposition on your part to further an important emigration movement, such as the one in which I am now engaged, that it would be considered sufficient to warrant you in not interposing such difficulties in my way. Tour remarks relative to the £5,000 might justly apply to me if I was some penniless or political adventurer; but the gentlemen who have paid me their money, and on whose behalf I now ask for your certificates, have the fullest confidence in my honor, integrity, and bona fides. Will you therefore be good enough to inform me if you require any further information that I can possibly afford relating to the gentlemen already referred to, and let me know your final decision in this matter ? I have, &c., The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure 6 in No. 20. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-Geneeal. Sir,— Martray House, Ballygawley, 29th December, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th instant, and am glad to find that you have at last received instructions from the Government of New Zealand. Would you have any objection to send me the names and addresses of the parties making the inquiries relative to my settlement to which you refer ? I should also be glad to know, at your earliest convenience, if you have been instructed to assist me in filling up my ship with a limited number of approved single females, as distinctly promised by the Hon. Donald Reid, the late Minister for Immigration. I am now making my arrangements for chartering such ship from Belfast to Auckland for my special settlers. I should, therefore, feel obliged to you to give me the earliest possible information as to any instructions you may receive in the matter, so as to enable me to conclude such arrangements under your sanction and directions. I have, &c., The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewaet.

Enclosure 7 in .No. 20. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 31st December,! 877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letters of the 28th and 29th instant I am sorry to find that you misunderstand my letter of the 27th, to which yours of the 29th is a reply. I have received no instructions whatever from the Government on the subject of your agreement. To my request for instructions, the only reply I received was, " Vesey Stewart agreement per mail." I have therefore no instructions with respect to sending female emigrants from Belfast. In reply to your request for the names and addresses of those who have made inquiries of me, I have to say that some of the inquiries made concerning your settlement were verbal and were not recorded. One was made personally on behalf of an officer in the India Office, whose name I forget. One was in writing from Mr. Latimer, Leeson Park, Dublin. Tou are in error in writing that the letter you sent me from Mr. Tole stated that the " draft agreement had been approved of by His Excellency." Mr. Tole wrote that the Waste Lands Board recommended it for approval—not that it was approved. Subsequently the matter, according to a report in the newspapers, was considered de novo. Since you press me for a definite answer concerning the certificates, I have to say that I decline committing myself to any certificates until after I receive the copy of agreement from the Government. Should it be accompanied by instructions, I will of course be guided by them. In the absence of instructions, I shall ask for particulars, signed by the intending emigrants themselves, on a form similar to the one enclosed,* together with a certificate of yourself or a representative appointed by you stating that you are satisfied as to the truth of the particulars stated. On the facts supplied by those particulars I will come to a conclusion as to whether or not I approve the emigrants. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, G. Vesey Stewart, Esq. Agent-General. * For form alluded to vide Enclosure 2 in No. 27.

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No. 21. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. J. Macandeew. (Telegram.) sth March, 1878. Stewart refuses sign agreement because no tracing land. Wants me guarantee that land accords exactly with tracing submitted by him to Lands Board, Auckland. Shall I? Also if he not sign am I to act under agreement ? Vogel.

No. 22. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to the Agent-General. (Telegram.) Bth March, 1878. Stewart land substantially same, but guarantee nothing. Further questions, wait letters. J. Ballance.

No. 23. Mr. G. V. Stewaet to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sic, — Martray House, Ballygawley, 28th January, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 7th December, 1877, No, 2861, and also to thank you for the three copies of the agreement. With regard to the telegram to which you allude as having been addressed to me on the 31st July, you will find it was dated Wellington, 11.30 a.m., on Ist August, and only received by me on board the mail steamer as orders were given "for all to go on shore:" it was therefore received too late for any practical purpose. But you should further consider that I was bound by my agreement to pay the £5,000 on the Ist of January; that the only season of the year to obtain farmers in Ireland for emigration is during our autumn and winter months, and had I waited till these lands were gazetted on 29th November I should have lost another season, and have been in every way unable to perform the terms of the draft agreement that were closed last July between the Waste Lands Board> your predecessor, and myself. I should further state that this agreement had been printed so far back as the first week in July; that it was confirmed at a special meeting of the Waste Lands Board on the 31st of July ; that both your predecessor and the Chairman of the Waste Lands Board informed me previously that everything had been practically arranged, and everything was virtually concluded. On my return home I published a pamphlet in which this agreement is recited. I sent a copy to your Agent-General; and I think, under the circumstances, I have reason to complain of the treatment I have received at his hands, as, in the absence of instructions from the Government, he should have been satisfied with the evidence I produced. Tou will observe that the £5,000 payable by me on the Ist of January was paid to the AgentGeneral on the 20th December previous. I feel much obliged to you for the concluding paragraph in your letter, and trust that, as the Agent-General has now received his instructions from you, no further official difficulties will be imposed upon me. I take the liberty of forwarding to you a copy of my pamphlet, and also a review by Land and Water, by which you will perceive the class of persons I am introducing to New Zealand, and I have no hesitation in stating that, since the foundation of the colony, no single ship has ever reached her shores introducing a better-selected class of emigrants, both as regards social position, intelligence, capital, and colonial capabilities, than the one conveying the main body of the " Stewart Special Settlement No. 2." Thanking you for your courtesy and kindness, I havej &c, J. Macandrew, Esq., Government Buildings, Geo. Vesey Stewart. Wellington, N.Z.

No. 24. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to Mr. G. V. Stewart, Sic, — Immigration Office, Wellington, sth April, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 28th January last, and to thank you for the copy of your pamphlet, which I have read with much interest. I now forward for your information copy of a letter which I have addressed to the Agent-General by this mail, with reference to the proposed extension of the Katikati Settlement. I have, &c, G. V. Stewart, Esq., . J. Macandeew. Martray House, Ballygawley, Ireland.

Enclosure in No. 24. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to the Agent-General. Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, sth April, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letters of the 11th December, No. 1,168, and also of the 30th January, No. 94, and to thank you for the copies of the correspondence which have 3-D. 3.

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passed between yourself and Mr. G. Vesey Stewart respecting the proposed extension of the Katikati Settlement near Tauranga. I regret that any misunderstanding should have arisen owing to Mr. Stewart having left the colony before the details of his agreement with the Auckland Land Board were finally settled, but as that agreement is now before you it is anticipated that there will be no further difficulty in giving effect to it. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. J. Macandrew.

No. 25. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 30th January, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letters numbered and dated as per margin (Immigration Office, No. 197, 28th November, 1877 ; Crown Lands Office, No. 2724, 29th November, 1877 ; Crown Lands and Immigration Office, No. 210, 15th December, 1877), together with their enclosures, respecting the proposed agreement with Mr. G. Vesey Stewart. I herewith transmit copy of further correspondence which has passed between Mr. Stewart and myself on the same subject. As you will observe on perusing my letter to him of the 29th instant, I have forwarded to him a copy of the proposed agreement, for his examination, requesting him at the same time to inform me whether and at what time and place he will be prepared to sign it. I also communicated to him in the same letter the course I would pursue as regards his availing himself of the services of the Local Agents, and the mode in which I should require applications to be sent to me for the approval of those persons who desired to make arrangements with him under the conditions of his agreement with the Government. This correspondence with Mr. Stewart has cost me a great deal of trouble and some anxiety, and I shall be glad to learn that the Government approves the course I have taken. I have, &c., Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General. [Note. —A letter was written to the Agent-General on April 4th, 1878, acknowledging receipt of the above and expressing approval of the action he had taken.]

Enclosure 1 in No. 25. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, Ireland, 3rd January, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Ist instant. Would you be good enough to write to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration at Wellington, and request him to telegraph instructions to you whether you will be permitted to redeem the pledge given to me by the late Minister for Immigration, Mr. Donald Reid, and complete filling up my ship with approved single females on free passages ? If such approval should be sent you by cablegram, it will reach me in time to carry out the promises made to me by that gentleman. I regret I should have in error sent you the wrong letter from Mr. D. A. Tole. I have, however, such letter, and also the original draft agreement, of which a verbatim copy appears in my pamphlet, omitting clause 5, which refers solely to myself, and with which neither you nor the public have the slightest connection. Any further copies of the pamphlet required will be supplied to you on application, by the publisher, Mr. N. Carson, Tyrone Constitution Office, Omagh, on your enclosing Is. lid. in stamps for each copy. _ _ ''.'"'".'. As you decline to send me any certificates, I must only tender to you pro forma my certificates in favour of C P , Esq., and Mr. C. I. X , who proceed to Katikati via Wellington and Tauranga per Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co.'s ship on the 7th instant. Mrs. X will follow her husband when his arrangements on the block are completed for her reception. I give you at the back of the certificates all the information you required or demanded in your former letter, and have sent the form enclosed in your present communication to the printers, with instructions to strike off a sufficient number of copies. As you state you cannot act without instructions from Government, and as I have on my part performed all the details that were required from me, I feel confident that the Government of New Zealand will not allow my emigrants to suffer any loss or inconvenience through the default of the late Minister for Immigration in not having sent you ere this the agreement, which has now been finally settled and approved some six months ago. My party is now completed and formed, and I am at present only detained in this country in consequence of such default and your consequent action in the matter, and I believe I have a fair and honorable claim on the Government for such unnecessary detention, which is a very serious loss and inconvenience to me. Had you informed me at an earlier date that you required the emigrants to sign such applications I could easily have complied with your request; but now some of the parties have left this country to settle at Katikati, and such signatures cannot be obtained here. In my first letter I asked you to settle on some such form, which you declined to do, and for the last three months I have almost implored of you to take some action under this agreement, the importance of which you now at last only appear to realize. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

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Enclosure 2 in No. 25. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewaet. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 7th January, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant. In compliance with your request I will write to the Government by first mail asking them if they will carry out the pledge you state you received from the late Minister for Immigration to give free passages to female emigrants from Belfast to fill up your ship, and asking for a reply by cable. If it is important to your arrangements I will cable out on the subject, oji the condition that you defray the cost of the cablegram, unless the answer is favourable, in which case I will return the cost to you. As you refer to a claim on the Government, I feel compelled to state that I do not consider that your view of the circumstances is accurate. Briefly, what has taken place is this: Tou came home to England with a draft unsigned agreement, which you had reason to think would be approved by the Governor, but of which there was nothing in the nature of absolute proof. Tou pressed me not only to accept it as binding, but to give you letters to the Local Agents, which if the agreement had been signed I should not have considered myself justified in doing. Respecting the certificates, the correspondence speaks for itself. I do not think you complied with my suggestions, and, as I informed you, they were only suggestions, in the absence of the agreement. I think, as I have said, the delay in forwarding the agreement is much to be regretted, but not because of any loss you have sustained. My reason for regretting the delay is that it has occasioned me a very troublesome correspondence, one in which you will permit me to say you have not shown yourself unmindful of the difficulty in which I was placed. But assuming that the agreement is without alteration from the draft published by you, I do not see that you have sustained any loss. I certainly should not have granted certificates under it until the money was paid, and it has only been paid sixteen days since. Even in regard to those certificates you have sent in, you cannot have sustained any loss, since you are acting on the assumption that the Government will recognize them, and it is quite likely, under the circumstances, that they will do so. lii respect to your being detained here, as I have said, you only paid the money sixteen days since, and it was not due until the Ist January. It is a matter for your own consideration whether to remain here or to appoint a representative. As you say a letter by post can be answered by cable before you despatch your ship, it is clear you do not contemplate despatching it at once. In any way that the subject may be regarded, I am unable to see that you have either cause of complaint or claim against the Government. I have, &c., Julius Vogel, G. Vesey Stewart, Esq. Agent-General.

Enclosure 3 in No. 25. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-Geneeal. Sic, — Martray House, Ballygawley, 14th January, 1878. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 7th instant. Ido not think I should be called upon to defray the expenses of the cablegram to which you allude, as the matter would of course be referred to the late Minister for Immigration, and a gentleman who has failed to carry out two distinct promises and pledges made to me might forget that he ever made them. I regret you do not consider that I have a claim on the Government for detention: however, that is a matter of opinion, but I am in a position to prove, by a gentleman negotiating some arrangements relative to a ship, that my loss will fully amount to £1,000. When I first returned to this country I could not obtain from you for a considerable time a definite reply whether you would even approve or disapprove of my emigrants. Then, after a long correspondence and personal interviews in London you gave me a memorandum showing what information you required. When this was supplied you send me a schedule to be signed by the emigrants, some of whom (who have paid me deposits on their land) having already proceeded to Katikati. Now, with regard to the agreement, it is not my fault that the Minister for Immigration has ere this failed to forward you a copy thereof. I have on my part performed every act under which I was bound. I sent you an official letter from the Chairman of the Waste Lands Board. I referred you to the public prints and to my own pamphlet giving a copy of such agreement. I therefore submit that you were bound either to act upon this evidence, or else regard me as a man utterly void of all principle, and at once repudiate all connection with this emigration movement. Tou complain about the troublesome correspondence that you have suffered at my hands, but with all due respect to your opinions I think you have no person to blame but yourself. I consider that I have much reason to complain of the position which you as Agent-General have taken in the matter. I am quite aware that it is entirely a matter for my own consideration whether to remain in this country or appoint a representative as you suggest; but as an honorable man, and in justice to the parties who have paid me their money, I consider I would be guilty of most reprehensible conduct if I did not wait for those official instructions which you expect to receive from the colony. It is therefore my intention to remain at my post till everything is satisfactorily arranged, and meanwhile I will endeavour to utilize my time in the interests of New Zealand by collecting a further supply of passengers who will pay their own passages to the colony and accompany our party in the special ship. I should therefore feel obliged by your forwarding me a list of your Scotch, English, and Irish Agents, and sending me a form of circular such as I can have printed at my own expense, to the effect that you have been informed by me that I intend to despatch such special ship,

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also that I am a gentleman upon whom every reliance can be placed, and that such ship would be well worth the consideration of any persons who contemplate proceeding to New Zealand at their own expense. Personally, I will gain no pecuniary advantage by this arrangement, as my special-settlement party is made up, but I secure a larger and better ship for my special settlers, and introduce a further valuable addition to our colony free of all expense to the Government of New Zealand. I observe from some late Parliamentary Papers that the emigrants introduced by Messrs. Burton and Holloway have cost the colony about £30 each, between passage-money, commission, and such expenses: if therefore I thus import 100 passengers at their own expense, it will, not only be a clear gain of £3,000, but they will introduce on an average a capital of £50 each, which will represent a further sum of £5,000, and this is the class of emigrants we require. Trusting that in the interests of the colony you will give me your official co-operation in the introduction of paying passengers outside of my special settlers, I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stuart.

Enclosure 4 in No. 25. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, 25th January, 1878. I have the honor to request you will kindly send me a reply to my letter of the 14th instant, as time is a matter of the most considerable importance to our party in making arrangements for our special ship. Tou will observe from my letter, to which I have referred, that I do not ask to bind you (as representing the Government of New Zealand) to any engagement; but I merely asked you to forward my statement to your Agents, and I conclude that the confidence reposed in me by the Waste Lands Board of Auckland and the Government of New Zealand has been fully confirmed by the results. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure 5 in No. 25. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 29th January, 1878. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letters of the 14th and 25th instant. I cannot admit that the alternative of my not consenting to act upon an unsigned agreement, not yet approved, as far as I was aware, by the Government, and liable to be altered or disapproved, was that which you represent in your letter of the 14th instant. The memorandum concerning the certificates to which you refer consisted of a rough note which I made on a sheet of paper of the information which I believed I should require to enable me to decide if the emigrants were desirable. That note was as follows : — " Names, addresses, ages, health, previous occupation, intended pursuit in colony. Have they made any arrangement to settle on the land ? " The form which I sent you with my letter of the 31st ultimo, and which you describe as a schedule, simply embodies, and is quite consistent with, the contents of this note. As I have already explained to you, no delay was involved, for I should not have considered myself justified in issuing certificates until the money was paid, and the agreement received by me from the Government. I have now received the proposed agreement, and find that I was fully justified in declining to look upon it as concluded. I regret that you did not think it necessary to furnish me with a copy of the telegram sent to you by Mr. Reid on the 31st July, the contents of which are set forth in the letter which you will have received by the present mail from the Hon. Mr. Macandrew, and of which he has furnished me with a copy. I append a copy of the telegram, from which you will observe that it was expressly intended to dissuade you from coming home. I am now directed by the Government, who inform me that it has not been possible to put the agreement into shape sooner, to take care that the form of agreement which they forward to me is properly signed by yourself, with all necessary formalities, after which it is to be returned to the colony for the signature of His Excellency the Governor. I send herewith a copy of the same for you to examine; and if you are prepared to sign the original, which I retain, and will inform me accordingly, I will either send it to my Agent, Mr. Turbitt, of Strabane, with directions how it is to be signed by you in his presence, or will retain it at this office should it be more convenient for you to sign it in London. Referring to your application for a circular letter to the Local Agents connected with this department, I am willing, on the agreement being duly executed by you, to issue a letter of which the following is a copy : —■ " Mr. G. Vesey Stewart has made an arrangement to acquire from the Government of New Zealand land for a special settlement, upon which he agrees to introduce immigrants. I have to inform you that Mr. Stewart may desire to seek your aid, and in that case I shall be glad if you will render him such assistance as you conveniently can, upon such conditions as Mr. Stewart and yourself may agree to.

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" Tou will, however, understand that any arrangement you may make with Mr. Stewart does not commit the Government of New Zealand or this department to any liability, pecuniary or otherwise. to yourself, or beyond the terms of the agreement." I may state that the terms of this letter are in accordance with instructions I have received in reply to a telegram I despatched on the subject. If you will furnish me with the names of the localities at which you desire to make use of the services of any of this office's Local Agents, I will send to the Agents in such localities a circular letter as above, and will furnish you with their names and addresses, in order that you may, if you wish, enter into communication with them. I may add that, in issuing certificates under the agreement, it is my intention to adopt the form of application, &c, copy of which I sent you in my letter of the 31st ultimo, and that I will have a number printed, unless, as stated in your letter of the 3rd instant, you have already done so. I have, &c, G. Vesey Stewart, Esq., Martray House, Julius Vogel, Ballygawley, Ireland. Agent-General.

Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure 5 in No. 25. The Hon. D. Reid to Mr. G. V. Stewart. (Telegram.) 31st July, 1877. I have not received resolution of Board setting land apart for purpose of special settlement. I think it would be well to have agreement finally settled before you leave, to avoid any misunderstanding. When the agreement has been completed I will give you letter to Agent-General. D. Reid.

No. 26. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Hon. J. Macandrew. Sir,— Martray House, Ballygawley, Co. Tyrone, Ireland, 25th February, 1878. I trust you will excuse me for trespassing upon your time, which I know must be so fully occupied, but I regret to state that the Agent-General appears to ignore your instructions as conveyed to me in your letter of the 7th December last, and still persists in a spirit of factious opposition to my scheme in the matter of his certificates. As copies of past correspondence have been sent to the Chairman of the Waste Lands Board of Auckland, I have transmitted further correspondence for this month, with copy of the letter herewith enclosed. I have secured a body of settlers such as never has been surpassed by any that ever landed on the shores of New Zealand. I am willing to leave their formal approval to the Waste Lands Board, or any person or persons you may desire; but it is galling and disheartening to receive such treatment from your present A gent-General. I should, therefore, feel much obliged to you to forward a cablegram to the Agent-General informing him that his certificates under clause 7 of the agreement will be dispensed with, and to convey the contents of such to me. Tou should receive this letter on the 14th April, and we do not intend leaving Belfast before the 12th or 14th May. In consequence of your Agent-General having hitherto refused to give me the names of the New Zealand Local Agents—which I submit is public property —I have been compelled to select my own agents, and have been put to considerable delay and expense in advertisements to secure suitable emigrants to fill up the remaining portions of the ship not occupied by my special settlers. Hoping that you will kindly give this matter your prompt and most favourable consideration, I have, &c, The Hon. J. Macandrew, Crown Lands Office, Geo. Vesey Stewart. Wellington, New Zealand.

No. 27. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 28th February, 1878. Referring to the correspondence which has passed between Mr. George Vesey Stewart and this office respecting the agreement as to the Katikati Special Settlement, copies of which I have from time to time transmitted to you, you will observe that Mr. Stewart, in his letter of the 14th instant, asks me to issue certificates in favour of certain persons whose names he mentions, and who he states have already started for the colony, and who he certifies are fit and proper persons to join his Kati. kati Settlement. Considering the very small amount of information which I have received from Mr. Stewart respecting these persons, I do not feel justified in issuing the certificates without the sanction of the Government, and I have therefore adopted the course of transmitting the certificates to you in this letter, leaving it to you to issue them to the persons concerned should you, under the circumstances, think fit to do so. I also give, in schedule attached, a copy of all the information furnished me by Mr. Stewart respecting these persons. I also enclose a blank form of application, of which I have forwarded Mr. Stewart a supply, and which I shall require any persons wishing to obtain my approval under the provisions of the agreement to complete and return to this office. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Julius Vogel, Wellington, Agent-General.

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Enclosure 1 in No. 27. Schedule. No. 1: C , P ,43 years ; C , A , 20 years ; C -, P , 7 years ; C , C M , 3-J- years ; C , M , 6 months. Royston, Herts. Saloon passenger engaged. Health good.—(Signed) Geo. Vesey Stewart. No. 2: X , J ,46 years ; X , E 0 ,32 years; X , S , 7 years ; X , E —- B , 4 years ; X ', M E -, 3 years. No. 2a. :N , M J ,24 years ; W , M R , 19 years. Mr. J X is a gentleman who has paid saloon passage to Auckland. Address—Ballymena, Ireland. Health good when I last met his family.—(Signed) Geo. Vesey Stewart. Note. —As Mr. Stewart does not state the degree of relationship between Mr. K. —— and Mr. J N and Mr. R W , I have sent a separate certificate for the two last-named persons. No. 3 : Mr. G is a gentleman. Age, 24. Health good. Care of Messrs. Sam. McCausland and Co., Belfast.—(Signed) Geo. Vesey Stewart. No. 4: Mr. X , aged 49; M A X , aged 48. Health good in every respect. Occupation, farmer. Intends to settle at Katikati. Has paid for his land in full. —(Signed) Geo. Vesey Stewart. No. 5: C P , Esq. Age 23. Health excellent. Occupation, gentleman with means and income. Intends to settle at Katikati. Applicant has paid me in full for his land.—(Signed) Geo. Vesey Stewart. Enclosure 2 in No. 27. Form oe Application. The Agent-General for New Zealand. Sir, —I desire to be approved as an emigrant under the provisions of Mr. George Vesey Stewart's agreement with the New Zealand Government. I give below certain particulars which I hereby declare to be true and correct. (Signature.) (Address.) I am satisfied that the statements contained in this paper are, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true and correct in every particular. [To be signed by Mr. G. V. Stewart or his representative?^ , , , , « ~ Has Applicant made Names. 1 Ages. 2 Health. 3 Occupation. 4 . ~ „ , " , any arrangement 8 m the Colony.■ qq ?6 (') Full christian and surnames of the head and of all the members of the family must be given. ( 2) Ages last birthday of the head and of all the members of the family must be given. ( 3) If in good health, both mental and physical, the word " good " should be inserted in this column opposite each name ; if otherwise, the applicant must give full particulars on this form or in separate letter. ( 4) The applicant's present occupation must be given, and, if not at present employed, he must give the occupation which he has, as a rule, followed. The occupations of the adult members of his family must also be given. This form when filled up mußt be sent to Mr. G-. Vesey Stewart or his representative, who, on countersigning it, will transmit it to the Agent-General for New Zealand, 7, Westminster Chambers, London.

No. 28. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 25th February, 1878. I have the honor to forward to you a copy of further correspondence with Mr. Stewart. I have to state that, unless I am explicitly instructed to do so by you, I do not feel myself justified in placing the large and general powers in Mr. Stewart's hands which it seems to me he desires. I have had evidence, from inquiries made at this office, that the emigrants do consider responsibility attaches to the Government, and I feel the necessity of using great caution. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 28. Mr. G. V. Stewaet to the Agent-General. Sic, — Martray House, Ballygawley, sth February, 1878. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter (without date) January, 1878 ; and by last mail I also received a letter from the Hon. J. Macandrew, dated Wellington, 7th December last. I am glad to find therein (to quote Mr. Macandrew's own words) " The Government is not under any

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obligation to assist in obtaining emigrants for the Katikati Settlement. It is, at the same time, desired the Agent-General should, when he is cognizant of the terms of the agreement, do anything in in his power to forward your [my] views consistently with the entire freedom of the Government from all responsibility in the selection and sending out of any proposed settlers."' Such being your instructions, and as you have received the agreement with sketch plan to enable me to recognize the block, with all particulars of measurements, &c, all of which, when compared and found correct, I am quite prepared to sign, I apprehend, therefore, as all misunderstandings that have hitherto arisen in your mind (to my great anxiety and loss) are now at an end, the printed papers in schedule which you believed you should require to decide if the emigrants w rere desirable are thus rendered unnecessary. I am nevertheless most willing to meet your views in every way possible in the interests of general emigration outside of my special party, and will therefore be glad, in the matter of your Agents or otherwise, to have your valuable assistance, and should feel obliged for a list of your Scotch, English, and Irish Agents, with or without any letters of advice or introduction from you as you may consider most beneficial to the interests of the colony. I note your regret " that I did not think it necessary to furnish you [me] with copy of the telegram sent to you by Mr. Reid on the 31st July, &c. ;" but if you refer to my letter of the 16th October, 1877, you will find I did refer to the telegram to which you probably make reference, but it was not dated on 31st July, as stated by you,-but was dated 11.30 a.m., Government Buildings, Wellington, Ist August, and received by me on board the R.M.S. " Zealandia " after the first order had been given " for all to go on shore." I should, however, state, for your information, that this identical agreement of which you now send me a copy was finally settled by the Hon. Donald Reid and myself in July, 1877, was then printed by the Government at Wellington as a draft agreement, and approved at Wellington, was subsequently confirmed by the special meeting of the Auckland Waste Lands Board on 31st July, and was duly forwarded to you in your capacity as Agent-General in my pamphlet. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewaet.

Enclosure 2 in No. 28. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 9th February, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the sth instant. In reply, I have to state that if you desire the Agent-General's certificates I do not consider the Minister for Immigration's instructions free me from the necessity of requiring the information indicated in the forms I have sent you. Mr. Macandrew evidently means that lam not to make the Government responsible to the emigrant for the fulfilment of any engagement you may make with him, and he certainly does not intend to upset the clause in the agreement which refers to the AgentGeneral's certificates. I have already had the honor to inform you that I cannot give certificates without the information embodied in the form of which I have supplied you a copy. lam obliged by your offer to render assistance "in the interests of general immigration." As I am not at present sending out emigrants, I will not take advantage of it. I cannot give you a list of the Agents of the department without informing such Agents of the limitation and responsibility of the Government, as otherwise it seems to me I should depart from the instructions I have received. If you will inform me of the part of the country in which you desire to conduct operations, I will send you a list of the Agents in that part, and to each one address a letter such as I have given you a copy in my letter of 29th January. The telegram of Mr. Reid, concerning which I expressed my regret you did not send me a copy, was the one of which I gave you a copy in my last letter, which urged you not to leave the colony, and pointed out that the agreement was not finally settled. Considering that you had led me to believe that the agreement was virtually settled, and that you raised a question of the personal good faith of Mr. Reid, I naturally feel both regret and surprise at not being informed of this communication until the arrival of last mail. Tou do not say if you wish the agreement sent to Mr. Turbitt, or if you will come to London to sign it. I have, &c, G. Vesey Stewart, Esq., Julius Vogel, Martray House, Ballygawley. Agent-General.

Enclosure 3 in No. 28. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, 14th February, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th instant. With regard to Mr. Macandrew's instructions, your interpretation of his views on the subjectmatter of the certificates appears to me to be very much strained: his own words on this point show that the Agent-General will " do anything in his power to forward your [i.e., my] views, consistently with the entire freedom of the Government from all responsibility in the selection and sending out of my proposed settlers." However, as you now wish these particulars in the schedule to be signed by my proposed settlers, I will endeavour to carry out your views, and having given you all the information you required at the time with reference to Messrs. X , G , C , P , and X ,

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and as these gentlemen have since left the country for Katikati (and consequently unable to sign this schedule as lately required by you), I shall feel obliged to be favoured with your certificates in their behalf. I wush to conduct my emigration operations over the entire of Ireland and Scotland, the agricultural counties in the northern and central portions of England, also in Kent (to promote the cultivation of hops) ; and will feel obliged for the names of your Agents in these districts, also at Liverpool, Bristol, Plymouth, and such large shipping towns ; and, as four months have now elapsed since I first made this request to you, I should be glad to have this information if possible by return of post. I had the honor of informing you in my last that I would not put you to the trouble or inconvenience of sending me letters of introduction. My own name, as a private individual, would probably carry more weight than that of a paid agent for emigration purposes. I consider you have taken a great liberty in your remarks by again alluding to Mr. Reid's telegram. However, allow me to repeat, that the said agreement was finally settled, as stated by me, and that a verbatim copy of what you sent me appeared in my pamphlet of last October. I will have much pleasure in signing the agreement, as stated in my last, as early as I can conveniently do so in London. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure 4 in No. 28. The Secretary, Agent-General's Department, to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, 22nd February, 1878. I am directed by the Agent-General to forward to you a supply of the schedules or forms of application,* which it will be necessary for persons, wishing to be emigrants for the purpose of your agreement with the Government of New Zealand, to fill up, and, when countersigned by you, to be returned to this office. With regard to the persons whom you mention in your letter of the 14th instant as having already left the country for Katikati, I am directed to say that the Agent-General will, in the cases in which you have furnished information, transmit their certificates to the Government in New Zealand, leaving it to the Government to issue them to the persons referred to should they think fit to do so. Before, how rever, doing this, or furnishing you with a list of Local Agents, the Agent-General will require you to sign the agreement, a copy of which he has already sent to you, and which, at your request, is now awaiting your signature at this office. As soon as you have signed the agreement a list of the Local Agents will be furnished to you, and a circular letter (Form B) will at the same time be sent to each of them. Herewith I give a copy of telegram received from you this day, together with a copy of the reply sent by the A gent-General. I have, &c, G. V. Stewart, Esq., Walter Kennaway, Martray House, Ballygawley, Ireland. Secretary of the Department. Sub-Enclosure 1 to Enclosure 4 in No. 28. B. —Memorandum. {Proposed Circular Letter from Agent-General to Local Agents.) 187 . From Agent-General for New Zealand, 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W. To . Mr. George Vesey Stewart has made an arrangement to acquire from the Government of New Zealand land for a special settlement, upon which he agrees to introduce emigrants. I have to inform you that Mr. Stewart may desire to seek your aid, and, in that case, I shall be glad if you will render him such assistance as you conveniently can, upon such conditions as Mr. Stewart and yourself may agree. Tou will, however, understand that any arrangement you may make with Mr. Stewart does not commit the Government of New Zealand, or this department, to any liability, pecuniary or otherwise. Agent-General. Sub-Enclosure 2 to Enclosure 4 in No. 28. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-Geneeal. (Telegram.) 22nd February, 1878. Please telegraph when I may expect list of Government local agents. Ship will soon start. Last (list) useless unless sent forthwith. Geo. Vesey Stewart. Sub-Enclosure 3 to Enclosure 4 in No. 28. The Agent-Geneeal to Mr. G. V. Stewaet. (Telegram.) 22nd February, 1878. I have letters ready for Agents, and will give you list when you have signed agreement. Cannot do so before. J. Vogel. * For these forms vide Enclosure 2 in No. 27.

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Enclosure 5 in No. 28. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, 25th February, 1878. I have to acknowledge receipt of a letter this morning from Mr. Kennaway, dated 22nd instant, which I presume is in reply to my telegram of the 23rd instant. The supply of schedules or forms of applications therein referred to has not reached me. I have, however, informed you that such had long since been printed by me at my expense, and I enclose you herewith a blank form thereof. I note your remarks with regard to the gentlemen referred to in my letter of the 14th instant, and as you appear to ignore the instructions you have received from Mr. Macandrew (as conveyed in his letter to me of the 7th December last), and withhold these certificates without any just or reasonable cause, after all your previous requirements had been fully complied with, it only remains for me to await further direct instructions from the Government of New Zealand on the subject of further certificates. In my letters of the sth and. 14th instant I have already informed you I was quite prepared to sign the agreement upon being satisfied that it was correct. I have reasons for declining to meet Mr. Turbitt; but, as you appear so urgently to desire my signature, I will sign it upon the conditions already stated, in presence of the New Zealand Commissioner, Mr. Samuel Cochrane, New Zealand Office, Custom House Square, Belfast, as I have made appointments to meet him and several intending emigrants at his office on next Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewart. P.S. —If you send the agreement to Mr. Cochrane you will be good enough to send the map or certified tracing of the lands therein contained.

Enclosure 6 in No. 28. The Agent-General to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sijt,-^- 7, Westminster Chambers, 28th February, 1878. I am directed by the Agent-General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th instant, enclosing a copy of the forms which you state have been printed at your expense. The Agent-General desires me to direct your attention to the fact that, in printing the forms, the notes, giving directions as to the manner in which the forms should be filled up, have been omitted, and he therefore would be glad if you would use the forms sent to you from this office, as in those forms the notes are included. The Agent-General, with reference to } rour remark that he appears to ignore the Hon. Mr. Macandrew's instructions, desires me to say that, in declining to accept your interpretation of Mr. Macandrew's remarks made in a letter to yourself, it does not appear to him that he is acting in the manner you describe. Having ascertained from Mr. Cochrane that he is willing to act in the matter, the Agent-General will forward to him the agreement which he has received from the colony, for your signature. No map or certified tracing of the land has been received from the colon}-, so that the AgentGeneral is unable to comply with the request contained in the postscript to your letter. LTnless you see your way to sign the agreement the Agent-General directs me to say that he will be unable to take any further steps with reference to it. I have, &c, Geo. Vesey Stewart, Esq. Walter Kennaway.

No. 29. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to the Agent-General. (Telegram.) Jsth April, 1878. Stewart's agreement—Dispense with, clause seven. Inform him. Vogel, London. Macandrew.

No. 30. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to the Agent-General. Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, N.Z., 17th April, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 25th and 28th February respectively, forwarding copies of further correspondence with Mr. Vesey Stewart and other enclosures. By the same mail I am in receipt of a letter from Mr. Stewart setting forth certain difficulties which he has experienced in giving effect to the provision embodied in clause 7 of tho agreement with him. In order to remove any further difficulty, and to relieve both parties from an unpleasant correspondence, I have thought it best to dispense with clause 7. The class of emigrants selected by Mr. Stewart has been a very superior one, and, judging from the past, I think we may fully confide in his future selection. Indeed, lam disposed to think that it was perhaps a mistake at the outset inserting clause 7, imposing as it did upon you a specific duty which left you no option but strictly to adhere thereto. As it is, seeing that Mr. Stewart and his party will in all probability have sailed ere this reaches you, it is unnecessary for me to say more than express my regret that the strict fulfilment of your official duty has led to a correspondence which must, I have no doubt, have been disagreeable to both parties. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. J. Macandrew. 4—D. 3.

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No. 31. The Agest-Geneeal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sic,— 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 27th March, 1878. I have the honor to transmit herewith, for the information of the Government, copy of further correspondence which has taken place respecting the Katikati Special Settlement since the despatch of my letter No. 221, of 25th February last. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 31. The Sec'2Etaey, Agent-G-oneral's Department, to Mr. S. Cocheane. Sic,— 28tli February, 1878. I am directed by the Agent-General to transmit two parchment copies of an agreement for Mr. G-. Tesey Stewart's signature, and I am to request you to witness the same in the usual manner, and on both copies being duly executed to return them to this office. I also enclose a printed copy of the agreement, together with a printed copy of the Gazette notice setting apart the la,nd, both of which you can hand to Mr. Stewart on his signing the parchment copies. In section 17 it appears to mo that the word "dwelt" should be "dealt," and, should Mr. Stewart concur, be so good as to make the necessary alteration, and initial the same. 1 have, &c, Waltek Kennawax, 8. Cochrane, Esq. Secretary to the Department.

Enclosure 2 in No. 31. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. New Zealand Office, Customhouse Square, Belfast, Sir,— 2nd March, 1878. I beg to acknowledge receipt of Mr. Kennaway's letter of the 2Sth ultimo, and as my forms are identical with those that you have forwarded, and being bound with a block to be used as a duplicate and reference, I prefer to adopt them. However, to meet your wishes, and in order "to give the directions as to the manner in which these forms should be filled up," I will attach same to each of the application forms, and this, I presume, will meet with your approval. Reviewing the tone of your previous prolonged correspondence, and your action in the various matters of detail connected with tho formation of my settlement party, I regret much that I am compelled to adhere to my previously expressed opinion as to my interpretation of your decision with reference to the Hon. Air. Macandrew's instructions, to which I have alluded in my last letter. I consider it would be unreasonable and unfair towards my settlers to sign the agreement, in tho absence of a map or tracing of the lands, which I have purchased, and for which I have paid. If, however, you will undertake on behalf of the Government of New Zealand that the lands therein described are in exact accordance with the tracing submitted by me to the Waste Lands Board of Auckland, approved by that Board, as stated in their letters of April, 1877, and confirmed by Mr. Donald Reid, the Secretary for Crown Lands, I will, under the circumstances and subject to these condition, sign the agreement. In a former letter you stated you would not forward me a list of tho Local Agents for the Government of New Zealand (in this country) till such agreement was signed. I shall be glad to know if you still intend to adhere to such decision, as in the event of your declining "to meet my wishes in this matter, as desired by tho Hon. Mr. Macandrew," I must only appoint my own agents, thereby entailing considerable expense and delay; and, as a colonist, I consider that I have just cause for complaint at your conduct in the matter. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure 3 in No. 31. The Secretary, Agent-General's Department, to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sic,— 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., sth March, 1878. I am directed by the Agent-General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 2nd instant, and, in reply, to inform you that, without instructions, ho is unable to give you the guarantee as to the description of the land, of the nature mentioned by you therein. The Agent-General directs me further to inform you that he has sent a telegram to New Zealand, asking whether he shall give the guarantee you require; and also whether, in the event of your not fgi ing the agreement, he is to act under its provisions. Pending the reply of the Government, the Agent-General will adhere to his decision, already communicated to you, of not taking any further steps in the matter, unless the agreement is signed by you. I have, &c, Walter Kennaway, G. V. Stewart, Esq. Secretary to the Department.

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Enclosure 1 in No. 31. Mr. G. V. Stewaet to the Agent-General. Sir, — New Zealand Office, Customhouse Square, Belfast, Bth March, 1878. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Kennaway's letter of the sth instant, and regret you should have thought it necessary to incur the expense of a cablegram to New Zealand on the matter referred to, as it is impossible to convey a full explanation within such a necessarily small limit. As, however, such cablegram is a public document, I should feel obliged by being furnished with a copy thereof, or of such portion as may refer to me. Tour former persistent refusal to assist me, or, rather, " meet my wishes," as desired by the Hon. Mr. Macandrewr, had led me to fear your extraordinary decision, as expressed in Mr. Kennaway's letter—viz., " refusing to furnish " me with the names of your Local Agents, who might assist me in filling up the Belfast ship, and thus introduce a superior class of paying emigrants quite outside my special emigration party, which has long since been'filled up. I do not wish to intrude myself or services upon your duties as Agent-General, but the wealth and capital of my present party is such that I was anxious to introduce a body of good artizans and labourers, who, by proceeding at their owm expenses, would materially add to the prosperity of the settlement, and consequent advantage to the colony. However, no matter what loss or delay I may sustain through your unaccountable opposition, I have every confidence that tho Government of New Zealand will act towards me both honorably and loyally in the matter. I have, Ac, The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure 5 in No. 31. The Srcretary, Agent General's Department, to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir,— 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 12th March, 1878. I am directed by the Agent-General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Bth instant, and, in reply, to inform you that he does not admit that the telegram which he sent to the Government is a public document of such a nature as to entitle you to have a copy of the same. He has, however, in the present instance, no objection to your being furnished with copies, both of it and also of the reply which the Government have returned to it (copies herewith), by which you will see that the G-overnment will not anthorize the Agent-General to give you any guarantee of the nature mentioned in your letter of the 2nd instant. Tou will also observe that, in reply to tho Agent-General's question as to whether he is to act under the provisions of the agreement in event of your not signing it, the Government desire him to wait until he has received letters from them on the subject. I have, &c, Walter Kennaway. G. Vesey Stewart, Esq. Secretary to the Department.

Sub-Enclosure l.to Enclosure 5 in No. 31. Copy of Telegram sent sth March, 1878, to the Government of New Zealand. Stewart refuses sign agreement, because no tracing land. Wants me guarantee that land accords exactly with tracing submitted by him to Laud Board, Auckland. Shall I ? Also if he not sign am I to act under agreement ?

Sub-Enclosure 2 to Enclosure 5 in No. 31. Copy of Reply received 11th March, 1878, from the Government of New Zealand. Stewart —Land substantially same, but guarantee nothing further. Questions wait letters.

Enclosure 6 in No. 31. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Sir, — Martray House, Ballygawley, 20th March, 1878. I have received Mr. Kennaway's letter dated 12th instant, enclosing copy of your telegram and reply from the Government ofNNcrw r Zealand. I should feel obliged by your forwarding to me copies of any further instructions you may receive from the Government relating to my special settlement. I have, &c. The Agent-General for New Zealand. Geo. Vesey Stewart,

Enclosure 7 in No. 31. Mr. S. Cochrane to the Agent-General. ant,— 25th March, 1878. Referring to your instructions respecting the obtaining Mr. Stewart's signature to the agreement forwarded by you, I beg to inform you that Mr. Stewart declines to execute the same, there being no map or plan of the property attached thereto ; but is prepared to do so when there is such a map or plan. I will forward the deed to you in due course. I have, &c. Samuel Cochrane.

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Enclosure 8 in No. 31. The Secretary. Agent-General's Department, to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 25th March, 1878. I have received directions from the Agent-General to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th instant. I have, &c, j Walter Kennaway, Geo. Vesey Stewart, Esq. Secretary to the Department.

No. 32. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to the Agent-General. Sic, — Immigration Office, Wellington, New Zealand, 16th May, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th March, No. 271, transmitting copies of further correspondence which has taken place respecting the Katikati Special Settlement, and to thank you for the same. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. J. Macandrew.

No. 33. The Commissioner of Crown Lands, Auckland, to the Under Secretary for Immigration, Wellington. Sir,— Crown Lands Office, Auckland, 10th July, 1878. I have the honor to forward, for the information of the Hon. the Minister for Lands, the enclosed copy of further correspondence that has passed between the A.gent-General, London, and Mr. George Vesey Stew:art, in reference to the special settlement lately organized by the latter gentleman in Ireland. I have, &c, The Hnder Secretary for Crown Lands, D. A. Tole, Wellington. Commissioner of Crown Lands.

Enclosure in No. 33. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Chairman of the Waste Lands Board, Auckland. Sir,— Martray House, Ballygawley, 21st March, 1878. I have the honor to enclose you copies of further and, I trust, final correspondence with the Agent-General for New Zealand.* The correspondence commenced in the end of September last, and we are now at the same point where we started, viz., that the Agent-General has refused to give me certificates for three gentlemen who have already left for Katikati, and has further refused even to supply me with a list of the Local Agents for the Government of New Zealand in this country, and which, if given, would considerably expedite my movements in filling up my special ship from Belfast with desirable emigrants outside my party. I have, in consequence, been obliged to appoint my own agents, to create a fresh current of emigration to contend with the counter current working against me, as T find that the Government offices at Hope Street, Edinburgh, and other places under the influence of 7, Westminster Chambers, decline the slightest assistance or even information. I appeal to your Board, as gentlemen of business habits, if I w ras not justified in declining to sign an agreement in the absence of any map or even tracing. I have received no letter from my surveyor, Mr. Patrick, in the matter, and had no means of ascertaining if tile back boundary line of No. 2 settlement was made as marked out by myself. lam awrare that the original back boundary, as laid out by Government, contains about 1,500 acres of useless bust au(i precipitous land. Mr. Patrick and I made considerable alterations in this boundary, and, as my people are buying this land upon the faith of my honor, I do feel reluctant to run the risk of being bound to take land that I had previously rejected. Ido not and will not ask or desire anything but what is right, reasonable, and honorable: I have equal confidence in the honor and integrity of your Board, and will sign the agreement upom my arrival in Auckland, on receiving the report of my surveyor that the boundaries are correct and in accordance with your letters of April, 1877. However, you will be pleased to hear that I have chartered the magnificent clipper " Lady Jocelyn " from Messrs. Shaw, Savill, and Co., for the conveyance of my party. W Te leave Belfast on 17th May, and hope to reach Auckland by the first week in August. I have, &c, D. A. Tole, Esq., Chairmau, Waste Lands Board, Geo. Vesey Stewart. Auckland. * Correspondence forwarded the same as Enclosure 6 in No. 28, and Enclosures 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 in Wo. 31.

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No. 34. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to Mr. G. V. Stewart. Sic,— Wellington 20th July, 1878. Tour several letters came duly to hand. I was glad to hear that you had so successfully arranged for the conveyance of your party to New Zealand, and hope in a few days hence to hear of your arrival all well. In the meantime, directions have been given to telegraph to Wellington the moment your ship is signalled, with a view to the Government steamer Hinemoa being despatched to Auckland (should she be available at the time) to carry yourself and party to Katikati. If, however, it should happen that the steamer is not available, you will, I trust, take the will for the deed. I need not say that the future progress of the settlement depends very much on the continued manifestation of that spirit of selfreliance which has hitherto distinguished the undertaking. On behalf of the colony allow me to give to yourself and friends a hearty welcome to our shores, and to congratulate you as the founder of what promises to be a happy and prosperous community. I have, &c, J. Macandeew, Mr. G. Vesey Stewart, Auckland. Minister for Immigration.

By Authority : Geoege Didsbuby, Government Printer, Wellington.—lB7B. Price, Is. 3d.]