PROPOSED ALTERATIONS AND REDUCTIONS IN AGENT-GENERAL'S OFFICE (PAPERS RELATIVE TO). [In continuation of D.-28, 1878.]

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1879 Session II, D-03

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Sess. 11.—1879. NEW ZEALAND.

PROPOSED ALTERATIONS AND REDUCTIONS IN AGENT-GENERAL'S OFFICE (PAPERS RELATIVE TO). [In continuation of D.-28, 1878.]

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

No. 1. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetaey. Sib,— 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 12th February, 1879. In continuation of my previous letters, No. 634, of 17th July last, to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration, and No. 127, of 28th January, to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary, I have now the honor to report to you the reductions I have made and am making in my department. First, however, I may observe that I have necessarily delayed them beyond the time I proposed on account of the emigration operations of the season having been extended beyond the date I expected when I informed you that I would commence the reductions at an earlier period. Tou are aware that by a supplementary order the number of emigrants was increased ; and subsequently I was directed to send out a steamer with a second addition. I mentioned to you previously that, under the positive instructions you gave me to make reductions, I felt compelled to waive any personal inconvenience I might sustain, and to dispense with the services of my private secretary. The duties of the Agent-General are unequal in extent. Sometimes they are very onerous, sometimes they are quite light. More or less, there is constantly useful work for his "private secretary which he cannot very well himself perform. Mr. Hoey was exceptionally useful on account of his acquaintance with public departments, with the world of the Press, and of his being accustomed to correct proofs and deal with matter for publication. I shall feel his loss, but I will try to make its effect on my public duties as light as possible. 1 throw out as a suggestion that it might be worth the while of the Government to allow me to engage the services of a shorthand writer at about £200 a year. I could dictate to him paragraphs, articles, and replies to letters which unaided I could not think of undertaking. These matters are outside the routine work of the Agent-General, and therefore I am inviting rather than avoiding extra work. I have excellent facilities for obtaining admission to newspaper columns, and I believe that, with the assistance of a good shorthand writer, I could do you as good service in the way of publicity as half-a-dozen lecturers. Mr Cashel Hoey leaves at the end of this month. He would have left at the end of December, but that I deputed to him some special work in connection with bringing out a pamphlet upon the iron and coal resources of New Zealand, the materials for which were sent to me by Mr. Macandrew. The Scotch Agency I have dispensed with. In its stead I have made a separate arrangement with Mr. Ottywell (copy enclosed), by which he acts as an ordinary Agent, and as despatching officer for Scotch ships. The payment is by results, and he ceases to be in the service of the Government. I am inclined to think the change is an improvement. All applications will now be finally settled at the Head Office, and I shall have better control over and fuller responsibility for the emigrants despatched. It also leads to my separating the Irish from the Scotch Agency, an arrangement which worked indifferently well. I am looking out for some one to take, in Ireland, a similar position to that Mr. Ottywell has in Scotland in regard to acting as agent and in selecting emigrants. I notice that Mr. Eeed is coming Home as Emigration Agent. Ido not precisely understand what his position is to be, but it occurs to me I may be able to arrange with him to look after the Irish emigration. As regards the local Agents I have, after much consideration, decided to dispense with all the agencies at present established in Ireland, with the exception of two in the northern district of that

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country. The large number of direct applications received from Ireland leads me to believe that I can obtain the full proportion of emigrants from that country without the assistance of local agents ; and,, moreover, I think that the selections will be more satisfactorily conducted by employing a special agent whose experience has taught him what class of emigrants the colony really requires, and whose recommendations could be relied on. I shall dispense, also, with all the Agents in England, excepting only a few who, for special reasons, I think it would be well to retain. I believe that, with the assistance of Mr. Berry and Mr. Holloway, and by means of advertising, &c, I shall obtain as many suitable emigrants as will be required from this part of the United Kingdom, and probably also improve their selection. As regards Scotland, I am not at present prepared to make so sweeping a reduction as in England and Ireland, as that country is but thinly inhabited, and there is more difficulty in obtaining its due proportion of suitable emigrants. I shall therefore content myself with reducing the number of Agents in that country to twenty-six. The mode in which I thus propose to deal with the question of local agencies will, I estimate, reduce the expenditure hitherto incurred in that way by at least £1,000 per annum, but it will considerably increase the amount of work to be done at this office. I shall also probably find it necessary to increase the number of the newspapers in which emigration advertisements are inserted. I intended to dispense with Mr. Smith as an officer of the department, and to pay him for his services at so much an emigrant. lam convinced, however, that such an arrangement would be more costly than the present salary paid him. As for not using his services, I cannot bring myself to do so great a wrong to the colony as would be involved irr ceasing to employ orre who discharged his duties so faithfully and ably. The emigrants are immensely indebted for their comfort to Mr. Smith's firm and conscientious action. I have therefore come to the conclusion to remove Mr. Smith and Mr. Shortt, who solely perform emigration duties, from the ordinary staff of the office, and to employ them only as emigration officers, and pay them out of the money provided for emigration purposes. I trust this arrangement will meet with your approbation. I observe with pleasure that you do not grudge expenditure for emigration purposes, as shown by the officers you are sending Home to lecture. I quite concur in thinking that a little extra expense is nothing compared with the value of securing the best class of emigrants, and lam obliged by any assistance you give me in this direction. You will, however, recognize that the comfort of the emigrant on his way out, which he reports to his friends here, largely aids the procuring of other emigrants willing to follow. I consider, therefore, that in Mr. Smith I have the most useful adjunct to the selection of good emigrants. I propose to let two of the rooms of the Agency, and hope by this means to reduce the rent by £80 a year. The changes I am making will reduce the expenditure to about £3,734, as per statement attached, leaving £265 for contingencies. Of course cablegrams to the colony, which are sometimes very costly, cannot come out of this balance. The expense of the Audit officer's room ought to be charged to the Audit Department, and I think, for the purpose, £40 per airnum should be transferred from the AgentGeneral's expenditure. I have slightly increased the salaries of Mr. Shortt, Mr. McKilliam, and Mr. Sison, as per minute enclosed of Mr. Kennaway, which I cordially indorse. I have also increased the salary of Mr. D. Fenn, who acts partly as clerk and partly as messenger, and who, I think, is entitled to this small addition. The staff of the department will now be reduced to very little more than a quarter of what it formerly was. I doubt if the margin left under £4,000 is quite sufficient for contingencies, and I would suggest increasing the vote by £250. I have the honor also to recommend that Mr. Kennaway be designated Assistant Agent-General, instead of Secretary. There is a precedent for this in the South Australian Office, where Mr. Deering holds the appointment lam now suggesting for Mr. Kennaway. I must ask you, as a personal relief to myself, to allow Mr. Kennaway to sign cheques in my absence. During the upwards of two years I have been at Home I have never been absent from London more than three or four days at a time. Had I to be absent for a longer time cheques would have to follow me through the post, a practice I should dread. In making the recommendation to appoint Mr. Kennaway Assistant Agent-General I am assuming, of course, that the title of Agent-General is to be continued. There is, however, I think, much to be said in favour of altering this title, and the status of the Agent-General. The designation is, I believe, borrowed from that which was formerly borne by the representative of the New England States before the declaration of American independence. But it does not do justice to the many responsibilities and the true position of the officer in question. It is open also to much misconstruction, of which, indeed, there is a ludicrous instance on record. The Agent-General of Victoria some years ago ordered the words " Agent-General" to be inscribed on some blinds, in gold letters. Much to his consternation, he found that the artist considered " General Agent" the more correct phrase. It seems to me that the f unctions of Agents-General are eminently representative, and that they should be called Eesident Ministers in England, for their respective colonies. At the same time, I think they should have a defined position amongst the Queen's servants, which at present they have not. They are, in fact, without any rank at all. 1 think, too, that many things which now pass through the Governors of colonies with some risk of disturbing the harmonious relations between the colonies and the mother-country might be dealt with by the Eesident Minister, under direct instructions from the Governor in Council; and so the suspicion of personal government be avoided. Ton will, I hope, acquit me of any personal object in making this recommendation. As an ex-Premier of New Zealand the change would not improve my position, for the colony has no greater honor to bestow 7 than that which is enjoyed by one who is fortunate enough to have held that high positioir. The rank of Eesident Minister should, I thiuk, be the same as that of an ordinary Minister. Ido not think he should necessarily retire with a Government any more than Ambassadors are in the habit of so doing. An Agent-General's position should, in my opinion, be analogous to that of an Ambassador, making allowance for the fact that he is representing a portion of the same Empire. I find, from a conversation I have had with Sir Archibald

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Michie, that he thinks as strongly as Ido that the designation of Agent-General is a mistake. He finds, as I have found, that there are people who consider it to mean a general agency of the most enlarged description of a commercial character. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 1. The Agent-Geneeal to Mr. A. O. Otttwell. Sib,— 23rd December, 1878. Eeferring to my interview with you on the 6th instant, I have to inform you that I am prepared to appoint you local Ageirt at Edinburgh and Glasgow under the conditions, as to the duties to be performed and as to the remuneration to be received by you, contained in the enclosed copy of instructions to local Agents. Up to the end of the present term, in May next, I will place the office at 3, Hope Street, Edinburgh, and such office furniture therein as is the property of the New Zealand Government, at your disposal free of charge. In consideration of your satisfactorily performing the work of inspecting, fitting, &c, of any ships despatched with Government emigrants to New Zealand from Glasgow, also the inspection and management of the embarkation, &c, of the emigrants, and general despatching officer's work, I am prepared to pay you the following rate of fees: that is to say, four shillings per statute adult on the number of emigrants despatched during the year, up to fifteen hundred (1,500), and two shillings per statute adult for any over that number. These fees to cover your travelling aird all your other incidental expenses connected with your duties as despatching officer —provided, however, that in case a short ship takes a less number than ten (10) statute adults, I will allow you the sum of one pound (£1) towards your travelling expenses. It must be further understood, both as regards your agency and despatching officer's work, that you must not carry on any business that I may consider injurious to the interests you have in charge. The arrangement set forth in this letter to commence on the first of January next. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, A. 0. Ottywell, Esq. Agent-General.

Enclosure 2 in No. 1. Instructions to Local Agents for the Selection of Emigrants to New Zealand. 1. Local Agents must address all their communications to the Agent-General for 'New Zealand, 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W. 2. The duties of a local Agent corrsist chiefly in affording information within his district as to the state and prospects of the colony ; and in selecting, when directed to do so, persons duly qualified for assisted passages under the regulations which may be in force at the time, and uuder the special instructions he may receive from the Agent-General. 3. A copy of the regulations in force under which emigrants are selected for passages will be supplied. AVith the conditions, directions, and cautions contained in these regulations the local Agent is required to make himself well acquainted. 4. The selection of emigrants must be strictly confined to persons of the working-classes, who have established a character for industry, sobriety, and general good conduct, and who are going out with the intention of settling in the colony, and working there for wages. Eedueed tradesmen and others not belonging to the working class, or those who, though of the labouring class, have been in the habitual receipt of parochial aid, are decidedly ineligible. 5. When the local Agent is satisfied as to the eligibility of the applicants he will require them to fill up the form of application annexed to the regulations, which should not, however, be issued to any but apparently eligible candidates. 6. AVhen the form of application is returned to the local Agent he will carefully examine it to see that it is complete, and that it does not show the applicant to be in any respect disqualified. He will next carefully examine the applicant in order to check the statements as to age, trade, or calling, &c, in the form of application. If the applicant appears not to belong to one of the required classes, to have been guilty of any deceptiorr or wilful misstatement, or to have any bodily or mental defect likely to impair his or her usefulness as a labourer or servant, or to be on any other account ineligible, the Agent will at once reject the application. 7. The local Agent will next ascertain that the applicant can procure the required clothing for the voj 7age, can make the requisite payment, or meet the expense of bedding and mess utensils mentioned in the regulations, and can provide, where necessary, the means of joining the ship. 8. The next step will be to ascertain, by careful inquiry, that the applicants for passages are persons of good character and of sober and industrious habits. This is very important. The local Agent will make inquiry of the householders who may have signed the certificate ; arrd, if they do not themselves appear to be trustworthy persons, or if their opportunities of knowing the applicant have been insufficient, the local Agent will require the applicant to obtain other signatures. 9. In case of single women unaccompanied by married relatives the local Agent will make inquiries of the applicant's employer or referees, and transmit their answers to the Agent-General with the application. He must also, either personally or by a sub-agent, examine the candidate as to her character and qualifications, and endorse a special report on these points on the form of application, stating the time and place of the examination.

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10. When the local Agent has completed the inquiries herein indicated he will sign the application, and transmit it to the office of the Agent-General for New Zealand, 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W. 11. The local Agent must distinctly understand tlrat all application forms are to be submitted to the Agent-General for approval; consequently he must on no account promise a passage to any one ; but, on the contrary, he must warn applicants that the fact of filling up the forms confers no claim whatever to a passage —that unless, after their papers have been sent to this office, they receive a notice stating that the Agent-General can grant them a passage, and calling upon them to pay the usual deposit, they are on no account to leave any employment they may have, or make any preparation for departure ; and that, if they fail to attend to this warning, they must bear any loss and disappointmerrt that may 7 accrue, and will have no claim on the Agent-General. 12. The local Agent will let the emigrants distinctly understand that, when once summoned to embark, unless they attend on the appointed day, or give timely notice (say, at least fourteen days) of their inability (through illness) to do so, they will not again receive a passage, and that the payments they have made will be forfeited. 13. The local Agent must be careful to ascertain, as early as possible, if there are likely to be any defaulters ; adopting such steps as he may think necessary for immediately removing any doubts on the subject, and informing tho Agent-Geueral without delay if defaulters should arise, in order that their places may be supplied. 14. If the local Agent should have reason to suspect that any parties, whether selected by himself or not, are going out at the public expense who ought not to obtain passages, he will inquire into the circumstances and report them to the Agent-General. 15. In the performance of his duty the local Agent will carefully avoid over-stating the benefits to be expected from emigration ; and will impress on all applicants that industry, frugality, and general good conduct are as essential to success in the colonies as at Home. 16. As it would be obviously unjust to use the funds of one colony in providing passages for persons who intend to proceed to another colony, the local Agent must be careful to ascertain beforehand that the applicants intend to settle in New Zealand. The local Agent should also ascertain whether the applicants hava been in Australia and New Zealand, as, if such is the case, the applicants are ineligible. 17. In order to prevent any erroneous statements being put forth the local Agent is not permitted to issue any advertisement, placard, or other document without the previous sauction and approval of the Agent-General. The cost of advertisements sanctioned by the Agent-General will be paid by him The local Agent is recommended to write his name and address at the lower left-hand corner of any forms he may issue to inquirers. 18. No local Agent is to canvass for emigrants irr the districts assigned to other Agents. 19. In his correspondence the local Agent should not include in one letter more than a single subject; for example, tho forwarding of accounts, or of applications for passages, should each form a separate communication. Each letter should have an inner margin, the different paragraphs should be numbered, and care should be taken to compress into one paragraph all observations relating to the same person or matter. 20. The local Agent must prepay all letters and parcels forwarded by him to the Agent-General. 21. If a local Agent wishes to appoint sub-agents the names, occupations and addresses of the persons proposed must, before they are allowed to act, be submitted to the Agent-General for approval. The sub-agents are not to correspond direct with the Agent-General on the business of the agency, but must make all their communications to the local Agent, who appoints and remunerates them, and who will be held responsible for their acts and defaults. 22. Subject to the conditions herein contained the local Agents will receive for their services, in respect of such persons of their selection as may be approved by the Agent-General, arrd finally sail in one of his vessels, the lollowing fees, payable at the conclusion of the emigration season, viz : — On each married couple, including children under seventeen years of age, 205.; on each single man, 7s. ; a fee will be allowed on any single man of seventeen years of age or upwards accompanying his parents provided he is eligible as regards health, occupation, &c.; on each single woman, viz.—servants of all-work, dairymaids, cooks, kitchenmaids, housemaids, and nursemaids, above seventeen years of age, 15s. ; a fee will be allowed on any single woman of seventeen years of age or upwards accompanying her parents, provided she is eligible as regards health, occupation, &c. No fees will be payable—lst. Uporr daughters and sons under seventeen years of age accompanying their parents ; 2nd. AVhere the persons selected are above forty-five years of age at the time of embarkation ; 3rd. Where they may prove at the port of embarkation to be ineligible, and the AgentGeneral, in order to avoid inflicting hardship, shall allow them to proceed; 4th. Where the applicants do not actually sail in a ship despatched by the Agent-General; sth. Where the applicants have been nominated for passages in the colony. The above fees are to be the only remuneration of the local Agent, and are to cover postages, carriage of parcels, and other incidental expenses of the local Agency. 23. Any money which applicants may be called upon by the Agent-General to pay is to be transmitted direct to this office —by the applicants themselves, and not through the local Agent—by means of bank drafts payable at sight, or by Post Office orders enclosed in a letter of advice addressed as directed in clause No. 1 of these instructions. 24. The local Agent is not to receive, under any pretence whatever, any money or other remuneration from applicants or others for any services rendered in his capacity as local Agent. 25. The accounts for local Agency should be forwarded to the Agent-General, for examination and settlement, as soon as practicable after the conclusion of the emigration season in each year. The Agent-General does not undertake to settle accounts during the emigration season. Julius Vogel, 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Agent-General for New Zealand. Westminster, S.W., 13th March, 1878.

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Enclosure 3 in No. 1. Memorandum to the Agent-Geneeal. I attach list of salaries payable to the present permanent officers of this department; also amount of rent payable after allowing for the rental of three rooms. With regard to the miscellaneous expenditure, such as stationery, &c, I do not give any estimate, because it is not possible to do so unless it is defined what is regarded as permanent ordinary expenditure and what as special, and therefore chargeable against emigration, public works, &c. With reference to the officers of the department, I venture to make the following remarks: — Both Mr. Shortt and Mr. Sison, the former as Chief Emigration Clerk, and the latter acting as Emigration Cashier, will have, now that the Scotch Agency is dispensed with, increased responsible work so long as emigration is continued. Mr. Shortt has acted as clerk under Mr. Morrison and the Agents-General for nearly fourteen years. Mr. Sison has annually £3,000 to £4,000 passing through his hands in small sums, and pays £2 10s. annual premium on his guarantee policy. He has been in the service nearly seven years. Mr. McKilliam pays also £2 10s. premium for his guarantee. If it were possible to do so, I would recommend an increase of £20 to Mr. Shortt's salary, and £10 each to Mr. Sison's and Mr. McKilliam's. The concentration of work to be done at this office caused by the dispensing with local agencies and the Scotch office, and the increase of correspondence which will no doubt take place as the result of the lectures which it is proposed to give throughout the country, will oblige the officers of the department to work overtime even to a greater extent than they have hitherto done, and the slight increase of salary which I have named will, 1 believe, prove an incentive to such extra work being willingly given. 31st January, 1879. W. Kennaway. £ s. d. Agent-General ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,500 0 0 Secretary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 800 0 0 Accountant ... ... ... ... ... ... 500 0 0 Clerk ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 225 0 0 Clerk ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 140 0 0 Clerk ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 130 0 0 Messengers ... ... ... ... ... ... 78 0 0 Eent ... ... ... ... ... £401 4 0 Less Eent of Audit Officer's room ... ... 40 0 0 361 4 0 Total ... ... ... ... ... ... £3,734 4 0

By Anthority : Geoege Didsbtjev, Government Printer, Wellington.—1879.

Price 6d.]