Papers Past | Parliamentary Papers | Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1884 Session I

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1883. NEW ZEALAND.

INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883.

REPORT OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, HELD IN SYDNEY, IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER, 1883. 1. MINUTES OE PROCEEDINGS. 2. CORRESPONDENCE LAID BEFORE THE CONVENTION. 3. PAPERS LAID BEEORE THE CONVENTION.

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

By Authority : George Didsbuky, Government»Printer, Wellington.—lBB3.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. 28ifA NOVEMBER, 18S3. (First Day.) The undermentioned Gentlemen, Representatives of the Colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, New Zealand, Tasmania, and Western Australia were present, and handed in their Commissions, which having been read, it was resolved that their substance should be published. ZV(?m> South Wales: The Honorable Alexandee Stuaet, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorable Geoege Kiciiaed Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer. TnE Honorable William Bede Dailet, Q.C., M.L.C., Attorney- General. New Zealand: The Honorable Majoe Haeby Albeet Atkinson, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honoeable Feedeeick Wiiitakee, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney-General. Queensland: The Honoeable Samuel Walker Geiffitii, Q.C., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honoeable James Feancis Gaebick, Q.C., M.L.C., Postmaster General. South Australia : The Honoeable John Cox Beay, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. The Honoba'ble J. W. Downee, Q.C., M.P., AttorneyGeneral. Tasmania: The Honorable William Robert Giblin, M.P., Premier and Attorney-General. The Honorable Nicholas J. Brown, M.P., Minister of Lands and Works. Victoria: The Honoeable James Service, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honoeable Geaham Beery, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Honoeable Geoege Beiscoe Kebfeed, M.P., Attorney- General. Western Australia : The Honoeable Malcolm Feaser, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary. On the motion of the Honorable James Seevice, it was unanimously resolved that the Honorable Alexander Stuart be appointed President. A communication from His Excellency Sir Geoeoe William Dcs Vceux, K.C.M.G., Governor of Fiji and Acting High Commissioner of the Western Pacific, on the subject of the representation of Fiji at the Conference, was read, and a resolution passed that the Conference would be glad, if Sir William Dcs Vceux were so inclined, that he should take part in the proceedings of the Conference as representing Fiji. A communication to this effect was accordingly forwarded to Sir William Dcs Vceux, who shortly afterwards took his seat in the Convention, and expressed his views as to his position there. 331—A A

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF THE INTERCOLONIAL CONTENTION, 1883, HELD IN SYDNEY, NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 1883.

A communication was read from Messrs. Leefe and Langton, claiming to have been appointed by the European portion of the community of Fiji, requesting to be permitted to present a Memorial, and to represent that Colony at the Convention. The consideration of the subject was deferred. Mr. Dalley moved, That in all official references to their body the term Conference should be employed in lieu of Convention; but after some discussion, and on its being pointed out that some of the commissions of members contained the word Convention, the motion was by leave withdrawn, and it was arranged the word Convention should be used. Mr. Seevice moved, " That the Press be admitted on such occasions as from Time to time this Convention may determine," but afterwards withdrew the motion, and gave notice of it for the next day. Me. Dibbs proposed, and Mb. Beay seconded, the following motion, which was unanimously adopted:— 1. That in referring to the several Colonies represented in any proceedings of the Convention, the names be placed in alphabetical order. 2. That in the event of any Division upon a motion, the votes of the Colonies shall be taken, in lieu of the individual votes of their Eepresentatives. 3. That the Order of Debate be the same as is observed in consideration of Questions in a Committee of the Whole House of Parliament, but that the Chairman have the same right as any other member to take part in the discussion of any Questions. 4. That Mr. Alex. C. Budge be the Secretary to the Convention, and that he be required to keep Minutes of each day's proceedings, which shall be printed and circulated. Me. Geiffith moved, and it was resolved, " That the Minutes of each day's proceedings be made public by the Secretary." Mr. Stuaet laid before the Convention a letter from His Excellency Governor Dcs Vceux, of Fiji, to His Excellency Lord Augustus Loftus, covering a, memorandum on the future of New Guinea and Polynesia, with reference to the Question of Australasian Annexation or Protectorate. Ordered to be printed. Mr. Beay moved, and it was unanimously resolved, That the Conference meet daily at 10 o'clock, a.m., unless otherwise ordered. Mr. Giblin laid before the Convention a letter from Mr. Audley Coote, Hawaaian Consul, Hobart, Tasmania, protesting against annexation of the various Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Ordered to be printed. Mr. Giblin moved, That a Committee consisting of Messrs. Service, Atkinson, and Griffith, be appointed to examine the correspondence and other papers laid before the Convention, with a view to the printing of such portion as may be considered necessary. The Convention deliberated upon the order of their proceedings. Me. Seevice undertook to hand to the Secretary a draft of Resolutions to be submitted to the Convention embodying the views of the Representatives of Victoria. Me. Geiffith handed to the Secretary a draft of Resolutions embodying the views of the Representatives of Queensland. Ordered that the draft Resolutions be printed and circulated amongst members of the Convention. The Convention adjourned at 4 p.m.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. mh NOVEMBER, 1883. (Second Day.) Present .— Mji: His Excellency Sic G-. William Dcs V<eitx, K.C.M.G., Governor of Fiji and H.B.M.'s Acting High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. New South Wales: The Honobable Alexandeb Stitaet, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorable Geoege Richaed Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer. The Honoeable William Bede Dallet, Q. 0., M.L.C., Attorney- General. New Zealand: The Honobable Majoe Haeby Albeet Atkinson, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honoeable Feedeeick Whitakee, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney-General. Queensland: The Honoeable Samuel Walkee Geiffith, Q. 0., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honoeable James Feancis Gabeick, Q.C., M.L.C., Postmaster General. South

South Australia: The Honoeable John Cox Beat, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. The Honoeable J. W. Downee, Q.C., M.P., AttorneyGenera]. Tasmania : The Honobable "William Eobebt Giblin, M.P., Premier and .Attorney-General. The Honoeable Nicholas J. Bbown, M.P., Minister of Lands and Works. Victoria: The Honoeable James Service, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honobable Geaiiam Bebet, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Honorable Geoege Beiscoe Keefeed, M.P., Attorney-General. Western Australia .- The Honorable Malcolm '.Feasee, C.M.G-., Colonial Secretary. The President drew attention to the letter of Messrs. Leefe and Langton, received by the Convention yesterday, and stated that having been addressed on this subject by Mr. Leefe, he had requested Mr. Dalley to advise him upon the subject, who had given an opinion, which the President read to the Convention. Mr. Beat moved, — " That Messrs. Leefe and Langton be informed that the Memorial must be presented through a member of the Convention." Upon which an Amendment was moved by Mr. Whitakee, —That all the words after the word " informed" be omitted, with the view of inserting the following : — " That they will be admitted to present the Memorial, but that the Convention at this stage is not prepared to hear them in support of it. v Question, —That the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the Question. Ayes. Noes. New South Wales, New Zealand, South Australia, Queensland. Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia. The Amendment was therefore lost. The Question was then put, as proposed by Mr. Beat, and carried. Upon the motion of Mr. Beat, it was resolved, — " That Messrs. Leefe and Langton be further informed that when the Memorial shall have been thus received, the Convention will consider whether any further steps can be taken in regard thereto, and that its decision therein will be communicated to them." Mr. Seevice, in pursuance of notice, moved, — " That the Press be admitted on such occasions as from time to time this Convention may determine." Mr. Dibbs moved, as an Amendment, " That all the words after the word ' That' be omitted, with the view of inserting the following : —[That] ' except by publication of the Minutes, the proceedings be not made public during the sitting of the Convention, without its sanction.' " Question put, —That the words proposed to be omitted stand part of the Question. Ayes. Noes. New Zealand. New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia. The Amendment was then put and carried. The following drafts of Resolutions were laid upon the table : — By Mr. Seevice — 1. That it is essential to the future well-being of Australasia that Eastern New Guinea and the Western Pacific Islands from the Equator to the New Hebrides should not fall into the hands of any Eoreign Power. 2. That, in order to preclude the possibility of so disastrous an event, it is desirable to urge on the Imperial Government the necessity of at once- either annexing such of those lands in respect to which no understanding exists with any other Power, or of establishing such a protectorate over them as will secure them from foreign occupation. 3. That the Colonies represented at this Convention are willing to bear such share of the cost entailed on the Mother Country by such annexation or protectorate as may be deemed fair and reasonable. 4. That, on behalf of our respective Colonies, we protest in the strongest manner against the proposal of the French Nation to pour out on any of these Pacific Islands the off-scourings of their own people ; and we appeal to the Imperial Government and to our countrj'men at Home to save this portion of the Empire from so dire a calamity. 5. That, in view of the foregoing Resolutions, and of the many subjects of pressing importance on which the Colonies, though of one mind, are unable to obtain united action owing to the absence of some common authority, the time has now arrived for drawing closer the ties which bind the Colonies to each other by the establishment of a Federal Union in regard to such matters as this Convention shall specifically determine. By

By Mr. Griffith— i. 1. That in the opinion of this Conference it is essential to the safety and welfare of the British Dominions in Australasia that no portion of the neighbouring islands, and especially that no portion of the Eastern half of the Island of New Guinea, should fall into the hands of any Foreign Power. 2. That the rapid extension of Australasian enterprise and trade, and the attention which has for some time past been drawn to New Guinea, render it certain that that island will shortly be inhabited by many adventurous subjects of Great Britain and other nations, whose relations with the native tribes, in the absence of any provisions for the maintenance of law and order and the protection of life and property, cannot fail to give rise to serious difficulty and embarrassment. 3. That having regard to these considerations, and considering further that the provisions of the Foreign Jurisdiction Acts and the Orders-in-Council for the government of British subjects in the Western Pacific are wholly inadequate to meet the requirements of existing circumstances, this Conference, while fully recognizing that the responsibility of extending the boundaries of the Empire belongs to the Imperial Government, resolves, that it is urgently necessary, as well for the security of the Australasian portion of Her Majesty's Dominions as for the prevention of otherwise inevitable evils, that such measures should at once be adopted as will most conveniently and effectively secure the ultimate incorporation with the British Empire of that portion of the Island of New Guinea which is not claimed by any Civilized Power, and further that immediate provision should be made for the exercise of such British jurisdiction within the island as will secure the attainment of these objects. &. That the Australasian Colonies, represented at this Conference, will cheerfully defray by contribution, in proportion to their population, the reasonable expenses incurred in giving effect to their wishes. 5. That these resolutions be communicated to the Eight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to be submitted for Her Majesty's Boyal consideration, and for such action as she may think proper to direct, with a view to giving effect to the earnest desire of her loyal subjects in Australasia. 11. 1. That it is desirable that a Federal Australasian Council should be created for the purpose of dealing with the following matters, — (1.) The Marine Defences of Australasia, beyond territorial limits. (2.) Matters affecting the relations of Australasia with the Islands of the Pacific. (3.) The prevention of the influx of Criminals. (4.) The regulation of Quarantine. (5.) Such other matters of general Australasian interest as may be referred to it by Her Majesty or by any of the Australasian Legislatures. 2. That a Committee be appointed to consider and report upon the best mode of constituting the Council, and the definition of its functions and authority. Mr. Service moved. —■ That it is essential to the future well-being of Australasia that Eastern New Guinea and the Western Pacific Islands from the Equator to the New Hebrides should not fall into the hands of any Foreign Power. Discussion ensued. The further consideration of the Motion was adjourned until the next meeting. The President laid before the Convention a letter from the Bevd. A. G. Fry, Chairman of the Congregational Union of New South Wales, forwarding a copy of a Eesolution on the subject of the Annexation of New Guinea and New Hebrides. The President also laid upon the Table a communication from Mr. 11. Cave, of Levuka, as Chairman of a public meeting there, upon certain matters affecting Fiji which they wish to bring before the Convention. Ordered to be printed. The following Notices of Motion were given by Mr. Dibbs on the subject of a " General Australasian Quarantine " : — 1. That it is desirable that a system of Quarantine should be established for the purpose of preventing the introduction by sea or otherwise of virulently infectious diseases. 2. That for the accomplishment of such purpose special Quarantine Stations should be appointed at various places on the coast-line of the respective Colonies in the direct route of the ocean-going steamers —notably at Thursday Island, King George's Sound, and Auckland. 3. That each of such Stations, while under the control of the Government of that Colony in which it is situated, should be supported from a common fund contributed by each Colony in the ratio of its population. 4. That the system of Quarantine throughout the Australasion Colonies should, as far as practicable, be uniform. 5. That there should be established an Intercolonial system of notification as to the actual sanitary condition of ports and places under the jurisdiction of the various Governments and of vessels arriving at or sailing therefrom. The Convention adjourned at 4 o'clock.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. 30th NOVEMBER,, 1883. (Third Day.) Present: — Fiji: His Excellency Sir G. William Dcs Vceitx, K.C.M.G-., G-overnor of Fiji and H.B.M.'s Acting High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. New South Wales : The Honorable Alexander Stuart, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorable George Eichard Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable .William Bede D alley, Q.C., M.L.C., Attorney- General. New Zealand: The Honorable Major Harry Albert Atkinson, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Frederick Whitaker, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney-General. Queensland: The Honorable Samuel Walker Griffith, Q.C., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorable James Francis G-arrick, Q.C., M.L.C., Postmaster-General. South Australia : The Honorable John Cox Bray, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. The Honorable J. W. Downer, Q.C., M.P., AttorneyGeneral. Tasmania: The Honorable William Eobert Giblin, M.P., Premier and Attorney-General. The Honorable Nicholas J. Brown, M.P., Minister of Lands and Works. Victoria : The Honorable James Service, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Graham Berry, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Honorable George Briscoe Kerferd, M.P., Attorney-General. Western Australia: The Honorable Malcolm Fraser, C.M.G-., Colonial Secretaiy. The Minutes having been read, —■ The President informed the Convention that he had since their last adjournment directed search to be made for such information as could be obtained from Parliamentary sources as to the present condition of the NeAV Hebrides Islands. He had ascertained from the Votes and Proceedings of the Queensland Parliament that in 1878 the following papers were presented to both Houses of Parliament, and were ordered to be printed. THE NEW lIEBEIDES ISLANDS—DESPATCH EESPECTING. The Secretary of State for the Colonies to Governor Sir A. E. Kennedy, K.C.M.G., C.B. Queensland. Circular. Downing-street, 28 February, 1878. Sir, I have the honor to transmit to you, for your information and for that of your Government, a copy of a letter from the Foreign Office, enclosing a communication which has been received from the French Ambassador at this Court, with reference to the intentions of Her Majesty's Government in respect of the New Hebrides Group, together with a copy of the reply which I caused to be addressed to the Foreign Office. I have, &c, M. E. HICKS-BEACH. Governor Sir A. E. Kennedy, K.C.M.G-., C.B. &c. &c. ' &c.

The Foreign Office to The Colonial Office. Sir, Foreign Office, Ist February, 1878. I am directed by the Earl of Derby to transmit to you, herewith, to be laid before Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, a copy of a communication received from the French Ambassador at this Court, calfing attention to certain articles which have recently appeared in the Australian newspapers advocating the annexation of the Islands of the New Hebrides to the British Crown, and stating that, although the French Government do not attach any great importance to this movement in favour of annexation, still, as they themselves have no intentions with regard to this group, they would be glad to receive an assurance to this effect from Her Majesty's Government.

I am now to state that Lord Derby proposes, with the concurrence of Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, to inform the French Ambassador, in reply to His Excellency's communication, that Her Majesty's Government have no intention of proposing any measures to Parliament with a view of changing the condition of independence which the New Hebrides Islands now enjoy. I am, &c, The Under Secretary of State, Colonial Office. T. V. LISTEE.

The Marquis d'Harcourt to The Earl of Derby. M. le Comte, Ambassade de France, le 18 Janvier, 1878. II s'est ctabli entre l'ile de la Nouvelle Caledonie et le groupe dcs Nouvelles Hebrides dcs rapports d'ordre commercial gui so sont rapidemont deyeloppes, en raison de leur voisinage et gui presentent pour la prosperity de notre etablissemcnt Colonial une importance considerable. Mon Gouvernement, gui attache beaucoup de prix a cc que ces relations continuent sur lc meme pied, se preoccupe dans une certaine mesure dun mouvement d'opinion gui se serait produit en Australie dans cc dernier temps. Les journaux de cc pays auraient denoue l'intention qu'ils attribuent a, la France de reunir les Nouvelles Hebrides a ses possessions et demanderaient qu'afin de prevenir cette eventualite l'Archipel dont il s'agit fu.t place sous la souverainete de la Couronne d'Angleterre. Sans attacher a cc mouvement de l'opinion une tres-grande importance, mon Gouvernement tient toutefois a declarer que pour cc gui le concerne il n'a pas le projet de porter atteinte a, rindependan.ee dcs Nouvelles Hebrides, et il serait heureux de savoir que de son cote le Gouvernement de Sa Majeste est egalement dispose a, en respecter. Veuillez, &c, D'HAECOUET. Son Excellence Le Comte de Derby, &c, &c., &c.

The Colonial Office to The Foreign Office. Sir, Downing-st., 20 February, 1878. In reply to your letter of the Ist instant, I am directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to acquaint you that he concurs in the terms of the reply which the Earl of Derby proposes to give to the inquiry of the French Ambassador at this Court, with reference to the intentions of Her Majesty's Government in respect of the New Hebrides Group. I am, &c. The Under Secretary of State, Foreign Office. W. B. MALCOLM. He had also ascertained by reference to the proceedings of the House of Commons, Hansard, vol. cclxxviii p. 898, that on 23rd April, 1883, it was officially announced, in answer to a question put to the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, that the understanding between Franco and England that neither Government would take possession of the New Hebrides still continued in force. Ho also referred to the proceedings in the House of Commons concerning the Islands of the Pacific and the Treaty of 1847, contained in Hansard, vol. cclxxiii p. 1518 ; and read the following question and answer, of date August 11th, 1882. ENGLAND AND FRANCE—THE ISLANDS OF THE PACIFIC—TEE AT V OF 1847. Me. Salt asked the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Whether any action has been taken on the part of France in contravention of Articles 1 and 2 of the Treaty of 19th June, 1847, between Great Britain and France, guaranteeing the absolute independence of certain Islands in the Pacific. Sib, Chabxes "W. Dilke : The French flag was hoisted at Eaiatea, an island to the leeward of Tahiti, shortly before Her Majesty's Government assumed office, and a provisional protectorate assumed over it by the French authorities at Tahiti, at the solicitation of the Chiefs of the Island ; but the proceeding was disavowed by the French. Government, as an infraction of the Declaration of June 19, 1847. The French Government, however, opened negotiations for the abrogation of the Declaration, in consideration of adequate concessions on their part in connection with other pending questions ; and Her Majesty's Government have consented that the French flag shall remain provisionally hoisted at Eaiatea until the 31st of December next, when, unless otherwise agreed between the two Governments, tho status quo ante under the Declaration of 1847 will be reverted to. He also quoted the declaration of the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and France acknowledging the independence of the Islands of Huahine, Eaiatea, and Borabora, and of the small islands adjacent thereto, in the Pacific Ocean, to be found in Hertslet's Treaties, Vol. VIII, pp. 998 and 999. DECLARATION of the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and France, acknowledging the Independence of the Islands of Huahine, Raiatea, and Uorabora, and of the small Islands adjacent thereto, in the Pacific Ocean. London, June 19, 1847. Heii Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and His Majesty the King of the French, being desirous of removing a cause of discussion between their respective Governments, relative to the islands in the Pacific Ocean which are hereinafter designated, have thought proper reciprocally to engage : — 1. Formally to acknowledge the independence of the Islands of Huahine, Eaiatea, and Borabora, (to the leeward of Tahiti), and of the small islands adjacent to and dependent upon those islands, 2.

2. Never to take possession of the said islands, nor of any one or more of them, either absolutely or under the title of a Protectorate, or in any other form whatever. 3. Never to acknowledge that a Chief or Prince reiging in Tahiti, can at the same time reign in any one or more of the other islands above mentioned ; nor, on the other hand, that a Chief or Prince reigning in any one or more of those other islands can reign at the same time in Tahiti; the reciprocal independence of the islands abovementioned, and of the Island of Tahiti and its dependencies, being established as a principle. The undersigned, Her Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and the Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of the French at the Court of London, being furnished with the necessary powers, hereby declare, in consequence, that their said Majesties take reciprocally that engagement. In witness whereof, the undersigned have signed the present Declaration, and have affixed thereto the seals of their arms. Done in duplicate at London, the 19th day of June, in the year of our Lord 1847. (1.8.) PALMEESTON. (1.5.) JAENAC. The President intimated that he deemed it desirable to place this information before the Convention, as some confusion existed as to the precise nature of the relations between the Islands of the Pacific and Foreign Powers. It was resolved that the information contained in the President's communication should be entered upon the Minutes. Mr. Sebvice then laid before the Convention a Memorial from certain Inhabitants of the Colony of Fiji, on matters affecting that Colony, which was read, and ordered to be printed, with a view to the consideration at a future date of such portions of the Memorial as may come within the scope of the Convention. Me. Giblin gave notice of his intention to move the following Resolutions, in lieu of the first, second, and third of the Draft Besolutions laid before the Convention by Mr. Griffith: — New Guinea. 1. That this Convention, while fully recognizing that the responsibility of extending the boundaries of the Empire belongs to the Imperial Government, is emphatically of opinion that the safety and welfare of the Australasian Colonies demand that the Eastern portion of New Guinea should be annexed to the Empire, or made the subject of a British Protectorate. New Hebbides. 2. That this Convention learns with satisfaction that the understanding arrived at in 1878 between Great Britain and France recognizing the independence of the New Hebrides Islands is still in force; and this Convention desires to place on record its deliberate conviction that it is in the highest degree desirable that such understanding should be made permanent. Pacific Islands. 3. That, with regard to the other islands of the Western Pacific, lying between the Admiralty Islands and Fiji, this Convention is of opinion that it is essential to the future safety and well-being of the Australasian Colonies that no Foreign Power should be permitted to acquire any of such, islands. New Caledonia. 4. That this Convention urgently requests Her Majesty's Government to use every available means for preventing the transportation by France to New Caledonia of relapsed criminals or of any criminals in large numbers ; and this Convention is of opinion that the continuation of a Colony for the reception of transported offenders in any part of the South Pacific would be a permanent injury to the peace and social security of the Colonies of Australasia. The consideration of the motion of Mr. Service was resumed, and, after discussion, Mr. Beown moved, and it was unanimously resolved, —" That the various Eesolutions which have been laid before the Convention relating to the annexation of or dealing with the various islands be referred to a Committee, for the purpose of preparing resolutions based thereon for submission to the Convention at its next meeting, and that such Committee consist of Messrs. Stuart, Service, Griffith, Atkinson, Bray, and Giblin." The following papers were laid before the Convention, and ordered to be printed:— By Me. Seevice —A letter from the Eev. .1. J. Paton, on behalf of the New Hebrides Mission, forwarding a petition respecting annexation. By Me. Seevice —Letter from Mr. J. Harry Haydon, Acting Secretary of the Exchange, Melbourne, forwarding a resolution on the subject of the cost of telegraphic messages to Europe and India. By Me. Stuaet —Letter from Messrs. Alfred Bennett and J. Henniker Heaton, on the subject of a cable service to be owned by the Australasian Governments. The Convention adjourned at a quarter to 1 o'clock.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office 5 Sydney. Ist DECEMBER, 1883. (Fourth Day.) Present: — New South Wales : The Honorable Alexandee Stttaet, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The llonobable Geoege Richard Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer. The llonoeable William Bede D alley, Q.C., M.L.C., Attorney-General. New Zealand : The llonoeable Majoe Harry Albert Atkinson, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honoeable Frederick Whitakee, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney-General. Queensland: Tj ie Honoeable Samuel Walkee Geiitith, Q.C., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honoeable James Fbancis Gaeeick, Q.G., M.L.C., Postmaster-General. South Australia : The llonoeable John Cox Beat, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. The Honoeable J. W. Downer, Q. 0., M.P., AttorneyGeneral. . Tasmania : Thellonoeaele William Robert Giblin, M.P., Premier and Attorney-General. The Honoeable Nicholas J. Brown, M.P., Minister of Lands and Works. Victoria : The llonoeable James Seetice, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Geaham Beeey, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Honoeable Geobue Briscoe Keefeed, M.P., Attorney-General. Western Australia: The Honoeable Malcolm Fbasee, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary. The Minutes having been read, the following papers were submitted to the Convention, and ordered to be printed. Mr. Stuart. —-A letter from the Honorary Secretary of the Geographical Society of Australasia, on the subject of combined action on the part of the Australian Governments towards the Exploration of New Guinea. Me. Seetice. —Prom the Eev. James Nish, D.D., Clerk of tlio General Assembly, of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, forwarding copy of a Resolution on the subject of the annexation of Islands in the Pacific. Mr. Griffith then moved the Resolutions of which he had given notice, on the subject of Federation, viz.: — 1. That it is desirable that a Federal Australasian Council should be created for the purpose of dealing with the following matters, —■ (1.) The Marine Defences of Australasia, beyond territorial limits. (2.) Matters affecting the relations of Australasia with the Islands of the Pacific. (3.) The prevention of the influx of criminals. (4.) The regulation of Quarantine. (5.) Such other matters of general Australasian interest as may be referred to it by Her Majesty or by any of the Australasian Legislatures. 2. That a Committee be appointed to consider and report upon the best mode of constituting the Council, and the definition of its functions and authority. And, after discussion, the further consideration of the subject was postponed until the next meeting. The Committee appointed to prepare Resolutions on the basis of the Draft Resolutions relating to the annexation of, or dealing with the various islands, laid before the Convention the Resolutions at which they had arrived, which were ordered to bo printed and circulated with a view to their consideration at the next meeting. (Resolutions referred to.) That this Convention, representing the Governments of all the Australasian Colonies, unanimously resolves:—1. That any farther acquisition of dominion by any Foreign Power in any of the Islands of the Western Pacific would be highly detrimental to the future safety and well-being of the British possessions in Australasia, as well as injurious to the interests of the whole Empire. 2.

2. That having regard to the geographical position of the Island of New Guinea, the rapid extension of British trade and enterprise in Torres Straits, the certainty that the island will shortly be inhabited by many adventurous subjects of Great Britain and other nations, and the inadequacy of any existing laws for regulating their relations with the native tribes, this Convention, while fully recognizing that the responsibility of extending the boundaries of the Empire belongs to the Imperial Government, is emphatically of opinion that such steps should be immediately taken as will most conveniently and effectively secure the incorporation with the British Empire of so much of New Guinea as is not claimed by the Government of Holland. 3. That although the understanding arrived at in 1878 between Great Britain,and France, recognizing the independence of the New Hebrides, precludes this Convention from making any recommendation with respect to those islands, the Convention urges upon Her Majesty's Government the extreme desirability that such understanding should be embodied in some definite and permanent engagement, which shall secure them against falling under any foreign dominion ; at the same time the Convention trusts that Her Majesty's Government will avail itself of any opportunity that may arise for negotiating with the Government of France, with the object of securing the control of those Islands in the interests of Australasia. 4. That the Governments represented at this Convention undertake to submit and recommend to their respective Parliaments such measures as may be necessary for defraying, in proportion to their population, such share of the cost incurred in giving effect to the foregoing resolutions as Her Majesty's Government may require. 5. That the Convention protests in the strongest manner against the declared intention of the Government of France to transport largo numbers of relapsed criminals to the French possessions in the Pacific, and urges Her Majesty's Government to use every means in its power to prevent the adoption of a course so disastrous to the interests of Australasia. 0. That the Convention expresses a confident hope that no penal settlement for the reception of European criminals will long continue to exist in the Pacific ; and invites Her Majesty's Government to make to the Government of France such serious representations on this subject as may be deemed expedient. That these resolutions be communicated to the Eight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to be submitted for Her Majesty's Royal consideration, and for such action as she may think proper to direct, with a view to giving effect to the earnest desire of her loyal subjects in Australasia. The Convention adjourned at 1 o'clock.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. 3rd BEOEMBEB, 1883. (Fifth Day.) Present: — Fiji: His Excellency Sir G. William Dcs Vceux, K.C.M.G., Governor of Fiji and H.B.M.'s Acting High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. New South Wales: The Honorable Alexander Stuaet, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorable Geoege Eiciiaed Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer. The llonoeable William Bede Dalley, Q.C., M.L.C., Attorney- General. New Zealand: The Honoeable Majoe Haeey Albeet Atkinson, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Feedeeick Wihtakbe, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney-General. Queensland: The Honoeable Samuel Walkee Geifpith, Q.C., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honoeable James Francis Gabeick, Q.C., M.L.C. Postmaster- General. SoutJi Australia : The Honoeable John Cox Beat, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. The Honoeable J. W. Downee, Q.C., M.P., AttorneyGeneral. Tasmania : The Honorable William Robert Giblin, M.P., Premier and Attorney-General. The Honoeable Nicholas J. Beown, M.P., Minister of Lands and Works. Victoria: The Honoeable James Seevice, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honoeable Geaham Beeex, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Honorable George Beisuoe Keeferd, M.P., Attorney- General. Western Australia : The Honoeable Malcolm Fkasek, C.M.G., Secretary. 331— 8 The

The minutes having been read, — The President laid upon the Table the undermentioned papers, which were ordered to be printed:— (1.) From the Superintendent of the Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Co. (Limited), stating that Mr. W. Gregor Taylor, the General Manager of the Company, was on his way to Sydney from Singapore, for the purpose of placing himself in communication with the Members of the Conference, on the subject of proposed reduction of Telegraph charges to Europe. (2.) From Messrs. Leefe, Langton, and others, on behalf of the European inhabitants of Fiji. Mr. Whittaker laid before the Convention, for the purpose of being printed, certain amendments which he proposed to move in the Resolutions arrived at by the Committee, and submitted at the last meeting. This Convention, representing the Governments of all the British Colonies of Australasia, having had under its consideration the correspondence between the Colonial Office and the Agents-General of several of those Colonies, relative to the annexation or protectorate of the Western Pacific Islands and the Eastern portion of New Guinea, unanimously resolves : — 1. That further acquisition of dominion in the Western Pacific, south of the Equator, by any Foreign Power, would bo highly detrimental to the safety and well-being of the British possessions in Australasia, and injurious to the interests of the Empire. 2. That this Convention respectfully suggests that its object may be effectually attained in respect of the islands not connected by treaty or otherwise with Foreign Powers, by a cession, annexation, or protectorate, as may be most suitable in each case. 3. That this Convention has no desire to impose undue burthens either upon Great Britain or Australasia by any attempt to colonize or settle any of these islands, and therefore proposes to limit occupation to such an extent only as will be sufficient to prevent interference by Foreign Powers, and will enable Her Majesty's Imperial Government to establish a jurisdiction, by Orders in Council similar to those now in operation under the Western Pacific Orders, but applicable alike to the subjects of Foreign nations as well as British subjects. 4. That, having regard to the geographical position of the island of New Guinea, the rapid extension of British trade and enterprise in Torres Straits, the certainty that the island will shortly be overrun by many adventurous subjects of Great Britain and other nations, and the inadequacy of any existing laws for regulating their relations with the native tribes, this Convention emphatically expresses its opinion that such steps should be immediately taken as will most conveniently and effectively secure the incorporation with the British Empire of so much of New Guinea, and of the small islp.nds adjacent to and dependent thereon, as are not claimed by the Government of Holland. 5. That although the understanding arrived at in 1878 between Great Britain and France, recognizing the independence of the New Hebrides, precludes this Convention from making any recommendation with respect to those islands inconsistent with that understanding, the Convention urges upon Her Majesty's Government the extreme desirability that such understanding should be embodied in some definite and permanent engagement, which shall secure them against falling under any foreign dominion; at the same time the Convention trusts that Her Majesty's Government will avail itself of any opportunity that may arise for negotiating with the Government of France, with the object of securing the control of those islands in the interests of Australasia. G. That the Convention protests in the strongest manner against the declared intention of the Government of France to transport large numbers of relapsed criminals to the French possessions in the Pacific, and urges Her Majesty's Government to use every means in its power to prevent the adoption of a course so disastrous to the interests of Australasia and of the Pacific Islands. 7. That the Convention expresses a confident hope that no penal settlement for the recejition of European criminals will long continue to exist in the Pacific ; and invites Her Majesty's Government to make to the Government of France such serious representations on this subject as may be deemed expedient. 8. That the Colonies of Australasia do not seek to evade any responsibilities that fairly attacli to them ; and this Convention is of opinion that, having regard to the relative interests of Great Britain and Australasia, such share of the cost to be incurred by the Imperial Government, in giving effect to the above resolutions as that Government shall deem fair and reasonable, should be secured to Great Britain by an " effective guarantee," in the form of permanent Appropriation Acts by the several Colonial Parliaments, such share to be from time to time contributed by the several Colonies, in proportion to population. 9. Finally, this Convention desires to place on record that it recognizes that the responsibility of extending the boundaries of the British Empire rests with the Imperial Government; and that it has no intention or desire to press anything which may tend to place that Government in a position of hostility towards any Foreign Power. 10. That these resolutions be communicated to the Right Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, to be submitted for Her Majesty's Royal consideration, with a view to such action as Her Majesty may think proper to direct, to give effect to the earnest desire of her loyal subjects in Australasia. The Convention then resumed consideration of the Resolutions proposed by Mr. Griffith on the subject of federation, when after discussion, the following amended Resolutions were proposed by Mr. Griffith and unanimously adopted : — 1. That a Committee be appointed to consider and report upon the best mode of constituting a Federal Australasian Council, and the definition of its functions and authority. 2. That such Committee consist of His Excellency Sir G. William Dcs Vceux, K.C.M.G., Messrs. Dalley, Kerferd, Downer, Whittaker, Griffith, Giblin, and Eraser. The Convention adjourned at 4 o'clock.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. ■kth DECEMBER, 1883. (Sixth Day.) Present: — Mji : His Excellency Sir G-. "William Dcs Vceux, K.C.M.G., Governor of Fiji and H.B.M.'s Acting High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. New South Wales : The Honorable Alexander Stuart, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorable Geoege Richaed Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable "William Bede D alley, Q.C.,M.L.C, Attorney- General. New Zealand: The Honoeable Ma.toe Haeet Albert Atkinson, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honoeable Frederick Whitaker, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney-General. Queensland: The Honorable Samuel "Walker Griffith, Q.C., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorable James Francis Garrick, Q.C., M.L.C., Postmaster-General. South Australia : The Honoeable John Cox Beat, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. The Honorable J. W. Downer, Q.C., M.P., Attorney-G-eneral. Tasmania : The Honorable "William Robert Giblin, M.P., Premier and Attorney-General. The Honorable Nicholas J. Brown, M.P., Minister of Lands and "Works. Victoria : The Honorable James Service, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Graham Berry, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Plonoeable George Briscoe Kerferd, M.P., Attorney-General. Western Australia: The Honoeable Malcolm Feasee, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary. The minutes having been read, the Convention proceeded to consider the Eesolutions of the Committee on the subject of the annexation of, or dealing with, the various islands ; also the amendments on the same subject proposed by Mr. Whitaker. The preamble was postponed. Resolution No. 1, as submitted by the Committee, was proposed, —"Whereupon Mr. Whitaker moved the following Amendment, which was carried, viz. : — 1. That further acquisition of dominion in the Western Pacific, south of the Equator, by any Foreign Power would be highly detrimental to -the safety and well-being of the British possessions in Australasia, and injurious to the interests of the Empire. Resolution No. 2, was then proposed, whereupon Mr. Wiiitakee moved the following amendment :— 2. That this Convention rospectfully suggests that its object may be effectually attained in respect of the islands not connected by treaty or otherwise with Foreign Powers, by a cession, annexation, or protectorate as may be most suitable in each case. A further amendment was proposed by Mr. Beeey, as follows: —■ 2. That this Convention refrains from suggesting the action by which effect can be given to the foregoing resolution, in the confident belief that the Imperial Government will promptly and wisely take the most efficient steps to secure the safety and contentment of this distant portion of the Empire. Mr. Whitaker, with the concurrence of the Convention, withdrew his proposed amendments Nos. 2 and 3. The amendment proposed by Mr. Beery was then put and carried. It was then moved that clause 2 of the Committee's Resolutions stand as No. 3 of the Resolutions of the Convention, which was carried with certain verbal amendments, viz.: — 3. That having regard to the geographical position of the Island of New Guinea, the rapid extension of British trade and enterprise in Torres Straits, the certainty that the island will shortly be the resort of many adventurous subjects of Great Britain and other nations, and the absence or inadequacy of any existing laws for regulating their relations with the native tribes, this Convention, while fully recognizing that the responsibility of extending the boundaries of the Empire

Empire belongs to the Imperial Government, is emphatically of opinion that such steps should be immediately taken as will most conveniently and effectively secure the incorporation with the British Empire of so much of New Guinea and the small islands adjacent thereto as is not claimed by the Government of the Netherlands. It was then moved that No. 3 of the Committee's Besolutions stand No. 4 of the Eesolutions of the Convention, which was carried with certain verbal amendments, viz.:— 4. That although the understanding arrived at in 1878 between Great Britain and France, recognizing the independence of the New Hebrides, appears to preclude this Convention from making any recommendation with respect to those islands inconsistent with that understanding, the Convention urges upon Her Majesty's Government the extreme desirability that such understanding should give place to some more definite engagement, which shall secure them against falling under any foreign dominion ; at the same time the Convention trusts that Her Majesty's Government will avail itself of any opportunity that may arise for negotiating with the Government of France, with the object of securing the control of those Islands in the interests of Australasia. It was then moved that No. 4 of the Committee's Resolutions be adopted as No. 5 of the Eesolutions of the Convention, which was agreed to, viz.:—■ 5. That the Governments represented at the Convention undertake to submit and recommend to their respective Parliaments such measures for permanent appropriation as may be necessary for defraying, in proportion to population, such share of the cost incurred in giving effect to the foregoing resolutions as Her Majesty's Government, having regard to the relative importance of Imperial and Australasian interests, may deem fair and reasonable. It was then moved that No. 5 of the Committee's Eesolutions be adopted as No. G of the Eesolutions of the Convention, viz.: —■ G. That the Convention protests in the strongest manner against the declared intention of the Government of Franco to transport largo numbers of relapsed criminals to the French possessions in the Pacific, and urges Her Majesty's Government to use every means in its power to prevent the adoption of a course so disastrous to the interests of Australasia and the Pacific Islands. It was then moved that No. 6 of the Committee's Eesolutions be adopted as No. 7 of the Eesolutions of the Convention, which was carried, viz.: — 7. That the Convention expresses a confident hope that no penal settlement for the reception of European criminals will long continue to exist in the Pacific; and invites Her Majesty's Government to make to the Government of France such serious representations on this subject as may be deemed expedient. It was also moved that No. 7 of the Committee's Eesolutions be adopted as No. 8 of the Eesolutions of the Convention.—Agreed to, viz.:— 8. That these resolutions be communicated to the Eight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, together with a request that they may be submitted for Her Majesty's Gracious consideration, and for such action as Her Majesty may think proper to direct, with a view to giving effect to the earnest desire of her loyal subjects in Australasia. The preamble to the Eesolutions was then considered, and adopted, as follows: — " This Convention, representing the Governments of all the British Colonies of Australasia, unanimously resolves." Mr. Dalley, as Chairman of the Committee appointed to prepare Resolutions to form a basis for constituting a Federal Council of Australasia, brought up the Eeport of such Committee, which was ordered to be printed and circulated. The Conference adjourned at 4 o'clock.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. Sth DECEMBER, 1883. (Seventh Day.) Present: —- Fiji: His Excellency Sir G. "William Dcs Vcettx, K.C.M.G., Governor of Fiji and 11.8.M.'s Acting High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. New South Wales : TnE Honorable; Alexander Stuart, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorarle George Eichaed Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer. Tiie Honorable William Bede Dallet, Q.C., M.L.C., Attorney-General. New Zealand: T.tte Honorable Major Harry Albert Atkinson, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Frederick Whitaker, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney-General. Queensland : The Honorable Samuel Walker Griffith, Q.C., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorable James Francis Garrick, Q.C., M.L.C., Postmaster-General. South Australia : The Honorable John Cox Bray, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. The Honorable J. W. Downer, Q. 0., M.P., AttorneyGeneral. Tasmania : The Honorable William Eobert Giblin, M.P., Premier and Attorney-General. The Honorable Nicholas J. Brown, M.P., Minister of Lands and Works. Victoria: The Honorable James Service, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Graham Berry, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Honorable George Briscoe Kerferd, M.P., Attorney-General. Western Australia : The Honorable Malcolm Fraser, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary. The minutes having been read and verbally amended, the undermentioned papers were laid before the Convention and ordered to be printed : — (1.) From Mr. Andrew Eowan (Castella & Eowan), St. Hubert's Wine Cellars, Melbourne, on the subject of Intercolonial Free Trade in Wine. (2.) From the Honorable Leopold Fane DeSalis, M.L.C., Sydney, on the subject of re-stocking some of the Islands with "fur-seals." (3.) From Mr. John Campbell, Sussex-street, Sydney, on the subject of a "Federal Court of Appeal." The Eesolutions relating to the Islands of the Pacific having been verbally amended were finally adopted as follows : —This Convention representing the Governments of all the British Colonies of Australasia unanimously resolves —■ 1. That further acquisition of dominion in the Pacific, south of the Equator, by any Foreign Power, would be highly detrimental to the safety and well-being of the British possessions in Australasia, and injurious to the interests of the Empire. 2. That this Convention refrains from suggesting the action by which effect can best be given to the foregoing resolution, in the confident belief that the Imperial Government will promptly adopt the wisest and most effectual measures for securing the safety and contentment of this portion of Her Majesty's dominions. 3. That having regard to the geographical position of the Island of New Guinea, the rapid extension of British trade and enterprise in Torres Straits, the certainty that the island will shortly be the resort of many adventurous subjects of Great Britain and other nations, and the absence or inadequacy of any existing laws for regulating their relations with the native tribes, this Convention, while fully recognizing that the responsibility of extending the boundaries of the Empire belongs to the Imperial Government, is emphatically of opinion that such steps should be immediately taken as will most conveniently and effectively secure the incorporation with the British Empire of so much of New Guinea, and the small islands adjacent thereto, as is not claimed by the Government of the Netherlands. 4. That although the understanding arrived at in 1878 between Great Britain and France, recognizing the independence of the New Hebrides, appears to preclude this Convention from making any recommendation inconsistent with that iinderstanding, the Convention urges upon Her Majesty's Government that it is extremely desirable that such understanding should give place to some

some more definite engagement, which shall secure those islands from falling under any foreign dominion; at the same time the Convention trusts that Her Majesty's Government will avail itself of any opportunity that may arise for negotiating with the Government of France, with the object of obtaining the control of those Islands in the interests of Australasia. 5. That the Governments represented at this Convention undertake to submit and recommend to their respective Legislatures measures of permanent Appropriation for defraying, in proportion to population, such share of the cost incurred in giving effect to the foregoing resolutions as Her Majesty's Government, having regard to the relative importance of Imperial and Australasian interests, may deem fair and reasonable. 6. That the Convention protests in the strongest manner against the declared intention of the Government of France to transport large numbers of relapsed criminals to the French possessions in the Pacific, and urges Her Majesty's Government to use every means in its power to prevent the adoption of a course so disastrous to the interests of Australasia and the Pacific Islands. 7. That the Convention expresses a confident hope that no penal settlement for the reception of European criminals will long continue to exist in the Pacific, and invites Her Majesty's Government to make to the Government of France such serious representations on this subject as may be deemed expedient. 8. That these resolutions be communicated to the Eight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, together with a request that they may be submitted for Her Majesty's gracious consideration, and for such action as Her Majesty may think proper to direct, with a view to giving effect to the earnest desire of her loyal subjects in Australasia. Note.—His Excellency Sir G. William Dcs Vceux, the Governor of Fiji, representing that Colony, while expressing individually his general concurrence with the resolutions, considered himself as precluded by his position from voting upon them. The wore signed by the several members of the Convention, and directed to be sent to His Excellency the Governor of New South Wales with a request to transmit them to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, by cable. Me. Whitakek then proposed the following Eesolution : — That this Convention desires to express the great gratification with which it would regard the early establishment over the Pacific Islands, not now in the possession of any Foreign Power, and to which the Western Pacific orders in council are now applicable, of a jurisdiction to which all persons of whatever origin would be subject. Discussion ensued, and a general expression of opinion being given that it was not desirable to pass any formal resolution on the subject, which might have the effect of restricting the action of Her Majesty's Government, Mr. Whitaker withdrew the Eesolution. The Convention then proceeded to consider the Eeport of the Committee to which was referred the preparation of Eesolutions to form a basis for constituting a " Federal Council of Australasia." The question, "That the Eeport be received," was adopted, and, on the motion of Mr. Dalley, the Convention resolved itself into a Committee of the Whole, for the purpose of considering the T3ill prepared by the Committee. Progress was reported, and the Convention adjourned at 4 o'clock.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. Cth BEOEMBEB, 1883. (Eighth Day.) Present: — Fiji: His Excellency Sic G-. William Dcs Vcettx, K.C.M.G-., Governor of Fiji, and H.B.M.'s Acting High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. New South Wales: The Honobable Alexandeb Stuabt, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honoeable Geobge Richaed Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer. The Honobable William Bebe Dalley, Q. 0., M.L.C., Attorney- Gen eral. New Zealand: The Honoeable Majob Haeey Albeet Atkinson, M.P., « Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honoeable Ebedeeick Whitakee, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney-General. Queensland: The Honoeable Samuel Walkee Griffith, Q.C., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honoeable James Fbancis Gaerick:, Q.C., M.L.C., Postmaster-General. South Australia : The Honorable John Cox Beay, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. The Honoeable J. W. Downee, Q.C., M.P., AttorneyGeneral. Tasmania : The Honoeable William Robebt Gtblin, M.P., Premier and Attorney-General. The Honoeable Nicholas J. Bbown, M.P., Minister of Lands and Works. Victoria: The Honoeable James Seetice, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honoeable Geaiiam Beeey, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Honoeable Geoege Beiscoe Kebeebd, M.P., Attorney-General. Western Australia: The Honoeable Malcolm Feasee, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary. The minutes having been read, the President laid upon the Table the undermentioned papers which were ordered to be printed, viz.: — (1.) From Mr. J. B. Sheridan, Adelaide, on the question of Intercolonial remedies against debtors. (2.) From Stenhouse & Smith, on the subject of a self-acting gaseous Vermin and Rabbit exterminator. (:{.) From John M. Creed, Esq., forwarding copy of a letter which he had published on the " Rabbit Plague." The Committee resumed consideration of the " Bill to constitute a Federal Council of Australasia," and the same having been amended, was ordered to be printed, with a view to its adoption at the next meeting. The following notices of motion were then given : — Mr. Dibbs to move:— That the representatives of each Colony in Convention assembled pledge themselves to submit to the Legislatures of their respective Colonies Resolutions affirming the conclusions arrived at by the Convention, and inviting such Legislatures to assent to an address to Her Majesty to pass an enabling Bill such as that agreed to by this Convention. Mr. Beay to move :— That His Excellency the Governor be requested to transmit to the Right Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies copies of the draft Bill to constitute a Federal Council of Australasia, and to inform the Secretary of State that this Convention has considered and approved of the provisions of the Bill, and respectfully requests that Her Majesty's Government will take such steps as maybe necessary to the establishment of a Federal Council of Australasia. Sir G. Wm. Dcs Vceux to move:— ■ This Convention desires to express to Her Majesty's Government its emphatic opinion that, wherever Her Majesty's jurisdiction or dominion may be established in New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, purchases of land from the natives should be discouraged, and if allowed at all, should be placed under most stringent regulations This Convention is further of opinion that pretended purchases of land unaccompanied by actual and substantial occupation should not be recognized. Mr. Giblin to move : — That the Premiers of the Colonies of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria he appointed a Committee to watch over all matters relating to the subjects discussed at this Convention, and to assist in forwarding the adoption of its recommendations. That such Committee be authorized, if they find it necessary, to call the Convention together, at such time and place as they may agree, and that the Honorable James Seetice be requested to act as Chairman of such Committee. The Convention adjourned at 4 o'clock.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. Ith DECEMBER, 1883. (Ninth Day.) Present: — Fiji: His Excellency Sir G. William Dcs Vceux, K.C.M.G., Governor of Fiji and H.B.M.'s Acting High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. New South Wales: The Honorable Alexander Stitabt, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. Tue Honorable George Etchard Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable William Bede Dallex, Q.C., M.L.C., Attorney-General. New Zealand: The Honorable Major Habry Albert Atkinson, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Fbedebick Whitakee, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney- General. Queensland: The Honorable Samuel Walker Griffith, Q.C., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honorable James Francis Gabeick, Q.C., M.L.C., Postmaster-General. South Australia : The Honorable John Cox Bhay, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. TnE Honobable J. W. Downeb, Q.C., M.P., AttorneyGeneral. Tasmania : The Honobable William Eobeet Giblik, M.P., Premier and Attorney-General. The Honorable Nicholas J. Brown, M.P., Minister of Lands and Worts. Victoria : The Honorable James Sebtice, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Geaiiam Berey, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Honobable Geobge Beiscoe Kereerd, M.P., Attorney- General. Western Australia : The Honorable Malcolm Feasee, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary. The minutes having been read, the Convention proceeded with the further consideration of the "Bill to constitute a Federal Council of Australasia," as amended in Committee, and further amended the same. Mr. Whitakee gave notice of the following motion : — That in the opinion of this Convention the several Colonies of Australasia, in order to meet an imminent danger, should without delay pass a uniform Law to prevent the landing on their shores of persons from penal settlements in the Pacific, who have been convicted of crimes. The motions of Messrs. Dibbs and Bray were then considered ; and, after discussion, Mr. Griffith proposed the following Resolution, which was agreed to : — That this Convention, recognizing that the time has not yet arrived at which a complete Federal Union of the Australasian Colonies can be attained, but considering that there are many matters of general interest with respect to which united action would be advantageous, adopts the accompanying draft Bill for the Constitution of a Federal Council, as defining the matters upon which in its opinion such united action is both desirable and practicable at the present time, and as embodying the provisions best adapted to secure that object, so far as it is now capable of attainment.

4/7° Victoria, 1883.

A DRAFT BILL To constitute a Federal Council of Australasia.

WHEREAS it is expedient to constitute a Federal Council of Australasia, for the purpose of dealing with such matters of common Australasian interest, in respect to which united action is desirable, as can be dealt with without unduly interfering with the management of the internal affairs of the several Colonies by their respective Legislatures : Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the consent of Her Lords Spiritual and Temporal in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows :—- -1. In this Act, unless the context otherwise require, the following terms shall bear the meanings set opposite to them respectively— " Colonies" —The Colonies of Fiji, New Zealand, New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia, and the Province of South Australia, and their respective Dependencies, or those of the said Colonies in respect to which this Act is in operation; "Crown Colony"—Any Colony in which the control of public officers is retained by Her Majesty's Imperial Government; "Her Majesty's Possessions in. Australasia "■—The Colonies and their dependencies, and such other territories as Her Majesty may from time to time declare by proclamation; " Council" —The Federal Council as hereby constituted; " Governor" —The Governor Lieutenant-Governor or other Officer administering the Government of the Colony referred to with the advice of his Executive Council except in the case of a Crown Colony in which case the word shall mean the Governor Lieutenant-Governor or such other officer alone. 2. There shall be in and for Her Majesty's possessions in Australasia a Federal Council, constituted as hereinafter provided, and called the Eederal Council of Australasia, which shall have the functions, powers, and authority, hereinafter defined. 331—C 3.

Preamble.

Interpretation.

Federal Council to be constituted.

Federal Council of Australasia.

3. Within such possessions Her Majesty shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Council, to make laws for the purposes hereinafter specified. 4. A Session of the Council shall he held once at least in every two years. 5. Each Colony shall he represented in the Council by two Members, except in the case of Crown Colonies, which shall bo represented by one Member each. 6. The Legislature of any Colony may make such provision as it thinks fit for the appointment of the representatives of that Colony, and for determining the tenure of their office. 7. The first session of the Council shall be held at Ilobart, in the Colony of Tasmania. Subsequent Sessions shall be held in such Colony as the Council shall from time to time determine. g 8. The Council shall be summoned and prorogued by the Governor of the Colony in which the Session shall be held ; and shall be so summoned and prorogued by Proclamation, published in the Government Gazette of each of the Colonies; and shall meet at such time and at such place as shall be named in the Proclamation. 9. The Governor of each Colony shall from time to time transmit to the Governors of the other Colonies the names of the Members appointed to represent the Colony of which he is Governor. 10. Notwithstanding any vacancy in the representation of any Colony the Council shall be competent to proceed to the despatch of business, and to exercise the authority hereby conferred upon it. 11. At the request of the Governors of any three of the Colonies a special Session of the Council shall be summoned to deal Avith such special matters as may be mentioned in the proclamation convening it. Until the Council shall make other provision in that behalf, any such special Session shall be summoned by the Governor of Tasmania, and shall be held at Hobart. 12. The Council shall in each Session elect one of its Members to be PresidentlS. The presence of a majority of the whole number of Members of the Council for the time being, representing a majority of the Colonies with respect to which this Act is in operation, shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the despatch of business, and all questions which shall arise in the Council shall be decided by the votes of a majority of the Members present, including the President. 14. No Member of the Council shall sit or vote until he shall have taken and subscribed before the Governor of one of the Colonies the oath of allegiance contained in the Schedule hereto : Provided that every member authorized by the law of the Colony which he represents to make an affirmation instead of taking an oath may make such affirmation instead of the oath hereby required to be taken. 15. Saving Her Majesty's prerogative, and subject to the provisions herein contained with respect to the operation of this Act, the Council shall have legislative authority over all Her Majesty's possessions in Australasia and over all British ships sailing between them, in respect to the several matters following :— (a) The relations of Australasia with the islands of the Pacific; (b) Prevention of the influx of criminals ; (c) Fisheries in Australasian waters beyond territorial limits ; (d) The service of civil process of the Courts of any Colony within Her Majesty's possessions in Australasia out of the jurisdiction of the Colony in which it is issued ; (<?) The enforcement of judgments of Courts of law of any Colony beyond the limits of the Colony; (/) The enforcement of criminal process beyond the limits of the Colony in which it is isstied, and the extradition of offenders (including deserters of wives and children and deserters from the Imperial or Colonial naval or military forces) ; (9)

Council may make laws.

Holding of Session.

Number of Members

Legislature may define mode of appointment.

Place of meeting.

Mode of summoning Council.

Names of Members to be transmitted to Governors.

Council may act notwithstanding vacancies.

Special Session may be summoned. «

President to be elected.

Quorum.

Oath of allegiance to be taken.

Legislative authority of Council.

Federal Council of Australasia.

(g) The custody of offenders on board of ships beonging to Her Majesty's Colonial Governments, beyond territorial limits; (h) Such of the following matters as may be referred to the Council by the Legislatures of any two or more Colonies, that is to say —General Defences, Quarantine, Patents of invention and discovery, Copyright, Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes, Uniformity of Weights and Measures, recognition in other Colonies of any Marriage or Divorce duly solemnized or decreed in any Colony, Naturalization and Aliens, Status of Corporations and Joint Stock Companies in other Colonies than that in which they have been constituted, and any other matter of general Australasian interest, with respect to which the Legislatures of the several Colonies can legislate within their own limits, and as to which it is deemed desirable that there should be a law of general application: Provided that in such cases the Acts of the Council shall extend only to the Colonies by whose Legislatures the matter shall have been so referred to it, and such other Colonies as may afterwards adopt the same. 16. The Governors of any two Or more of the Colonies may, upon an Address of the Legislatures of such Colonies, refer for the consideration and determination of the Council any questions relating to those Colonies or their relations with one another, and the Council shall thereupon have authority to consider, and determine, by Act of Council, the matters so referred to it. 17. Every Bill passed by the Council shall be presented, for Her Majesty's assent, to the Governor of the Colony in which the Council shall be sitting, who shall declare, according to his discretion, but subject to the provisions of this Act and # to Her Majesty's instructions, either that he assents thereto in Her Majesty's name, or that he withholds such assent, or that he reserves the Bill for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure, or that he will be prepared to assent thereto, subject to certain amendments to be specified by him. 18. When the Governor assents to a Bill in Her Majesty's name, he shall, by the first convenient opportunity, send an authentic copy of the Act to one of Her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, and if Her Majesty, within one year after receipt thereof by the Secretary of State, thinks fit to disallow the Act, such disallowance (with a certificate of the Secretary of State of the day on which the Act was received by him) being signified by such Governor by message to the Council, or by Proclamation in the Government Gazette of all the Colonies affected thereby shall annul the Act from and after the day of such signification. 19. A Bill reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure shall not have any force unless and until, within one year from the day on which it was presented to the Governor for Her Majesty's assent, such Governor signifies, by message to the Council, or by Proclamation published as last aforesaid, that it has received the assent of Her Majesty. 20. All Acts of the Council, on being assented to in manner: hereinbefore provided, shall have the force of Law in all Her Majesty's ' possessions in Australasia, or in the several Colonies to which they shall extend, as the case may be. 21. Every Act assented to in the first instance shall be pro-: claimed in the Government Gazette of the Colony in which the Session of the Council at which it was passed was held, and shall also be transmitted by the Governor assenting thereto to the Governors of the several Colonies%ffected thereby, and shall be proclaimed by them within the respective Colonies of which they are Governors. 22.

Special matters may be referred to Council by two or more Colonies.

Royal assent to Bills, &c.

Disallowance by Queen in Council of Act assented to by Governor.

Signification of Queen's pleasure on Bill reserved.

Effect of Acts of Council.

Mode of promulgation.

Federal Council of Australasia.

22. If in any case the provisions of any Act of the Council shall be repugnant to, or inconsistent with, the law of any Colony affected thereby, the former shall prevail, and the latter shall, so far as such repugnancy or inconsistency extends, have no operation. 23. The Council may from time to time make and adopt such standing rules and orders as may be necessary for the conduct of its business, and all sucli rules and orders shall be binding on the Members of the Council. 24. The Council may appoint temporary or permanent Committees of its Members, to perform such duties, whether during the Session of the Council or when the Council is not in Session, as may be referred to them by the Council. 25. The Council may appoint such officers and servants as may be necessary for the proper conduct of its business, and may direct the payment to them of such remuneration as it may think fit. 26. The necessary expenditure incurred by the Council shall be defrayed in the first instance by the Colony wherein the expenditure is incurred, and shall be ultimately contributed and paid by the several Colonies in proportion to their population. The amounts payable by the several Colonies shall be assessed and apportioned, in case of difference, by the Governor of the Colony of Tasmania. 27. It shall be the duty of the Governor of each Colony to direct the payment by the Colonial Treasurer or other proper officer of the Colony of the amount of the contribution payable by such Colony under the provisions of the preceding section. 28. Whenever it shall be necessary to prove the proceedings of the Council in any Court of Justice, or otherwise, a certified copy of such proceedings under the hand of the clerk or other officer appointed in that behalf by the Council shall be conclusive evidence of the proceedings appearing by such copy to have been had or taken. 29. The Council may make such representations or recommendations to Her Majesty as it may think fit with respect to any matters of general Australasian interest, or to the relations of Her Majesty's Possessions in Australasia with the possessions of Foreign Powers. 30. This Act shall not come into operation in respect of any Colony until the Legislature of such Colony shall have passed an Act or Ordinance declaring that the same shall bo in force therein, and appointing a day on and from which such operation shall take effect, nor until four Colonies at the least shall have passed such Act or Ordinance. 31. This Act shall be styled and may be cited as the "Federal Council of Australasia Act, 1884."

Provisions in case of inconsistency of Acts of Council with local law.

Council may make standing orders.

Committees may bo appointed.

Council may appoint officers.

Expenditure.

Enforcement of payment.

Proof of proceedings.

Council may make representations to Her Majesty.

Commencement of Act.

Short title.

THE SCHEDULE. I do swear that I will bo faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria and Her Successors in the Sovereignty of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland : So help me God. Note : The name of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Irelani for the time being is lobe substituted from time to time, with proper terms of reference thereto.

Mr. DiJius' motion was amended as follows and adopted : —• That the Governments represented at the Convention pledge themselves to invite the Legislatures of their respective Colonies to pass Addresses to Her Majesty praying that she may be pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of constituting a Federal Council upon the basis of the Draft Bill adopted by this Convention. Note.—The Representative of Western Australia stated that, while personally concurring in this resolution, he did not feel at liberty to record his vote. Sir G. Wm. Dcs Vosux moved, pursuant to notice, viz. i — This Convention desires to express to Her Majesty's Government its emphatic opinion that, wherever Her Majesty's jurisdiction or dominion may be established in New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, purchases of land from the natives should be discouraged, and if allowed at all should be placed under most stringent regulations. This Convention is further of opinion that pretended purchases of land unaccompanied by actual and substantial occupation should not be recognized. After discussion, Mr. Service moved, and it was resolved that Sir G. William Dcs Voeux, Mr. Bray, Mr. Whitaker, and Mr. Griffith bo appointed a Committee to frame a Eesolution based upon the said motion. Mb. Giblin moved, pursuant to Notice, viz.,— That the Premiers of the Colonies of Now South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria be. appointed a Committee to watch over all matters relating to the subjects discussed at this Convention, and to assist in forwarding the adoption of its recommendations. That such Committee be authorized, if they find it necessary, to call the Convention together, at such time and place as they may agree, and that the Honorable James Sebvice be requested to act as Chairman of such Committee. which was agreed to. Mr. Brat gave Notice of the following motion : — That His Excellency the Governor be respectfully requested to transmit to the Eight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies copies of the proceedings of this Convention. The President intimated to the Convention that he had received a communication from certain gentlemen on the subject of the representation of the Colony of Fiji at the Convention. The Convention adjourned at 4 o'clock.

At the Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. m DECEMBER, 1883. (Tenth Day.) Present : — Fiji: His Excellency-Sib G.. William Dcs Vceux, K.C.M.G-., Governor of Fiji and 11.8.M.'s Acting High Commissioner for the "Western Pacific. N~eio South Wales: Ti.e Honoeable Alexander Stuart, M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honobable George Eichard Dibbs, M.P., Colonial Treasurer.The Honorable William Bede Dallet, Q.C., M.L.C., Attorney- Gene ral. New Zealand : The Honobable Major Harby Albebt Atkinson, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honobable Feedeeicic Whitakee, M.L.C., late Premier and Attorney-General. Queensland: The Honorable Samuel Walker Griffith, Q.C., M.P., Premier and Colonial Secretary. The Honoeable James Feancis Gaeeick, Q.C., M.L.C., Postmaster-General. South Australia .- The Honoeable John Cox Beat, M.P., Premier and Chief Secretary. The Honoeable J. W. Downee, Q.C., M.P., AttorneyGeneral. Tasmania : The Honoeable William Kobeet Giblin, M.P., Premier and Attorney-General. The Honoeable Nicholas J. Brown, M.P., Minister of Lands and Works. Victoria : The Honoeable James Service, M.P., Premier and Colonial Treasurer. The Honorable Graham Beeet, M.P., Chief Secretary. The Honorable Geoege Beiscoe Kerferd, M.P., Attorney- General. Western Australia : The Honoeable Malcolm Fraser, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary. The Minutes having been read, the President laid before the Convention the following telegram from the Right Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies to His Excellency Lord Augustus Loftus : — Dear Mr. Stuart, Government House, Sydney, 8 December, 1883. His Excellency desires me to enclose to you a telegram he has just received from Lord Derby. Tours truly, H. A. TJNWIN, 7/12/83. Private Secretary. " of Convention will receive early and careful consideration. Can Colonies supply number of, and particulars of escaped New Caledonia convicts arrested in Colonies" ? " DEEBY." Mr. Dalley drew the attention of the Convention to the subject of the necessity that exists for another Telegraph Cable, and after discussion it was agreed that further information should be obtained before finally dealing with the matter. The Committee appointed to frame a Eesolntion based upon Sir G. William Dcs Vceux's motion brought up the following Eesolution, which was agreed to, viz.: — That, in the opinion of this Convention, no purchases or pretended purchases of land made before the establishment of British jurisdiction or dominion in New Guinea or other islands of the Pacific not having a recognized Government, should be acknowledged, except in respect of small areas of land actually occupied for Missionary or trading purposes; and further, that after the establishment of such jurisdiction or dominion, no acquisition of land should be permitted except through the Crown, and then only for the like purposes. Mr. Whitakeb then proposed the following motion, of which he had previously given notice, which was agreed to : —■ That, in the opinion of this Convention, the several Colonies of Australasia, in order to meet an imminent danger, should, without delay, pass a uniform Law to prevent the landing on their shores of persons from penal settlements in the Pacific, who have been convicted of crimes. Mr.

Mr. Service brought forward the Memorial presented to the Convention by the inhabitants of the Colony of Fiji, and moved : — That the Convention having considered the said Memorial, is of opinion that clauses 2, 3, 4, and 0 thereof do not come within the scope of the Convention's powers or duties, and that clauses 1 and 5 have been carried out in the proposed Scheme of Federation. Agreed to. Mr. Service then proposed : —That the following telegram be forwarded through Reuters Agency to England: — " The Convention closed its labours to-day and adjourned sine die, having passed the following Eesolutions, in addition to those already forwarded, on the subject of relations with the islands of the Pacific": —■ (1.) That this Convention, recognizing that the time has not yet arrived at which a complete Federal Union of the Australasian Colonies can be attained, but considering that there are many matters of general interest with respect to which united action would be advantageous, adopts the accompanying draft Bill for the Constitution of a Federal Council, as defining the matters uppn which in its opinion such united action is both desirable and practicable at the present time, and as embodying the provisions best adapted to secure that object, so far as it is now capable of attainment. (2.) That the Governments represented at the Convention pledge themselves to invite the Legislatures of their respective Colonies to pass Addresses to Her Majesty praying that she may bo pleased to cause a measure to be submitted to the Imperial Parliament for the purpose of constituting a Federal Council upon the basis of the Draft Bill adopted by this Convention. (3.) That the Premiers of the Colonies of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria be appointed a Standing Committee to watch over all matters relating to the subjects discussed at this Convention, and to assist in forwarding the adoption of its recommendations. That such Committee be authorized, if they find it necessary, to call the Convention together, at such time and place as they may agree, and that the Honorable James Service Be requested to act as Chairman of such Committee. (4.) That, in the opinion of this Convention, no purchases or pretended purchases of land made before the establishment of British jurisdiction or dominion in New Guinea or other island of the Pacific not having a recognized Government, should be acknowledged, except in respect of land actually occupied for Missionary or trading purposes ; and further, that after the establishment of such jurisdiction or dominion, no acquisition of land should bo permitted except through the Crown, then only for the like purposes. (5.) That, in the opinion of this Convention, the several Colonies of Australasia, in order to mee ; t an imminent danger, should without delay pass a uniform Law to prevent the landing on their shores of persons from penal settlements in the Pacific, who have been convicted of crimes. Mr. Beat then moved pursuant to notice :— That His Excellency the Governor be respectfully requested to transmit to the Eight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies copies of the proceedings of this Convention. "Which was agreed to. Mr. Service moved (seconded by Mr. Brax) : — That the thanks of the Convention be given to Mr. Stuart for the services rendered by him as President of the Convention. Agreed to unanimously. The Convention then adjourned sine die. ALEX. STUAET, Alex. C. Budge, President. Secretary. Signed by Eepresentatives—■ G. WILLIAM DES VGEUX, Fiji. ALEX. STUAET, ) GEOEGE E. DIBBS, \ New South Wales. WILLIAM BEDE DALLEY, ) FEED. WHITAKEE, ) N z , , H. A. ATKINSON, j Wew /ea[ancL Ja'mES 1! 1 G™ICK, ) Q—kDdjnS. Townee, } South AustraliaW. E. GIBLIN, ] Tasmani , NICHOLAS J. BEOWN, j Aasmama, JAMES SEEVICE, ") GEAHAM BEEET, [Victoria, GEO. B. KEEFEED, ) MALCOLM FEASEE, Western Australia.

CORRESPONDENCE LAID BEFORE THE CONVENTION. 1. Letter from His Excellency Sir G. William Dcs Voeux, K.C.M.G., Governor of Fiji, as to the representation of Eiji at the Convention. 2. Letter from Messrs. Leefe and Langton, on affairs in Eiji. 3. Letter from Mr. H. Cave, of Levuka, Chairman of a Public Meeting there, upon matters affecting Eiji. 4. From Messrs. Lcefe, Langton, and others on behalf of European inhabitants of Fiji. 5. Memorial from inhabitants of Fiji on the Federation of the Australasian Colonies. 6. Letter from Mr. Audley Coote, Hawaaian Consul, on the subject of annexation of Islands in the Pacific. 7. Letter from Mr. A. G. Fry, Chairman of Congregational Union of New South Wales, forwarding copy of a Resolution on the subject of the annexation of New Guinea and New Hebrides. 8. Letter from the Rev. J. J. Paton, on behalf of the New Hebrides Mission, forwarding a Petition respecting annexation. 9. Letter from the Rev. James Nish, D.D., Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, forwarding copy of a Resolution on the subject of the Annexation or Protectorate of Islands in the Pacific. 10. Letter from Mr. J. Harry Haydon, Acting Secretary of Exchange, Melbourne, forwarding a Resolution on the subject of Telegraphic Messages to Europe and India. 11. Letter from Messrs. Alfred Bennett and J. Henniker Heaton on the subject of a Cable Service, to be owned by the Australian Governments. 12. From the Superintendent of the Eastern Extension Australasian and China Telegraph Company on the subject of proposed reduction of Telegraph charges to Europe. 331—D 13.

INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883.

13. Prom Mr. J. B. Sheridan, on the subject of Intercolonial remedies against debtors. 14 Prom Mr. J. H. Haydon, acting Secretary of Exchange, Melbourne, forwarding a Resolution on the subject of absconding debtors. 15. Prom J. M. Creed, Esq., on the subject of the Rabbit Plague. 16. Prom Messrs. Stenhouse and Smith, on the subject of a self-acting Vermin and Rabbit Exterminator. 17. Letter from the Honorary Secretary of the Geographical Society of Australasia, on the subject of combined action towards the exploration of New Guinea. 18. Prom Mr. Rowan on the subject of Intercolonial Pree Trade in Colonial wine. 19. Prom the Hon. L. P. De Salis, on the subject of re-stocking islands with " Pur Seals." 20. Prom Mr. John Campbell, on the subject of a Pederal Court of Appeal. 21. Copy of Mr. Dalley's opinion on the subject of admission to Convention of Members unaccredited by Governments.

The Governor of Fiji to The Honorable the President of the Intercolonial Conference. Sir, Pfahlert's Hotel, Sydney, 28 November, 1883. I have the honor to request you to be kind enough to inform the members of the Intercolonial Conference that the Secretary of State has authorized the representation of Fiji, and has suggested the appointment of Mr. Thurston (the Colonial Secretary of Fiji) for that purpose, and with the specific and exclusive object of affording such information as the Conference may require. I regret however to state that circumstances have precluded Mr. Thurston's attendance, he having been left by me in the administration of the Government of the Colony before the decision of the Secretary of State had become known. At the same time, I trust that my own presence in New South Wales will preclude any practical inconvenience from the absence of a representative. Having a strong feeling of sympathy with those who have brought about the important meeting about to take place, I need scarcely say that it will not only be a duty but a pleasure to afford to the delegates of the other Australasian Colonies any information or assistance within my power. I have, &c, G. WILLIAM DES VCEUX, Governor of Fiji and Acting High Commissioner of the Western Pacific.

(2.) AFFAIES OF FIJI. Letter from Messrs. Leefe & Langton to The Chairman of the Conference. Sir, Sydney, 28 November, 1883. We take the earliest opportunity of informing you that we have been appointed by the European portion of the community of the Colony of Fiji to present a Memorial to the Conference, and to represent their views and feelings in regard to the inclusion of Fiji in any federation of the Australian Colonies. We have the honor, therefore, to request that you will be good enough to bring the matter before the Conference at its first sitting, and to ask that we may be permitted to present the Memorial, and to represent the Memorialists at the Conference. We have, &c., E. BECKWITH LEEFE. • EDWARD LANGTON.

(3.) From Mr. Henry Oaye of Levuka —Chairman of Public Meeting on affairs in Fiji. Levuka, Fiji, 15 November, 1883. To the Honorable the Presidenfr^Australasian Federal Convention, Sydney, N.S.W., — Sir, A numerously attended public meeting was held in this town on the 15th September last, with the object of taking action to express the strong and growing feeling of discontent at the mode in which the Government of this Colony is administered. At

INTERCOLONIAL CONTENTION.

At the meeting a Local Committee was elected to give effect to the resolutions then passed, and at the same time a number of gentlemen resideut in Australia were appointed to represent the Colonists of Fiji in the furtherance of the objects sought to be obtained. A petition to Her Majesty the Queen and a memorial to your Convention were prepared, and these documents (copies of which I enclose herein) have received almost universal support and signature throughout the Colony. At a second public meeting, held on Thursday last, the Bth instant, the following resolutions were unanimousfy passed: — First. —That in view of the Government not being in a position to accept the invitation to represent the Colony of Fiji at the Federal Convention of Australasia, the Convention be requested to hear the representatives of this Colony, elected at a public meeting held in Levuka, on the 15th September last, in support of the Memorial addressed to the Convention by the white inhabitants of Fiji. Second. —That this meeting, on behalf of the Colonists of Fiji, would express a hope that, notwithstanding the possible presence of an official or quasi-official representative of the Government of Fiji, that the memorialists will not be debarred (through their Committee) from giving expression to the feeling of the white inhabitants of Fiji, as regards the present political condition of the Colony. Third. —That the Hon. E. B. Leefe be requested to proceed to Sydney as a special delegate to co-operate with the other gentlemen elected as a Committee to represent the Colonists of Fiji in Australia. Fourth. —That the Chairman of this meeting be authorized to forward copies of the resolutions passed to the Chairman of the Australasian Federal Convention. I have therefore now, in furtherance of the foregoing, only to express a hope that your Convention will accede to the request so made, and grant to the gentlemen appointed to represent the European Colonists of Fiji at the Convention of Australasian Delegates a hearing before the Convention. The gentlemen appointed as a Committee, referred to in the foregoing paragraph, are the Honorables Messrs. Leefe, M'Evoy, and Langton, Dr. Chalmers, and Messrs. Ed. Knox (Colonial Sugar Company), W. K. Thomson, of Melbourne, and J. 0. Smith, Sydney. I have, &c, HENEY CAVE, Bth November, 1883. Chairman of Public Meeting.

(4.) AFFAIRS OF FIJI. Mr. R. B. Leefe and others to The Chairman and Members of the Intercolonial Conference. Gentlemen, On behalf of the European inhabitants of Fiji, who are most earnest and unanimous in their desire for a political, as they already have a social and financial connection with the Australasian Colonies, we wish, with a due regard to the time at the disposal of the Convention, to endeavour to show why such a connection is desirable both for them and for Fiji, and why it is desirable also that the latter should form a part of the " Dominion of Australasia." First, then, we would point out that the European portion of the inhabitants of the Colony we have the honor to represent were for the most part before they settled there Australian colonists, that they look upon Australia and New Zealand as their home, and naturally wish to be associated with those Colonies in any great political movement, and to throw in their lot with them, and they therefore desire to be included in and form part of federated Australasia. Secondly,' —That there is at present invested in Fiji at least £1,700,000 of Australasian capital; that nearly the whole of the produce of the Colony is sent to the Australian Colonies and New Zealand for sale, and that it would greatly encourage commercial enterprise, promote the profitable investment of Australasian capital, and inspire greater confidence, were Fiji in political union with them, and under the same general form of government. Thirdly,—That it cannot be a matter of indifference to federated Australasia that there should be a weak and defenceless Colony in which so much of its capital is invested, so near to New Zealand, and still nearer to a portion of the territory sought to be annexed, and which, in the event of England being engaged in a great European war, and the naval forces withdrawn for service nearer home, would be at the mercy of any small force of the enemy, which otherwise would be included in the general system adopted for the defence of Australasia. Fourthly, —In view of the difficulties in the way of the Polynesian labour traffic, and of the fact that from the islands sought to be brought within the scope of inquiry of the Convention, the greater portion of the immigrants employed in Queensland and Fiji are recruited, it is very desirable that, to prevent irregularities, the whole should be regulated by some system embracing all interested in the continued supply of this description of labour. Fifthly, —We think it would be in the future a matter for deep regret if, at a time when a federation of the British people in these parts may be effected, in order to protect Australasia from a common danger, the feelings and interests of the community most concerned in the promotion of law and order in the Western Pacific should be disregarded. For

For these and other reasons, we desire to impress on the Convention the desirability of embracing Fiji in any scheme which may bo proposed for the federation of Australasia, or the annexation to them of the outlying islands, so necessary for the consolidation and protection of the future Dominion; and we trust that the Convention will find it compatible with its function to impress on the Imperial Government the advisability of giving effect to the views of the colonists of Fiji, as made known in this communication and in the fifth paragraph of the memorial already presented; and we now leave our case in the hands of the Convention, confident that it will receive the earnest and favourable consideration due to the importance of the subject. We are, &c, E. BECKWITII LEEFE. EDWAED LANGTON, Slang. Director, Mango Island Co. (Ld.) CHAS. B. CHALMEES. EDW. W. KNOX, General Manager, Colonial Sugar-refining Co. GEO. M'EVOT. J. C. SMITH.

(5.) MEMORIAL EROM INHABITANTS OP FIJI ON THE FEDERATION OP THE AUSTRALASIAN COLONIES. Memobial to the Honorable the President and the Members of the Federal Convention appointed to meet at Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, in October next. The Memorial of the inhabitants of the Colony of Fiji, — Eespecteullt Showetii :— That your Memorialists are residents of the Crown Colony of Fiji, and regard the question of the ultimate federation of the Australasian Colonies as one of vital importance to the interests of this Colony. That the system of Government adopted in a Crown Colony such as wo have here is altogether opposed to the spirit of the age ; that, to a great extent, it impedes the investment and employment of capital in developing the industrial resources of the country ; that it checks the producing interests by unnecessary restrictions, and exercises such an unwholesome influence on every branch of industry that it has retarded rather than advanced the natural progress of the Colony. That the Colony is self-supporting is evidenced by the fact that our revenue now amounts to £98,000 sterling, and the expenditure to £87,000 sterling ; yet in its appropriation the people are denied any voice, and this, notwithstanding that the Legislative Council contaiDS certain non-official members, nominated and appointed by the Governor, yet —such is the dominating influence of the executive and the official members of the Council—they are powerless for good, and can neither control the expenditure in any way nor are they permitted to interfere with any appointment to office within the Colony. The geographical position of this Colony, its large and increasing business connections with New South "Wales, Victoria, and New Zealand, has induced the inhabitants to come forward and beg that they may be allowed to place before the Conference, now shortly to sit, its political position and the many benefits which would, accrue to the Colony and its people by the introduction of a more liberal form of Government, so that the advantages which the Australasian Colonies must derive from federation may be extended to Fiji, whether as an appanage of one or other of the Colonial Dependencies or otherwise, as the Conference may deem most advisable for the best interests and prosperity of this Colony and its people. And your Memorialists solicit that the combined and powerful influence of the Convention will be exercised with the Imperial Authorities in procuring their consent to the incorporation of this Colony with federated Australasia. "With the object of securing the foregoing, or, if that be denied us, of obtaining some amelioration of the disabilities under which we labour through our present form of Government, your Memorialists have prepared and forwarded for presentation to Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen a petition, a copy of which is hereto annexed, and it is prayed that the members of the Convention will assist the Petitioners in obtaining the objects of their petition. Dated in Levuka, Fiji, this 19th September, 18S3. J. 11. Garrick Robert "Wingate Henry Lee D. B. Millar George Krafft Alfred Stevens G. L. Griffiths Henry Cave "W. B. Cooke W. Laingham W. -J. Thomas J. Iloerder F. H. Martin Eichard Bentloy James M'Culloch William R. Scott Eichard St. Hcaddey Benjamin Morris C. Macheiis R. Harker W. G. Whiteside John Harris J. Fraser G. E. Everett C. W. Drury* 5 Hugh Byrne Stephen J. Cusack F. 11. Dufty Alfred W. B. Dufty George Harrison A. M. Brodziak S. L. Lazarus William Bennion J. B. Swarm, J.P. M. Cohsens Isaac Holden Hugh Munro W. W. Towood, J.P. George Worthigton Charles

Charles J. Morry Henry Cave A. "W. Allen W. Shepherd W. T. Sturt W. H. D. Howe J. Harinan John Bayly R. Stevenson W. J. Ahem J. Lazarus J. Banks John Mussan "William Howard J. R. Adcock J. G. Quin Archibald M'Gregor Saml. Lazarus William D. Lepper John M. Sutherland David Robbie Robert Lepper H. Raddock ¥m. Scott James M'Grath C. H. "Watson A. P. Anderson John Blair Thos. Steel Charles M*Caig P. W. Vautier Thos. Jones .** • Fred. A. Thomas John Acraman Edwards & Gains Thomas Patterson H. Spray Henry Jones Robt. Robertson E. Saunders John .Collie H. G. H. White John Gallagher George Palmer Richard C. Ross R. Whittard Henry Marks James Campbell J. D. Hathaway James "Williams G. "W. Thomas L. Armstrong Edward Magnus H. Niccol Alfred Lyons E. Dunbar C. S. Thomas E. "W. Hunt R. & H. Milne "William H. Cuthbert John Walker' John Murchie Paul Joske B. yon Klowerm Jos. R. Hill. A. H. Joske Charles D. S. Pinnock John Read H. Grovers Wm. Fillingham Parr W. S. Penman Robt. M'Dougal G. P. Woods T. Morton Richard Gray Dixon Archibald Martin F. T. Place Bernard Holmwood T. H. Prichard Jno. Randall George Clark T. W. Levitt P. Lafvers J. C. Taylor R. S. Ewins J. Wilson B. G. Dunning H. Hawkins Wm. S. Petrie D. Darrach Peter Patterson A. J. Skete A. M'Farlan D. Hardyside James W. Jennings C. Foster Henry M. Mangham J. Phillips W. T. Shaw, Engineer W. 11. Joyce John B. Hobson Geo. Meryal D. S. Montgomery Henry G. Hume Wm. Anslow Thomas IT. Phillips T. E. Riemenschneider C. A. Huon H. W. Marshall John Meredith A. G. P. Allt J. E. Pautton Robert Earle Robert Moss John V. Sims John Webber Wm. Paterson E. Plaisted Chas. D. Cuthbert William Heaydern Paul Stooss Ed. Joel H. Hall Ragg A. O'Fieffer R. Lennox Rowling W. A. Mahony W. Harris S. Levy A. C. Wood J. Gore Martin Walter Smith Wm. B. Leith R. Beckwith Leefe

To Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, &c, &c, &c. This the humble Petition of the undersigned your Majesty's British subjects, resident in the Colony of Fiji,Respectfully Showeth : — 1. That your Petitioners are colonists of Fiji, and are largely interested, commercially and otherwise, in the present and future prosperity of the Coiony. 2. That Fiji has been a British Colony since the 10th day of October, 1874. 3. That the present population of the Colony consists, it is estimated, of 110,000 native-born Fijians, and of 2,500 European and other foreign residents, exclusive of labourers introduced from other of the Pacific Islands and from India, 4. That the Government of the Colony is now administered by the Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council. 5. That the Executive Council, as ordinarily constituted, consists of the Governor, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, the Receiver-General, and the Agent-General of Immigration. 6. That the Legislative Council consists of the Governor and his Executive Council, the Honorable the Chief Justice and other officials not Members of the Executive Council, with certain gentlemen not connected with the Government but who are nominees of the Crown. 7. That all laws and ordinances passed for the Government of the Colony are enacted by the Governor with the advice of the Legislative Council. 8. That the votes of the official Members'of the Legislative Council are recorded as His Excellency may direct, notwithstanding that their personal opinion may be at variance with his own. 9. That no Member of the Legislative Council, other than the Governor, can propose any expenditure of money, nor reduce nor adH to any amount proposed by him. 10. That since the constitution of the Government as now existing, no single ordinance has been passed when introduced by any non-official Member. 11. That the revenue of the Colony has now reached a total of at least £90,000 per annum; that the European inhabitants are the principal contributors directly or indirectly thereof, and that such revenue exceeds the present expenditure of the Colony. 12.

12. That all appointments to offices and positions of emolument within the Colony are made by the Crown alone; that a reference to the appointments made for some years past will show that only an exceedingly small proportion of the offices created have been filled by residents in the Colony, and that in the great majority of instances preference has been given to cadets from England or Scotland, or persons from India. 13. That your Petitioners are denied all right of local self-government, and show that in the year 1877 provision was made for the appointment of a Town Board in Levuka, so constituted that such a proportion of members should be elected by the ratepayers as to give them a majority in the Town Council. That this system worked successfully when tried in Levuka, but that for the management of the town of Suva an officer of the Government alone manages the municipal business* of the town, and imposes and expends all rates. -"' - 14. That a reference to the statistics of the Colony and to other sources of information will show that the European colonists are as orderly, law-abiding, and well-conducted as any other subjects within your Majesty's dominions. 15. That your Majesty's subjects in this Colony are discontented and grieved that all right of being represented or heard in the Councils of this Colony is denied to them, and that they have no voice in the administration of the Government of the Colony, the enactment of its laws, or the public expenditure. 16. That, with few exceptions, the Ordinances of the Colony are introduced to the Legislative Council and passed without prior publicity having been given to them, so as to allow discussion, and objection, or suggestion thereto, to be made through the medium of the public Press, or in other ways through the non-official Members of the Council. 17. That the fact of the inhabitants of the Colony consisting of so large a proportion of native Fijians is no reason why the right ordinarily granted to British subjects of being represented in Colonial Councils of Government should be entirely denied to your Majesty's subjects in this Colony. 18. That, as there will shortly bo assembled at Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, a Convention of Representatives of the Australasian Colonies to consider the question of a General Federation of the Colonies, and the annexation of parts of New Guinea and also certain other islands or groups of islands in the Western Pacific, the time has therefore seemed to your Majesty's Petitioners opportune for praying from your Majesty's Government consideration of their present political position. In furtherance of which object your Petitioners have memorialized the said Convention now about to meet, and have requested them to assist your Petitioners in obtaining the objects herein set forth. Your Petitioners therefore now most humbly pray! —■ 1. That your Majesty will see fit, in the event of the Australasian Colonies becoming federated, to constitute the Colony of Fiji an integral portion of Federated A ustralasia. 2. That in the event of such Federation not being now immediately accomplished, your Majesty will see fit to allow the Colony of Fiji to become incorporated with one of the Australasian Colonies as now existing, with the consent of such Colony. 3. Or, that your Majesty will see fit to grant to the British-born subjects resident within this Colony complete relief from the humiliating condition in which they are at present politically placed. 4. That such relief be granted with due regard to the preservation of all existing rights and privileges of the native races inhabiting this Colony. And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will every pray, &c. Dated in Leyuka, Fiji, this 19th September, 1883.

(6.) ISLANDS IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN—ANNEXATION OF. The Hawaiian Consul to The Chief Secretary, Tasmania. Sir, Hawaiian Consulate, Hobart, Tasmania, 10 November, 1883. I have the honor to forward herewith, under cover of this letter, a protest on behalf of the Kingdom of Hawaii against annexation of the various islands in the Pacific Ocean. I shall be glad to hear that the Delegates from Tasmania attending the Conference to be held in Sydney early next month, on this important question, will bring this protest under the notice of the Delegates representing the other Australian Colonies. The wish of the Hawaiian Government is, instead of annexation in the Pacific, that the four great Powers, viz., England, France, Germany, and America, should join in a protectorate over the various islands and archi])elagoes of Polynesia, in a similar manner that Samoa has been governed, where Germany and the United States have for some years past jointly or separately exercised influence over public and native affairs. In fact a protectorate is now established in that group, England and Germany having entered into treaties with the King and the Government of Samoa, making that archipelago quite an independent State, and recognized as such by European diplomacy. The Kingdom of Hawaii is, I believe, under the protection of England, France, and America, and is also recognized by the great Powers as an independent State. It is evidently the wish of the Hawaiian Government that the groups of islands in the Pacific Ocean should be under a protectorate rather than by being annexed by any one Powe%. I have, &c, AUDLEY COOTE, Hawaiian Consul. Forwarded to the Honorable the Premier. This letter has not been acknowledged.—Wm. Mooee, 12 November, 1883.

Photest. Wuetieas His Hawaiian Majesty's Government being informed that certain Sovereign and Colonial States propose to annex various islands and archipelagoes of Polynesia, does hereby solemnly protest against such projects of annexation, as unjust to a simple and ignorant people, and subversive in their case of those conditions for favourable national development which have been so happily accorded to the Hawaiian nation. The Hawaiian people, enjoying the blessings of national independence confirmed by the joint action of great and magnanimous States, over ready to afford favourable opportunities for self-government, cannot bo silent about or indifferent to acts of intervention in contiguous and kindred groups which menace their own situation. The Hawaiian people, encouraged by favourable political conditions, have cultivated and entertain a strong national sentiment, which leads them not only to cherish their own political State, but also inspires them with a desire to have extended to kindred, yet less favoured communities of Polynesia, like favourable opportunities for national development. And whereas a Hawaiian Legislative Assembly, expressing unanimously the spirit of the nation, has declared that it was the duty of His Hawaiian Majesty's Government to proffer to kindred peoples and States of the Pacific an advisory assistance to aid them in securing opportunities for improving their political and social conditions : His Hawaiian Majesty's Government, responding to the national will and to the especial appeals of several Polynesian Chiefs, has sent a Special Commissioner to several of the Polynesian Chieftains and States, to advise them in their national affairs. And His Hawaiian Majesty's Government, speaking for the Hawaiian people, so happily prospering through national independence, makes earnest appeal to the Governments of great and enlightened States, that they will recognize the inalienable rights of the several native communities of Polynesia to enjoy opportunities for progress and self-government, and will guarantee to them the same favourable opportunities which have made Hawaii prosperous and happy, and which incite her national spirit to lift up a voice among the nations in behalf of sister islands and groups of Polynesia. By order of His Majesty in Council, WALTER M. GIBSON, lolani Palace, Honolulu, August 23,1883. Minister of Foreign Affairs.

The Pkotest. The Legislative Assembly in 1880 adopted by unanimous vote a resolution recommending that His Majesty appoint a Eoyal Commissioner to the States and peoples of Polynesia, " who shall represent the enlightened, humane, and hospitable spirit of our Government and people to the kindred States of the Pacific Ocean." This Commissioner was authorized, in consequence of representations being made to the Government that abuses and mal-practices in the name of the Hawaiian Government had taken, place in islands of western and central Polynesia, His Majesty's Government has recently carried out this recommendation of the National Legislature. The Government has been led furthermore, by various appeals and representations from chiefs and people to direct attention to the condition of several communities in Polynesia, and to endeavour to serve them by such action as will be deemed appropriate. Hence the Government has made a protest and an appeal now published by authority and to be submitted for the consideration of the great and enlightened Powers of the world who have interests in the Pacific Ocean. This protest has been forwarded to His Majesty's Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary at Washington, to be by him laid before the Government of the United States, and it has been forwarded to Europe, and will be handed in person by His Majesty's especial envoy, Col. laukea, to the Foreign Ministers of the Governments of Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Austria, and Italy ; and to other Powers it will be forwarded through other channels.

The Chief Secretary, Tasmania, to The Hawaiian Consul, Hobart. Sir, Premier's Office, 14 November, 1883. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the date noted in the margin, forwarding a protest on behalf of the Kingdom of Hawaii against annexation of the various islands in the Pacific Ocean. I have to state that your letter and its enclosure shall receive careful consideration. I have, &c, W. E, aiBLIN.

10 Nov., 1883.

The Hawaiian Consul, Hobart, to The Chief Secretary, Tasmania. Dear Sir, 1(3 November, 1883. Tour letter in reply to mine, re annexation in the Pacific, is to hand, and you have told mo it shall have your careful attention, for which I am obliged. I should like to know if you will bring my letter and protest under the notice of the Delegates at the Conference; if not, please let me know in time, that I may write officially to the Chairman of Delegates at the Conference, in which case I shall bo glad if you will return the protest, that I may enclose it. If you can, please make it convenient that I may see you before you leave, re " annexation" and "cable duplication." I telegraphed the Premier of Queensland, and also wrote him yesterday, and said I should bo prepared to be in attendance at the Conference if necessary, as I see it is to be considered whether a short land line to connect the Queensland land lines with those of South Australia should not be gone on with. Far better have another and independent cable (or system). Tours faithfully, AUDLET COOTE.

The

The Chief Secretary, Tasmania, to The Hawaiian Consul, Hobart. Sir, Premier's Office, 20 November, 1883. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the date noted in the margin, and bog to inform you that I will lay the protest forwarded by you on behalf of the Kingdom of Hawaii before the Convention of Delegates which assemble at Sydney on the 28th inst. I have, &c, AY. E. GIBLIN.

16 Nov., 1883.

' ; (7.) NEW GUINEA AND NEW HEBRIDES. From the Chairman of Congregational Union of New South Wales to The Colonial Secretary. Sir, Balmain, 26 November, 1883. I am directed to forward to you the enclosed resolution, carried unanimously at the recent sittings of the Congregational Union of New South "Wales, 18th October, 1883, and to request that you will lay it before the Annexation Convention about to be held in Sydney. I remain, &c, A. G. FEY. Eesolution: — It was moved by the Eev. James Jefferis, LL.B., seconded by the Eev. J. P. Sunderland,"and carried unanimously: — " That in the opinion of this Union it is in the highest degree important, [in the interests of peace and of civil and religious freedom, that the Sovereignty of the British Empire should be paramount in the southern seas, and hence that the occupation of New Guinea and the New Hebrides by any other Power would be inimical to the future welfare of the Colonies of Australasia and that of the native races inhabiting these seas."

(8.) NEW HEBRIDES MISSION—RESPECTING TRANSPORTATION OF CRIMINALS TO SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. Rev. J. G. Paton on behalf of New Hebrdies Mission forwards petition towards annexation. To the Hon. James Service, Premier of Victoria, and the Australasian Conference, about to meet in Sydney. Sir, In name of the New Hebrides missionaries and natives, being deputed by the synod, as senior missionary, to represent both in Australia at present, I protest against France being allowed, in accordance with her new convict law, to transport thousands of her lowest criminals and convicts to our South Sea Islands, as it would not only destroy the work of christianising and civilizing the islanders, but exterminate them, and be a prolific source of much evil to our Australian Colonies. And as our missionaries and Christian natives have frequently petitioned Great Britain to annex their islands, and cast the shield of her fostering care over them, in the name of both parties we unite with all Australia now in pleading with Great Britain at once to annex the New Hebrides, New Guinea, New Britain, New Ireland, the Solomon group, and all the unannexed islands between Queensland and Fiji, which form a complete chain round Australia, and are dependencies of it, and required to complete our Australian empire. If Britain does not annex those islands, she cannot prevent Prance or any other nation making them convict settlements, by which they would become a constant source of crime and danger, and expense to Australia ; and without annexing, Britain cannot suppress the Polynesian labour traffic, so steeped in blood and suffering, on the islands, even as now conducted, with its improved laws and regulations and agents. For the following reasons I plead that our protest and petition ought to be received by you, and have some influence at the Sydney Conference : —• 1. The vessels and men-of-war of at least five nations have been cruising among our islands for purposes of annexation ; since by our mission labours they have been so far civilized as to render life and property comparatively safe on them ; and their spacious harbours so well supplied with fresh water, their rich volcanic soil, and their great sugar, coffee, cotton, maize, copra, fibre 5, spice, and other tropical product-producing powers, make them such rich prizes and wealth-yielding sources, that if Britain does not annex them, undoubtedly some other nation soon will annex them, and neither France nor any other nation has spent a farthing on them for their good, 331—E 2.

2. We plead for British annexation, because all the missions engaged in civilizing those islands, by giving them the Gospel, are British Societies, and all the two millions of money expended in doing all the good that has been done on them has been British money, per the Presbyterian, the Wesleyan, the Episcopalian, and the London Missionary Societies, by which the Bible has been translated and printed, and is now read in many formerly unknown languages; and by its teaching and elevating influences many thousands of savages and cannibals arc now converted and living happy peaceful lives, serving Jesus, and longing for British protection and annexation. 3. Those islands are all dependencies of Australia, and we, British subjects on them, are part and parcel of Australia. The most of us are supported by Australian Churches. Our children are all educated in Australia, which will be their land and home. The five mission vessels, and all the missionaries of all our Societies on those islands depend upon and come to Australia for all their provisions and supplies. By our New Hebrides Mission alone we have spent over £150,000, and for it we now spend about £6,000 yearly in Australia. Our mission ship, the " Day-spring," was bought and is chiefly kept by the money of the Australian Sabbath-school children, while of our missionaries Victoria has supported three, New Zealand three, Tasmania one, New South Wales one, South Australia one, Scotland three, and Nova Scotia three ; and seeing that, by great and continued persevering Christian labours, notwithstanding the trials, the dangers, and the loss of life suffered, from the death of John Williams to the three Gordons, Bishop Pattieson, and others, God has so blessed our labours with success that now about 8,000 on our group are under Christian instruction, and 70,000 ready and pleading for the British missionary to give them the Gospel, surely we have a right to be heard in pleading with Great Britain, through you and your Sydney Conference, to annex those islands, and protect us, our natives, and our philanthropic Christian work among them, and to protect Australia from all the evils sure to arise from any other nation annexing them. Praying that God may guide your Conference with unanimity to plead for British annexation, and lead Britain to grant it, and praying that in all your consultations and conclusions He may guide you for His glory, the general good of Australia, of the Islands, and of all concerned, — I remain, &c, JOHN G. PATON, Nov. sth, 1883, Cotham Road, Kew. Senior Missionary, New Hebrides Mission.

(9.) BE ANNEXATION OR PROTECTORATE OE ISLANDS ADJACENT TO AUSTRALASIA. The Rev. James Nish to The Honorable James Service. Dear Sir, Sandhurst, 29 November, 1883. I have been instructed by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria to forward to you a copy of the accompanying resolution, with the view of having it submitted, if you may see fit, to the Conference of Representatives now met in Sydney. I regret that the multiplicity of my engagements for the last eight days has led me inadvertently to overlook my instructions, but I hope it is not yet too late. Trusting that you will be successful in your philanthropic efforts, — I am, &c., JAMES NISH.

At Melbourne, and within the Assembly Hall, Collins-street, this 21st day of November, 1883, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria having met and been duly constituted. Inter alia, " The Assembly resolved to express their satisfaction that the Governments of the various Australasian Colonies are taking such vigorous action in favour of the British Annexation or Protectorate of the islands adjacent to Australasia, and most strongly to deprecate the landing of French convicts on the New Hebrides or even the allowing of these islands to come under French authority or influence, which would without doubt greatly hinder the progress of missionary work in the islands, increase the evils produced by the labour traffic, and blight the hopes which this Church entertains that before long all these islands now so open to missionaries shall be brought to the saving knowledge of the Gospel." Extracted from the records of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, by JAMES NISH, D.D., Clerk of Assembly.

(10.)

(10.) TELEGRAPH MESSAGES TO EUROPE AND INDIA. J. H. Haydon, Esq., to The Premier of Victoria. Sir, The Exchange, Melbourne, 27 November, 1883. I have the honor to forward to you the following extract from the minutes of the meeting of the Committee of this Chamber held yesterday. I have, &c, J. HAEEY HAYDON, Acting Secretary. Extract. The following resolution was unanimously adopted : — " That this Chamber desires to memorialize the Convention of Australasian Delegates, urgently requesting them to take into consideration the present prohibitive cost of telegraphic messages to Europe and India in connection with the offer of the Chairman of the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company to reduce the charges, provided the Governments of the Australasian Colonies will pledge themselves to make good any loss of revenue occasioned by such reduction." J.H.H., A.S.

(11.) A. Bennett and J. H. Heaton, Esqs., to The President and Members of the Australasian Intercolonial Conference. Gentlemen, - Sydney, Nov. 29, 1883. We beg to submit for your consideration the following facts and propositions : — 1. That the present high rate for cable messages to and from Europe is prohibitory and hampers enterprise and business transactions generally. 2. That a second cable service is therefore required, and it should be owned by the Australasian Governments. [The present cables are entirely in the hands of European capitalists.] 3. That the combined Australasian Governments construct, at their own expense, but on borrowed capital, a telegraphic cable to England by the route suggested, in a valuable paper, by Mr. T. B. James, the Superintendent of Telegraphs for Victoria. This route avoids coral reefs, and is through deep and cool seas ; it branches off from Western Australia to the Mauritius and the Cape, thence to Cape St. Vincent and on to England. The messages would be accelerated by this line, for in place of thirty-three preparing stations we should have only ten. 4. The distance by the proposed route does not exceed 12,000 miles, and the cost at £250 per mile would amount to £3,000,000 sterling. The interest on this sum at 5 per cent, would only amount to £150,000 per annum, a small sum when divided among five or seven Colonies. 5. The receipts, by the parties at present interested, for cable messages between England and Australia, amounted last year to £225,567, and for this year they promise to exceed a quarter of a million. For Press messages alone £20,000 annually is paid. Tet the average number of all messages, each way, did not reach seventy per day from and to the Australasian Colonies. 6. We propose that the charge on the projected Government line be 2s. 6d. per word at first [although we are convinced that Is. per word would pay], and that the minimum charge be (for eight words) £1. By this arrangement business would be enormous, for hundreds of merchants and others, who are now prohibited by high charges, would use the cable, thereby saving months of time in correspondence by mail to and from England. It is a national work, and well worthy of the great representatives' attention who are now assembled in Conference. We have, &c, ALFKED BENNETT. J. HENNIKEE HEATON.

(12.)

(12.) BE PROPOSED REDUCTION OE TELEGRAPH CHARGES TO EUROPE. Superintendent Shapley to The Chairman of the Intercolonial Conference. La Perouse Station, 27 November, 1883. On behalf of the Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Co. (Ld.), I have the honor to inform you that Mr. W. G-rigor Taylor, the General Manager of this Company, is now on his way to Sydney from Singapore, for the purpose of placing himself in communication with the members of the Conference about to assemble in Sydney, with a view to afford any information which may be required during the discussion of the proposed reduction of the telegraph charges to Europe by the said Conference. Mr. Taylor may be expected here early in December. I have, &c, J. S. SHAPLEY, Supt. Submitted, 1/12/83. Conference.—A.S.

(13.) INTERCOLONIAL REMEDIES AGAINST DEBTORS. Mr. J. B. Sheridan to The Secretary, Intercolonial Convention. Sir, 71, King William-street, Adelaide, 30 November, 1883. As I understand it is probable that the Conference may consider the question of intercolonial remedies against debtors, I beg to call your attention to apparently conflicting decisions between the Supreme Courts of South Australia and Victoria. In Anderson v. Louttit, 2 S.A.L.E. 19, our Supreme Court decided that our Local Courts have jurisdiction in cases where persons are resident in the province, although the cause of action may have arisen abroad or on the high seas. In Crooke v. Smith, 4 Vie. Law Eep. (Law) 95, the Supreme Court of Victoria decided, on language in the County Courts Act similar to that in our Local Courts Acts, that the County Courts have no jurisdiction in cases similar to the above. I have, &c, JNO. B. SHEEIDAN.

(14) The Acting Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Melbourne, to The Hon. Jas. Service, M.L.A., Premier. Sir, The Exchange, 23 November, 1883. I have the honor to request your favourable attention to the following resolution unanimously adopted by the Committee of this Chamber at its last meeting. Tour, &c, J. HAEEY HA YD ON, Acting Secretary. " That the Honorable the Premier be respectfully requested by this Chamber to place the question of absconding debtors on the list of subjects to be discussed at the approaching Eederal Convention, with a view to having the same satisfactorily arranged." The above is a true copy of an extract from the Minutes of this Chamber. J. IT. Hatdon, Acting Secretary.

(15.) RABBIT PLAGUE. Jno. M. Creed, Esq., to The President of the Convention. My dear Sir, Athenseum Club, 5 December, 1883. According to promise, I enclose you a copy of my letter on the "rabbit plague," with suggested remedies. I think it is worthy«tho consideration of the representatives of the Colonies affected by the pest, and I shall feel greatly obliged if you see your way to bring the matter under the notice of the Conference. I am, &c, JNO. M. CREED. Sydney

Sydney Morning Herald, "Wednesday, 5 December, 1883. The Rabbit Plague. To the Editor of the Herald. Sir, So few persons outside the rabbit-infested districts seem to realize the national importance of the complete extirpation of this pest that I trust you will give me space in your journal for some few further remarks and suggestions. By the Chief Inspector's report for the week ending November 21, it seems that out of forty-four inspectors thirty-two reported that during that week they had found upwards of a million and a half of acres infested. At the same rate, we may calculate that the twelve inspectors who have not reported have inspected another half million of acres in the like condition. As it is only reasonable to suppose that they only visit each portion of their district once in three weeks or a month, we may calculate that at the present time in New South Wales there are from six to eight million acres infested with rabbits. The report shows that during the same week one rabbit is known to have been destroyed to every 136 acres infested and inspected. If, in addition, we generously allow that as many more were destroyed by the saturation of their burrows with bi-sulphide of carbon, it seems that little more than three quarters of a rabbit per acre per annum are being got rid of, and that this is done ■with a staff of 289 men. This number it is intended to increase4o 403 men when they can be obtained, so that when the utmost that is proposed to be done is carried out in its entirety a little over one-third more rabbits will be destroyed, and the magnificent result will be the destruction of a rabbit and a minute fraction per acre per annum. I think the absurd futility of the means of destruction, as at present carried out, is obviously shown by these figures, for no one can doubt that ten times as many as are killed are left in a healthy vigorous condition to carry on the plague. The report also says that on twenty-five runs the rabbits are increasing, on nineteen are stationary, and that in seventy-three they are decreasing; but this can only be the case, even if true, during the time that the destruction is being vigorously carried on, and directly this ceases the trouble will, in a short time, be as bad as ever. I am informed by one of themselves that in the Wentworth district four station-holders are spending, and expect to continue to spend, at the rate of .£20,000 per annum between them for the destruction of rabbits; that they feel assured that even this expenditure will only keep the pest within reasonable bounds and not extirpate it, and that, were they to lessen their expenditure, they would have to abandon their runs in a very short time, as being unable to carry any stock. That this is no imaginary fear is shown by the fact that, notwithstanding efforts at destruction, the Kulnine run, which in 1880 cut 800 bales of wool, this year only cut 300 bales, the run being fully stocked in both years to its carrying capacity, the decrease being consequent on the multitude of rabbits. As an example of the rapidity with which rabbits increase when free in suitable country, I am informed by a gentleman now in Sydney that sixteen years since he turned out on his run in New Zealand, believing he could keep the numbers within bounds, two pairs of rabbits. These, within three years, increased to such quantities that at least twelve men were kept constantly employed in their destruction, yet failed to do more than keep them from increasing. lam informed that the Government of New South Wales forbid the payment for destruction by a bonus per scalp for all destroyed, on the ground that then the men will only work in the thickly-infested places, and will leave those alone which have only a few rabbits on them until they have multiplied and established themselves, and that therefore it is better to pay by weekly wages. The disadvantage of this decision is—first, that it involves the employment of an overseer to superintend each gang of men, as many except when directly under his eye would cease work to lie on their backs in the shade ; secondly, the men who would most frequently have opportunities to destroy rabbits on runs only commencing to be infested would be the boundary riders, stockmen, &c, in the course of their usual work, and the knowledge that the production of a rabbit scalp would entitle them to a small sum of money would keep them always on the lookout, so that the earlier comers would be destroyed before they became fully established. I learn that some of the stockholders of the northern and north-eastern portion of the Colony are commencing to object to being taxed, because they say that the pest will never reach them. To show how little they are justified in thinking that their trouble will be long delayed, I may state that during the last eighteen months rabbits have spread from 200 to 250 miles further up the east bank of the Darling Biver, and that unless active and united measures are taken it will not take many years, at the same rate of progress, before they arrive (even supposing they only follow the course of the river) at New England, by the route of the Barwon and M'lntyre. Did these gentlemen object to be specially taxed for this object merely because they are stockholders, and because the evil is a national one, concerning every man, woman, and child in the community, I think their objections would rest on a sounder basis. With the foregoing figures and facts before them, no one will assert the destruction of rabbits by men with traps, poison, dogs, and guns will do more than keep the pest in partial subjection during the time that these measures are being actively carried on, and that to continue New South Wales as a woolproducing country it must never cease, so that the charge will be perpetual if no other means are employed. One of these, no doubt, is the turning loose of a number of the smaller carnivora, mongooses, ferrets, &c. ; but until these are so numerous as to be in proportion of (say) 1 per cent, to the rabbits in the district, the effect will not be very marked, whilst, if they are so effective as to extirpate the rabbits, there will be numberless ferocious blood-thirsty little brutes half-starving and driven by hunger to destroy every head of poultry and young lambs, and to frequently attack children in the cradle, this latter being no imaginary risk, for even with the carefully-fed and caged ferrets in England every year a few newspaper paragraphs appear giving accounts of attacks on young children by ferrets which had escaped ; and in India, I am informed on good authority that this frequently happens with the mongoose, which is much more fierce and bloodthirsty. As to the poultry, some of the inhabitants of Summer Hill can testify to its powers of destruction, as exemplified by one which recently escaped from the quarantine ground at that place. In my opinion, the only really effective means to extirpate rabbits is by the spreading of a disease amongst them which will kilL them off, and render the few survivors so weakly and degenerate as to be unable to propagate their species. This, I think, might be done without risk of the spread of the disease employed from them to man or the other animals. Tuberculosis would, I believe, be effective, and without serious risk. Its effectiveness and the amount of this risk could be easily determined by an experiment on a large scale, to be carried out, under proper supervision, on one of the islands in the Murray River, where rabbits

rabbits are, and where the disease might be isolated until proved but slightly, or not at all, communicable to sheep also placed there. It must not be forgotten that it is now present in the flocks and herds of the Colony, and that numerous beasts suffering from it are slaughtered every day at the Sydney abattoirs. In addition to this experiment, a competent person or persons should be sent to Tasmania to inquire into the tuberculosis amongst rabbits said to be present on the Ellenthorpe Estate there. Two American gentlemen, now in Sydney, tell me that in California, where hares used to be excessively numerous, during the last ten years they have been almost extirpated by a disease which, from their description, I believe to be a form of tuberculosis, and it is believed in a few years there will not be one left. They also tell me that, notwithstanding it is so fatal, and apparently so easily communicable to hares, it attacks no other animal. I may say that there are no wild rabbits, such as we have, in California, but it is probable that they, if brought into contact with the- disease, would be equally susceptible to it, belonging as they do to so closely allied a species of the same genus. One of these gentlemen who leaves by the next mail for California, has promised to make every inquiry for me into this disease, will obtain preparations of its morbid manifestations in the animals, and will, if possible, bring with him on his return in March next, live specimens of hares infected, or rabbits innoculated from them, so that Mr. Willows, the Government Veterinarian, and myself may make inquiry into the pathology of the disease, with a view, if it is one that will be easily capable of being spread amongst rabbits, but difficult of communication to other animals, of utilizing it in their extirpation in the infected portions of the Colony. So serious a national evil, however, should not be left to the efforts of private individuals for its remedy, but those of the Australasian Colonies who are infested should take united action, and offer a very large bonus for the discovery of some remedy, which should, before it was paid for, be shown to be effective in absolutely extirpating rabbits in some large district where it should be tried. I think that it would be possible to cultivate a special disease, which, after a time, should possess the characteristic of being easily intercommunicable and positively fatal amongst rabbits, yet not infectious to any other animal. This being arrived at the problem is solved, and the most terrible peril to their prosperity to which the Australasian Colonies have ever been exposed will have been averted. That the cultivation of some disease having such special characteristics is no mere chimera is shown by the report of Mr. Willows on anthrax amongst sheep in the Lachlan district. This disease which, in its ordinary form, is easily communicable between and rapidly fatal amongst all graminivorous animals, has become so modified by continuous transmission through sheep only that it is now in that district strictly confined to them, cattle and horses grazing in the infected paddocks without serious risk, though sheep often die within one hour after infection. It would probably require men having a special aptitude for such research to bring the project to a successful issue, and therefore to induce such men as Pasteur of France, and Kohn of Germany, to devote themselves for a sufficiently long time to this object, the sum offered should be large—perhaps, but for the magnitude of the benefit to be obtained, an amount which would be considered excessive. The direct loss during last year from rabbits in New Zealand, Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and South Australia was .£2,800,000, and this loss is steadily increasing year by year under the present ineffective measures taken for their destruction. These Colonies should conjointly offer a bonus of £50,000 (less than 2 per cent, on the present annual loss) to the person or persons who should find out a means that, without unreasonable cost, shall, within a period of (say) three or five years from the time it is first commenced to be used, completely clear a given large district of the rabbits in it. The only means I think it possible by which this could be effected would be by the originating of some such disease as I have foreshadowed, the cost of destruction by which would when found out amount to only a few score pounds. The offering of such a sum as I suggest would enlist many of the best minds of the world in the inquiry, and would without doubt lead to good result. The expenditure would only be incurred if success were insured; and this being the case, £50,000 would be a very small sum as compared with the benefit received. In addition to this, I would suggest that the New South Wales Government make such arrangement as would enable some competent gentlemen —and I would especially name Professor Anderson Stuart and Mr. Willows—to conduct an inquiry and carry out experiments with a similar object in view. Should they be the first successful discoverers, they should receive the reward, the cost at which the Government have been in enabling them to carry out their researches being first deducted. Apologizing for the length of my letter, which I have found it impossible to make shorter, I am, <fee, Woollahra, December 3. JNO. M. CREED.

(16.) SELE-ACTING YEEMIN AND RABBIT EXTERMINATOR. Messrs. Stenhouse & Smith to The Secretary, Australasian Convention. Sir, Blenheim, N.Z., 15 November, 1883. We have the honor of forwarding by book-post photos of our Stenhouse & Smith's Self-acting Gaseous Vermin and Eabbit Exterminator, with directions for use on back, and the copy of circular sent to the Colonial Secretary of each of the respective Australasian Governments, and shall deem it a favour your laying the matter before the Conference in due course for their consideration, as the rabbit pest has assumed such enormous proportions and hourly increasing, that if not dealt with by the most approved method of extirpation the evil will develop into a national calamity. The main features of our invention are —their fatal effects, and adaptability to any position or circumstance where accessible ; their construction so suitable for transit; the costs connected with working them so small, being self-acting, and devoid of anything appertaining to machinery; no danger of getting out

out of repair, unless done purposely; purely and simply draught acting on the generated sulphurous acid in the machine, driving the fatal fumes at once (while setting it) through all the main channels ; the smoke emitted indicating the connection with the hole the machine is applied to ; excluding any fresh supply of oxygen from the side roads or pockets where the rabbits are by this time confined with no chance of escape, resulting in their death immediately they have exhausted the necessary oxygen required to maintain their life ; that one man can easily manage a dozen of them, as in many cases the burrows are large and close together; that unless the operator capsizes the machine purposely or through extreme carelessness the liquid sulphur is perfectly safe and free from danger; that the machine is only a little over five (5) pounds weight, and when the nozzles require to be attached, where the ground is rough and uneven, they will suit any emergency; that so long as the machine is kept level, it can be set by faring the hose in the rabbit hole, the body not requiring any support, owing to its construction and weight; that in dealing with watercourses on hill ground, the method is, —commence at the bottom and lay the machines one after the other at every gap where the smoke shows until the top is reached ; and that when used in conjunction with poison laid where it is impossible to apply the machine. We flatter ourselves that there is nothing now in existence equal to the invention to cope with the pest. From the primary idea emanating from the burning of a small quantity of flour sulphur in a leadladle, and studying draught, until its maturity, as .represented in the photo, every advancement in construction has been practically and thoroughly tested in the burrows. We have also the honor of intimating that at the Marlborough Agricultural and Pastoral Show, held at Blenheim on the 30th ult., the exterminator, with nozzles complete, was awarded by the judges the Society's special certificate and 20s. prize. Trusting the foregoing will receive your favourable consideration during the sitting of the Conference, — We have, &c, STENHOUSE & SMITH.

(17.) ASSISTANCE TOWARDS EXPLORATION OF NEW GUINEA. The Hon. Secretary, Geographical Society of Australasia, to The Colonial Secretary. Sir, 127, Macquarie-street, 27 November, 1383. With reference to the proposition of the Hon. J. C. Bray, Premier of South Australia, that the question of joint assistance by the Australian Governments towards the exploration of New Guinea should be brought before the approaching Federal Conference (vide your communication of 4/9/83), and also to your enclosure of 7th instant, intimating that the £1,000 voted by the Victorian Parliament for such purpose is now available, I have the honor, by direction of the Council of the Geographical Society, to express its earnest hope that the question of combined action on the part of the Australian Governments may be placed upon record on the business papers of the Conference, in order that at a future time, when the political aspects of the matter have been finally settled, it may be understood that the Australian Colonies are prepared to co-operate with the Royal Geographical Society, under Imperial authorization, and in conjunction with the local Societies of Australia, in the matter of funds and other assistance. I have, &c, EESEIGH MARTIN, For the Hon. Secretary, Geographical Society of Australasia.

(18.) INTERCOLONIAL FREE TRADE IN COLONIAL WINE. Mr. Rowan to The Chairman of the Intercolonial Convention. St. Hubert's Wine Cellars, 75, Collins-street West, Sir, Melbourne, 1 December, 1883. I have the honor to bring under the notice of the Convention a question of vital importance to one of the staple industries of these Colonies —an industry which is yearly assuming proportions of greater magnitude, and which may —I might almost say must —dwarf all others in process of time, provided its expansion is not hindered by fiscal restrictions and by a policy of jealous provincialism. In recommending the establishment of intercolonial free trade in wines of Australian growth, I venture to speak upon a question with which I am practically acquainted, and to which I have devoted a large amount of thought and consideration; and it is one that I approach not as a Victorian, but as an Australian ; not as an individual vigneron, but as belonging to a numerous body of cultivators, who must feel impelled to efface the artificial boundary-lines which now separate us, no less from the dictates of patriotism than from the lower motives of self-interest. That

That the southern half of this continent is qualified, and is probably destined, to become one of the chief vineyards of the world, is a conclusion pointed out alike by tho character of our soil, by the nature of our climate, and by the remarkable success which has already attended the efforts of our vignerons to produce wines identical in all respects with tho best vintages of Prance, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Hungary. As a branch of husbandry, it would be difficult to name one which possesses stronger claims upon the sympathy and support of the statesman, philanthropist, and political economist, whether as a factor of national wealth, as an occasion of individual prosperity, as a means of providing steady and remunerative employment for labour, which is light, agreeable, and healthy, or as a moralizing and sanitary agency. Acre for acre, a vineyard yields a larger return to the cultivator than land devoted to almost any other form of husbandry; and as each individual vine is an object of -vigilant attention during its various stages of growth, the industry of the vigneron affords remunerative occupation to a greater number of persons on a given area than is yielded by tho ordinary pursuits of agriculture. Moreover, the persons thus occupied are engaged in the open air, far removed from the vicious and morbific influences of large towns, and pursue their vocations under conditions favourable to health, cleanliness, and morality. Hence the industry is one which must be viewed with special favour by every one who is desirous of seeing these Colonies grow in wealth and population, and become the homes of a vigorous and virtuous population, exempt from the vices, diseases, and misery of the masses of human beings crowded into the most squalid quarters of the largest cities of the old world. A wine-drinking people is proverbially a sober people ; find the cause of temperance is undoubtedly promoted by the substitution of light, sound, and wholesome wines for intoxicating and often sophisticated spirits, and heavy and heady malt liquors, as a daily beverage ; while the great medical and. dietetic value of wines both in health and disease has been conclusively shown by Dr. P. E. Anstie, in his able treatise on this subject, reprinted from the Practitioner. Therefore, from a moral point of view, the vine deserves to flourish in these Colonies ; but in order to do so, the great and growing industry on behalf of which I venture to address you should be exempted from all fiscal trammels, and the wine produced in any part of Australia should be permitted the freest circulation in every one of the Colonies. To impede or prevent that circulation by the imposition or retention of border duties is a policy, or rather an impolicy, which could only be parallelled by such a supposition' case as that of the Northern Departments of Prance levying duties upon the wines, of Mcdoc, or the Western Departments placing an impost on those of Reims and Epernay. That such taxes actually were exacted up to the time of the illustrious Corbert is one of those humiliating facts upon which every Frenchman looks back with mingled feelings of wonder and commiseration. It belonged to the dark ages of national finance, and is admitted to have been a disgrace to the Government which sanctioned, and to the people who endured, so ridiculous and injurious a burden. The spectacle of the subjects of tho same Sovereign treating each other as rivals and aliens is now admitted to have been a scandalous one —no one ventures to excuse or defend it. But are not border duties upon Australian wines equally indefensible, equally at variance with every sound maxim of political economy, and equally hostile to tho substantial interests of the vine-grower, and to the healthy and steady development of the industry to which he is devoting his energies, and in which he has embarked his capital. Each region of this continent, in so far as its viticultural area is concerned, produces wine of a distinctive character. South of the dividing range in Victoria tho lighter varieties appear to be those for which the soil and climate arc most appropriate and propitious; but as we travel northward, in this Colony, in New South Wales, and in South Australia, we find the wines to be richer, fuller in body, and containing a higher percentage of alcohol. These are the qualities which naturally recommend them for winter consumption in Victoria, and for general consumption in Tasmania and the midland and southern districts of New Zealand. On the other hand, the lighter and thinner wines of Victoria would be likely to be in considerable demand in the tropical and sub-tropical portions of this continent. Speaking as one who has a large stake in the wine-growing interest in Victoria, I am prepared to welcome the freest and fullest competition with the vignerons of the other Colonies. For, if it should come to pass that they will find an important outlet for their wines here, I am perfectly confident that we should find a corresponding outlet for our own wines there ; while I am no less certain that, in the absence of all artificial obstructions, the consumption of Australian wi.ies would be doubled in a very short space of time. This has been the experience of other countries in regard to similar, and to staple articles of commerce; and I need hardly point out that, as all commerce resolves itself into an exchange of commodities, every expansion of it, whether by natural growth or by its release from fiscal restraints and hindrances, confers a twofold benefit —each of the two parties to the transactions reaps a solid advantage from it. , , Intercolonial free-trade in wine has this substantial recommendation, —that it involves no concessions and entails no sacrifices in any direction, because the conditions of _ production, the cost of land, labour and material, plant and utensils, and the current interest on capital, are equalized in all the Colonies. There is no valid plea for handicapping any competitor —no reasonable pretext for isolation or exclusion ; whatsoever may be the argument, for or against protection as applied to Australian industries, in relation to the outside world, they have no force whatever as regards our intercolonial transactions ; in respect to these, we all stand upon the same footing—none of these Colonies on the mainland can possibly lose by the free exchange of tho produce of their respective vineyards, while all would gain by that expansion of industry which, as I have said, is proved by experience to result from the relaxation or removal of fiscal burdens and Custom-house fetters. But, as all changes, however desirable they may be in theory and however excellent they are likely to prove in practice, are sure to meet with the opposition of the timid, the conservative, and the unprogressive ; I would respectfully venture to suggest the adoption of intercolonial free trade in Australian wines for a period not exceeding three years, as an experiment susceptible of abandonment at the expiration of that time, should it disappoint the expectation of its promoters, or be found to have operated injuriously to the vignerons of either Colony. At the same time, I have not the slightest misgiving as to the complete success of the experiment, and I feel confident that there^would be, on the contrary, a general consensus of opinion in favour of rendering the arrangement perpetual. I W'^ DREW ROWAK

(19.)

(19.) EE-STOCKING ISLANDS WITH FUE-SEALS. The Hon. L. P. De Sails to The Hon. W. B. Dalley. My dear Sir, Union Club, Sydney, 3 December, 1883. There is a most interesting article in the Quarterly Review of October, "A Monograph on the Sea Islands of Alaska," showing the value to United States of a couple of islands swarming with the FnrSeals: these being properly economised, afford a permanent revenue to the United States, sufficing to pay the interest for the whole purchase money that Eussia got for her American possessions. It is stated* that we also possess similar islands whereon the Fur-Seals could be re-stocked. I know you take interest in such matters. Should the Convention now sitting not act in this matter ? Yours sincerely, L. FANE DE SALIS. * End of page 450 and beginning of page 451.

(20.) FEDERAL COUET OE APPEAL. Mr. John Campbell to The Hon. James Service. Sir, Sussex-street, Sydney, 4> December, 1883. I desire respectfully to ask you to bring the matter of the establishment of a Federal Court of Appeal before the Federal Convention now sitting. It is because from long and bitter experience I realize the great need of such a Court that I venture to move in the matter. Pure administration of justice is without doubt the highest function of Government. As things are at present, unscrupulous persons with sufficient money at command can place justice at defiance, while the poor and those of slender means have to give up in despair. I am, &c, 6 JOHN CAMPBELL.

(21.) MEMOEANDUM FOE PEESIDENT OP CONVENTION AS TO ADMISSION OP MEMBEES UNACCREDITED BY GOVERNMENTS. The authority of the representative of any Colony must necessarily be one from his Government and cannot be derived in any other way, for the simple and conclusive reason that in no other way can it be known that he is a representative. His commission, except in the case of a Minister of the Crown of any Colony, is his sole title to take part in the Conference, and that document can only be issued by the Governor of the Colony which ho represents. And thus every representative agent, in order to be received in that character, must be furnished either with a letter of credence containing a description of the power authorizing him to negotiate, or with such powers embodied in the form of letters-patent. Indeed, it is the invariable practice, at either Congresses, Conventions, or Conferences, for the representatives to reciprocally exchange copies of their powers on their assembling. Under these circumstances, it seems altogether impossible to receive representatives of any Colonies who come to us without the credentials of the Governors of such Colonies. W. B. D ALLEY, A.G.

331—F

NEW SOUTH WALES.

PAPERS LAID BEFORE THE CONVENTION. 1. Commissions of the several Representatives. 2. New Guinea and New Hebrides —Proposed annexation of. 3. Further correspondence respecting New Guinea. 4. Report on the area, population, trade, &c, of the principal groups of Islands. 5. Despatch respecting transportation of French criminals to " New Caledonia." 6. Memorandum by His Excellency the Governor of Fiji and Acting-High Commissioner of the Western Pacific on the future of New Guinea and Polynesia, with reference to the question of Australasian annexation or Protectorate. 7. Memorandum by His Excellency the Governor of Western Australia. 8. From Agents-General of Australasian Colonies, on the subject of annexation, or protectorate of New Guinea and Islands in Western Pacific.

INTERCOLONIAL CONTENTION, 1883.

(!•)

COMMISSIONS OF THE SEVEEAL REPRESENTATIVES. By His Excellency The Right Honorable Lord Augustus William Frederick Spencer " LISKtcJS- of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath a Member'of Her Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council, Governor and Commander-m-Cluef of the Colony of New South Wales and its Dependencies. To The Honorable Alexander Stuart, Esquire, Colonial Secretary of the Colony of New South WalesGreeting : „ , . .., „,, Whereas it has been determined to hold a Conference of Representatives of the Colonies of New South Wiles, Victoria, New Zealand, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania, Western A^ and F| which Conference is appointed to assemble in Sydney, in the said Colony of.New South Wale^ on t t twentv-ei-hth day of the present month of November, to consider the questions of federation ot the SSSobI, the Annexation or Protectorate of Islands in the Padhc SJ ( intercolonial interest with a view to mutual agreement on such questions to the common advantage ot the said WnLiAM Bede Slley to confer and deliberate with the other Representatives thereat assembling, and in leTxe^isf of yo^Toint judgment and discretion to execute in behalf of this Colony any agreement in h ma"ter s c Lye cited whil the Colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia, and Fiji may by their representative be prepared to <g»nte; and you are further authorized, in conjunction with the said George Richard Die, s^Esquire, «£*£££ William Bede Dalley, to enter upon the discussion of and to join in agreement upon any og^ matter relating to the aforesaid Colonies which may be submitted for the consideration of the afoiesaid Coherence. ' Given under my Hand and the Seal of the Colony, at Government House Sydney this twentyseventh day of November, in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eightythree, and in the forty-seventh year of Her Majesty's Reign. LO FTUS. By His Excellency's Command, ALEX. STUART. Entered on record by me, in Register of Patents, No. 12, pages 33-4, this twenty-eighth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. For the Colonial Secretary and Registrar of Records, Cbitchett Walkek, Principal Under Secretary.

WM. P. DRUMMOND JEPvVOIS, Governor. To the Honorable Harry Albert Atkinson, a Member of the Executive Council crf-fteJW^J^jf Zealand, and holding the office of Premier of the said Colony, and the Honorable Frederick Whitaker, a Member of the Legislative Council of the said Colony,— Greeting ; — „ Whereas a Conference is shdrtly to be held at Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, of repreI atives from The ColoniL of Australasia, L the purpose of conf erring on~ atter^ importance affecting the said Colonies in common : And whereas it is expedient that the Colonj' <* Zealand should be represented thereat; Now therefore, I, William Francis Drummosd Jervois, the Governor

INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION.

Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, having full confidence in the fidelity, ability, and discretion of you the said Harry Albert Atkinson and Frederick Wiiitaker, do b} r these Presents appoint you and each of you to attend the said Conference so about to be held as aforesaid, and to take part in the proceedings thereat on behalf of the Colony of Now Zealand. Given under the hand of His Excellency Sir William Francis Drummond Jeevois, LieutenantGeneral in Her Majesty's Army, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Companion of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Her Majesty's Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same, and issued under the Seal of the said Colony, at the Government House at Wellington, this twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. THOMAS DICK, Colonial Secretary.

Extract from the Minutes of Proceedings of the Executive Council of Queensland. At Government House, Brisbane, 21 November, 1883. Present :— His Excellency the Governor in Council. His Excellency the Governor, at the instance of the Honorable the Colonial Secretary, lays before the Council the accompanying correspondence with reference to the proposed Intercolonial Conference to be held at Sydney, on the 28th instant, and having regard to the fact that none of the other Colonies intend to appoint a Member of the Parliamentary Opposition as a representative,—recommends that The Honorable S. W. Griffith, Q.C., Premier and Colonial Secretary, and The Honorable J. F. Garrick, Q.C., Postmaster-General, be appointed to represent the Colony of Queensland at the Conference, with authority to confer upon any propositions that may be made with respect to the incorporation of New Guinea or other Islands of the Pacific with the British Empire, the Federal Union of the Australasian Colonies, united Australasian action with regard to Marine Defences or other matters, the establishment of a Federal Council for all or any of these objects, and any other matters of general Australasian interest that may be brought before the Conference, and on behalf of the Colony to propose or concur in any such resolutions or arguments or any of the subjects above-mentioned as they may think fit. The Council advise as recommended immediate action. A. Y. DRURY, ■ Clerk of the Council. True copy.—A. V. Drury, Clerk of the Council, 22/11/83.

WILLIAM C. F. ROBINSON. SOUTH AUSTRALIA (to wit). His Excellency Sir William Cleatbk Francis Robinson, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Province of South Australia and the Dependencies thereof, etc., &c., &c. To the Honorable John Cox Bray, Chief Secretary of the Province of South Australia, and Member of the House of Assembly of the said Province; and to the Honorable John William Downer, AttorneyGeneral of the said Province, a Member of the said House of Assembly, and one of Her Majesty's Counsel learned in the Law, — Greeting : Whereas it is expedient that the Province of South Australia should be represented at a Convention to be held in Sydney, in the month of November instant, for the consideration of various questions relating to the Annexation of adjacent Islands, and the Federation of the Australasian Colonies : Now, therefore, know ye that, confiding in your ability, prudence, and fidelity, I, the said Sir William Cleater Francis Robinson, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Province aforesaid, with the advice of the Executive Council of the said Province, do, by these presents, nominate, constitute, and appoint you, the said The Honorable John Cox Bray and John William Downer, delegates to proceed to Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, there to represent this Province at a Convention of Representatives from the several Australasian Colonies, or any or either of them, to be held in Sydney aforesaid in the month of November instant, in order that you may arrive at an agreement or arrangement with the representatives assembled at; such Convention on the question of the Annexation of the Islands adjacent to Australia, and the Federation of the Australasian Colonies, and any other matters which may be referred to such Convention in which the interests of this Province may be concerned. Given under my hand and the Public Seal of the said Province, this twentieth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three, and in the forty-seventh year of Her Majesty's reign. By command, Recorded in Register of Commissions Letters ) J. C. BRAY, Patent, &c, Vol. V. j Chief Secretary. H. J. Andrews, Under Secretary.

By His Excellency Sir George Cumine Strahan, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Colony of Tasmania and its Dependencies. To the Honorable William Robert Giblin, Premier and Attorney-General of the Colony of Tasmania, and the Honorable Nicholas John Brown, Minister of Lands and Works of the Colony of Tasmania, — Greeting : Whereas representations have been made to Her Majesty the Queen, on the part of the several Colonies of Australasia, that it is desirable and necessary that Eastern New Guinea and certain Islands in the Western Pacific Ocean should be annexed by Her Majesty to the British Dominions; and that steps should be taken to prevent the importation of criminals in large numbers into New Caledonia and the adjacent Islands by the Government of Franco : And whereas, in reply to such representions, The Right Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies has, on behalf of Her said Majesty, suggested that the various Colonies should " Confer together, and make united recommendations" to Her Majesty's Government on the subject; and has further expressed a hope " that the time is not now distant when, in respect to such questions (if not for other purposes of Government), the Australalasian Colonies will effectively combine together t And whereas it has accordingly been determined to hold a Convention of Delegates from the various Colonies for the purpose of conferring and resolving on the matters aforesaid ; and such Convention has been appointed to assemble in Sydney, in the Colony of Now South Wales, on the twenty-eighth day of November instant : Now therefore I, Sir George Cumine Stkaiian, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Governor aforesaid, do hereby appoint you, the sail William Robert Giblin and Nicholas John Brown, to represent and act on behalf of the Government of Tasmania in and at the said Convention : And you are hereby authorised to confer and deliberate with the other representatives thereat assembling : And in the exercise of your judgment and discretion to come to any decision or determination upon the several matters hereinbefore mentioned : And you are further authorized to represent this Colony in the consideration of any other Intercolonial matters which it may appear to the Convention advisable to consider, and to report to me what you shall have done in the premises as soon as practicable after the proceedings of the said Convention have terminated. Given under my Hand and the Seal of the Colony of Tasmania, at Hobart, this twentieth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. GEO. C. STRAHAN. By His Excellency's Command, WM. MOORE, Chief Secretary.

By His Excellency the Most Honorable George Augustus Constantine, Marquis of Normanby, Earl of Mulgrave, Viscount Normanby, and Baron Mulgrave of Mulgrave, all in the County of York, in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, and Baron Mulgrave of New Ross, in the County of Woxford, in the Peerage of Ireland, a Member of Her Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Colony of Victoria and its Dependencies, itc, &c, &c. To the Honorable James Service, M.P., Premier, Treasurer, and Minister of Public Instruction, of the Colony of Victoria ; the Honorable Graham Beery, M.P., Chief Secretary and Postmaster-General of the Colony of Victoria; and the Honorable George Briscoe Kerferd, M.P., Attorney-General of the Colony of Victoria, — Greeting :— Whereas it is of vital importance to the future well-being of Australasia that Eastern New Guinea and the Western Pacific Islands, from the Equator to the New Hebrides, should not fall into the hands of any foreign power : And whereas the occupation of these lands by any other power than the mother country would be a standing menace and a source of common danger to all the Australasian Colonies, inasmuch as such Power, in the event of European complications, might destroy or seriously cripple the shipping trade and commerce of these colonies': And whereas it has been proposed by France to deport to her Colony of New Caledonia the vilest and worst of her criminals, whence they will necessarily overflow into the numerous islands of the Western Pacific, and many of them ultimately find their way into the different Colonies of Australasia, to the great detriment and permanent injury of their inhabitants : And whereas, in response to an appeal made by these Colonies to the Imperial Government that the lands in question should be annexed to the Empire, the Secretary of State for the Colonies has suggested that the various Colonies should " confer together and make tmited recommendations" to the Imperial authorities on the subject, and has further expressed a hope that " the time is not now distant when in respect to such questions (if not for other purposes of Government) the Australasian Colonies will effectively combine together : And whereas it has been determined to hold a Convention of delegates from the said Colonies for the purpose of conferring and resolving on the matters aforesaid, and such Convention has been appointed to assemble in Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, on the twenty-eighth day of November instant: Now therefore. I, George Augustus Constantine, Marquis of Normanby, the Governor aforesaid, do, with the advice of the Executive Council, hereby appoint you, the said James Service, Graham Berry, and George Briscoe Kerferb, to represent and act on behalf of the Government of Victoria, in and at the said Convention : And

And you are hereby authorized to confer and deliberate with the other Representatives thereat assembling, and, in the exercise of your judgment and discretion, to come to any decision or determination upon the several matters hereinbefore mentioned : And you are further authorized to represent this Colony in the consideration of any other intercolonial matters which it may appear to the Convention advisable to consider. Given under my hand and the Seal of the Colony, at Melbourne, in the said Colony, this twentythird day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eightythree, and in the forty-seventh year of Her Majesty's Reign. NORMANBY. By His Excellency's Command, JAMES SERVICE.

Entered on record by me, in the Register of Patents, Book 22, page 129, this twenty-third day of November, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. T. R. Wilson.

Western Australia. Sir, Government House, Perth, 4 November, 1883. I have the honor to communicate to you your appointment to represent this Colony at the Australasian Convention fixed to assemble at Sydney on the 28th instant, 2. It will be necessary that you should proceed to Sydney by the first opportunity. I have, &c, V. NAPIER BROOME. To the Hon. Malcolm Fraser, C.M.G., Colonial Secretary of "Western Australia.

(2.)

NEW GUINEA AND NEW HEBRIDES—PROPOSED ANNEXATION OE. SCHEDULE. NO. PAGE. 1. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of Queensland to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 18 April, 1883 ... 50 2. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 18 April, 1883 50 3. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Colonial Secretary of Queensland. 19 April, 1883 ... 50 4. Telegram from Colonial Secretary to Agent-General. 19 April, 1883 50 5. Telegram from Chief Secretary of South Australia to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 19 April, 1883 ... 50 6. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Chief Secretary of South Australia. 19 April, 1883... 50 7. Telegram from Agent-General to Colonial Secretary. 20 April, 1883 50 8. Telegram from Chief Secretary of South Australia to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 21 April, 1883 ... 50 9. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 8 June, 1883 51 10. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Premier of Victoria. 8 June, 1883 51 11. Telegram from Colonial Secretary to Agent-General. 8 June, 1883 51 12. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 13 June, 1883 51 13. The Agent-General to the Colonial Secretary. 15 June, 1883 '. 51 14. Telegram from Agent-General to Colonial Secretary. 23 June, 1883 51 15. The Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 23 June, 1883 52 16. Telegram from Agent-General to Colonial Secretary. 28 June, 1883 52 17. The Agent-General to the Colonial Secretary. 29 June, 1883 52 18. Telegram from Colonial Secretary, Queensland, to Colonial Secretary, New South Wales. —July, ISB3 52 19. Colonial Secretary of Queensland to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 17 July, 1883 52 20. The Agent-General to the Colonial Secretary. 27 July, 1883 52 21. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to the Colonial Secretary of Queensland. 31 July, 1883 53 22. The Colonial Secretary to His Excellency the Governor. 1 August, 1883 53 23. The Premier of Tasmania to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 3 August, 1883 54 24. The Colonial Secretary, New South Wales, to Chief Secretary of Tasmania. 23 August, 1883 54 25. The Premier of Victoria to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 25 August, 1883 54 26. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to the Premier of Victoria. 27 August, 1883 54 27. The Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 29 August, 1883 54 28. The Premier of Tasmania to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 29 August, 1883 55 29. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 31 August, 1883 55 30. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Premier of Victoria. 31 August, 1883 55 31. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 31 August, 1883 55 32. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Premier of Victoria. 31 August, 1883 55 33. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Premier of Victoria. 1 September, 1883 56 34. The Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 4 September, 1883 s(i 35. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Premier of Victoria. 8 September, 1883 56 36. The Colonial Secretary to the Agent-General. 8 September, 1883 57 37. The Colonial Secretary to the Agent-General. 11 September, 1883 58 38. The Premier of Victoria to the Colonial Secretary, New South Wales. 11 September, 1883 58 39. Telegram from Agent-General to Colonial Secretary. 13 September, 1883 58 40. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary, New South Wales. 14 September, 1883 58 41. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to the Premier of Victoria. 18 September, 1883 59 42. Telegram from Premier of Tasmania to Colonial Secretary of Now South Wales. 19 September, 1883 59 43. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Premier of Tasmania. 19 September, 1883 , 59 44. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to the Premier of Tasmania. 20 September, 1883 59 45. The Agent-General to the Colonial Secretary. 21 September, 1883 60 46. Telegram from Premier of Tasmania to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 2 October, 1883 60 47. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 6 October, 1883 60 48. The Premier of Victoria to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 9 October, 1883 60 49. Mr. R. Beckwith Leefe to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 9 October, 18S3 , 61 50. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to the Colonial Secretary of New Zealand. 24 October, 1883 61 51. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to the Premier of Victoria. 17 October, 1883 61 52. The Premier of Victoria to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 24 October, 1883 62 53. The Reverend James Cosh to the Colonial Secretary. 31 October, 1883 63 54. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. 5 November, 1883 63

381—&

No. 1.

INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883.

No. 1. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of Queensland to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Brisbane, 18 April, 1883. I peak undue pressure upon Imperial Government to repudiate the annexation of New Guinea. I shall be obliged if you will cable your Agent-General to inform Lord Derby that our action is approved by the people of New South Wales. Had we by a policy of inaction allowed a foreign Power to annex the island, it would have been nothing short of a national calamity, for which we, by shirting responsibility, should have been highly blameworthy. -■ ■■ ; tn

No. 2. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South "Wales. Melbourne, 18 April, 1883. I think it would be well to wire Agents-General to support the action of Queensland in reference to New Guinea. "Will your Government join ?

No. 3. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Colonial Secretary of Queensland. Sydney, 19 April, 1883. This Government views favourably annexation of New Guinea to British Crown, and thus expresses itself to Agent-General. [Similar telegram on same date to Premier of Victoria.]

No. 4 Telegram from Colonial Secretary to Agent-General. Sydney, 19 April, 1883. This Government views favourably annexation of New Guinea to British Crown.

No. 5. Telegram from Chief Secretary of South Australia to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Adelaide, 19 April, 1883. Have your Government been requested by the Queensland and Victorian Governments to join in instructing Agent-General to represent to Lord Derby that the Australian Colonies support and approve the action of the Queensland Government in annexing part of New Guinea to that Colony ? Please reply, giving your decision if so asked.

No. 6. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Chief Secretary of South Australia. Sydney, 19 April, 1883. We have telegraphed our Agent-General that we view favourably the annexation of New Guinea to the British Crown.

No. 7. Telegram from Agent-General to Colonial Secretary. London, 20 April, 1883. New Guinea delivered your message to Secretary State. Press view annexation favourably.

No. 8. Telegram from Chief Secretary of South Australia to Colonial Secretary of New South "Wales. Adelaide, 21 April, 1883. Absence from Adelaide prevented earlier reply to your telegram re New Guinea. His Excellency the Governor, by advice of Ministers here, has telegraphed Secretary of State as follows : —" My Ministers wish to express their opinion sN~ew Guinea should be under British rule, and trust action Queensland Government may lead to that result."

No. 9.

No. 9. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Melbourne, 8 June, 1883. Hate been urged by weighty deputation invite Australasian co-operation to induce Imperial Government annex islands from New Hebrides to New Britain and New Ireland. Credibly reported in Melbourne that 'French annexation is imminent, and will be accomplished unless prompt action be taken. Suggest each Colony telegraph urgently through Governors to Colonial Office representing immense importance to Australasia that these islands should not fall into hands of any foreign Power.

His Excellency.—A.S., 8/6/83.

No. 10. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to The Premier of Victoria. My dear Sir, Sydney, 8 June, 1883. I received your telegram. I have not heard any rumour of France taking hold of the islands of late years. It has always been supposed she would form New Caledonia as a centre gradually about the New Hebrides. Surprised she has not long ago. A further extension of foreign power in these seas is to bo deprecated, and therefore I have sent our Agent-General a telegram as on other side, although I see no immediate prospect either of the French or of our own Imperial authorities moving in it. I have also submitted your telegram to Lord Augustus Loftus, with the suggestion that he will bo good enough to convey similar views to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. I have, <fee, _____ ALEX. STUABT.

Vide No. 11

No. 11. Telegram from Colonial Secretary to Agent-General. Sydney, 8 June, 1883. Observino suggestion that England assume islands New Hebrides to New Guinea, urge Imperial Government's occupation as infinitely preferable to risk of foreign ; but we have no knowledge here of any foreign movement being imminent.

No. 12. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Melbourne, 13 June, 1883. Peopose sending telegram to our Agent-General as follows. If you concur, please communicate similarly with yours. Copy:—"Pacific Islands annexation or protectorate necessary for Australian future. Colonies willing contribute expense. In interests of natives British philanthropists should support; England should do for Australia what Australia cannot do for self. Great dissatisfaction if England fails to secure our future.

Please repeat to Albury to Mr. Stuart, and return to me.—C.W., 14/6/83. Eepeated copy to Wagga, at 1015 a.m. —C. Aspinall. Seen, and formed the subject of personal conversation with Mr. Service.—A.S., 21/6/83.

No. 13. The Agent-General to The Colonial Secretary. Sir, 5, Westminster Chambers, Victoria-street, S.W., 15 June, 1883. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram of the Bth instant, having reference to the annexation of the New Hebrides and New Guinea. I have handed a copy of your message to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and it is proposed by the Agents- General to ask Lord Derby to receive them at an early date; but before doing so we are anxious to receive replies to the messages sent to our respective Governments to ascertain if they are \ prepared to bear any portion of the cost of occupation, should the Imperial Government determine upon annexation. I have, &c, SAUL SAMUEL.

Vide No, 11

No. 14. Telegram from Agent-General to Colonial Secretary. London, 23 June, 1883. Pacific Islands, Lord Derby shortly to receive A gents-General. Question will arise in addition to expense whether Colonies will make joint and not separate engagements with Imperial Government; desirable should know if this practicable.

No. 15.

No. 15. The Premier of Victoria to The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Sir, Premier's Office, Melbourne, 23 June, 1883. With reference to the recent telegrams which have passed between this Government and that of New South Wales, on the subject of the desired annexation of the Now Hebrides, and the islands from thence to New Guinea, I now have the honor to inform you that, on the 18th inst., I addressed a despatch to His Excellency the Marquis of Normanby, submitting copies of documents bearing on the subject, and setting out the salient points in the claim which Australia makes for Imperial action in this ■• matter. I have much pleasure in submitting herewith, for your information, a copy of the despatch in question, and of its enclosures. I have, &c, JAMES SEEVICE, Premier.

See Appendix A,

No. 16. Telegram from Agent-General to Colonial Secretary. London, 28 June, 1883. Pacific Islands. Had long interview with Lord Derby; Ashley present. All our arguments fully stated. Lord Derby appeared impressed gravity of question. Eequested views might be embodied in joint paper, when he would submit to Cabinet.

No. 17. The Agent-General to The Colonial Secretary. Sir, 5, Westminster Chambers, Victoria-street, S.W., 29 June, 1883. In continuation of my letter of the 15th instant, and my telegram of the 21st idem, I have the honor to inform you that the Agents-General for South Australia, New Zealand, Queensland, and Victoria, in company with myself, waited upon Lord Derby yesterday afternoon, at the Colonial Office, on the subject of the proposed annexation of the Now Hebrides and other islands in the Pacific. Lord Derby expressed himself impressed with the gravity of the question, and discussed the subject at some length with the 4gents-General; and requested them to embody their views in a jointstatement, which he undertook to place before the Cabinet. Mr. Evelyn Ashley, M.P., one of the Under-Secrctaries of State, was present during our interview. I have, &o.j SAUL SAMUEL.

No. 18. Telegram from Colonial Secretary, Queensland, to Colonial Secretary, New South Wales. Brisbane, July, 1883. The cablegram announcing the intention of the British Government to repudiate the action of Queensland in annexing Now Guinea has caused great dissatisfaction here, and this Government consider that prompt and united action on the part of the Colonies is necessary. I propose advising you at length by letter.

No. 19. The Colonial Secretary of Queensland to The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Sir, Colonial Secretary's Office, Brisbane, 17 July, 1883. I have the honor to forward to you the enclosed copy of an extract from the Minutes of the Proceedings of the Executive Council of this Colony, of this date, embodying a memorandum by myself on the refusal of the Imperial Government to confirm the recent annexation of the island of New Guinea, and to request that you will be good enough to favour me with the views of your Government thereupon, and to take such steps as you may consider necessary to move the Imperial Government to an early reconsideration of their decision against the annexation of this valuable territory. I have, &c, THOMAS M'ILWBAITH.

See Appendix B

No. 20. The Agent-General to The Colonial Secretary. Sir, 5, Westminster Chambers, Victoria-street, S.W., 27 July, 1883. Referring to my letter of the 29th ultimo, in which I informed you that Lord Derby had requested the Agents-General to submit their views respecting the annexation of New Guinea and the New Hebrides, in a joint letter to him, in order that he might lay the same before the Cabinet, I have the honor to inform you that we have complied with His Lordship's request, and have placed our views before him in a communication dated the 21st instant, of which I have now the honor to enclose twelve copies for your information. You

Sec Appendix C,

You will notice that the letter is not signed by Sir Arthur Blyth, the Agent-General for South Australia, his Government having instructed him that they did not concur in the views of the other Colonies with regard to annexation or the establishment of a protectorate over the New Hebrides and the other islands in the Pacific, whilst they were favourable to the annexation of Now Guinea. I have, &c, SAUL SAMUEL.

No. 21. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to The Colonial Secretary of Queensland. g; rj Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 31 July, 1883. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 17th instant, communicating to me the views of your Government, as expressed in a minute of your Executive Council, upon the refusal of the Imperial Government to confirm the annexation of New Guinea. In reply, I desire at the outset to assure you that I deprecate as much as any one that New Guinea should ever be taken possession of by any foreign Power, as it not only would tend to cripple the trade in Torres Straits, which has proved a beneficial enterprise both to your Colony and to ours, but would at all times, and especially in any European conflict, be highly inconvenient and menacing to the whole Australian group. Holding this view, I had no hesitation in sending, in April last, instructions to our Agent-General to state to Lord Derby that this Colony viewed with the utmost favour the annexation of New Guinea by the British Grown, in place of permitting any foreign Power to take possession of it or obtain further footing therein. . While strongly holding these views, I am not altogether surprised at the attitude taken by Lord Derby, because it seems to me that, while deeply impressed yourself with the danger to be apprehended of immediate foreign aggressive movement upon the island, you have not very definitely shown to Lord Derby the grounds for your fears, but have urged him to accept your strong feelings as evidencing the fact, rather than submitted definite proofs of the facts themselves,_ or pointed out sufficient overt acts of any foreign Power upon which he could come to the same conviction as yourself. I take a somewhat different view from you with regard to the expense of annexation. It is contrary to the English genius of colonization to be content with exhibiting the mere nominal symbol of her flag. "When England annexes she must govern —she must rule. She cannot be content with the " laisser faire" system which you point out as having been followed by the Dutch,—not interfering with the aborigines, but waiting aiid simply holding the country as against any other Power. It seems to me, therefore, to be unwise to brush aside the matter of expense as a mere fancy; it should, on the contrary, bo fairly looked at, and a division suggested as to the proportions to be borne by the countries interested. The Imperial interests are probably as great as the Australian, and the Colonies would doubtless respond to any liberal basis for its apportionment. I have always looked upon the question of Federation as one which would not probably assume a definite shape until the outward pressure of some common danger compelled the various Colonies to sink many minor differences and jealousies in the necessity for combined action for common safety. Whether such danger exists in the present refusal by the Imperial Government to recognize the action you have taken with regard to New Guinea, I feel hardly called upon at present to decide; but I gladly accede to your suggestion that the question of Federation should be discussed by the Colonies, and if it be considered that the present is a fitting time, then that such discussion should take the form of putting forward the basis on which a Federal Government could be constituted. This Government is also prepared to accede to your request to urge upon the Imperial Government that it is desirable that the question of annexation be reconsidered ; and with that view I have addressed a letter, inviting His Excellency Lord Augustus Loftus to lay our views before the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and of such letter I beg to hand you a copy. I have, &c, ALEX. STUAET.

No. 22. The Colonial Secretary to His Excellency the Governor. My Lord, Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 1 August, 1883. I have the honor to address you on the subject of New Guinea annexation, with the view of inviting your Excellency to convey to the Secretary of State for the Colonies the views of this Government. I'beg to enclose a copy of a communication received from Sir T. M'llwraith, with a minute of the Executive Council of Queensland, and of my reply thereto. I would respectfully urge a reconsideration of the question by the Imperial Government, because that although I am not prepared to say that there was an imminent prospect of New Guinea being taken possession of by any foreign Power, yet I do fear now that the prominence which has been given to the subject will of itself cause some nation to take it up as a strong strategic point in the future domination in these seas. From its close proximity to the northern part of Queensland, and from the control over that important highway of commerce—Torres Straits, which would bo given to any possessor of the southern shores of New Guinea, its occupation by a foreign nation might bo, in the event of a European war, most disastrous to Australia, and therefore to British interests. I was at one time inclined to think that a protectorate of the Southern Coast would have been sufficient, and even yet it may be so if its effect would be to keep any other nation from obtaining a footing; but if a protectorate be inefficient for that purpose it would be better to accept the annexation, so that there might be no ground for the future disquiet arising from foreign settlements so close upon our shores. I naye > &c -> ALEX. STUART.

See Nos. 19 & 21

No. 23.

No. 23. The Premier of Tasmania to The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Sir, Premier's Office, Hobart, 3 August, 1883. I have the honor to forward for your information a copy of the reply addressed by me, on behalf of the Government of Tasmania, to the Premier of Queensland, in answer to his memorandum on the question of the annexation of New Guinea and the assembly of a Eoderal Council or Convention to consider that and other questions. I should feel obliged by receiving from you a copy of the answer sent by your Government to Sir T. M'llwraith's suggestions. I have, Ac, W. R. GIBLIN.

See Appendix D.

No. 24. The Colonial Secretary, New South Wales, to The Chief Secretary of Tasmania. Sir, New South "Wales, Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 23 August, 1883. In acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant, I have the honor to express my thanks for the copy therein enclosed of the reply addressed by you to the Premier of Queensland, in answer to his memorandum on the question of the annexation of New Guinea, and to transmit herewith for your information a copy of my communication to Sir Thomas M'llwraith on the same subject. I have, &c, ALEX. STUART.

No. 25. The Premier of Victoria to The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Sir, Premier's Office, Melbourne, 25 August, 1883. With reference to Sir Thomas M'llwraith's circular letter, enclosing a minute of the Executive Council of Queensland, in which it is proposed that some concerted action should be taken, consequent on the refusal of the Imperial Government to annex New Guinea, and that a Convention of Delegates from the Colonies should be held " to discuss the basis on which a Federal Government could be constituted," I have the honor to inform you that, at the special request of Sir Thomas M'llwraith, Premier of Queensland, I have consented to act in the capacity of Convener of the proposed assembly of delegates. Having learned that all the Colonies have replied to Sir Thomas M'llwraith's circular, I now write with a view to ascertain what date would best suit the convenience of the various Colonies; and as a means of eliciting this, I beg to communicate my own suggestion, that the Convention should meet in Melbourne at a period in the ensuing month, say on the 25th proximo. According to the information before me as to the sittings of the Parliaments in the different Colonies, this period would, for the convenience of the majority, be the most suitable, at least of any period within a reasonable time. I beg also to suggest the desirability of giving this Convention a higher status than that of the Intercolonial Conferences hitherto held to discuss comparatively subordinate topics ; and with this view, I propose that the number of delegates should be four from each Colony, and that these delegates should be of as generally representative a character as possible, of course any one Colony having the option of sending a less number, if that should be more convenient. I propose sending a telegram to anticipate the arrival of this letter, in order to facilitate the despatch of an early reply. I shall be obliged if you will similarly communicate by telegraph your answer. I have, &c, JAMES SERVICE, Premier.

No. 26. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to The Premier of Victoria. My dear Mr. Service, Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 27 August, 1883. I received on Saturday your telegram asking me if 25th September would suit me to meet in Melbourne representatives from the other Colonies. I replied that it would not, but that I would write you to-day. On Saturday night I received your second telegram, suggesting that to suit South Australia or Tasmania it should be end of October or beginning of November. I regret to say that none of these times will suit us. Our Parliament meets early in October, and as our Land Bill is the first measure that will occupy our attention, and it is of overwhelming interest to this Colony, it will be quite impossible that any Minister can be absent at the time indicated by you. Nor am I able at present to name a time, as our movements or arrangements must be guided by the mode in which our measure is received by Parliament. Regretting that I am not able to give you a more satisfactory reply, — I remain, &c, ALEX. STTJAET.

No. 27. The Premier of Victoria to The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. My dear Mr. Stuart, Premier's Office, Melbourne, 29 August, 1883. _ I am in receipt of yours of 27th, and regret exceedingly to find that you cannot make it convenient to name any time for the meeting of the Convention that would suit you. This

This would seem to indicate an indefinite postponement of the meeting, which, under all the circumstances, is to be deeply regretted. The fact that you, like all the other Colonies, had accepted Sir T. M'llwraith's suggestion for a Convention was taken by me, and no doubt by him, as an indication that you meant to attend at some convenient time ; and in sending a circular telegram to the other Colonies, I was influenced by a desire to consult as far as possible the convenience of all. But now, when you put it that you cannot name a time, or any time, it seems to render the Convention at present impossible. This I think is to be greatly deplored; it will cast a damper over the movement throughout the whole of the Colonies, and will be regarded in England as an evidence that we are not all truly in earnest. My own feeling is that the occasion is one which would have justified the adjournment of the Parliament of any Colony for a fortnight. I wish you would think over the matter again, and devise some means to go on. New South Wales is too important a factor in the Conference to be done without, but I think the other Colonies will scarcely be able to help feeling that, after being led iip to the very point of fixing a date for the Convention, the whole thing is knocked on the head by New South Wales backing out of the agreement. I hope that you will see it in this light, and enable me by a quick wire on receipt yet to fix a suitable time. Tours truly, JAMES SEEVICE. id

No. 28. The Premier of Tasmania to The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Sir, Premier's Office, Hobart, 29 August, 1883. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 23rd instant, in reply to mine of the 3rd. ********* I desire to thank you for the copies of your exceedingly interesting and valuable letter to Sir Thomas M'llwraith, and also for the copy of your despatch to Lord Loftus, on the subject of the annexation of New Guinea. I may mention that I have informed Mr. Service that, if the proposed Conference is held in September, it is not likely that this Government can be represented ; but that if the Conference is held in October, or later, we should wish to take part. The Premier of New Zealand has intimated, in reply to a message from me, that his Government proposes to send two delegates, and has wired Mr. Service that October will suit his Government. Should the Conference be fixed for the later date suggested, this Government would propose to send two delegates (as New Zealand intends to send only two), and not four as suggested by Mr. Service. I have, &c, W. E. GIBLIN.

No. 29. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Melbourne, 31 August, 1883. Would holding Convention in Sydney help out of present difficulty? lam prepared to ask our Parliament to adjourn for a fortnight, if necessary, end of September or beginning October.

No. 30. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Premier of Victoria. Sydney, 31 August, 1883. Be assured we have no desire to put a damper on views or wishes of the other Colonies. Tour telegram to-day removes our difficulty of interfering with meeting of our Parliament, but apparently November suits South Australia and Tasmania better; moreover, grave constitutional difficulty appears to us to exist regarding Queensland meeting at present time, as her Grovernment is under appeal to country. She was first to move in this matter, and her interests are, perhaps, more involved in New Guinea annexation question than those of any other Colony.

No. 31. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South "Wales. Melbourne, 31 August, 1883. I think Queensland can probably surmount difficulty you mention. Am wiring there now, and will advise you reply. I must of course communicate again with South Australia and Tasmania, but before doing so let me know the limits of your convenience. Can I fix any time now that will suit others, or must we meet before your Parliament opens, and if so when will that be ?

No. 32. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to The Premier of Victoria. My dear Mr. Service, Sydney, 31 August, 1883. I have to-day replied by telegram to your letter of 29th received this morning, and to your telegram of this day. -% I and my colleagues have not held such strong views as you and Mr. Mcllwraith upon the necessity of immediate federative action in formulating a system of Federal Q-overnment, merely because the Imperial Government has not seen its way to fall in at once with the action of Queensland in regard to annexation ; but we have no wish to prevent in any way the fullest discussion of the whole question, when such is the evident wish of so many of our neighbours.

I have however pointed out what appears to mo to be an important constitutional difficulty as regards the Colony most deeply interested, viz., Queensland. Ido not see how she can constitutionally take part in so important a Conference, which I observe you elevate into the dignity of a Convention, until her recent or present appeal to the country has received a decisive stamp one way or the other from Parliament. I think I am right in saying that it is in accordance with constitutional practice, that when a Ministry has made such an appeal, it only carries on necessary work pending the result; and that a measure fraught with such important results as are contemplated by some of you as possible from this Convention ought to remain until the appeal is finally settled. Sir Thomas Mcllwraith may be able to sustain his position with increased strength ; and in that case the Convention would have the great benefit to be derived .from his views on the question in which he has taken so deep an interest; but on the other hand, it is by no means impossible that he may have to give place to others in the guidance of the affairs of that Colony, and it would only be right and proper that such persons should have the opportunity of joining in so important an affair. About November, I presume, that question will be decided; and as both South Australia and Tasmania wish it to be in that month, I think the views of all will be best met by your coming here at that time. I remain, &c, ALEX. STTJAET.

No. 33. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Premier of Victoria. Sydney, 1 September, 1883. With exception of fifteenth to twenty-fifth of this month, we are quite prepared to meet in Sydney at any time between this and February that may suit general convenience of other Colonies.

No. 34. The Premier of Victoria to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. My dear Mr. Stuart, Premier's Office, Melbourne, 4 September, 1883. lam favoured with yours of 31sfc August. It has been quite evident to me that New South "Wales did not feel so strongly on the federation and annexation question as we in Victoria do ; and I must say that such should be the case surprises me a good deal. I could understand it so long as we were not threatened with annexation by France of some of the most important of the islands, and with the avowed intention of making them the receptacle for the moral filth of that country; but that any Australian can coolly contemplate an irruption of people into these parts, in comparison with whom the Groths and Vandals were civilized races, is to mo quite incomprehensible. But for these two dangers, which the recent action of the French Assembly has made imminent, we might have contented ourselves with nudging the old folks at home, at least for a time, although I do not believe in unnecessary and unmeaning delays in doing what is inevitable, and is better done soon than late. The constitutional question re Queensland is one that concerns that Colony alone, I think. Should Sir T. M'llwraith not retain his position, the likelihood is that his successor would adopt his policy re annexation, as I think the Queenslanders are warmer on the subject than your people are : but if it were otherwise, what harm could ensue, —Queensland cannot be committed seriously without the consent of her Parliament. I confess I will be sorry if we cannot arrange the Convention so as to have Sir Thomas present; it would matter less if I could imbue you with his ardour. B) the by, you credit me with elevating the proposed Conference into the dignity of a Convention. I cannot accept the honor. The word Convention was that used in the Minute of the Executive Council of Queensland, which was circulated to all the Colonies, and it was accepted by all of us I suppose. I have used it therefore as a matter of course. I have wired to South Australia informing Mr. Bray that I purpose asking our Parliament to adjourn in beginning of October, if he will do the same, so that the Convention can meet then. If he does not agree, I confess I cannot see how it can meet for a good while to come. Queensland Parliament meets middle of November, and when could that Colony make it convenient to attend ? The people of England arc at our back. If we are prompt and resolute, the battle is as good as won ; if we are cool, or hesitating, or indifferent, I believe the New Hebrides, and probably, some of the other groups, will be lost to us. Tours very truly, JAMES SEEVICE.

No. 35. The Colonial Secretary of New South. Wales to The Premier of Victoria. My dear Mr. Service, Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 8 September, 1883. Looking at the enthusiasm with which you have taken up the whole matter of annexation, I am not surprised that you should regard us as cold and impassive. It is not, however, that we are indifferent to the mode in which France may pour the refuse of her criminal classes into the islands to the eastward of us, but rather that we differ from you as to the best mode of meeting that threatened evil. When you spoke to me iri*Melbourne upon the subject of New Hebrides, I mentioned to you that if it turned out, as I believed it would, that there was some sort of agreement or understanding between France and England that neither should take possession of the group, our action in urging annexation was in direct violation of such agreement, and might actually defeat the object we had at heart, by causing the French to use it as a justification for carrying out the annexation themselves. Having

Having carefully watched the various phases of the movement, I am more convinced of the soundness of this view, and therefore it is that I am unable to join heartily with you, although I do not set up my own view as sufficient to warrant me in declining to hold conference with you and the other Colonies, as to the best course to be pursued in a more united manner by the whole group of Australasian Colonies. I think you are taking a sanguine view when you say " the people of England are at our back." My own belief is that the people of England are comparatively indifferent whether the islands are annexed or not by England. To a certain portion of the community, any accession of territory by England is a subject of triumphant cry; such persons, however, often overlook the responsibility which such acquisition of territory brings with it, —a responsibility for the right administration of the islands themselves, and a responsibility to those other European nations who will not stand idly by, when we have laid violent hands upon the islands with which they have also been cultivating mercantile or trading relations. It is because I see, or believe I see, some of these difficulties and responsibilities, that I do not enter upon the matter with the same impulsive spirit which you have brought to bear upon it, and thus it is that I seem to you to be " cool, hesitating, or indifferent." I am strongly impressed with the idea that a protectorate by England over New Guinea, or at all events over its southern coast, and a joint protectorate by England and France over the New Hebrides and other groups of islands, would be the best and most practicable solution of the question. I believe that it would be more advantageous for vs —I mean for the whole of the Australian Colonies —if the assurance were clear that no other nation would annex the islands, than that we should be saddled with the responsibility and expense of annexation ; and moreover, I feel perfectly sure that whatever may be the feeling of France with regard to New Guinea (probably she would, not care much about it), she would not allow us to annex the New Hebrides without a strong protest and struggle. I do not undervalue the trade with those islands —personally I have been as much concerned in it as any man in the Colonies —but in the event of war they would be rather sources of weakness than of strength, having such a number of places to protect and defend; nor do I see where the annexation is to end ; if the New Hebrides, then how about the Solomon group, the Santa Cruz, New Ireland, New Britain, and scores of others. Are we to annex them all, or are we to be content with the New Hebrides and New Guinea, and sec France take up these intermediate groups as the outlets for her criminal classes ? I regret extremely to see the question complicated by injudicious letters of colonists in London, who speak of non-annexation by England involving alienation of the Colonies from the Mother Country. I hold, in contradistinction to such sentiments, that the Colonies are thoroughly loyal in their attachment to the old Country, and would best show their loyalty to her and to their own interests, if they were to content themselves at present with urging upon her the desirableness and necessity of coming to some arrangement with other maritime nations of Europe, that no one should take any overt steps towards annexation, but that free trade should be permitted to all, and that there should be combined action for the protection of that trade so far as it is legitimate, the suppression of what may be deemed illegitimate, and the regulation of what is commonly known as the labour trade upon principles of humanity and morality. I have thought it right that, befoi'O we meet, you should know my views, which are shared by my colleagues, and to a great extent, I believe, commend themselves to a majority of the people in New South Wales. I remain, &c, ALEX. STUAET.

No. 36. The Colonial Secretary to The Agent-General. My dear Samuel, Sydney, 8 September, 1883. I received duly your letter of 27th July, with copies of the joint letter of the Agents-General to Lord Derby, on the question of annexation. I must compliment you all upon the able manner in which the historical statement of the matter is drawn up. I consider it a valuable addition to the literature of the subject, tracing, as it does, the chief points of interest in connection with that which has now culminated in a desire for annexation. For my own part, I have not felt any strong desire to see the annexation policy carried out. I believe it would be far preferable if some arrangement could be come to whereby none of the maritime Powers should annex any of the islands ; but so detrimental to colonial interests would be their occupation by foreign Powers, that, rather than leave such a contingency open, I would urge as strongly as any one that the Imperial Government should annex them; and thus it is that I telegraph to you to join with the other Agents-General in urging the Imperial Government to take some action in the matter. In order that you may clearly understand my views, I enclose copy of correspondence I have hack here with Sir Thomas M'llwraith on the one hand and Mr. Service on the other. ¥c are to have a Conference here about the latter part of November, when the matter will be discussed in all its bearings, I have no doubt. In New South "Wales there is marked contrast between the feeling of the masses of the people and that which obtains in Victoria or in Queensland. I don't know whether we are more phlegmatic in our temperament than they are, but assuredly it would be a hard task to get up upon this subject the enthusiasm which is displayed by our neighbours on either side of us. Believe me yours very truly, ALEX. STUAET.

[.Enclosures.'] No. I.—Colonial Secretary, Queensland, to Colonial Secretary, New South Wales. 17 July, 1883. „ 2.—Colonial Secretary, New South Wales, to Colonial Secretary, Queensland. 31 July, 1883. „ 3. —Colonial Secretary, New South Wales, to Premier, Victoria. 27 August, 1883. „ 4: —Premier, Victoria, to Colonial Secretary, New South Wales. 29 August, 1883. ~ 5. —Colonial Secretary, New South Wales, to Premier, Victoria. 31 August, 1883. „ 6.—Premier, Victoria, to Colonial Secretary, New South Wales. 4 September, 1883. „ 7. —Colonial Secretary, New South Wales, to Premier, Victoria. 8 September, 1883.

381—II

No. 37.

No. 37. The Colonial Secretary to The Agent-General. Sir, Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney, 11 September, 1883. In acknowledging the receipt of your letter of 27th July last, enclosing copies of the communication laid before Lord Derby by the Agents-General, containing their views respecting the annexation of New Guinea and the New Hebrides, I have the honor to inform you that I recognize the value of the communication as an historical resume of the subject. 2. The Government is more favourable to a protectorate than to annexation, the chief objects to be desired being— Ist. The prevention of any foreign Government taking possession of New Guinea. 2nd. The prevention of France or other nation annexing the New Hebrides, or sending tho offecouring of its criminal classes to that or other island groups of the Western Pacfic, —- a process which would be hastened probably by our annexation. I have, &c, ALEX. STUART.

No. 38. The Premier of Victoria to The Colonial Secretary, New South Wales. Sir, Premier's Office, Melbourne, 11 September, 1883. My circular letter of the 25th August was written with a view to ascertain what date would best suit the various Australasian Colonies for the meeting of the Convention which Sir Thomas M'llwraitli, the Premier of Queensland, proposed should be held to discuss the two questions of the annexation of adjacent islands and the federation of the Australasian Colonies. I have been since that date in constant telegraphic correspondence on this subject with the different Australasian Governments ; and the result is, as already announced to you by my telegram of bhe 7th instant, that on collating the advices from the different Colonies, I am enabled to name the last week in November as the time most convenient for the meeting of the proposed Convention. My telegram of the 7th instant will also have informed you that, to meet the convenience of the Sydney Government, who could not name any day on which it would be convenient for them to send delegates to Melbourne, I had suggested that Sydney should be the meeting-place, This has accordingly been arranged. The precise date for the meeting of the Convention will be announced later ou. I beg now formally to invite your Government to appoint delegates to represent your Colony. I find a slight difference of opinion amongst the Colonial Governments as to the number of delegates which should bo appointed —some proposing four, some two. In my letter of the 25th August I suggested that each Colony should send four delegates. My reason for this was that on so important an occasion it seemed desirable that the delegation from each Colony should bo thoroughly and fairly representative, not only of that party which may be at present in power but of all parties. A precedent for this is found in the history of the formation of the Dominion of Canada, on which occasion parties and party loaders who had been long opposed coalesced for the purpose of forming that Federal Government which has so much enhanced the prosperity and importance of the Colonies united under it. In view of the attention which this movement has received from the Imperial Government, as well as from the English Press and people, it seems to me especially desirable that the importance of the present occasion should not be under-estimated, and I feel that it would add greatly to the weight of the Convention's determinations if it were made a thoroughly representative body. It is of course a question for each Colony to decide how many delegates it will send. I have, Ac, JAMES SERVICE, Premier.

No. 39. Telegram from Agent-General to Colonial Secretary. London, 13 September, 1883. Loed Deeby answer our joint letter of twenty-one July re Guinea telegraphed to Government Victoria, with request to inform you thereof immediately.

No. 40. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary, New South Wales. Melbourne, 14 September, 1883. Received following telegram from Agent-General. Colonial Office replied. Joint letter very unsatisfactory. Admitting care and ability historical statement. Says referred Gordon and Admiralty for consideration. Doubts whether so much ignorance in Australia regarding claims foreign Powers as we apprehend. Samoa independent kingdom, recognized European diplomacy, Tonga ditto. England and Prance have since '78 respected independence Hebrides position. These groups relation to foreign Powers cannot be summarily ignored. Referring other groups, Solomon Islands, &c, Colonial Governments hardly considered responsibilities involved assumption of which Imperial Government not satisfied necessary or justifiable. Guinea nothing to add former despatch. Derby concludes Government desiring bear cost of measures indicated, has final paragraph, will confer, make proposals, and furnish efFective guarantee for expense ; also make similar definite proposals, concerning other islands not already connected, treaty or otherwise, with, foreign Powers. Bead with attention observation regarding French penal settlements communicating with Foreign Office. Inform other Governments prompt. Other Agents absent; am arranging meeting early date.

No. 41.

No. 41. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to The Premier of Victoria. Be annexation of adjacent islands and Federation of Australian Colonies. Sir, Office of Colonial Secretary, Sydney, 18 September, 1883. The time which you have ascertained by telegraphic communication with the other Colonies to be the most suitable one for the assembling of the proposed Convention will meet the convenience of this Government; and I await the announcement of the precise date, which you will doubtless make as early as you may be enabled to do so. 2. With reference to your invitation as to the appointment of delegates, and the suggestion contained in your letter of the 25th August that each Colony should send four delegates, I desire to make a few observations, which I am the more anxious to make without delay, in order that you may clearly understand in what light I regard the proposition. 3. You explain your reason for suggesting so unusually large a number of representatives, on the ground of the importance of the occasion, and the desirableness of securing the thoroughly representative character of the Convention, not only of the party which may be at present in power but of all parties. 4. While reciprocating your desire that the importance of the present occasion should not be under-estimated, I am unable, on purely constitutional grounds, to give my immediate assent to a proposal which I should have supposed to have been unprecedented, had I not been informed by you that it had been sanctioned in the preliminary steps taken for the establishment of the Dominion of Canada. 5. It appears to me that a Minister would hardly be justified in exposing himself in such a Convention to the peril of being outvoted by the representatives of a party directly opposed to his Government and yet that might be the situation in which he would find himself if he nominated as representatives those who differed with him on leading questions of public policy. And moreover, in the uncertainty of political affairs, it might very easily happen that, in nominating men who, in his judgment, at the proscnt time occupied representative positions, he might fail to select those who, in the order of events, would become his successors in the Government; and, as I presume, this is one of the main reasons by which a course so exceptional could alone be justified. If thexe is any doubt about the object being attained, the thing itself could not on any constitutional ground be defended. 0. I feel sure that I should experience great difficulty in vindicating the adoption of a course of procedure which is certainly at variance with the principle of ministerial responsibility ; and I am not quite satisfied that, were I convinced of the expediency of adopting it, I could make the necessary nominations, because of the great unwillingness of public men in this country to depart from well understood constitutional principles. 7. I am so anxious that you should be saved from embarrassment in your very difficult negotiations that I deem it right to place you in possession of my views upon a proposal which is certainly novel, not without danger, and as I think, some what impracticable. I have. &c, ALEX. STUAET.

No. 42. Telegram from Premier of Tasmania to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Hobart, 19 September, 1883. Will you inform mo, confidentially or otherwise, as to your proposed action re Conference, to bo held in Sydney end of November, as to number of delegates, whether from both sides of the House, and if nominations will be submitted to your Parliament. Information desired to ensure uniform action. Please reply.

No. 43. Telegram from Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to Premier of Tasmania. Sydney, 19 September, 1883. "Will send you copy my reply to Service, giving reasons against his proposal.

No. 44. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to The Premier of Tasmania. My dear Mr. Giblin, 20 September, 1883. I replied at once to your telegram, and now send you copy of my reply to Mr. Service's circular, which pretty well explains my views. I have not yet had time to look up the particulars of the Canadian case alluded to ; but it does seem to me to be against all constitutional practice that Ministers and their Opposition should be together on such a Conference. If a question were carried in which a Minister's view was defeated chiefly by the adverse view of a member of his own Colony's Opposition, how can he ask his own Colony's Parliament to affirm it ? The suggestion seems to me to be impracticable, and could only be otherwise were the rather visionary position to occur of an entire unanimity upon all questions brought before the Conference. It is hardly to be expected that the leader of the Opposition would consent to place himself in the position, which would really be destructive of that wholesome criticism which it is one of the good effects of our Constitutional practice. My own view is that two would be quite sufficient for each Colon}^ to appoint, and these two should be members of the Government. Of course voting must be by Colonies and not by individuals. Believe me, &c, ALEX. STTJAET.

No. 45.

No. 45. The Agent-General to The Colonial Secretary. Sir, 5, Westminster Chambers, Victoria-street, S.W., 21 September, 1883. In continuation of my letter of the 27th July last, on the subject of the annexation of New . Guinea, I have now the honor to forward for your information a print of the reply of the Earl of Derby to the joint letter addressed to His Lordship by the A gents-General on the 21st July last. I have, &c, SAUL BAMUBL.

See Appendix E,

No. 46. Telegram from Premier of Tasmania to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Hobart, 2 October, 1883. Many thanks for your letter and enclosure. My reply, fully concurring in your views, missed mail yesterday, and will not reach you for a week. I find end of November awkward to leave here, and should much prefer middle of November or early in January. Perhaps changes in Brisbane and Adelaide may alter date of meeting.

No. 47. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Sydney, 6 October, 1883. Referring to my letter of 11th September, I now have the honor to announce Wednesday, the 28th November, as the day for the meeting at Sydney of the Convention respecting Annexation and Federation.

No. 48. The Premier of Victoria to The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Sir, Premier's Office, Melbourne, 9 October, 1883. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th ultimo, in which you assent to the time named by me for the proposed Australasian Convention, and in which you deal with the proposal made in my letter of the 25th August, and further urged, in my letter of the 11th September, that the number of Delegates from each Colony should be at least four, —with a view to giving a fair representation of the whole Colony —not merely of the dominant political party. 2. I am glad to notice that, while stating your objections to this course, you only express your inability to give "immediate assent" thereto ; from which I with pleasure infer that you are still open to approve of it if, after a due consideration of the objections you urge, sufficient reasons can be shown in favour of my proposal. I therefore proceed to a consideration of the points of objection submitted by you. 3. You state that a Minister would hardly be justified in exposing himself to the peril of being outvoted in the Convention, by the representatives of a party directly opposed to his Government. Now Ido not see how this could possibly happen. In appointing Representatives to the Convention, the Grovernment of each Colony, representing as it necessarily does the majority in Parliament, would be justified, if it thought proper, in nominating a majority of Representatives from its own party, —or, in selecting from the Opposition gentlemen whoso views of the subject matters of the Convention were known to accord with those of the Grovernment. That being so, the vote of such Colony in the Convention (for I presume voting must be by Colonies and not by individuals) would be determined according to the mind of the Grovernment. This objection therefore disappears. 4. With regard to the course proposed by me being at variance with the principle of ministerial responsibility and well understood constitutional principles, it is requisite to bear in mind that the occasion is one not within the lines of ordinary constitutional procedure, but is outside the sphere of domestic politics altogether. The Convention finds no place in our Parliamentary system, and so far from baing part of our Constitution, its very object is to lay the basis of another Constitution —a Federal one. The occasion being thus exceptional, I think we must be prepared to admit modes of action which may indeed appear novel, but which may really be the best adapted to accomplish the object in view. 5. That the foregoing is the view which was taken by all the leading men in the British North American provinces, without a single exception, is evidenced by the fact that each of the separate Colonies sent to the Convention at Charlottetown, about an equal number of Representatives from the Government and the Opposition. The Honorable Dr. Gray, in his History of the Confederation, says, vol. 1, page 29 : — " In order that the question of their union might as much as possible be removed beyond the pale of party conflict, the Delegates to attend the Convention at Charlottetown were selected from the Liberal and Conservative ranks alike. Dr. Tupper, the leader of the Government of Nova Scotia, with his own colleague, Attorney-General Henry, and Mr. Dickey, a Conservative supporter, had included the Hons. Adams G. Archibald and Jonathan M'Cully, long and well-known leaders of the Liberal party. Mr. Tilley, the leader of the Government in New Brunswick, with his own colleagues, Messrs. Johnson and Steves, had included the Hons. Edward Barron Chandler and John Hamilton Gray, prominent and well known leaders of the Conservative party there ; whilst in Prince Edward Island, the Premier had with equal consideration selected the Island delegates from both sides of the House. The recommendations of the respective Governments were approved by the Lieu-tenant-Governors, and the Convention was opened in due form at Charlottetown, September Bth, in the Chamber of the House of Assembly." In the case of the Canadian Provinces, it was at first proposed that a Royal Commission should be formed to consist of an equal number of Members of the Government and of the Opposition, and this was only set aside because the Opposition and the Government coalesced for the purpose of Confederation, 6. The case of the Canadian Dominion therefore furnishes a powerful precedent. There can be no doubt that the spectacle of a Convention representing the leading parties in each of the Colonies would have a much more imposing effect —because possessing a greater significance— than one based on party lines. 7.

7. To regard a matter of this sort as in any sense a party one deprives it of all its special value. The fact of doing so would imply that there is a party in the Colony which is opposed to the objects of the Convention. If such exist, it may of course one day possess the ascendancy, and therefore the voice of a Convention based on party lines would, instead of being a national one, be merely the ephemeral utterance of the dominant party, and could not make the commanding claim to the attention of the Mother-country which a really National Council could assert. Here in Victoria our Parliament is unanimous—without a single dissentient. In New Zealand the case seems very much the same. In Queensland I have reason to believe and I most assuredly hope that that Colony will be represented by the leaders of both parties, and I hope that New South Wales and the other Colonies may see their way to follow suit. I have, &c, JAMES SEEVICE, Premier.

No. 49. Mr. E. Beckwith Leefe to The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Sir, Sydney, 9 October, I#B3. I have the honor herewith to enclose the original and several copies of a memorial from the European inhabitants of Fiji, to the President and Members of the Colonial Conference about to be held next month, praying for a consideration of their claim to be allowed to participate in whatever arrangements may be determined upon at such Conference, in view of an United Australasian Confederation. I have to request you will do me the favour of forwarding a copy of the memorial to each of the Premiers of Victoria, and Queensland, and New Zealand. For your perusal and information I also enclose a copy of a Petition to Her Majesty the Queen, praying generally for an amelioration of their political disabilities in the direction of federation or annexation to one or other of the Australian Colonies. I have, &c, E. BECKWITH LEEFE. Appointed by the signatories of Petition and Memorial to present the aforementioned document.

See Appendix F,

See Appendix F.

Submitted.—lo/10/83. Forward to the Premiers of Victoria, Queensland, and New Zealand copies of Petitions, and forward to His Excellency for perusal. —A.S., 11/10/83. His Excellency. —A.S. Seen.—A.L., 13/10/83.

No. 50. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to The Colonial Secretary of New Zealand. Sir, Sydney, 24 October, 1883. I have the honor to transmit to you herewith a copy of a memorial that has been received from the European inhabitants of Fiji, addressed to the President and members of the Intercolonial Conference to be held in Sydney during next month, praying for a consideration of their claim to be allowed to participate in whatever arrangements may be determined upon at such Conference, in view of a United Australasian Confederation, together with a copy of a petition from the British subjects resident in Fiji, addressed to Her Majesty the Queen, praying generally for an amelioration of their political disabilities in the direction of federation or annexation to one or other of the Australasian Colonies. 1 have, &c, ■ ALEX. STUAET.

See Appendix F.

See Appendix F

[Similar addressed to Premier of Victoria and Colonial Secretary of Queensland.]

No. 51. The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales to the Premier of Victoria. Colonial Secretary's Office, My dear Mr. Service, Sydney, 17 October, 1883. I have attentively considered all the arguments put forward in yours of 9th instant. It seems to me that you practically give up the position, when you say that the Government might select from the Opposition gentlemen whose views were known to accord on this matter with those of the Government. This seems to me to be somewhat at variance with the views propounded in your letter of 11th ultimo, in which you considered that all parties in each Legislature should be represented. If the Members of the Opposition are merely to be echoes of the Ministerial Members (while those holding other views are left out), then I think my argument in favour of only Ministerial Members is greatly strengthened. I would test it thus :If the Convention were to arrive at the conclusion that federation is desirable and ought to be carried out, it can go no further, but has finished its work ; and the Representatives of each Colony must then return to their respective Legislatures for acquiescence in the resolutions, and be then armed with powers to carry the same into effect. If the views of the Opposition accord with those of the Government, the acquiescence will be given as readily as if they had been present at the Convention; but if the Opposition views be adverse, it is surely better that the difference be fought out on the constitutional arena rather than in the Conference. I could agree better with your fourth paragraph, with one alteration, and that is, if it be decided that a Federal Constitution is fo be prepared, then I can quite understand that it would be desirable to have men of both, sides engaged in raising a common platform on which we could all stand ; and this, I think, is the true application of the Canadian precedent. Practically all the Colonies now united in the Dominion had expressed the opinion that the time had arrived for federation, and they were appointed to give effect to that opinion. The

The Australasian case differs in the important point that the Colonies here have not unanimously expressed an opinion that the time has arrived. We have all more or less expressed our opinion that the time will come ; but there has been, so far as I can judge, no general consensus of opinion that the time has arrived. I think that some misapprehension has arisen from the use of the word " Convention" instead of the more usual word" Conference"; i.e., we meet for the purpose of exchanging our views and endeavouring to put forward a scheme which we can submit to our respective Legislatures ; and if they agree thereto, and appoint delegates to carry the views into effect, the meeting of that legislatively-created body would be better entitled to the name of Convention, which is, in diplomatic usage, as I believe, more usually applied to a body summoned to carry out in a binding manner something which has arisen out of a Conference, or out of negotiations. I remain, &c, ALEX. STIIAET.

No. 52. The Premier of Victoria to The Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. My dear Mr. Stuart, Premier's Office, Melbourne, 24 October, 1883. Tours of the 17th to hand. I hardly know what position it is that you say " I practically give up" in suggesting that the Government might select from the Opposition gentlemen whose views were known to accord on this matter with those of the Government. This suggestion was made to jneet a difficulty started by you that, if you selected members outside of the Government, you might be exposed to the peril of being outvoted in the Convention. The difficulty itself seemed and still seems to me an unreal one ; but, if it be real, then it would be easily got over by the course I suggested. But if you mean that by such a suggestion I "give up" the position that it is desirable for the opposing parties in the various Colonies to be represented on the Convention, then I do not agree with you. I think you and I are looking at this matter from different points of view. You assume that the question comes within the range of party politics,'and so must be treated in a Constitutional, to wit, a Parliamentary manner. I assume that there is a substantial unanimity in your Parliament, as in ours, as to the desirability of federation ; and the suggestion that the delegates should be chosen from both sides of the House is to give the outward and visible sign of that unanimity, as well as to secure the hearty cooperation of the leading statesmen, on whatever side of domestic polities they may range themselves. The notable examples of the British North American Provinces show that my suggestion has a solid significance. In each and every case the delegates were selected in equal numbers from the Government and the Opposition. The question of being outvoted seems never to have occurred to the minds of the Governments of those Colonies ; and they appear to have fully apprehended the moral effect of selecting delegates from both sides of the House. Just imagine the difference in effoct on the Home Government and the people of England which would be produced by the one and the other of the two following telegrams from Sydney : — I. —"Mr. Stuart has carried his federation proposals by a considerable majority." IT.—" The New South "Wales Parliament has unanimously agreed on the federation proposals submitted by the Government. Delegates will be chosen from both sides of the House." The one represents a united and unanimous people; the other, a section dominant for the moment. Unless there is a consensus of opinion * * in favour of federation, then assuredly the time has not come for even a Convention ; but the universal acquiescence in and acceptance of Sir Thomas M'llwraith's proposal for a Convention surely indicated a conviction on the part of the various Governments that such a consensus did exist, and that all the Colonies were agreed as to the desirability of some sort of federal union, if existing conditions will permit it to be carried out. I also differ from you somewhat as to the functions, and especially as to the limit of the functions of the coming Convention. You say, "If the Convention were to arrive at the conclusion that federation is desirable and ought to be carried out, it can go no further, but has finished its work," et cetera. My view is that the Colonies have already approved of the pi'inciple of federation, and that the business of the Convention will be to discover how far and on what points federal action can be carried out at present. Your view of the Canadian, or rather the Charlotte Town Convention, is not, I think, borne out by its history. Probably at that time some of the North American Provinces were further advanced in the direction of a federal union than the Australian Colonies now are ; but when the Maritime Provinces decided to hold a Convention, in 1864, all reasonable hopes of effecting any arrangement with the Canadian Provinces had been abandoned; and yet that Convention, to which, in the first instance, the Canadian Provinces were admitted on mere sufferance, resulted in the establishment of the Dominion. You take exception to the vise of the word " Convention," instead of the usual word " Conference." The word " Convention" was used in Sir Thomas M'llwraith's original memorandum, and, as it seemed to have been accepted by all the Colonies in their replies, I have continued to use it. The definition of the Charlotte Town Convention is thus given by the Hon. J. H. Gray, in his history, page 30 : — "It is to be borne in mind that this Convention was not a public representative body, having power to legislate, determine, or finally affect the public interests, but rather a Committee of public men deputed by their several Governments to inquire and report upon a proposition which might or might not ultimately be adopted, but which, before either its adoption or rejection, would be subject to a searching and exhaustive public discussion in the several Legislatures of thi?Provinces." Now, I think this fairly describes the object of our meeting in Sydney next month, and the term " Convention" may as fairly be applied to it as to the meeting at Charlotte Town. You

You say, " the Australasian case differs in the important point that the Colonies here have not unanimously expressed an opinion that the time has arrived. We have all more or less expressed our opinion that the time will come, but there has been, so far as I can judge, no general consensus of opinion that the time has arrived." Neither had the North American Provinces when their Convention met. As a matter of fact, New Brunswick drew back, and did not enter the Dominion for years after it was constituted. How can the Colonies express an opinion that the time has arrived, until they meet and discuss the matter ? That the thing is desirable, if it can bo done, must be assumed to bo the feeling of all the Colonies, otherwise the sending of delegates is a delusion and the Convention a sham. That confederation can now be effected in all its fullness I do not hope, but that some basis can bo agreed on for a federal union of both a legislative and executive character, capable of with those important question which are immediately pressing, and which will gradually develop into a complete Australian Dominion, I have the greatest hopes, indeed I see no difficulty in the way if the various Colonies desire that it should be so. Conferences hitherto have produced the minimum of results, Resolutions have been passed over and over again, but, as there existed no common legislative body to give them force, the greater part of them remain a dead letter. A limited federation now would give practical effect to the wishes of the Colonies on those points on which they are agreed, and the basis would widen and grow as the advantages became manifest. A common danger (the outpouring of the moral filth of Europe into these seas), and a common desire (to save the islands of Australasia from the grasp of strangers) render federal action a necessity, and federal action is only possible by means of federal union of some sort. I hope to have your hearty co-operation at the Convention in considering how this is best to be brought about, and the question as to how New South Wales should be represented I may now fairly leave to your own judgment. I am, &c., JAMES SERVICE.

No.' 53. The Rev. James Cosh to The Colonial Secretary. Sir, Balmain, 31 October, 1883. I have the honor to send you herewith a copy of resolutions passed at a public meeting held in St. Stephen's Church, Phillip-street, Sydney, on the 12th instant, under the auspices of the Missions Committee of the Presbyterian Church of New South. Wales, and to request that you will kindly take an opportunity of presenting them to your Government, and also to the Intercolonial Conference to be held in Sydney next month. I have, &c, JAMES COSH, Convener of Committee on Missions and Chairman of Public Meeting.

[Enclosure to No. 53.] Annexation of New Guinea, &c. Resolutions adopted at a public meeting hold in St. Stephen's Church, Phillip-st., Sydney, on Friday, October 12, 1883. " 1st —That this meeting strongly urges the annexation of the Islands of New Guinea and the New Hebrides, and the intervening islands, by the British Crown. " 2nd —That in view of the Convention to bo held in Sydney in November next, a copy of the foregoing resolution bo forwarded to the Hon. the Colonial Secretory of New South Wales, in ordar to its being laid before the Government of New South Wales and also before the Intercolonial Convention." JAMES COSH, Chairman.

No. 54. Telegram from Premier of Victoria to Colonial Secretary of New South Wales. Melbourne, 5 November, 1883. Otje Agent-General telegraphs that Lord Derby has consented to representation of Fiji at Convention, and that he has telegraphed instructions accordingly. This is important, as it gives Imperial recognition to the Convention.

APPENDIX A.

APPENDIX A. [Enclosure to No. 15.] The Premier of Victoria to His Excellency the Most Noble the Marquis of Normanby, G-.C.M.G-., &c. (No. 67.) Proposed annexation of New Hebrides and adjacent islands. My Lord, Premier's Office, Melbourne, 18 June, 1883. With reference to the interview which I had with your Excellency on the 9th inst., respecting the desired annexation or protectorate of the New Hebrides and neighbouring islands, I now have the honor to transmit herewith to your Excellency, for the information of the Eight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, certain documents bearing upon the subject in question. The first is a letter from the Rev. D. Macdonald, a new Hcbridean missionery, at present on a visit to this Colony, and (besides being interesting in itself) sets forth what, I submit, are cogent reasons why the British Empire should take possession of the islands in question. I received the deputation proposed by Mr. Macdonald, and returned a reply, in substance the same as that contained in a newspaper report which forms my second enclosure. Enclosure No. 3 gives a list, asked for by me when receiving the deputation, of the various petitions which have at different times been directly or indirectly addressed to the Imperial Government (some from the natives themselves), praying for the annexation or a protectorate of the islands ; and No. 4 is a letter from the Bey. J. G. PatOn, setting out the reasons for the desired course. To the reasons contained in these documents I trust Lord Derby will give the gravest consideration. I will now add, that the action of this Colony has been somewhat precipitated by the circumstance that it was reported in Melbourne, a few days after my interview with the deputation, that the French Consul here had telegraphed to his Government an account of the matter, with a view to prevent British possession of the islands. It was at once felt by Ministers that it might prove a fault, to be ever deplored but never to be remedied, if Australia, through supinencss, were to allow these islands in the important strategic position which they occupy towards her, to fall without an effort into the hands of a foreign power. I therefore at once communicated with the other Colonies, and they joined unanimously in this view. I would ask your Excellency to be so good as to call special attention to the fact that the desired annexation of these islands stands altogether apart from any question as to a general annexation policy on the part of the Empire. It is of the first importance, in order to apprehend the true bearings of the question, that it should be seen that this annexation lias no connection with any such general policy ; that, in fact, the unwisdom of such a policy may be freely granted, so far as it is concerned, and the proposition still remains true that it is an urgent necessity of Australia that the possibility of these island-territories becoming the post for foreign guns and foreign ships should, without delay, be placed beyond question and beyond fear. It undoubtedly prejudices the case that it conies to be considered at a time when any such general policy is before the public mind, but I trust it may not be confused with it by the experienced statesmen who will have to deal with it. As to the question of expense, I would point out that the course we advocate may yet prove to be the truest economy. To take and hold possession would be at present a very small expense, but what would be the expense if in time of war these islands should become points from which foreign vessels could issue to attack AustraHan ports and harass British commerce; and it must be recollected that the groat majority of the ships that trade to Australia are British registered and of British owners. But, independently of this consideration, I feel sure that Australia would not wish the mother country to beat the whole expense of the projected measure. I have communicated with the other Colonies, asking their concurrence in this, and there has not yet been time to receive their replies ; but I would ask your Excellency to be good enough to convoy to Lord Derby my opinion that expense should not, and so far as an Australian subsidy is concerned, would not, be allowed to stand in the way. It will probably bo deemed equitable that, if Australia shares the expense, she should be consulted as to the mode of governing ; but this is a matter of detail which should not be allowed to hinder proceedings. There is one other consideration of great importance, and that is, that Australia is, in this respect, fettered in her action by her forming part of the British Empire. She cannot take the course which her truest interest dictates without the authority of the Crown ; Bhe is therefore entitled to make request of the Imperial authority to do that for her which her connection with the Empire prevents her from doing for herself. I have confined myself in this letter to the political aspect of the question, but, as well pointed out by the missionaries, there are questions of humanity and civilization which seem to add a clenching force to every other consideration. In conclusion, I would ask your Excellency to be so good as to represent that there is no doubt that a strong feeling of dissatisfaction will spread throughout these Colonies if England, while holding Australia back from acting in her own interest s, at the same time neglects to take a step which Australia deems essential to her future security and welfare. I have, &c, JAMES SERVICE, Premier.

[Sub-enclosure No. I.] The Honorable Jame3 Service, M.L. A.., Premier of the Colony of Victoria, Sir, 4 Eamont-terrace, Grey-st., East Melbourne, 31 May, 1883. I have the honor to lay before you, as briefly as possible, the following statement: — From a recent telegram we learn that the British Government, partly owing to the action of Queenslaud, supported as it has been by the other Australian Colonies, has annexed the southern part of New Guinea to the Empire, and resolved to administer it as a Crown Colony. This is a result heartily to be rejoiced in. But to annex merely the south-eastern part of Now Guinea is not, considered from any standpoint, sufficient, whether in the way of protecting the Australasian Colonies from the danger that would arise from the establishment of an alien power in the neighbouring islands, orin the way of protecting the natives of these islands from the atrocities of the labour traffic, and so of conserving the honor of the Empire, while promoting the interests of its commerce and civilization. A glance at the map will show that the chain of islands, inhabited by the same race, extending from New Guinea to the New Hebrides, or rather to the Fijis, including New Britain, New Ireland, and the Solomons, forms a natural group, should be annexed together, and together put under the same administration. As to the danger that might arise from the proximity of a great naval power in any part of this region of Western or Papuan Polynesia, the New Hebrides is exactly the same distance from Brisbane as New Guinea ; Melbourne I* somewhat, and New Zealand immensely nearer to the New Hebrides than to New Guinea. To the swift war-vessels of the present day a few hundred miles is a very small-matter. The climate of the New Hebrides is healthier than that of New Guinea, or any other part of the region abovenamed except Fiji, and it has by far the best harbours ; the island of Efate or Sandwich lias two of the best harbours in the world, well supplied with fresh water. Finally, the natives of the New Hebrides group are more prepared for the reception of civilization than those of any other islands in the Papuan Archipelago, with the exception of Fiji, and it would be easier to establish a civilized Government among them ; if not so advanced as the Fijians when Fiji was

was annexed, they arc more advanced than the islanders of the Solomons, New Britain, and New Guinea. Speaking of Fiji reminds us that it may bo regarded as the outlying extremity of the chain of islands abovenamed, being only 400 miles from the New Hebrides, which again are only 1,00.) miles from New Guinea. It is most undesirable that a foreign Power should possess the New Hebrides and Solomons, lying between Fiji and New Guinea, and forming the very heart of our nascent South Sea Empire, for it would be a standing menace to it as well as to the Australasian Colonies. As to the protection of the natives from labour traffic atrocities, and conserving the honor of the British name, the necessity of doing which we have abundantly recognized by Acts of the Imperial Parliament and otherwise, it is in the New Hebrides and Solomons that that protection is most needed; there the flag of England has been most foully stained, and there has been done to the helpless people most grievous wrong, for which wo are nationally responsible ; we owe therefore to them a national debt of reparation, which we do not owe to the people of New Guinea. And the perpetration of that wrong is going on every day in these islands, whereas it, is only begun in New Guinea. There is no other way worth trying of putting an end to these outrages and massacres that we are constantly hearing of, and many which we_never hear of, but by annexing the islands, and thereby making the islanders British subjects. Lord Derby and the Home authorities recognize the need of new efforts to put a stop to them or better regulate the labour traffic. —[See his reply to a deputation in February last. ] Nothing short of annexation and putting the Papuan islander, as a labourer, on a footing analogous to that of the Hindoo coolie, will avail. This, in fact, is a strong argument for annexation. The expenses now incurred —and they are considerable —for inefficient regulations would be applied efficiently under the new system ; the honor, the interests, and the safety of the Empire would be promoted, the natives protected, and commerce and civilization permanently rooted and grounded in one of the fairest and most fertile portions of the globe. There are four Missionary Societies at work in Papuan Polynesia, and only four, and the whole four are British; the Presbyterian in the New Hebrides, Church of England in the Solomons, Wesleyan in New Britain, and London Missionary Society in New Guinea. Of these missions, the Presbyterian in the New Hebrides is the oldest and largest; it has now fourteen European missionaries, together with about 150 native Christian teachers and evangelists, who may be regarded as the hope of their race, both as to Christianity and" civilization, and it is carried on at an annual expense of about £0,000 of British, Home, and Colonial money. Similar things might be said of the other missions. Already a considerable number of traders and planters have settled in the New Hebrides, and most or nearly all of these are British subjects. All would hail annexation as a boon. The natives to a man are as much in favour of British as they are opposed t> French annexation. There, is not commercially a richer or more fertile or desirable group than the New Hebrides throughout (he vast extent of the Pacific. The Imperial Government can have no objection, on principle, to annexing these islands, sinc3 they have annexed New Guinea and Fiji; and there can be no reasonable objection on the score of expense, asthe same machinery that is necessary for New Guinea and Fiji can be extended over the intervening islands, and the present expense of the abortive regulation of the so-called "labour traffic" will be available, and probably sufficient to cover any slight additional expense. And as soon as civilized Government is extended over these islands in connection with either of the established Governments of Fiji or New Guinea, as may be most convenient, the rapid commercial development and progress certain to take place in them will speedily secure more than the defrayment of their proportion of the expense of Government; for these islands will become the Australasian Indies, and will yield cotton, coffee, and cocoa-nut oil, sugar and spices, and all other tropical products, in large quantities. Thus, generally speaking, it is exceedingly desirable to annex these islands along with New Guinea and Fiji. Hitherto the British Government have not seen their way to annex the New Hebrides, though frequently petitioned to do so ; but now that Fiji at the one extremity, and New Guinea at the other, have been annexed, it is reasonable to expect that they would see it to be their wisdom to annex the intervening islands also, attaching them to either of the existing Colonies of Fiji or New Guinea, according to their proximity; and these islands not only lie between the two extremities of our South Sea Empire, but also form a chain that runs parallel to the Australian coast. I therefore respectfully and earnestly suggest to you, as Premier of the Colony of Victoria, that;, if you agree with these views, you take such steps as your long political experience may dictate to you to secure the co-operation of the other Australian Governments, in order to the annexation to the British Kmpire of the New Hebrides, Solomons, and New Britain, along with New Guinea and the Fijis; and I have much satisfaction in feeling that to none could so important a business be more appropriately committed. May I request that you will be good enough to appoint a time to receive myself and a number of gentlemen who are deeply interested in the matter, at your earliest convenience, to more fully explain their views on the subject. I have, &c, D\ MACDONALD, _. Missionary, New Hebrides,

[Sd-sncksure JY,>. 2.] Extract fr.ni the Argus Newspaper of 7th June, 1883. The Sonn Sea Islands. A largo deputation, including a number of clergymen, waited on the Premier yesterday, to urge him to do everything in his power to induce the Imperial Government to annex or accord its protection to the islands in the South Seas that are not at present under the dominion of any other Power. Mr. Balfour, M.L.G., ml reduced (lie deputation, which was abo accompanied by Messrs. Anderson, Miriams, Gibb, and M. 11. Davios, M.L.A.'s. The Minister of Justice was present with the Premier. Mr. Balfour said that for many years those connected witli the missions in the New Hebrides Islands had seen the necessity for the annexation of those islands, or else for their being brought under the protection of the Empire. The iniquitous labour traffic was really not under control, and it had had tlw effect of almost bringing Christianity and civilization to a standstill. Movements in favour of annexation or protection had been repeated, lut unsuccessful. He assumed that Great Britain would cither annex New G-uinea or allow the Colonies to do so ; and the present seemed a good opportunity to urge the annexation of the other islands, which could be advocated not only from a missionary's but from a statesman's point of view, for on these islands valuable products could be grown. Common humanity demanded the supression of the labour traffic, about which there were numerous official reports, and which had lately been commented upon by Mr. Morrison, an independent witness. The Wesleyan mission at New Britain repre mted in the deputation. The missionaries there did not want annexation until the natives had been consulted ; but the New Hebrides missionaries could speak confidently as to the desire for annexation of the natives there. Throughout these islands there was a great dread of other powers, but a great desire to be annexed to the British Empire. The Rev. 1). Macdonald, Presbyterian missionary of New Hebrides, said that the British had the most right to annex the islands, because they had spent more money there than any other nation. Moreover, precious British blood had been spilled there, and the British were more numerously represented than any other foreign nation. The annexation of the islands would be a reparation for the wrong done to them by the labour traffic by persons of British nationality more than any other. There was no other means than annexation of stopping the constantly occurring massacres. The New Hebrides were centrally situated, and were near to the Australian Colonies, and contained splendid harbours, the best of which was in central island, called Sandwich Island. The Rev. ,T. King, of the Victorian Auxiliary to the London Missionary Society, said that he had spent ten years on the Navigators Islands. The missionaries did not advocate annexation, becanse they desired governmental patronage and help. They did not want British gun-boats to assist them in evangelizing the people. The greatest achievements of Christianity had been accomplished in the islands without [such aid. He advocated annexation purely on huinanitai'ian grounds. The British Government was the natural protector of these races. The long connection of British people with the islanders in missionary work and commercial enterprise had led the islanders to look up to the British as their natural protectors. Samoa, over and over again, asked the British S-ovesnmeut for a protectorate, but such requests had been deoliped, and now Germauv and America had obtained very strong footing there. Unless the British Government soon sleppetlin, the New Hebrides also would soon arrive at~a stage at; which British annexation would be impossible. The French had a considerable interest in the Loyalty group beyond New Caledonia. In the past the English Government had signally failed in conserving native races, because it had not yet adopted the right policy. 331—1 The

The Rev. E. I. Watkiu, President of the Wesleyau Conference, >aid lie was not authorized to speak on behalf of the Wesleyan Church, but so far as lie knew the opinions of. her missionaries it was that the case of the New Hebrides was not parallel with that of the Solomon Islands and New Britain. There had been a Presbyterian Mission in the New Hebrides for many v'eurs, and annexation was desired there. He was inclined to favour the establishment of a protectorate over the Solomon Islands and New Britain, with a view tj annexation, should the nafirVes desire it. There was already, it should be remembered, self-government in some of the islands. The natives had rights that should not be interfered with, except for political reasons. Such reasons justified the annexation of New Guinea., and on the same grounds the annexation of the New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, and New Britain might perhaps be justified. The Rev. T. Nelson, of the Now Hebrides Mission, said that- the French strongly desired to take possession of those islands, the natives of which, however, strongly wished for annexation to Great Britain. The Rev. J. G. Paton, missionary of the Free Church of Scotland, snid that twenty years ago the Tanna chiefs petitioned for British annexation, and such request had been since renewed. As to the expenditure U*at annexation of the islands would entail it had been magnified because some of the islands- ciulA tjg governed from Fiji, and the others from New Guinea when that was annexed. The natives hated and feiroil trie. Fr.mi.-h, but tiiuy loved the nains of Q.ueen Victoria. If the French annexed the islands the Protestant missions would be suppressed. All the islanders longed for British protection. It would be a pity if, after the expenditure of so much British money there, some other nation were to step in and reap the harvest. He concluded by relating instances of ntrncilies perpetrated by the labour vessels. Mr. Service said that lie would like to be furnished with a short resume of all the appeals that had been made for the annexation of the islands and of other facts bearing on the subject. Every consideration pointed to the desirableness of the course S3 strongly recommended by the deputation. Unfortunately-, humanitarian, civilizing, and Christianizing movements wore often, if not antagonistic to political considerations, at all events not on the same line with them, but here everf consideration pointed in the same direction. Politics, religion, commerce, civilization, humanity, all pointed to the absolute desirability of getting hold of these islands. As to A rew Guinea he not only put himself in communication witli the AgentGeneral, but requested the other Colonies to support the action of the Queensland Government. But in the steps he took on that subject he had not the slightest desire to encourage that labour "trade which the deputation had referred to in terms that were not half strong enough. The mission of England all along had been to elevate, Christianize, and civilize the dark nations of the earth. Of late years she seemed to have felt that she was getting too many dependencies, but he believed that that was a mistaken notion altogether. England was an immense moral power among the nations ; she owed her positidn to her grand moral status, and it was a position that her military power would never give her. He would immediately bring the matter under the notice of his colleagues, and would allow no delay to elapse in his efforts to bring about the desired result. If the Australian Legislatures could be induced to pass resolutions in favour of annexation that would tell very favourably with the Government and Parliament of England, who would regard such opinions as of more importance than mere governmental action. He believed the Victorian Government would be unanimously in favour of prompt action. The deputation withdrew, gratified with the statement of'the Premier.

[Sub-enclosure No. 3.] The Honorable James Service, Premier. Dear Sir, Cotham-road, Kew, Friday, Juno Bth, 1883. I am sorry I coidd not sooner send you the required dates of memorials and petitions to the Queen for a protectorate, and for annexation of the New Hebrides Islands. I feel also sorry the following are so imperfect, as all such records are kept by Dr. Steel, the agent of our mission in Sydney, and now he is in Melbourne attending a conference, but they can be got from him on his return ; but at present I forward all I have been able to get from blue books, though very imperfect, as a number are not noted in books now within my reach. In A.D. 1862 the chiefs of-Tanna sent a petition through me to Sir John Young, Governor of New South "Wales, for a protectorate. He did not forward it. In A.D. 1868 a petition was presented to the Earl of Belmore, by the New Hebrides Mission, for Her Majesty the Queen. In a.d. 1868 a petition was presented to Lord Stanley, by the Reform Presbyterian Church of Scotland, for Hei1 Majesty the Queen. In a.d. 1872 a petition was presented to Earl Kimberly, Secretary of State for the Colonies, by the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland, for the Queen. In A.D. 1874 a petition was sent to the Queen regarding the labour traffic and implying a British protectorate, like all the above noted. In November, 1874, another petition was sent from Victoria regarding the " slave or labour traoie " and a protectorate. In a.d. 1871 or 1875 a petition was sent by the natives of Efate, per Lieutenant Carey, of H,M. gunboat " Conflict," which was presented, for annexation like Fiji as they expressed it, through Mr. Maodonald. In A.D. 1877, the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, the] Presbyterian Church of New South "Wales, and the Free Church of Scotland, and the Mission, all sent petitions to the Queen for annexation of the Now Hebrides to Great Britain. In a.d. 1882 a petition was sent from a Conference which met in Sydney, representing all the Presbyterians of Australasia, and others followed from Victoria, and South Australia, and Tasmania, and the New Hebrides Mission, and the natives, and the Free Church of Scotland, to the Queen, entreating the annexation of the group to Great Britain. The above will show you that the sudjeet has been long before the minds of the natives, the missionaries and Europeans on the islands, and all the churches at home and in our Australasian Colonies which have been engaged in the work of civilizing and Christianizing the New Hebrides Islands. In the Conference of the Australasian Presbyterian Churches, which met in Sydney in April of last year, I pleaded for British annexation of the New Hebrides Islands, on account of eight reasons which I have written out to you and enclose, and which led to the six petitions being sent to the Queen, as above referred to, for annexation to Great Britain. Thanking you heartily for the cordial reception of our deputation, and wishing you every blessing in Christ Jesus, — T remain, &c., JOHN G. PATON.

[Enclosure to foregoing .] [I enclose this from Dr. Steel, Sydney.—Johx G. Paton.] "Nome ten years ago, when an abortive effort was made by a number of private individuals to form a settlement in New Guinea, representations were made to some of the Colonial Governments on the importance of the annexation of New Guinea by the British Government. At the same period, simultaneous efforts were made by Presbyterian Churches to the Governments of Australasian Colonies respecting the annexation of the New Hebrides. The labour traffic at that time excited great interest on account of its many inhumanities. The Government of New South "Wales, at the period referred to, formally agreed to recommend the annexation of New Guinea, the Duke of York Islands, New Britain, New Ireland, and the New Hebrides, Sir John Robertson, then Colonial Secretary of New South Wales, addressed a communication to the Earl of Kimberley, the British Minister for the Colonies, urging the importance of annexation. The answer of the Earl of Kimberley was unfavourable; but the correspondence which was published by the Governmejit of New South Wales, shows that this proposal is not now urged for the first time. The population of natives in the New Hebrides is rapidly declining, and these islands will certainly be annexed by some power, as they are well fitted to gro.w all kinds of tropical spices and other fruits. They were discovered for the most; part by British navigators, traded with by British vessels, regularly visited by Her Majesty's ships of war, and justice frequently administered by Her Majesty's naval officers, and finally evangelized by the labours and munificence of British subjects.

[Sub-enclosure

( Sub-en cloxure No, h To ihr Honorable .lames Service, Premier, Sir, For the following reasons we think the British Government ought now to take possession of the Now Hebrides group of the South Sei Islands, of the Solomon group, and of all the intervening chain of islands from Fiji to Guinea : — Ist. Because she has already taken possession of Fiji in the east-, and we hope it will soon bo known authoritatively that she has taken possession of New Guinea at the north-west, adjoining her Australian possessions, and the islands between complete this chain of islands lying along the Australian coast. Taking possession of the New Hebrides would not add much to her expenses, as her Governments on Fiji and New Guinea, with the visits of her men-of-war, passing through the group of the New Hebrides and intervening islands on their way to New Guinea, would almost be sufficient for all her requirements on the islands between. 2nd. The sympathy of the New Hebrides natives are all with Great Britain, hence they longjbr British protection ; while they fear and hate the French, who appear cage]- to annex the .group, because they have seen the way the French have treated the native races of New Caledonia, the Loyalty Islands, and other' South' Sea Islands. 3rd. Till within the paßt few months almost all the Europeans on the New Hebrides were British subjects, who long for British protection. ■flh. All the men, and all (lie money (over ,C 1.40,000) used in civilizing and Christianizing the New Hebrides, have been British. Now fourteen missionaries, and the !l Dayspring" mission ship, and about 150 native evangelists and teachers are employed in the above work on this group, in which over £0,000 yearly of British and British-colonial money is expended, and certainly it would be unwise to lot any other power now take possession and reap the fruits of all this British outlay. sth. Because the New Hebrides are already a British dependency in this sense, —all its imports are from. Sydney and Melbourne and British colonies, and all its exports are also to British colonies. 6th. The islands in this group are generally very rich in soil and in tropical products, so that, if a possession of Great Britain, and the labour traffic stopped, so as to retain what remains of the native populations on them, they would soon, and for ages to come, become rich sources of tropical wealth to these Colonies, as sugar-cane is extensively cultivated on them by every native of the group even in his heathen state. For natives they an industrious, hard-working race, living in villages and towns, and, like farmers, depending upon the cultivation and products of the ground for their support by their plantations. The islands also grow maize, cotton, coffee, arrowroot, and spices, &c, &c, and all tropical products could be largely produced on them. 7th. Because if any other nation takes possession of them, their excellent and spacious harbours, as on Efate, so well Supplied with the best fresh water, and their near proximity to Great Britain's Australasian Colonies, would in time of war make them dangerous to British interests and commerce in the South Seas and to her Colonies. Bth. The thirteen islands of this group, on which life and property are now comparatively safe, the 8,000 professed Christians on the group, and all the churches formed among them, are, by God's blessing, the fruits of the labours of British missionaries, who, at great toil, expense, and loss of life, have translated, got printed, and taught the natives to read the Bible, in part or in whole, in nine different languages of this group, while 70,000 at least are longing and ready for the Gospel. On this group twenty-one members of the mission family died or were murdered by the savages in beginning God's work among them, not including good Bishop Patteson, of the Mciancsian Mission, and we fear all this good work would be lost if the New Hebrides fall into other than British hands. 9th. Because we fee no other way of suppressing the labour traffic in Polynesia, with all its many evils, as it rapidly depopulates the islands, being attended by much bloodshed, misery, and loss of life. It is an unmitigated evil to the natives, and ruinous to all engaged in it, and to the work of civilizing and Christianizing the islanders. While all experience proves that all labour laws and regulations with Government, agents and gun-boats, cannot prevent such evils, which have always been the sad accompaniments of all such traffic in men and women in every land, and because this traffic and its evils are a sad stain on our British glory and Australasian honor, seeing Britain has done so much to free the slave and suppress slavery in other lands For the above reasons, and others that might be given, we sincejely hope and pray that you will do all possible to get Nictpria and tinl other Colonial Governments to help and unite in urging Great Britain at once to take possession of the New Hebrides group. Whether looked at in the interests of humanity or Christianity, or commercially or politically, surely it is most, desirable that they should at once be British possessions, hence we plead for your judicious and able help, and remain,-— Your humble servant, JOHN G. PATON,: Senior Missionary, New Hebrides Mission.

APPENDIX B. [Enclosure to No. 19.] New Gtttxea. Extract from the Minutes of Proceedings of the Executive Council of Queensland, at Government House, Brisbane, 17th July, 1883. Present —His Excellency the Administrator of the Government in Council. His Excellency the Administrator of the Government, at the instance of the Honorable (lie Colonial Secretary, lays before the Council the following Memorandum by the Premier on the refusal of the Imperial Government to confirm the annexation of New Guinea, and recommends that the same be approved : —'• Memorandum by the Premier of Queensland on the refusal of the Imperial Government to confirm the annexation of New Guinea. The decision arrived at by Her Majesty's Government in reference to the annexation of New Guinea seems to me to justify some decided and concerted action on the part of the Australian Colonies. It is scarcely necessary to refer at any length to the previous correspondence on this subject, or to the repeated representations in connection with it which have been made to the Imperial Government. It seems to me right that reference should be made to the various reasons assigned for this refusal. In 1875, Lord Carnarvon, while not discouraging the idea of extensive annexation, assigned as one reason why lie could not act on the representations of the Australian Colonies, that the British tax-payer could not and would not bear the expenditure. Lord Derby advances the same reasons now. He adds to this other reasons —the enormous extent of the territory, the unknown character of the interior and the hostility of the natives. Those objections may be easily combated. The expense need not be great, and we now know that the Australian Colonies will undertake this expense, or share it with Her Majesty's Government, if required to do so. As for the natives, the Dutch have not interfered with the aborigines in that part of New Guinea claimed by them, and their claim costs them nothing. They wait, and simply hold the country as against any other power. There would be no difficulty in our doing single-handed, in that part of New Guinea contiguous to our shores, a great deal more than the Dutch have done during the last fifty years in the north-western portion of the island. Queensland has simply been desirous that New Guinea should not fall into the hands of a foreign Power, and that the requisite authority should be exercised over those adventurers who frequent the shores of that island. Experience in Torres Straits has already proved valuable in this respect. The " beachcombers" who frequented the islands of Murray and Darnley have taken themselves off since the annexation of these islands to Queensland territory. What was effected in. Torres Straits could have been carried out with perfect ease on the mainland of New Guinea. All that was required was the acceptance of the proclamation. I still think that it ought to have been accepted, and I hope that the Australian Colonies will, by their several and united representations, urge upon Her Majesty's Government a reconsideration of their decision. But there can be no doubt trftt the refusal to annex New Guinea, together with the possible acquisition by foreign Powers of some of the Pacific islands contiguous to Australia, does raise very serious questions intimately connected with the future interests of the Australasian Colonies. If Her Majesly's Government docs not feel that the annexation of Now Guinea, or of the islands adjacent to Australia, is of so much importance to the Empire at large as it is to the Australian Colonies, let some means he devised by which those islands may be held and governed for the benefit of the Australian people. The step

step taken by the Queensland Government, in causing a formal claim to be mode over New Guinea, was done in the interests, not only of Queensland, but of all the Australian Colonies, and in the interests of the natives of New Guinea, who ought to be protected by some lawful authority from contact with the lawless adventurers who are too often a law to themselves. That also which is for (he advantage of this country is surely for the advantage of Great Britain. The middle island of New Zealand was won for Great Britain by a timely act of annexation. In the last century, similar timely acts of annexation won large portions of America for the Anglo-Saxon race. Why, then, should not Queensland be permitted, with the sanction of Her Majesty's Government, to assist in carrying out this national and beneficial policy ? Tf, then, the real reason for the refusal to annex New Guinea be, not the expense, but the difficulty of providing for the government and protection of the native races, might not this be met by the sanction and authority of the united Colonies ? Some justification, it has been often said, is required for federation —may it not be found in this exigency. I submit that a case has arisen which may be made use of to call into existence the higher forms of government required to give effect to this policy of annexation. Tho Australian Colonies are now united by sentiments of filial regard and devotion to the British Empire, though they are not represented in tho British Legislature. The Imperial Parliament dominates the whole Empire, and the Colonies are not represented in that Parliament;, though their interests may be vitally affected by its decisions. It is not possible to give authoritative effect to the wishes of the people of Australia in anything beyond their own domestic interests, except through the intervention of Her Majesty's Government. The circumstances of the present case seem to point to a necessity for combination among the Australian Colonies—a combination for both legislative and executive purposes. Australian interests are involved in securing the peaceful and progressive supremacy of Australian influences in the adjoining seas. In order to effect this it is necessary that there should not only be sentiments held in common, but that a form of Government should be provided capable of giving expression to these sentiments. The federation of the Australian Colonies may thus be forwarded. Here is work for the united Colonies io do, if they can be got to unite. I suggest that a convention of delegates should be held to discuss the basis upon which a Federal Government could be constituted. This, 1 believe, was the form adopted in Canada previous to the constitution of the Dominion Parliament. May not this example be followed here ? Tho Dominion Government has added largely to the influence, and the national integrity of Canada. It seems probable that a similar form of Government adapted to the special requirements of Australia would give life to national aspirations here, without repressing the autonomous Governments of the respective Colonies. To it would properly belong the discussion of such measures as are necessary for the consolidation and security of Australian interests, as well as for the government of these outlying islands in the Pacific, which at presont are not claimed by any civilized Power. I think, therefore, that there ought, in the first place, to be representations from all tho Australian Colonies, urging upon Her Majesty's Government a reconsideration of their decision as regards New Guinea ; and, in the next place, Her Majesty's Government should be invited to move in the direction of providing for a form of Federal Government suitable for the Australian Colonies. I propose that this memorandum should be embodied in an Executive minute and forwarded both to Her Majesty's Government and to tho Governments of the respective Australian Colonies, for their consideration, and for such action as they may deem cxpeJicnt. T. M'ILWEAITII.

10th July, 1883. The Council deliberate and adv'se, as rocommended, immediate action. —A. V. Beubt, Clerk of the Executive Council,

APPENDIX C. [ Enclosure to No, 20.] The Agents-General to Lord Derby. My Lord, London, 21 July, 1883. In accordance with the desire expressed by your Lordship on the occasion of our recent interview with you, we purpose now 1o place before your Lordship in writing the representations which we then submitted to you on the annexation or protectorate of the Western Pacific Islands and the eastern portion of New Guinea. It is no doubt well known to your Lordship that during a period now extending over more than thirty years, the Australasian Colonies have one after another pressed upon Her Majesty's Government the expediency of bringing the islands of the Western Pacific within t!ie dominion or the protection of England ; and we feel assured that the whole question will appeal to your Lordship invested with a graver aspect, when for the first time the Governments of nearly all the Dependencies ot England in Australasia come before Her Majesty's Government to make a united remonstrance against the present state of affairs in the Western Pacific, and to ask from the Imperial authority the adoption of such a definite policy and purpose as they believe is essential to their future well-being. It is true that fear of foreign intervention has been the immediale cause of this concerted action on the part of the Australasian Governments; and this, we understood, seemed to your Lordship hardly adequate 1o justify a strong sense of present danger. Wo can assure you that our Governments would receive with a sense of great relief your Lordship's assurance that there is no foundation for our fears. But it is not only the apprehension of immediate foreign intervention that has influenced our Governments, nor would its removal change their opinion as to the necessity for making it impossible in the future. Other powerful reasons bring them together to urge upon the Imperial Government the necessity of a policy different from the one that has been pursued in the past; the conviction, indeed, that the state of things in tho Western Pacific has at last beconre intolerable. We feel that we ought not to say this, without an attempt to trace the course of events that have led to so grave a declaration. It was in 1848 that Sir George Grey, then Governor of Now Zealand, first called the attention of tho Imperial Government to a " species of trade in the native inhabitants which had commenced in the Pacific," and to the danger of foreign annexation, pointing out the necessity of providing against these in time. For many years successive appeals of the same kind, and from one Colony after another, were made to Her Majesty's Government to interfere. In the meanwhile, the contant repetition of outrages in the Pacific had become such a scandal fo civilisation, that the Imperial Government resolved to make a vigorous attempt to rep-ess them. The Foreign Jurisdiction Act, which had been in existence in various forms since 1828, and the Pacific Islanders Protection Act of 1872, had proved insufficient to meet the increasing difficulties of the case. At last, in 1875, two Acts of Parliament were passed, amending the former law, defining more clearly the powers and jurisdiction of Her Majesty in the Pacific Ocean, and creating the office of High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. These were followed, two years after, by the promulgation of the " Western Pacific Order in Council of 1877," which established the High Commissioner's Court, with elaborate provision for the government of the Western Pacific ; and the new Colony of Fiji, which had meanwhile been created in 1876, became the centre of the High Commissioner's operations. The humane intentions of the Imperial Government in these measures have always commanded the respect and sympathy of the Australasian Colonies ; and if it had over been possible to give them real effect, we should not be addressing your Lordship to-day ; but there was an inherent difficulty, tho results of which could hardly have been foreseen at the time, but which was certain to paralyze every endeavour to confer the benefits of law and order on the vast region, stretching from New Guinea across the Pacific Ocean, which those measures embraced. The Act of 1875, which created the office of High Commissioner, only empowered Her Majesty to "exercise power and jurisdiction over Her subjects" within the island, and expressly declared that nothing in the Act or in any Order in Council under- it should " extend, or be construed to extend, to invest Her Majesty with any claim or title whatsoever to dominion or sovereignty " over the islands, or to " derogate from the rights of the tribes or people inhabiting them, or of their Shiefs or rulers, to such sovereignty or dominion." And although the powers of tho Order in Council were apparently extended so as to include foreigners in a few specified cases, they were practically restricted to British subjects only, for no foreigner could be brought under the High Commissioner's jurisdiction unless he could produce "the consent in writing of the competent authority on behalf of his own nation," a condition which, from the nature of things, could seldom if erer be fulfilled.

Nor did the Order in Council fully carry out the idea with which it had been originally devised. Though the Act was passed in 1875, it was not till 1877 thai the Order in Council under it was issued ; and it was not I ill 1878 thai it could bo brought into operation in the Pacific. Meanwhile the intentions of Her Majesty's Government had undergone some change. Differences arose between the naval authorities and the Acting High Commissioner as to their respective powers. The work to be done was daily becoming more and more difficult, and the nature of the difficulty was becoming better known to Her Majesty's Government. Hardly was the Order in Council brought into operation, when it was Found to be too intricate and complicated an instrument, bristling as it did with technicalities and minute provisions in precise legal language, to be really workable. The High Commissioner described the position iv which he was placed in the clearest terms. His jurisdiction being one extending over British subjects exclusively, he had no authority whatever to deal, whether judicially or in his executive capacity, with ofl'eneos by natives of islands not under the dominion of the Crown. Ho more than once represented to the Imperial Government, that unless such a jurisdiction were created as would be competent io take cognizance also of offences committed against British subjects, the infliction of punishment on these for outrages against natives in the same regions was certain to excite on their part a natural irritation, and a sense of being treated with injustice. But the reply to his representations invariably was, that; " in the opinion of the Law OfHccrs of the Crown, insuperable obstacles existed to any assumption of jurisdiction by Her Majesty over other than British subjects, beyond the limits of Her dominions." The High Commissioner could not with fairness be reproached for not having exercised a jurisdiction which he had been strictly forbidden to assume. Early in 1881 he reminded Lord Kimberley how often the attention of Her Majesty's Government had been painfully called to the greatly increased frequency of the murder of Europeans by natives in the islands of the Western Pacific; this he attributed (among other causes) to the "far greater intercourse between whites and natives," and to the possession of firearms by the latter, " which had given them a confidence and boldness they did not before possess." Later on he recommended that power should be granted for the trial of natives for offences against British subjects, where such a power might be conceded by the native chiefs themselves ; but it would have been no easier to get the assent of the natives than that of foreigners. The High Commissioner regretted that so elaborate an instrument as the Order in Council had been in the first instance preparod ; and he represented that of its 321 articles by far the greater part were never called into use, that it was constantly found, iv the remoter regions of the Pacific, impossible to comply with its directions, and that the powers intended to be conferred by it were therefore ineffectual. So things went on from 1877 to 1881. Another year elapsed, and the evils only got worse. In the hope of lessening them, the High Commissioner appointed two officers, Captain Dale, R.N., and Captain Cyprian Bridge, R.N., commanding H.M.S. "Diamond," and " Espiegle," to be Deputy Commissioners. But the old difficulty reasserted itself at once, that there was no jurisdiction over foreigners: the evil-doers of any nation had only to represent themselves as belonging to some other nationality, iv order to escape control. In his instructions to the Deputy-Commissioners, Sir A. Gordon warned them that they would huve difficulty in ascertaining who were British subjects and who were not, because many would seek to plead some other nationality ; and that they would find caution to be essentially requisite, as they had no jurisdiction whatever ovsr any foreigner unless he submitted to it voluntarily. There was never any doiU>t that this device of assuming other nationalities would be resorted to by criminals : but it was hardly necessary to resort to it, for outrages in which foreigners were openly concerned took place. A boat from a vessel named the " Aurora," flying the French flag, had a collision with the natives of an island called Api in the New Hebrides group, in which the chief of a small village was shot. The natives thereupon resolved to murder the first white man they could, in revenge. An English labour vessel, the " Dauntless," went to the island shortly afterwards to recruit labourers : her boat was decoyed to the beach, when the natives opened fire with rifles, killing the second mate and wounding the Government Agent. Complaints were often made of there being cases of kidnapping by French vessels atone island or another, and consequent threats of the natives that they would kill the first white man who went there. An inquiry was held at Noumea respecting the French vessel " Aurora." In her case it was clearly shown that the crew had put in practice the worst form of kidnapping, such as staving in or running down canoes, capturing the natives, and shooting those who attempted to escape. Labourers were being apparently recruited by the crews of vessels nearly all of which flew foreign Hags. The planters of all nationalities) were greatly exasperated by the conduct of masters of labour vessels, both French and English, in enticing away their servants. Where the foreigner committed an outrage, he was not amenable to punishment; where he suffered injury, he could get no redress in the High Commissioner's Court. But if there was serious trouble by reason of there being no jurisdiction over foreigners, another trouble was growing up even more serious because there was none over natives. So far from outrages diminishing after the Order in Council was promulgated, they increased. In November, 1880, Commander Bower, R N., of H.M.S. "Sandfly," with a boat's crew, was put to death on a small island of the Solomon group under circumstances of much barbarity. The Governor of New South Wales reported to the Colonial Office that " the atrocious murders lately committed by the South Sea Islanders had caused and were causing a very deep feeling of pain and indignation." The newspapers teemed with accounts of these outrages :it was said that "no week passed without the announcement of another massacre in the Islands." The exasperation predicted by Sir Arthur Gordon as certain to occur was becoming greater every day. Early in 1881 Lord Kimberley, in a despatch to the High Commissioner, deplored the " unusual number of outrages by natives upon white men which had recently been reported to the Colonial Office," In the meanwhile stern reprisals had been resorted to. When the outrage took place at the island of Api in revenge for what had been done by the crew of a French vessel, the Commodore had gone down in H.M.S. "Wolverene" and landed a party of 100 seamen and marines, who destroyed four of the villages implicated, and cut down the fruit plantations in their vicinity. And now, after the " Sandfly" outrage, the Commodore felt it his duty to take even severer measures. In December, 1880, he sent down Captain Maxwell, K.N., in H.M.S. " Emerald," to inflict punishment not only for the "Sandfly" murders, but for others that had been committed on crews of the vessels "Ripple," " Esperanza," " Boroalis," and "Anne Brooks." The punishment was very severe. From bay to bay, from island to island, the villages were set in flames, the cocoa-nut and other fruit trees cut down, and the canoes destroyed. " There was no more to be done," said Captain Maxwell, "in the way of hunting these wretched people. . . . They have been hunted and worried till it will be long before they settle again. ... I regret that my whole voyage in these islands has been one of apparently ruthless destruction, but no other course has been possible." Nor was this enough. A few months afterwards a si ill stronger stop was taken. Commodore Bruce, of II M.S. " Cormorant," was sent to the Florida Isles by the Commodore to bring the perpetrators of the " Sandfly" murders to justice. There he issued a declaration that "In consequence of an English officer and boat's crew being murdered by Florida men, the Queen of England declared war with the whole tribes of Floridas, unless the actual murderers are given up in fourteen days"; adding that "in case of any other white man being killed in the Florida Isles, the whole of the chiefs would be held responsible, and the Florida Islands be considered to be at war with the Queen of England." Bishop Selwyn, being then on the spot, humanely did all he could to save life. Writing to Commander Bruce, he says : —" I have acted as I have done, because you, sir, as the representative of Her Majesty, have declared war against all the people of these islands unless the murderers are given up. It appears to me to be my duty io save the people from such a calamity, by vising what influence I possess to induce them to comply with Her Majesty's demands." The Commodore "fully approved of the 'Cormorant's' action at the Floridas." Thus it seemed that a naval officer, in reprisals for an outrage, might issue a " declaration of war" against entire tribe! in the Western Pacific, and that what he required must be considered as being " Her Majesty's demands." Surely it was not this which could ever have been locked for as the outcome of the scheme of 1875 for the government of the Western Pacific. Remedies iviiich were suggested. It is no wonder that such a state of things should hate caused serious anxiety to Her Majesty's Government, or that the Secretary of State should have desired the High Commissioner to advise what was now to bo done. That the Order in Council had failed was evident; "an acknowledgment," says Sir Arthur Gordon, " that the present system is a failure, and the consequent repeal of the Order in Council would have the merit of simplicity." But the question was what should be put in its place. When the news came home of the events we have just described, Lord Kimberley sent a despatch to the Governor of Queensland, saying that h, was contemplated to invite the Naval Powers to agree to the appointment of a Joint Commission for considering the measures which should be taken for the regulation of the labour traffic, the trade iv firearms, and the prevention and punishment of outrages of all kinds, under the sanction of a Convention between Her Majesty's Government and the other Powers. The Queensland Government immediately expressed their willingness to co-operate with the Imperial authorities for such a plan. The High Commissioner expressed his own concurrence. "Some sort of international agreement," he said; "seems to me to form an essential part of any satisfactory arrangement." He then wont on to mak*

Sir A. Gordon, Feb. 20, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, April 23, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, July 16, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, June 18, 1882.

Sir A. Gordon, May 81, 1882.

Commodore Wilson, Aug. 2, 1880.

Governor Dea Voeux, Feb. 23, 1882. Commodore Wilson, Feb. 26, ISB2. Captain Bridge, E.N., Ausr. 8, 1882. Captain Bridge, K.N., Aug. 15, 1882.

Commodore Wilson, Dec. 2,1880.

Lord A. Loftus, Bee. 28, 1880. Sydney Telegraph.

Lord Kimberley, Jan. lfi, 1881.

Commodore Wilson, Aug. 22, 1880.

Captain Maxwell, R.N., Jan. 31, 1881.

Commander Brace, May 15, 1881.

Bishop Sehvyn, May 17, 1881.

Commodore "Wilson, July 80, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, June 10, 1882. (Memorandum.) Lord Kimberlev, Oct. 1, 1881.

Sir A. Kenneth", Dec. 23,1881. ' Sir A. Gordon, June 1(5, 1882 i

make several recommendations for improving IJnl existing system, one of which was that tlie judicial powers conferred by the Ordei'B in Council should be so extended by Ad of Parliament as lo render offences eomniitted by natives against British subjects equally cognizable with those committed by British subjects against natives. But it, would evidently have been useless to assurno jurisdiction over the unlive people and continue t > except foreigners. Nor did tlie High Commissioner shrink IVoin admitting tins. "To obtain," lio said, " the power of dealing satisfactorily with tlie misdeeds of otli or whites than Englishmen, or of punishing attacks upon them, an international agreement, having the sanction of a treaty, with France, Germany, and the United States, would be necessary. Such an arrangement would probably involve the substitution for (lie High Commissioner of a mixed Commission similar lo Hie old mixed Commission Slave Trade Courts." And Sir Arthur Gordon then went on, with perfect truth, to touch the real kernel of the whole matter. "It should be borne in mind," be said, " that the punishment of outrages, though at present forced into prominence, is not the only nor the most important matter which has to be dealt with hi these seas" ; and lie reminded the Secretary of State -that the jurisdiction of the High Commissioner and his Court was one " primarily created to bring law, both civil and criminal, within the reach of British subjects far from all other legal tribunals, to check aggressive lawlessness, and to regulate the growth and development of British settlements in the Western Pacific." This was wise language. " But when such recommendations were made, it was difficult to escape the logical conclusion from them. Once let it be admitted that the Imperial Government can pass an Act such as was advised by the High Commissioner, and is there anything but the thinnest veil left between that and the assertion of the very right of "sovereignty or dominion" which it was the purpose of the Act of 1875 to forbid ? It would not be fair if we did not refer to other remedies which were suggested by the High Commissioner. Early in 1881, after reciting the causes for the increased frequency of murder of Europeans by natives in the Western Pacific, Sir Arthur Gordon referred to two ways by which they could bo prevented in future. " One is," he said, " that which I knowon good authority was soriotisly contemplated by Her Majesty's Government some years ago, —the establishment of a strong chartered Company possessing an exclusive right to trade. Another course would be to limit the protection given for trading operations, to those carried on at certain specified localities." But Sir Arthur Gordon even then allowed that the time for any schema of a chartered Company had passed ; and last year ho proposed another plan to improve the working of the existing High Commission, the leading features of which, in addition to extending his jurisdiction by a new Act of Parliament, were the appointment of three Deputy-Commissioners, the conferring of Deputy-Commissioner's powers on naval officers in command of H.M. cruisers, and the permanent employment of a vessel, not a man-of-war, in the service of the Commission. f!ii (^""Whatever might have been the recommendations some years ago, in favor of granting an exclusive right of trading in Die Western Pacific to a chartered Company, ye entirely agree with Sir Arthur Gordon that the time for any such scheme has long gone by. An elaborate plan was devised in 1876 by Sir Julius Vogel, then Premier of New Zealand, and the present. Premier of that Colony, Mr. Whitaker, for the establishment of a great trading Company for the Western Pacific ; but it fell to the ground, as any scheme of the kind now proposed must inevitably do. There are no circumstances in the Pacific similar to those which were held to justify the granting of a lloyal Charter, in November, 1881, to the North Borneo Company; on the contrary, there are circumstances essentially adverse to any plan of the kind. But even if there were not, we may point to two things which alone ought now to dismiss it from consideration. In the first place, it would always have been futile to imagine that any grant of exclusive rights of trade to a Company would be effectual even in the case of British traders ; not only would they have traded in spite of it, but at, no time after the promulgation of the Order in Council could any such exclusive grant have been made without grave injustice to them; while as regards foreigners, such a right would not, have affected the French, German, and American traders; and if it was not to be respected by everybody it must", .necessarily fail as a remedy. There are already French Companies established in New Caledonia, whose operations extend over many of the islands, and there will certainly be several others. By what process could these Companies be prevented from trading? The slightest attempt to do so would show how the question ever comes back to the same point; to the exercise, namely, of rights of " sovereignty and dominion." But in the second place, we feel sure your Lordship will allow that, in any scheme for giving a chartered Company exclusive rights of trade, the interests and the wishes of Australasia could not, be left out of consideration. Now, the exclusive rights of trade could not exist for a moment in the islands without sonic right to govern; and the Governments of Australasia could not be expected to acquiesce in any right of government being transferred from the Imperial authority to any other authority than their own. Moreover, even if anything could bo said for the palliatives which have been suggested as being applicable to the smaller groups of islands, it is certain that they would be utterly useless in the case of New Guinea. Sir Arthur Gordon has himself, pointed out the only means by which the question of New Guinea can ever be settled. His opinion on this subject has long been familiar to your Lordship, but it is only now that it has become known. "I am irresistibly compelled," he said, "to adopt a conclusion, which I should have wished to avoid, and which I was at first inclined to think might be avoided, namely, that the annexation by Great Britain of at least certain portions of New Guinea will speedily become inevitable, even if the necessity for such a step has not already arisen . . Could I see any other way of dealing satisfactorily with such a state of things I would recommend a re;ort to it; but I must with regret admit that after the most careful consideration, lam unable to perceive any mode of meeting these difficulties except by annexation ; for it appears to me necessary that territorial jurisdiction should be assumed by Great Britain, to enable us to deal with offences committed by foreigners associated with Britishsettlers, or with those committed by natives, and unless such jurisdiction over them be assumed, I question the practicability of exercising it with the smallest degree of efficiency over British subjects themselves ; and I must confess, therefore, that I see no middle course between annexation and the abandonment of all control over the acts of British subjects in New Guinea, involving a practical acquiescence in the establishment there of a reign of lawless violence and anarchy. This latter is a course which wo cannot creditably adopt, and which, indeed, were we disposed to take it, we should after a time be forced to abandon. A greater or less degree of annexation, consequently, appears to he inevitable. Should there bo any other method, unknown to me but known to Her Majesty's Government, by which such cases could be met I need not say I should prefer its adoption." It is true that this opinion was given by the High Commissioner at a time when there was much excitement over the reported existence of rich gold-fields in New Guinea, and when an expectation existed of a great influx of miners taking place there, which was never fulfilled. But though gold-mining on a largo scale has not yet come to aggravate the evils described by the High Commissioner, other events have happened whose impelling force has not been less towards the same solution than would have been the presence of a large body of miners. To these we shall refer later on. Trade. We have endeavoured to trace the events which have gradually but surely been pressing with ever increasing force for a new policy on the Western Pacific question, We now turn from these to a matter just as pressing, namely, the constantly growing trade of all that region. At the end of 1881 Commodore Wilson collected from the various Customs officers some valuable returns of the commerce between the Australian Colonies and the Western Pacific Islands ; from these wo have taken out the following evidence of what the trade amounted to in the ten years from 1871 to 1880 : —

Sir A. Gordon, June Hi, 1882. (Mt'i/I'»rti)ili< hi.

Sir A. Gordon, April 23, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, June Ifi, 1352.

Sir A. Gordon, Nov. 22, 1878.

Customs Returns : Oommod Wilson, Fell. 2fi 1882,

The.

Value. Colony. tag1 Imports. Exports. Total. Sew Sout.li Wales Tiotpria Jueensland Vcw Zealand f. 1,305 187 320 908 395,393 07,725 47,390 349,681 £ 2,147,858 162 095 2,899 705,223 £ 2.726,227 110,647 83.800 548,187 £ 4,874,085 272,742 86,699 1,253,410 2,720 860,187 3,018,075 3,468,861 6,480,936

'The Commodore did not merely point out how large was, even at that time, the value of this trade : ho said significantly that "as vet tlie sources of trade may bo said to be in their infancy." He might have added that these Custom returns only included, of course, the British trade, and took no account of foreign traders : if (he French, German, and American trade could have been added, the total would have amounted to a much larger sum than (Jl millions. It is needless for us to point out that the greater part of the produce of the Western Pacific only passes through Australia, and really comes to England, That this produce will greatly increase is beyond doubt. The whole trade, indeed, of the Pacific is destined to undergo a great change whenever the Panama Canal is made. It is then that will be seen the foresight of Franco in establishing herself at Tahiti and the Marquesas ; and the Navigator?, with the splendid harbour on Tuluila Island, will come into a new importance, while the Fiji group will become the nearest colony of England in the Pacific. The pearl-shell and beche de mer fisheries alone amount to nearly a million sterling annually. The growth of sugar plantations is equally remarkable. Probably £1,000,000 have been spent in Queensland alone in creating sugar estates where only a few years ago there was nothing but the wilderness : the actual produce of these estates is alrj&idy 19,000 tons, and in three years will probably be 50,000 tons. 'Die great importance of- this- (^Australasia will at once be seen from the fact that in the single year 1881 sugar to the value of close on £2,700,000 was imported into Australia and New Zealand, of- which the import from Mauritius exceeded £1,500,000. it is quite certain there will be a great extension of the growth of sugar in Queensland and Fiji, and in it a constanlly larger amount of Polynesian labour is sure to be employed. ■ Now the necessity of further regulations for the labour trade and traffic if\ firearms, by foreigners as well as our own people, is one of the things that hare been most strongly pressed upon Her Majesty's Government by the highest Imperial officers, and by every authority of importance in the Colonies concerned.Foreign intervention. The chief difficulty we have in referring 1o this is that no one in Australasia really knows how far the ground is clear of foreign claims, or to what engagements Her Majesty's Government is now committed. It is of the first importance to define with accuracy the political relation in which each group of islands stands to-day, whether to the Imperial Government or to any foreign Powers. We therefore trust that we may ask your Lordship to enable us to place before our Governments a full statement of what claims have yet been made by foreign Powers, and of the extent to which such claims have been recognized by Her Majesty. The sense of uncertainty and insecurity which prevails in Australasia on this subject may perhaps be best illustrated by what has happened in the ease of the New Hebrides. That group was originally part of the Colony of New Zealand, under the Charter of 1810. At some time, of which we are not aware, a rather vague understanding appears to have been come to with the Government of France that the New Hebrides should bff relinquished as a possession of the Crown and their independence recognized. In 1878, upon reports coming to Europe of a French project to annex the group, the French Ambassador declared that his Government had no intention to interfere with the independence of the islands, and asked for an assurance that Her Majesty's Government would also respect it. Your Lordship, being then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, informed the French Ambassador, with the concurrence of the Colonial Office, that Her Majesty's Government had no intention of " changing the condition of independence which the New Hebrides now enjoyed." Upon a remonstrance being made by Sir George Grey, then Premier of New Zealand, the Secretary of State replied that the New Hebrides were no longer within the limits of Zew Zealand, and that the Imperial Government had do intention of proceeding in the direction of a political protectorate. In the Order in Council of 1877, the New Hebrides had (evidently by design) been omitted from the islands specified by name; nevertheless, the High Commissioner understood that his authority extended over them, for he appointed Captain Cyprian Bridge, 8.N., to be a Deputy-Commissioner there, audit was in that character that Captain Bridge went down to the islands. Now we venture to ask whether it is quite certain that after Her Majesty's had once been graciously pleased to include the New Hebrides in the boundaries of New Zealand, the mere fact of new boundaries being afterwards fixed for that Colony was sufficient to make the Hew Hebrides cease to be a possession of the Crown ? At any rate, if they have ceased to be so, and there is an understanding between the Government of England and France to respect the independence of the group, the least that can be asked is that English and French subjects shall be on the same footing there. But it transpired, in a debate in the Chamber of Deputies, on the Bth May, that a Company had been formed at New Caledonia, by a planter who had acquired 'dcs terrains important^' at Sandwich Island ; and the Temps, only a few days ago, announced that a -Company'composed of colonists from New Caledonia had succeeded in " creating very important interests in the islands, had bought several of them, and had obtained large concessions in others" ; whereupon that journal suggested that the " best method of procedure would be to grant to the Company rights similar to those recently accorded by the English Government to the North Borneo Company." We venture to ask whether the agreement, whatever it is, which exists between the two Governments, would allow of any grant of that kind being made by France ? Nor can the colonists feel secure against some sudden act on the part of France in annexing other islands whose independence may stand on, at any rate, no worse a footing than that of the New Hebrides. It is only a few years since Commodore Hoskins reported to the Admiralty that a French ship of war had been sent to the Chesterfield and Bamplon Reefs by the Governor of New Caledonia, to proclaim those islands to be French territory, which " was done with' the usual formalities." But the Governor of New South Wales had already granted a lease of the islets for working guano deposits ; and it had to be arranged that the deposits should be worked jointly by French and English Companies until the question of title was decided, as to which Sir Hercules Robinson had sent a telegram to the Colonial Office immediately on receiving notice of the annexation from the Governor of New Caledonia. Still less can the colonists feel any security against other ucls of which they have already complained. Early in 1880 a schooner arrived at Auckland from New Caledonia, chartered by the French authorities, bringing eleven political offenders, and nine convicts for criminal offences. Sir John Hall, then Premier of Now Zealand, immediately telegraphed to all the Governments of Australia, asking them to join in urging Her Majesty's Government to remonstrate with the Government of the French Republic against a repetition of that act. The Government of New South Wales stated that " batches of pardoned convicts from New Caledonia had on several occasions arrived there." The Agent-General brought the ease before the Colonial Office, and Lord Kimberley requested the Foreign Office to move the French Government to discontinue any shipments of convicts from New Caledonia to New Zealand. But convicts have often escaped from New Caledonia in open boats, and landed on the Queensland coast: more than fifty who came to Queensland were afterwards extradited, besides many others known to be French convicts from Noumea. Again, by a " Reciprocal Engagement" entered into between England and France, in 1817, respecting the Raiatea group of islets (to the leeward of Tahiti), both nations bound themselves "never to take possession of the islands, either absolutely or under the title of a protectorate, or in any other form whatever." But the French flag has been hoisted for three years on those islands, without, so far as we know, any consent or recognition having been ever given by Her Majesty's Government. Again, a scheme is being debated even now in France, which, if it is carried into effect, will be more disastrous for the Pacific than anything that has happened since the creation of the penal settlement at New Caledonia ; for it is nothing less than a well-matured design for transporting for life (transportation a vie) to New Coledonia, the Loyalty Isles, and the Marquesas Islands, great numbers of French habitual criminals (reoidwi-stes ci malfaileurs d'habitudc). Four proposals to this effect were before the French Legislature, one of them a bill brought in by the Government. They were all referred together to a Committee, which reported that the Minister of the Interior had accepted certain modifications, and that there was no further difficulty. In the debates in the Chamber of Deputies, the reporter of the projtt de lot (M. Gerville-Ri'achc) stated that at least 60,000 could be sent to New Caledonia, and 23,000 to the Loyalty Isles. It was calculated that in the first year after the law came into force 5,000 convicts would be transported for life under it, and an official estimate was presented of the probable cost of sending these 5,000 to the Loyalty Islands and the Marquesas. It was said by the opponents of the measure that the number of convicts transported would be 100,000; this was denied ; whereupon it was asked whether, since in the very first year 5,000 were to be sent, it could be expected that the number would not increase every year after. The class to be sent was officially described by M. Gerville-Reache as dangerous, steeped in vice, debauchery, and crime (Jiommes danger enx, perdus de vices, uses par la debauche, souiUes de tons les crimes). These criminals were to be transported for life (la relegation consislera dans Vinlerneincnb perpetuel dcs condamnes) ; but were not to serve any term of punishment, and were to be free on arrival (<?# resume, le transports a son arrivee dans la colonie sera librc). The object was to rid France of them (en debarrasser hi palrie). The Government was to support them at first, till they could get work; if they could not work, they must live how they coidd (Us vivront comma Us pourronl). The projet de loi appointed New Caledonia and its.dependencies, and the Marquesas Group, as "colonies" to which the rScidwistes were to be sent; but it was openly proposed in the debate t o include the New Hebrides, the Loyalty Islands, and the Tsle of Pines. The Comte

Dr. Robertson, Doe. 29, 1882.

Victoria Year Book, 1883.

Marquis O'llarcourt, Jan. 18, 1878.

Foreign Oilicc, Feb. I, 1878 Colonial Oftiec, Feb. 20,1878.

Sir M. H. Beach, Oct. 10, 1878.

Sir A. Cordon, June 18, 1882.

Commodore 1 [oukiris, July 31, 187 S.

Hir J. Hall, March 5, 1880.

Siv J. Vogel, Feb. 24, 1880,

Premier of Queensland, Telegram.

Declaration, June 19, 1847.

Rapport Svpplcmentaire, 17 liars, 18SS.

Journal. Officiel, St'-ance dv 1 Mai 1883.

Ibid., Seance da 8 Mai.

Pi'ojet de lot, Art 1.

Journal Offlciel, Seance d«7 Mini

Combe de Lanjuinais said it bail been talked of to send tbe convicts to the New Hebrides (on aeait parle d'envot/er les transports aux Nouvellei Hebrides). M. Richard Waddington, speaking officially as a member of tbe Committee, said that the lille lo (he Ne« Hebrides was not settled (il x'ugit a'tine question de propriete lion encore determinee) but that lie thought the French title was good, and that the French flag might very soon be hoisted on the islands Qe orois que noire Hire de possession est serieux, el que dans mi arenir Ires rapproelie le pavilion de la France pourra v JlotterJ ; adding, however, that in saying so be was Bpeaking for himself and. not for the Government (en engageanb ma responsahiUle seitle et non celle dv gouvernement). Another speaker went further, and said that in response to the supposed action of England in New Guinea., t the new Hebrides would be seized by France (four repondre a VAngleterre, gui si audacieusement vieni de meltre la main stir la Ifouvelle-Gtiinee, nous saurons a. noire tour nous emparer dcs Nonvelles Hebrides). The Chamber of Deputies, after adopting most of the Government Bill, sent it; back for revision to the Committee, who returned it with very little alteration. Uliey estimated that in the first four years the number of convicts to be sent would be 20,000. The colonies to which the convicts might be sent remained the same, namely, Sew Caledonia and its dependencies, the Marquesas, an island called Phu-Quoc, and Guiana. Tbe bill has passed the Chamber, but is not yet before the Senate. Your Lordship will not be surprised at our Governments urging that this scheme for making the Pacific Islands the receptacle for the dangerous classes of Franefl, is one deserving the serious consideration of Her Majesty's Government. It is impossible for Australasia lo look without the gravest apprehension at the prospect of any proposal of the kind receiving the tacit acquiescence of England. What hope is there for the Pacific Islands, if a great nation like France pours into them vast numbers of her dangerous classes, not as convicts under penal servitude, but free the moment they land, so long as they do not return to France ? or how can Australia and Kew Zealand bo expected to hear with patience of such a law being passed ? There have been rumours of some proposal by which the penal establishment at New Caledonia should be altogether given up by France, and the convicts transferred to the New Hebrides ;. the inducement being that New Caledonia would then be opened to settlement by free colonists. We do not deny that there would be mi advantage in freeing New Caledonia from the curse of transportation ; but the Bill before the French Chambers expressly retains New Caledonia as one of the places to which the recidivisles are to be sent; therefore as to the New Hebrides, all the Colonies trust that full effect will be given lo Lord Granville's assurance in the House of Lords a few days ago, that " both Her Majesty's Government and the French Government acknowledge in full the obligation which the understanding about the New Hebrides imposes upon both," and that the group shall not be allowed to pass in any way under the dominion of France. Nor is it only with regard to French policy that there is, in the opinion of the colonists, cause for some apprehension. It is often said that Prince Bismarck has no desire to extend the influence of Germany to the Pacific ; but what happened in the case of the Navigators group Bhows that idea to be a mistaken one. In the early part of 1880 a scheme was proposed in Germany fora great trading Company to take over the property of Messrs. GodeiTroy. In a communication to the Imperial Under Secretary of State, Prince Bismarck laid down the conditions on which the Company was to receive a guarantee from the State of an interest of 4J- per cent, on its capital, not to exceed 300,000 marks a year, and to be for twenty years. The Chancellor referred to "the interest which the State takes in the prosperity of German enterprise in the South Seas": and justified the financial assistance he proposed giving to the new Company, by reason of tl.e Godeffroy firm having " got into difficulties which threatened the German South Sea trade with the loss of their factories and plantations on the Samoa Islands." A Bill to give effect to the Chancellor's proposal was introduced accordingly, but rejected by the German Parliament in April, 1880. Again, as recently as December last, the Royal Colonial Institute called the attention of the Colonial Oilice to an article in the AUgemeine Zeitung strongly advocating the annexation by Germany of Eastern New Guinea. The answer was that neither Lord Granville nor your Lordship saw any reason for supposing that the German Government contemplated any scheme of the kind ; but we venture to ask that a more definite assurance should be obtained from that Government, which can hardly refuse to recognize the vital character of the matter to every Colony in Australia. Before leaving the subject of foreign intervention, we submit that it would be expedient to settle more clearly the extent to which the independence of the chiefs in the various islands is recognized, and their right to make treaties admitted. Where the treaty-right exists, it is quite certain that the Western Pacific Order in Council is in operation ? For instance the Navigators and the Friendly Islands are among those specified by name in the Order in Council: but we understand there is an English treaty with the " king" of Tonga ; and in the case of the Navigators there is a treaty with Germany, which Prince Bismarck communicated to the Keichstag in 1879. And we believe a treaty of some kind was made between Samoa, and the United States, giving to the States the exclusive right of using the fine harbour at Tutulia as a coaling and naval station, the U.S. frigate "Narragansett" thereupon saluting the chief's flag with fifteen guns ; indeed, this treaty was afterwards the subject of a representation by Sir Edward Thornton to the Government of Washington. Again, several of the Powers have appointed Consuls to the Islands; Her Majesty has a Consul at Rarotonga, a Consul at Samoa, and a Vice-Consul at Tonga, while Sir Arthur Gordon, the High Commissioner, is Consul-General for the Pacific Islands, the conduct of relations with native States and tribes being confided to him in that capacity, under the control of the Foreign Office. As there is nothing that can bo called law administered by the native States and tribes, it is difficult to see how one day the same evils will not arise from conflicting consular jurisdictions as have been so powerfully described by Lord Duffeiin in the case of Egypt. The new policy proposed. The two things we set ourselves to show were, first, that the Western Pacific Order in Council could never be made adequate to do what is wanted, without assuming a jurisdiction hitherto forbidden by Act of Parliament; and secondly, that the fear of foreign intervention which has existed in Australia was not without warrant. For this purpose we have relied not on assertions of our own but on official records, and with hardly an exception have only spoken of events that have happened in the last three years. If we have established these two points, then the Imperial Government can hardly reject the consequence, that the time has come when complete jurisdiction ought to be assumed by England over the Western Pacific, as the only means of meeting the difficulties which beset alike the Imperial and the Colonial Governments, and of averting evils which threaten Her Majesty's loyal subjects in all that region. We have rejoiced to sec that such a policy has already receive! the almost unanimous support of the English Press. Some opposition to it is perhaps only natural. We are sensible of the repugnance that exists to the idea of adding to the already vast responsibilities of England a new and admittedly immense charge like that of the Western Pacific Islands. Yet it is difficult for any one to avoid the conclusion that these islands, unless they are meanwhile lost by foreign annexation, will inevitably belong to England in the end. The same impelling power, not of mere desires but of events, which induced the Imperial Government to do at last in Fiji what they had so often refused, is constantly at work, and incessantly being renewed and strengthened with regard to the Western Pacific. But it was not till Fiji had become the opprobrium of the Southern seas that Her Majesty's Government would interfere. Surely they will not now inflict upon Australasia the hard necessity of waiting till New Guinea also, and perhaps other islands, become Alsatias as dangerous as Fiji once was, scourges to the peaceable subjects of Her Majesty, and a disgrace to civilization. For it is vain to think that the trade and intercourse between Australia and New Zealand and these islands can be suppressed. Settlement both English and foreign is spreading in every direction, yet of safety for life and property there is none. The High Commissioner himself has shown that it is quite impossible to do what is wanted by any Order in Council capable of being issued under the Act of 1875 : in other words impossible to do it without assuming the very jurisdiction which it was the purpose of that Act to forbid. Nor would an International Convention do it, for a convention could only extend to the nationalities concerned, and could not embrace the natives. England could not claim, in a convention with Foreign Powers, any jurisdiction over the native tribes without herself asserting over them the same right of dominion as would be assert ed by tho policy the Colonies are urging upon your Lordship : nor could any convention be made at all, without first acknowledging that Foreign Powers possessed an equal right with England to exercise a right of dominion over natives, an acknowledgment against which every subject of Her Majesty in Australia and New Zealand would unite in making the strongest remonstrance. The case of New Guinea is very pressing, becaftse whatever powers are given to the High Commissioner, tney can, in the nature of things, be even less exercised there than in any of the other islands. New Guinea is in such close proximity to Queensland, that whatever is done these must affect Queensland more than anything that is done in the other islands could affect the rest of Australia or New Zealand. All the trade of Queensland witli England and India by steam passes through Torres Straits: regular steam communication is now established there: it is really indispensable not only that the Straits should be free to navigation, but that there should be no risk of a foreign Power establishing a naval station there. Adventurous men are occupying portions of the New Guinea coast-line, and irregular settlement is sxire to take place more and

Journal Official, Stance dulMai.

ibid. Ibid., Siance di ; Mai.

Ibid., Juillri 188;;, Annexe ■2002.

Lord Granville, July 10, 1883.

Prince yon Bismarck, Varzin, Jan. 1, 1880.

Sir J. Vogel, April. 30, 1880.

Iloyal Colonial Institute, Dec. 9 1882.

Prince Binnmrek Jan. 1, 1880.

Foreign Office List, 1883.

Sir A. Gordon, July lti, 1881.

Lord Duffcrin. Egypt, No. C.

and more. What has so often happened will happen again. Failing the colonization of the great island under proper authority, adventurers will flock there who will neither show regard for the native inhabitants, nor be under any restraint among themselves; the evils and dangers which existed in Fiji will repeat themselves, only on a larger scale, and Queensland, of all the Australias, will suffer from them the most. This has been stated over and over again, in speeches in botli Houses of the Imperial Parliament, by the Governments and Legislatures of Australasia, by the Royal Colonial Institute, and by private persons of high rank and experience in affairs, till we are almost ashamed to repeat it ourselves ; yet it must be repeated, for the danger is not far off and a pretence, but imminent and a reality. Surely the Imperial Government cannot continue to refuse so reiterated an appeal. But if, fearing the responsibility of assuming authority over a vast and inaccessible region of mountains and forests peopled by several millions of savages, the Imperial Government finally determine not to take full jurisdiction over all New Guinea east of 143°, we trust that the same objection will not apply against establishing law and order along the coast where settlement is now extending. Let it at least exist over the fringe of the southern coast-line for the present, as was done the other day on the West Coast of Africa. No Act of the Imperial Parliament is necessary for this purpose, because Her Majesty has the same right now to assume jurisdiction, over the southern coast-line of the island as she had to assume it when the islands in Torres Straits were annexed ; and if it were deemed more convenient, the same process as was adopted then might be adopted now, of giving power by Letters Patent to the Governor of Queensland to declare by proclamation that certain poitio sof the coast-line of New Guinea should be annexed, un'Vr such conditions as it might bo thought fit to prescribe. We have referred to the irregular settlement thai, is even now taking place. We must with all respect remonstrate against the doctrine laid down by the High Commissioner on the New Guinea question in 1878, when he " formally and emphatically declared that the Imperial Government disclaimed all obligation to protect or interfere on behalf of persons voluntarily placing themselves in positions of danger in a savage country, and that those who entered on such enterprises must do so at their own risk and peril." It is certainly not by colonists who have founded communities on the other side of the world, whose trade already exceeds in volume the whole foreign trade of England at the accession of Queen Victoria, that this doctrine will ever be acquiesced in. It was by " voluntarily placing themselves in danger" that English adventurers built up our Indian and Colonial Empire, and created a commerce which now is numbered by hundreds of millions every year; nor ia the colonizing spirit which has done that work capable of being extinguished by the knowledge that the enterprise of founding new settlements involves risk and peril. But at least it may be said that if the Imperial Government was not to interfere on behalf of English settlers, it shoidd not interfere against them. It surely can never be contended that an elaborate scheme of government was to be invented whose sole object should be to punish a subject of the Queen for any wrong lie might commit, while it denied him redress for any wrong that he might suffer. Imperial interest also concerned. So far we may perhaps be said to have urged only points that specially affect Colonial interests, or at any rate do not closely touch Imperial ones. This may be true so long as Europe is at peace ; but the Imperial interest would spring up the moment any war broke out which involved England in hostilities with a European Power. The Imperial Government have called upon the Colonies to do their part in the defence of their own harbours, and our Governments have not only acknowledged they had a dvity in that respect, but are doing their best to fulfil it. They feel that they have a right to ask in return that the task shall not be more difficult for them than the Imperial Government can help, and that they shall not be exposed to the creation of fortified naval stations and places d'armes in the Pacific, which should shelter an enemy's fleet and threaten their commerce, their coal measures, and even their safety. The nation will never permit that her naval supremacy in the Pacific shall be endangered ; and it can hardly be contested that if France and other European Powers created new naval stations in the islands, the existing conditions in all that ocean would be changed, and everything relating to Her Majesty's Australian squadron assume a new aspect and a new importance. Concert between the Imperial and Colonial Governments. But while we have thus represented what the Australian Colonies believe ought to be done by the Imperial Government, they are also ready to acknowledge what they ought to do themselves. Your Lordship stated in the House of Lords, that if anything was to be done, it must be done either by the Imperial Government itself, or by the Australian Colonies acting together in concert, or by the Imperial and .Colonial Governments combined ; and we assure your Lordship that our Governments will hail with the greatest satisfaction such an invitation to them to co-operate with the Imperial authority. There are two immediate ways in which the Colonies can give their co-operation : by contributing to the cost of the policy they are asking your Lordship to pursue, and by placing themselves in a position to act in union with each other and in concert with yon. As regards the first, whatever differences there were when Lord Carnarvon made his proposal of 1876, there are none now. The Victorian Parliament has already passed an Address, assuring Her Majesty that Victoria will share in the cost of the policy which is being urged upon your Lordship ; the Queensland Government has assured your Lordship of its readiness to do the same ; and the other Colonies will also do their part. But it does not need for us to remind your Lordship that no Ministries can engage for the payment of indefinite sums, and that the assent of our Legislatures to grants of money must be expressed in the usual way. Permanent appropriation will certainly be necessary ; and for this not only time is required, but consultation among the Governments, arrangement of the respective contributions of the Colonies, and the passing of the requisite votes ; in the meanwhile, the first point for us to know is the amount which the Imperial Government would require to be provided for whatever action is contemplated by your Lordship. As regards the other question of concerted action between the Imperial and Colonial Governments, your Lordship expressed your opinion to us at our interview with you in the clearest terms, and repeated it in the House of Lords. " If," you said, " tho Australian people desire an extension beyond their present limits, the most practical step that they could take, the one that would most facilitate any operation of the kind, and diminish in the greatest degree the responsibility of the mother country, would be the confederation of the Colonies into one united whole, which would be powerful enough to undertake and carry through tasks for which no one Colony is at present sufficient." Tho large question of Federation which your Lordship has here raised is one on which the Colonies have not made up their minds, and is one of too grave moment to be decided even under the sway of the strong feelings which now exist among them respecting the policy that ought to be pursued in the Western Pacific. But there is nothing to prevent concerted action at once with the Imperial Government for that particular policy ; and we acknowledge that your Lordship may justly require not only such concerted action, but joint engagements on the part of the Colonial Governments for the permanence and stability of the policy itself. This too requires time, consultation among our Governments, and probably legislation also—at any rate concurrent resolutions in the respective Colonial Assemblies. On the other hand, the Colonie3 will not imagine that your Lordship has invited them to a co-operation which is to be barren of results : and our Governments will feel assured that if they on their part pass the requisite appropriations, and combine for that concert with tho Imperial Government which is necessary for any policy to succeed, they may rely upon the policy itself being adopted, and effect being given at last to the wishes which they have cherished for more than thirty years. In once more urging these wishes on Her Majesty's Government, they have not come as suppliants for some light favour, but as Englishmen to whom their country has given a great destiny which must be kept from harm ; desiring no new territories for themselves, but asking that the Queen's subjects may enjoy the blessings of peace and order whore now the law has no terrors for the evil-doer ; not seeking by a clearer policy to set new burdens on the English taxpayer, but willing themselves to bear its cost; and welcoming with gladness an invitation to be associated with the Imperial Government in a work which must assuredly be done one day, and can as certainly be best done now. We have, &c, SAUL SAMUEL. F. D. BELL. % THOMAS ARCHER. R. MURRAY-SMITH.

Letters Patent 42 Viet.

Sir A. Gordon, Speech at Melbourne, 1878.

331—X

APPENDIX D.

APPENDIX D. [Enclomre to No. 23.] The Premier of Tasmania to The Premier of Queensland. Sir, Premier's Office, Hobart, 30 July, 1883. I have, the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th instant, addressed to the Colonial Secretary, with reference to the proposed annexation of New Guinea, and enclosing a copy of a memorandum by you on the subject, dated the 10th July, approved by the Administrator in Council on the 17th July. I hare perused with much interest your memorandum, which deals with a subject which the Premier of Victoria has repeatedly brought under my notice during the past two months —although Mr. Service's action appears to have been directed with a view to secure the annexation, not of New Guinea only, but of the New Hebrides and other islands in the Pacific. This Government is prepared to act in cordial unison with the other Australasian Colonies in making all urgent representations to Great Britain to induce the Imperial authorities to prevent the occupation of either South-western New Guinea or any of the at present unannexed Pacific Islands by any foreign Power. The occupation of any of these places by a foreign Government as a penal settlement would be in the highest degree objectionable ; and their occupation, even for peaceful colonization, by any Continental Power, would in all probability cause trouble to Queensland and New South Wales in the future. Now, the interests of the Australasian Colonies are so far linked together that even a probability of future trouble or danger to one Colony is a sufficient reason for united action on the part of all. But the real difficulty of the case, to my mind, lies in this —that the question of what measures are expedient, or even possible to be taken, is one the determination of which must be left to Her Majesty's Ministers in England, and in coming to their decision they must necessarily be affected by larger considerations than those which present themselves to our minds, and their action may be limited by obligations of the nature of which we are uninformed, and of the extent of which we are ignorant. The question, therefore, whether the end we seek —viz., the prevention of annexation by any other Power—is only to be attained by an act of annexation on the part of England, or whether it may not be attained by diplomatic representations, is one that only English Ministers can settle, and it should be left in their hands. It is perfectly obvious that the Australasian Colonies, standing alone, are in no position to enter upon % policy of aggression, and that, apart from their position as a portion of the great English Empire, they could offer no effectual resistance to the occupation by France, Germany, or America, of any one of the numerous islands which dot the Pacific, although the occupation of such island by a foreign Government might justly be deemed fraught with menace to the future peacefulness of these southern seas. But if we are dependent upon England for any effective chock to what we regard as foreign encroachment, is it wise, or even becoming, to assume a semi-bostile position to the Imperial authorities because, on our first approach to the Queen's Advisers, we do not at once get all we ask ? I cannot but believe, in view of the strong language that has been used as to this question of annexation, and of the impatience of control which the proposed action indicates, that the assembly of a Federal Council or Convention at the present time, for the purpose of erpressing more forcibly and more collectively our dissatisfaction with the decision of Her Majesty's Ministers, and our opinion of the unwisdom of their action, would be the beginning of difficulties the end of which I do not profess to be able to foresee. The mere question of the expense of governing any new dependency is, I venture to think, of secondary consideration. Shared among the Colonies it would not be burdensome, and probably Tasmania's share would be comparatively trifling. My objection to the course suggested is rather that it appears to me that we are going too fast and too far ; thaf. we are subordinating Imperial to Colonial interests, and assuming an incapacity or an unwillingness on the part of Great Britain to defend us from the evils which we dread, for which there does not seem to be any sufficient warrant. For these reasons this Government is not prepared to do more than to join in urging Her Majesty to take such effectual steps as the wisdom of Her Advisers may suggest to prevent the occupation of New Guinea or the Pacific Islands by any foreign Power. I have, &c, W. E. GIBLIN.

APPENDIX E. [Enclosure io No, 45,] Colonial Office to the Agents-G-eneral for ]STew South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, and Victoria. Gentlemen, Downing-street, 31 August, 1883. I am directed by the Earl of Derby to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st July, placing before His Lordship the representations with regard to New Q-uinea and the islands in the Western Pacific Ocean which you had promised during your recent interview. Lord Derby recognizes the care and ability with which you have recapitulated the history of past transactions in that part of the world, and, as His Lordship does not perceive that this department need take exception to any of the statements in the earlier part of your letter he will not at present examine them in detail. I am, however, to inform you that, as it contains many references to the acts and opinions of the High Commissioner and of Her Majesty's naval officers, Lord Derby has transmitted copies to Sir Arthur Gordon and to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, for their consideration. 2. Taming to your inquiry as to the extent to which the claims of Foreign Powers in the Western Pacific have been recognized by Her Majesty's Government, His Lordship is disposed to doubt whether there is really so much uncertainty or absence of information on this subject in the Australasian Colonies as you seem to apprehend. 3. Kef erring, however, first to the islands of the Western Pacific which are most distant from Australia, the Navigators' Islands, no Power has claimed or indicated any desire to obtain a paramount influence or protectorate over that group. The Consular Officers of Great Britain, Germany, and the United States have, jointly or separately, from time to time exorcised influence over public and native affairs at Samoa ; and this country, as well as Germany, has entered into treaties with the King and Government of Samoa. The group therefore forms an independent State, recognized as such by European diplomacy, and under these circumstances the question might possibly arise whether its annexation by any Power would not be a violation of international law. 4. The' Government of the Tongan or Friendly Islands is also recognized as independent, and this country and Germany have recently concluded treaties with the King of that group. The same argument therefore applies in this as in the former case. 5. Proceeding westward past Fiji, which, with the neighbouring island of Eotumah, is British, we come to the New Hebrides ; and your letter shows that you are aware of the understanding arrived at in 1878 between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of France, in pursuance of which the independence of those islands has been up to the present time recognized and respected by both Governments. The Loyalty Islands, being close to New Caledonia, are to be looked upon as dependencies of the French Government in that island. 6. The foregoing brief statement may suffice to explain to you that the claims and interests of other countries constitute a very serious inpediment to that " complete jurisdiction" which you represent that England ought now to assume over the Western Pacific, and that the best known and most frequented groups of islands have already such relations with Foreign Powers, in common with England, as cannot be summarily ignored. You do not specifically refer to the important islands or group of islands known as New Britain, New Ireland, the Solomon Islands, and the Santa Cruz Islands. They are at a considerable distance from Australia, and are for the most part of great size, and inhabited by warlike and cannibal tribes. Her Majesty's Government have not before them any evidence that the Governments of the Australasian Colonies have sufficiently considered the extent of the responsibilities which the annexation or protectorate of these islands would involve, and they are far from being satisfied that the assumption of those responsibilities is necessary or justifiable. 7. With reference to that part <S your letter which treats of New Guinea, Lord Derby desires me to observe that he has at present nothing to add to the despatch which he addressed on the 11th July to the Acting Governor of Queensland. His Lordship concludes that, after receiving that despatch, the Governments of any Colonies desiring to bear the cost of any measures which, as indicated in the two last paragraphs of that despatch, Her Majesty's Government may be prepared to take,

take, will confer together and make those united recommendations whi.'h hare been invite 3, furnishing alao an effective guarantee for such expenditure as may bo incurred. They will, no doubt, at the same time consider whether they wish to make jointly any similar definite proposal with regard to other islands not already connected by treaty or otherwise with Foreign Powers. I am to add that Lord Derby has read with attention your representations as to the inconvenience and injury which, unless great precautions are taken, might result from the continuance and development of the French penal settlements in New Caledonia and the adjacent islands, and that His Lordship is in communication with the Foreign Office on the subject. I am, &c, JOHN BRAMSTON.

APPENDIX Wl [Enclosures to Wos. 49 and 50.] Memobial to the Honorable the President and the Members of the Federal Convention appointed to meet at Sydney, in the Colony of New South South Wales, in October next. The Memorial of the inhabitants of the Colony of Fiji,— Respectfully Showeth : — That your Memorialists are residents of the Crown Colony of Fiji, and regard the question of the ultimate federation of the Australasian Colonies as one of vital importance to the interests of this Colony. That the system of Government adopted in a Crown Colony such as we have here is altogether opposed to the spirit of the age ; that, to a great extent, it impedes the investment and employment of capital in developing the industrial resources of the country; that it checks the producing interests by unnecessary restrictions, and exercises such an unwholesome influence on every branch of industry that it has retarded rather than advanced the natural progress of the Colony. That the Colony is self-supporting is evidenced by the fact that our revenue now amounts to £98,000 sterling and the expenditure to £87,000 sterling ; yet in its appropriation the people are denied any voice, and this, notwithstanding that the Legislative Council contains certain non-official members, nominated and appointed by the Governor, yet—such is the dominating influence of the executive and the official members of the Council —they are powerless for good, and can neither control the expenditure in any way nor are they permitted to interfere, with any appointment to office within the Colony. The geographical position of this Colony, its large and increasing business connections with New South Wales, Victoria, and New Zealand, has induced the inhabitants to come forward and beg that they may be allowed to place before the Conference, now shortly to sit, its political position and the many benefits which would accrue to the Colony and its people by the introduction of a more liberal form of Government, so that the advantages which the Australasian Colonies must derive from federation may be extended to Fiji, whether as an appanage of one or other of the Colonial Dependencies or otherwise, as the Conference may deem most advisable for the best interests and prosperity of this Colony and its people. And your Memorialists solicit that the combined and powerful influence of the Convention will be exercised with the Imperial Authorities in procuring their consent to the incorporation of this Colony with federated Australasia. With the object of securing the foregoing, or, if that be denied us, of obtaining some amelioration of the disabilities under which we labour through our present form of Government, your Memorialists have prepared and forwarded for presentation to Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen a petition, a copy of which is hereto annexed, and it is prayed that the members of the Convention will assist the Petitioners in obtaining the objects of their petition. Dated in Levuka, Fiji, this 19th September, 1883.

To Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, Empress of India, &c., &c, &o. This tbe humble Petition of the undersigned your Majesty's British subjects, resident in the Colony of Fiji,—■ Respectfully Showeth :— 1, That your Petitioners are colonists of Fiji, and are largely interested, commercially and otherwise, in the present and future prosperity of the Colony. 2. That Fiji has been a British Colony since the 10th day of October, 1874. 3. That the present population of the Colony consists, it is estimated, of 110,000 native-born Fijians, and of 2,500 European and other foreign residents, exclusive of labourers introduced from other of the Pacific Islands and from India. 4. That the Government of the Colony is now administered by tbe Governor, with the advice of the Executive Council. 5. That the Executive Council, as ordinarily constituted, consists of the Governor, the Colonial Secretary, the AttorneyGeneral, the Receiver-General, and tbe Agent-General of Immigration. 6. That the Legislative Council consists of the Governor and his Executive Council, the Honorable the Chief Justice and other officials not members of the Executive Council, with certain gentlemen not connected with the Government but who are nominees of the Crown. 7. That all laws and ordinances passed for the government of the Colony are enacted by the Governor with the advice of the Legislative Council. 8. That the votes of the official members of the Legislative Council are recorded as His Excellency may direct, notwithstanding that their personal opinion may be at variance with his own. 9. That no member of the Legislative Council, other than the Governor, can propose any expenditure of money, nor reduce nor add to any amount proposed by him. 10. That since the constitution of the Government as now existing, no single ordinance has been passed when introduced by any non-official member. 11. That the revenue of the Colony has now reached a total of at least £90,000 per annum; that the European inhabitants are the principal contributors (directly or indirectly) thereof, and that such revenue exceeds the present expenditure of the Colony. 12. That all appointments to offices and positions of emolument within the Colony are made by the Crown alone ; that a reference to the appointments made for some years past will show that only an exceedingly small proportion of the offices created have been filled by residents in the Colony, and that in the great majority of instances preference has been given to cadets from England or Scotland or persons from India. 13. That your Petitioners are denied all right of local self-government, and show that in the year 1877 provision was made for the appointment of a Town Board in Levuka, so constituted that such a proportion of members should be elected by the ratepayers as to give them a majority in the Town Council. That this system worked successfully when tried in Levuka, but that for the management of the town of Suva an officer of the Government alone manages the municipal business of the town and imposes and expends all rates. 14. That a reference to the statistics of the Colony and to other sources of information will show that the European colonists are as orderly, law-abiding, and well-conducted as any other subjects within your Majesty's dominions. 15. That your Majesty's subjects in this Colony are discontented and grieved that all right of being represented or heard in the Councils of this Colony is denied to them, and that they have no voice in the administration of the Government of the Colony, the enactment of its laws, or the public expenditure. 16. That, with few exceptions, tile Ordinances of the Colony are introduced to the Legislative Council and passed without prior publicity having been given to them, so as to allow discussion, and objection, or suggestion thereto—to be made through the medium of the public Press, or in other ways through the non-official members of the Council. 17. That the fact of the inhabitants of the Colony consisting of so large a proportion of native Eijians is no reason why the right ordinarily granted to British subjects of being represented in Colonial Councils of Government should be entirely denied to your Majesty's subjects in this Colony. , 18.

18. That, as there will shortly be assembled at Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, a Convention of Representatives of the Australasian Colonies to consider the question of a general federation of the Colonies, and the annexation of parts of New Guinea and also certain other islands or groups of islands in the Western Pacific, the time has therefore seemed to your Majesty's Petitioners opportune for praying from your Majesty's Government consideration of their present political position. In furtherance of which object your Petioners have memorialized the said Convention now about to meet, and have requested them to assist your Petitioners in obtaining the objects herein set forth. Your Petitioners therefore now most humbly pray : — 1. That your Majesty will see fit, in the event of the Australasian Colonies becoming federated, to constitute the Colony of Fiji an integral portion of Federated Australasia. 2. That in the event of such Federation not being now immediately accomplished, your Majesty will see fit to allow the Colony of Fiji to become incorporated with one of the Australasian Colonies as now existing, witli the consent of such Colony. 3. Or that your Majesty will see fit to grant to the British-born subjects resident within this Colony complete relief from the humiliating condition in which they are at present politically placed. 4. That such relief bo granted with due regard to the preservation of all existing rights and privileges of the native races inhabiting this Colony. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, ■will ever pray, &c. Dated in Levuka, Fiji, this 19th September, 1883.

(3.)

FURTHER CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING NEW GUINEA.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

INTERCOLONIAL CONTENTION, 1883.

ieria No. From or to whom. Date. Subject. Page. Foreign Office May 8, 1883 Transmitting copy of a despatch from Her Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin, relative to a Company about to be formed in Germany for the colonization of New Guinea. Stating that the question of the annexation of New Guinea is receiving the careful consideration of Her Majesty's Government. Letter to Editor of the "Times" from Sir Charles Lilley, as to the legal protection of Natives, and the acceptance of their testimony in Courts of justice. Requesting an interview with Lord Derby on the New Guinea question. Transmitting copy of a memorial which it is desired to present to Lord Derby at the interview asked for. Inquiring truth of report that a vessel has left Mackay to obtain labourers from New Guinea. 78 2 To the Aborigines Protection Society. May 22, 1883 78 3 Chief Justice of Queensland. May 23, 1883 78 4 Royal Colonial Institute May 23, 1883 79 5 Royal Colonial Institute May 25, 1883 79 C To Administrator Sir A. H. Palmer (Queensland). Administrator Sir A. H. Palmer (Queensland). May 29, 1883 Telegraphic. 81 7 May 31, 1883 (Rec. May 31, 1883.) Telegraphic. Stating that no labour vessels, so far as can be ascertained, have left for New Guinea, and that if the annexation is confirmed, recruiting cannot, by the Pacific Islands Labourers Act, take place there. Transmitting two letters from the Premier, Sir T. M'IIwraith, on the annexation question. Inquiring what specific information led the Government to believe that the occupation of New Guinea by a foreign Power was probable. Stating that there were general rumours of annexation by Germany and Italy, and a special rumour as to the movements of the German corvette " Carola." Forwarding copy telegram of 4th instant from Premier of Queensland, as follows : '' Press annexation to Queensland or Crown Colony. Protectorate not acceptable to Australia." Enclosing copy speech on proroguing Parliament, in which reference is made to the proposed annexation of New Guinea. Communicating the opinion of his Ministers that New Guinea should be under British rule, and their hope that the action of the Queensland Government will lead to that result. Forwarding copies of correspondence regarding the pearl and beche de mer fisheries in Torres Straits, together with copy of Mr. Chester's report of his visit to Port Moresby, and of the formal taking possession of New Guinea. Expressing entire approval of the action of his Ministers. and stating that he does not anticipate any difficulty in providing for the cost of maintaining authority. Transmitting copy of a letter from the Baron Miklouho Maclay renewing, in view of the proposed annexation of New Guinea, the requests made by him in January 1879 and April 1881, as to the protection of Natives. Enclosing letter from Captain Yule, furnishing information respecting New Guinea. 81 8 9 Governor Sir A. E. Kennedy (Queensland). To Administrator Sir A. H. Palmer (Queensland). Administrator Sir A. H. Palmer (Queensland). April 19, 1883 (Rec. June 1, 18S3.) June 1, 1883 Telegraphic. 81 83 10 June 4, 1883 (Rec. June 4, 1883.) Telegraphic. June 4, 1883 83 11 The Agent-General for Queensland. 83 12 Governor The Marquis of Normanby (Victoria). April 19, 1883 (Rec. June 6, 1883.) 83 13 Governor Sir W. C. F. Robinson (South Australia). April 25, 1883 (Rec. June 6, 1883.) 84 14 Agent-G eneral for Queensland. June 19, 1883 84 IS Governor Sir A. E. Kennedy (Queensland). April 26, 1883 (Rec. June 19, 1883.) 87 16 The Hon. Sir A. H. Gordon. June 1G, 1883 87 F. P. Labilliere, Esq. ... June 16, 1883 37 ss

No. 1. Foreign Office to Colonial Office. Sir, Foreign Office, May 8, 1883. I am directed by Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to transmit to you, to be laid before Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies, copy.of a despatch from Her Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin relative to a Company about to be formed in Germany for the colonization of New Guinea. I am, &c, T. V. LISTER.

[Enclosure in No. I.] My Lord, Berlin, May 3, 1883. With reference to Sir John Lumley's despatch of the 31st March,* upon the subject of a Company about to be formed in Germany with the view of colonizing New Guinea, I asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether I was correct in reporting to your Lordship that the above-named Company was a private one, and not as yet supported by the Imperial German Government. His Excellency replied, that my impression was correct, besides which the Imperial Government did not promote any scheme for the increase of emigration from Germany, as I well knew. I have, &c, The Earl Granville, K.G., &c, &c, &c. Ampthill.

No. 2. Colonial Office to The Aborigines Protection Society. Sir, Downing Street, May 22, 1883. I am directed by the Earl of Derby to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th instant,f on the subject of the annexation of New Guinea. His Lordship desires me to request that you will inform the Committee of the Aborigines Protection Society that the question is receiving the careful consideration of Her Majesty's Government. I am, &c, EDWARD WING-FIELD.

No. 3. Letter from the Chief Justice of Queensland. Natiyes in Queensland.J To the Editor of the " Times." Sir ; . London, May 22. Since my arrival in England on Thursday evening last I have read two communications published in the Times of the 15th and 18th instant on the proposed annexation of New Guinea. Upon the policy of that step Ido not propose to offer any comment. I have no doubt the matter will be settled with full knowledge and perfect ability by those whose business it is to consider and decide upon it. In justice, however, to my fellow colonists, I am bound to ask you to publish what I deem to be a most important correction of serious errors of both your correspondents, that is to say, their statements that " the evidence of a native is absolutely excluded from consideration in all Courts_ of justice in Queensland ;" that " even the most ordinary legal security against the perpetration of injustice on the weaker race is absent in Queensland;" and that " heathen testimony is excluded from the Courts of that Colony." As

* Enclosure in No. 53 of [C— 3617] May, 1883. + No. 64 in [C— 3617] May, 1883. % This letter was published in the Times of May 23rd, 1883.

Serial No. From or to whom. Date. Subject. Page. 18 19 L>0 21 22 Foreign Office Royal Colonial Institute To the Royal Colonial Institute. To Administrator Sir A. H. Palmer. Governor the Marquis of Normanby (Victoria). June 30, 1883 June 30, 1883 July 4, 1883 July 11, 1883 July 12, 1883 (Rec. July 12, 1883.) Telegraphic.. Transmitting copy despatch from Lord Lyons, stating that in a conversation with M. Jules Ferry the latter very positively affirmed that the French Government entertain no designs of annexation in New Guinea. Transmitting copy of resolutions passed at a meeting of the Institute held on the 29th, respecting New Guinea. Acknowledging letter of the 30th June enclosing copy of certain resolutions. Conveying the decision of Her Majesty's Government on the question of annexation. Forwarding substance of resolutions by both Houses of Parliament to the effect that a Protectorate over New Guinea and the adjacent islands is essential, and that the Colony is willing to contribute its portion of the expense. Stating that a resolution was passed by the Victorian Parliament on the 11th instant, in favour of annexing New Guinea and other islands in the Western Pacific, and that the Government and Parliament of Victoria have expressed their willingness to contribute towards the expense of such an undertaking. 88 89 89 89 90 23 The Agent-General for Victoria. July 12, 1883 91

As ex-Premier and present Chief Justice of Queensland, I am enabled to state that your correspondents are absolutely in error in all these particulars. Ample provision exists for the administration of justice to all races in Queensland by independent Judges, whose tenure of office is the same as that of the Justices of the High Court of Justice of England, and Justices of the Peace are appointed throughout the Colony. Moreover, I and my colleagues have judicially received the testimony of " heathen and native " witnesses and submitted it to Juries, in cases even where prisoners were charged with, capital offences. Polynesian heathens and native aboriginal blacks have thus given evidence in Court under the existing law of Queensland. Under the old law the testimony of native blacks was not receivable, for reasons which it is not necessary I should discuss ; but under an existing statute, enacted five or six years ago, such testimony is received in all Courts of justice. So far from being unprotected by the law, provision has always been made for the defence of Polynesian and Native blades charged with criminal offences, the" expense of counsel and attorney being paid by the Crown. In this respect they enjoy a more extended privilege than that granted to white men under similar circumstances. I am, &c, CHARLES LILLEY.

Ko. 4. Royal Colonial Institute to Colonial Office. My Lord, 15, Strand, W.C., May 23, 1883. The Council of the Royal Colonial Institute are desirous of having the honor of an interview with your Lordship on the subject of New Guinea. On their behalf, therefore, I have to request the favour of your appointing a time when it will be convenient to your Lordship to receive a deputation from them on this important question. I have, &c, FREDERICK YOUNG, Honorary Secretary.

No. 5. Royal Colonial Institute to Colonial Office. Sir, 15, Strand, W-C, May 25, 1883. Referring to my letter to Lord Derby of the 2.3rd instant,* requesting His Lordship to appoint a time for receiving a deputation from the Council of the Royal Colonial Institute on the subject of New Guinea, I now have the honor to transmit to you, for His Lordship's information, a copy of the memorial which it is desired to present on that occasion. I have, &c, FREDERICK YOUNG,

Honorary Secretary. [Enclosure in No. 5.] To the Eight Hon. the Earl of Derby, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies. The Memorial of the Council of the Royal Colonial Institute, — Showeth :— That your memorialists are the elected governing body of the Royal Colonial Institute, which Society was founded in 1808, obtained a Royal Charter in 1882, and now comprises more than 1,900 members, amongst whom are residents in every part of Her Majesty's dominions. That your memorialists have for a considerable time been impressed with the importance of the island of New Guinea, in relation to British interests, whether regarded from Home, Colonial, or Imperial points of view. On April 29th, 1875, a deputation from this Institute had the honor of presenting a memorial to your Lordship's predecessor the Earl of Carnarvon, advocating the speedy annexation of New Guinea. Among the reasons assigned for this annexation were: —■ I. The proximity of the shores of New Guinea to those of Australia, and the danger to British and Australian interests which would arise from a foreign nation establishing itself on the northern shores of Torres Straits, or occupying the valuable harbours of the island. II. —The increased expenditure for defences which a foreign occupation would entail, even in time of peace, upon both the Imperial and Colonial Governments, —an expenditure which would be greater than the cost of establishing and maintaining British rule in the island. 111. —That the best prospect for the Papuans was to be brought under British rule, before Europeans were attracted to the island, either to settle in or visit it. IV.- —That the establishment of a penal settlement in New Guinea, such as that of the French in New Caledonia, from which convicts continually escape to New South Wales and Queensland, to the great detriment and expense of those Colonies, would be a source of most serious injury to the whole of Australia. V. —That the coast should be occupied, in order that the claims of the British Crown, arising from formal possession having been taken in Her Majesty's name by British officers, should not be allowed to lapse. Your memorialists submit that all the preceding reasons not only exist at the present moment, but are now much stronger, and more urgently call for action, than when they were stated eight years ago. That the published returns of the Board of Trade show, as your Lordship has recently pointed out, that there is a great and increasing necessity for obtaining fresh markets for the manufactures of the United Kingdom. That the well-known fact that " trade follows the flag" is proved by those same returns, which clearly show that the best and most profitable customers that England has are the people who live under the British flag and under British rule. That all experience shows that the introduction amongst an uncivilized people of British manufactures, to which they have previously been strangers, speedily creates a large and rapidly increasing demand for those manufactures. That

* No. 4.

That New G-uinea contains a large population, with whom at the present time no trade is carried on by any European country. That New Guinea under British rule would obtain all her supplies of manufactured goods from this country, giving in return her own raw productions. That, if New Guinea should pass into foreign hands, England will lose that trade, as the restrictive fiscal systems of all other nations practically exclude England from trade with their Colonies and dependencies. That the Government of Queensland is extending its railway system to the Gulf of Carpentaria. That the Government of South Australia is now busily engaged in constructing railways from the north southwards, and from the south northwards. In a very few years these railways will be united, and will form a Central Australian Trunk Railway, with a northern terminus at or near Port Darwin. That the South Australian Government has con str acted, and since its establishment maintained, the Central Australian Telegraph line, the northern" terminus of which is at Port Darwin, and which telegraph line is the only means of electric communication with Australia. That the trade between Australia and the British possessions in the East is now very large, is greatly increasing, and by the rapid growth of population in the Australian Colonies, will soon acquire most important dimensions, especially when aided by the above-mentioned railway lines. That at present this trade, or the greater part thereof, passes through Torres Straits, and would be at the mercy of a hostile power in possession of New Guinea. That a hostile power in possession of New Guinea could easily cut off telegraphic communication with Australia, and could greatly hamper, if not entirely destroy the trade that will be carried -on by means of the railways now in course of construction, the termini of which will be on the northern shores of Australia, closely adjacent to New Guinea. That the soil of New Guinea is very fertile, whilst the geological formation indicates great richness in minerals, metals, and precious stones. That owing to the elevation of much of the land, the climate of a large portion of New Guinea is as well suited for the carrying on of British industries, or industries under British supervision, as that of other tropical countries. That in these days of progress no part of the earth's surf ace can long escape the spirit of enterprise which, with the necessities of trade, will soon attract largo numbers of adventurers to New Guinea. That the presence of large numbers of uncontrolled adventurers in New Guinea will lead to evils and complications such as occurred in Fiji, though on a much larger scale, and the cost to this country o£ restraining the actions of such adventurers will equal, if it does not exceed, the cost of maintaining in New Guinea a simple and efficient form of Government. That a large staff of highly paid officials would not be required, as a Government Resident, with a body of police for his protection, would, aided by the periodical visits of war ships from the Australian station, be sufficient for the present. That though it has been urged that the natives of New Guinea have not requested Great Britain to extend her rule over them as the Eijians did, it must be remembered that the cases are not analogous, as the Eijians were of one race, with one single Chief having authority to speak on their behalf ; whilst in New Guinea the tribal system prevails, and there is no paramount Chief whose voice would bo the voice of all. That the rights of the natives to the lands occupied by them can and ought to be as easily recognized and as fully protected in New Guinea as in Fiji, while the increase of civilization, resulting from the British rule, cannot fail to be of great advantage to the native inhabitants of New Guinea. That the possession of New Guinea by any other European Power would, even in time of peace, cause many inconveniences and expenses to England and her Australian possessions, and in time of war would be a standing danger to Australasia, and a menace to British interests in the East generally. That the annexation of New Guinea to Great Britain would confer many benefits on the inhabitants of that large island, and would most materially add to the security, the prestige, and the wealth of the Empire. It appears to your memorialists, from the correspondence which was laid before Parliament in July 187G, that the Imperial Government would have annexed New Guinea if one or more of the Governments of the Australian Colonies had been willing to contribute to the expense. This, they understand, Queensland has now offered to do. Your memorialists, therefore, respectfully urge that the island of New Guinea, or those parts thereof to which any other recognized Government cannot establish a clear right, should be annexed to, and in due form be declared to be part of, the British dominions; and your memorialists feel assured that, should Her Majesty's Government not accede to the various and. renewed requests which have from time to time been made, the deepest disappointment will be occasioned throughout the whole of Australasia, as well as amongst those, both in England and the Colonies, who take the warmest interest in questions which concern the different dominions cr provinces of the Empire, or affect its general prosperity, security, and welfare. In witness whereof, the said Council have caused the common seal of the Royal Colonial Institute to be affixed hereto, this twenty-second day of May, 1883. (1.5.) Manchester, Chairman of the Council, and the following members of the Council: — Sir Charles Clifford. Mr. J. Denistown Wood. Sir Charles Nicholson, Bart. Mr. G. Molineui. Sir Charles Stirling, Bart. Mr. Rivington. Mr. J. A. Yoiil, C.M.G. Mr. F. P. Labilliere. General Lowry, C.B. Mr. Frederick Young. Mr. H. J. Jourdain. Mr. Jacob Montifiore. 4 Dr. Rae. Mr. William Walker. Mr. Archer, Agent-General for Queensland. Sir Arthur Blyth, Agent-General for South Australia. Sir Saul Samuel, Agent-General for New South Wales.

No. 6.

No. 6. The Right Hon. the Earl of Derby to Administrator Sir A. 11. Palmer, K.C.M.G. (Queensland). Telegraphic. May 29, 1883. —Newspaper reports vessel left Mackay obtain labour New Guinea. Is report true ?

No. 7. Administrator Sir A. li. Palmer, K.C.M.G. (Queensland), to the Right Hon, tho Earl of Derby. (Received May 31, 1883.) Telegraphic. May 31. —Cannot ascertain that any labour vessels have gone to New Guinea. Vessels clear for South Sea Islands only, no labourers have come from New Guinea. If annexation confirmed cannot recruit there; see Pacific Islands Labourers Act. Some labourers have come from New Britain,

No. 8. Governor Sir A. E. Kennedy, G.C.M.G., 0.8. (Queensland), to the Right Hon. the Earl of Derhy. (Received June 1, 1883.) My Lord, Government House, Brisbane, April 19, 1883. Referring to my despatches, and telegrams named below,* I have the honor to transmit two letters from my Prime Minister, Sir Thomas M'llwraith, dated the 6th and 13th April, on the subject of the annexation of New Guinea. 2. I am not in a position to afford your Lordship any further information than you at present possess, I have, &c. A. E. KENNEDY.

[Enclosure 1 in No. B.] Queensland. Tour Excellency, Colonial Secretary's Office, Brisbane, April 6, 1883. With reference to the Executive Minute passed on the 15th ultimo, authorizing the despatch of an officer of the Government to take possession, in Her Majesty's name, of the island of New Guinea, in anticipation of a reply to the despatch addressed by your Excellency to the Secretary of State upon the subject, I have the honor to inform you that, in pursuance of the authority granted by the minute alluded to, Mr. H. M. Chester, Police Magistrate at Thursday Island, was instructed on the 20th ultimo to proceed in the Queensland Government schooner " Pearl" to New Guinea, and to take formal possession of so much of the island as was not already in the occupation or possession of the Dutch. Advices have since been received apprising the Government of the departure of that officer from Thursday Island with this object on 22nd ultimo. The Government have been thus prompt in taking action in this matter, because in the opinion of those most conversant with the subject, and from information obtained from various sources, there appeared to be every probability of the island being taken possession of by a Foreign Power, and thus not only a valuable territory be lost to the British Crown, but a source of danger to the Colonies established, the extent of which cannot at present be fully appreciated. I have, &c. Thomas M'llweaitk. His Excellency Sir A. E. Kennedy, G.C.M.G., C.8., Governor,

&c, &c, &c. ■ [Enclosure 2 in No. B.] Queensland. Your Excellency, Colonial Secretary's Office, Brisbane, April 13, 1883. I had the honor to inform you, in a communication dated the Gth instant, that, in anticipation of a reply to the despatch addressed by your Excellency to the Secretary of State, on the subject of the annexation of New Guinea, Mr. H. M. Chester, Police Magistrate, Thursday Island, had, in accordance with instructions from the Government, left Thursday Island for New Guinea on the 20th ultimo, with a view to take formal possession of so much of that island as was not already in the occupation or possession of the Dutch. Advices have since been received from that officer apprising the Government of his arrival at Port Moresby, and of his having, on the 4th instant, taken possession, in the name of Her Majesty, of all that part of New Guinea and the isles adjacent thereto lying between the 141 st and the 155 th meridian of East longitude. In view of a possible request for an explanation of this summary step, it is considered desirable that your Excellency should impress upon the Secretary of State that the Queensland Government have acted under the full belief that the matter was too urgent to admit of the delay necessarily involved in waiting for instructions from the Imperial Government. As the possession of this valuable territory depended on mere precedence in the formality of annexation, and as the Queensland Government, from information received from various sources, had strong reason to believe in the possibility, and even the probability, of being anticipate,^ in their proposed course of action by a Foreign Power, —a contingency which could not but gravely aft'ect the Australasian Dependencies of Great Britain, as tending not only to limit the range of their development, but possibly also to imperil their safety, —it is hoped that the

* Nos. 3, 54. and 55, in [C—36171, May, 1883.

331—L

the Secretary of State will perceive that in the step taken by the Queensland Government they nave been guided by considerations of expediency which justify their promptness in taking action in the matter. In anticipating instructions from the Imperial Government, they have been also largely influenced by the consideration urged in a former despatch, viz., that by undertaking the whole expense in connection with the formation, maintenance, and defence of a British settlement in New Guinea, they effectually dispose of the only objection raised on the part of the Home Government, during previous correspondence on the subject, to the annexation of New Guinea by an Australian Colony. I have, &c. ThOS^AS M'IiWEAITH. His Excellency Sir A. E. Kennedy, G.C.M.G., C.8., Governor,

&c. &c. &c. ■ —— [Enclosure 3 in No. B.] " The Beisbane Coueiee," Wednesday, April 18, 1883. The cablegrams we publish to-day concerning our annexation of New Guinea and the reception which the news of that action has obtained in the Imperial Parliament convey impressions of a somewhat contradictory nature. From one wo learn that the Hon. Evelyn Ashley, Parliamentary Under Secretary for the Colonies, announced in the House of Commons that the Queensland Government had taken possession of New Guinea in the name of the Queen, pending the decision of the Home Government, and that the object of the annexation was to prevent Foreign Powers obtaining possession of the island, to the detriment of British interests. From this, one would be led to suppose that our action had the approval of the Imperial Government, and at least the tacit consent of the Imperial Parliament, but this is supplemented by another message that the Members of the House of Commons were greatly annoyed, and that pressure was being exercised on the Government to induce it to repudiate the annexation. This is quite likely to be true, but notwithstanding the strong doubts expressed as to the approval of the Imperial authorities, we have no serious fear for the result. If the Queensland Parliament support the action of Sir Thomas M'llwraith, it is not likely that the Home Government will order the flag, once hoisted, to bo hauled down, and the beginning of occupation made at Port Moresby to bo stopped short.

[Enclosure 4 in No. B.] "The Bbisbane Coitmer," Thursday, April 19, 1883. The ovort act of the annexation of New Guinea by the authority of the Queensland Government has no doubt created some sensation in Downing Street. Lord Derby, in the interview which ho lately granted to the Missionary Societies connected with the New Hebrides, expressed himself strongly against further annexations in the Pacific. Lord Granville, by his presence on the occasion, also lent the sanction of the Foreign Office, the statements then made to the effect' that an arrangement might not improbably be arrived at by which Foreign Powers who were interested in the commerce of the Pacific would mutually abstain from annexation. It cannot be doubted that representations of this character must have been made by this time to the French Government. It can be understood, therefore, how extremely awkward under these circumstances must have been the intimation given that a formal act of annexation had been applied to a territory so vast as New Guinea, a territory which, as compared with the New Hebrides, is a whole continent. It will be replied, probably, that this annexation has not been authorized, and that the assertion of a merely formal claim, such as that made by Mr. Chester, is no more binding on the Imperial Government than was a similar act of annexation effected by Captain Moresby in April, 1873. When John Moresby, ten years ago, in the name of the Queen, read a proclamation at Hayter's Island to the officers, marines, and seamen of the " Basilisk" assembled round a flagstaff, on which he hoisted the British ensign, he did nothing more than Mr. Chester has done, acting under instructions from the Queensland Government. Ho felt, as he says, that the occupation by any foreign maritime Power of the islands which he then claimed to annex would be a " standing menace to Queensland." The reasons which he gives for his action on that occasion are so excellent that they will bear to be repeated here : "I was so surprised by the richness and beauty of the new islands, and the number of their vegetable products, fine timber, the cocoanut, sago-palm, sugar-cane, maize, jute, and various vegetable fibres and rich grasses; and my conclusion, after weighing all the considerations involved, was that it was my duty to take formal possession of our discoveries in the name of Her Majesty. Such a course secured a postponement of occupation by any Power till our Government could consider its own interests ; and whilst the acquisition of these islands might commend itself, and my act result in annexation on the one hand, it might be negatived on the other with easy simplicity by a neglect to confirm it." These are the reasons given by Captain Moresby for his formal claim, on behalf of the Queen, to the group of islands at the south-eastern extremity of New Guinea. If they are good as applied to them, they are equally good as applied to the mainland of New Guinea. The annexation authorized by the Governor and the Government of Queensland has been effected very much in the same way as Captain Moresby made his claim in 1873, in connction with the islands which ho described in his proclamation. It has been done by the authority of Sir Arthur Kennedy, acting on the advice of his Executive Council. It is, of course, a somewhat more formal and important act of executive authority than that of Captain Moresby ; it applies to a magnificent island of which as yet very littles is known ; but this annexation does not differ in kind from that effected by Captain Moresby. As it stands, it is simply a preferential demand, and it may either be acted upon or allowed to Ho dormant as Captain Moresby's claim was. Will Lord Derby repudiate it and disavow it ? Wo think he will scarcely venture to do that The previous correspondence which took place in connection with this subject all points to the ultimate annexation of New Guinea, in the interests of the Australian Colonies. An address to the Queen, on the motion of Mr. Douglas, was adopted by the Assembly in 1875. It was maimed, it is true, by Mr. Palmer, who was then leading the Opposition, when he moved an amendment omitting that portion of it which referred to the co-operation of Queensland in sharing the burdens of expenditure in connection with the annexation; the amendment was carried, but the address in favour of annexation was adopted, and

and even acknowledged by Lord Carnarvon as an important representation of Australian feeling. Similar addresses came from South Australia and Victoria, and the Government of New South Wales went so far as to recommend not only the annexation of New Guinea but also of all the adjacent islands. Mr. Eobcrtson, who was then Premier in New South "Wales was very anxious to have everything annexed, but like Mr. Palmer in Queensland, he declined to "co-operate" with the Queen's Government. He did so, however, for different reasons. He assigned as his chief reason " the apparent impossibility of this Colony having any share in the control of the Colony contemplated commensurate with the amount subscribed." That is to say, he was very anxious to have a finger in the pie if he could pull out all the plums. But Lord Carnarvon could not see it in this light. If the Australian Colonies would not contribute, they could not expect the Queen's Government to annex New Guinea and the islands of the Pacific for nothing. And so the matter ended for a time with a polite refusal, but an assurance that " Her Majesty's Government would contrive to examine the arguments for and against the extension of British sovereignty over New Guinea by the light of such information as they may be able to procure." And so must Lord Derby. The light now shed upon this subject is the provisional annexation which has been authorized, accompanied by the offer to bear the preliminary expenses. The proposal has already, as we now learn, been favourably received by the leading journals in England, and whatever reluctance Lord Derby may feel in giving effect to the proclamation, the annexation will ultimately be carried out. The course adopted by Sir Thomas M'llwraith in appealing to the several Australian Governments to support his action is quite justified by the position of affairs, and we trust that he will be successful in his spirited endeavours to bring to an issue such an important negotiation. We understand that the Governments of the various Australian Colonies have been requested to communicate with their Agents-General in London, and to authorize them to support the proposed annexation of New Guinea. In doing so, it has been explained that no preferential right has been "set up to any special territorial advantages on the part of this Colony" further than this, that the Government of Queensland has expressed 'its willingness to accept a territorial extension, if it is considered desirable to carry out the annexation in that form. But it is to be clearly understood that Queensland desires no exclusive possession, and that the action in this case has been taken chiefly in order to set at rest any doubt as to the ultimate possession of New Guinea by some Foreign Power. It is sought, in fact, in the first place, to extend the sovereignty of Great Britain to that portion of New Guinea not claimed by the Dutch. Whether it should be included within tho territorial definition of Queensland, or whether it should be constituted a separate territory under the protection of Great Britain, must be matters for further consideration ; and the Premiers of the several Australian Colonies have been advised that the action taken has been with a view to serve the interests of the Australian Colonies as a whole, without any undue prominence being given to the special interest which Queensland undoubtedly has in the settlement of the question.

No. 9. The Eight Hon. the Earl of Derby to Administrator Sir A. H. Palmer, K.C.M.G., (Queensland). Telegraphic. June I.—Governor's despatch 19th April.* "What specific information led Government to believe occupation New Guinea by Foreign Power probable ?

No. 10. Administrator Sir A. 11. Palmer, K.G.M.G. (Queensland), to The Eight Hon. the Earl of Derby. (Eeceived June 4, 1883.) Telegraphic. General rumours of Germany and Italy ; special rumour, German corvette " Carola" was leaving Sydney for South Seas withoutf object of annexation. She left on the 18th March.

No. 11. The Agent-General for Queensland to Colonial Office. Queensland Government Office, 1, Westminster Chambers, Victoria-street, Sir, London, S.W., June 4, 1883. I have the honor to forward you, for the information of the Eight Honorable the Earl of Derby, a copy of a telegram I have received this morning from the Premier of Queensland, the Honorable Sir Thomas Mcllwraith, K.C.M.G., dated Brisbane, 4th June, 1883 ■— " Press annexation to Queensland or Crown Colony. Protectorate not acceptable to Australia." I have, &c, THOS. AECHEE, Agent-General.

No. 12. Governor the Marquis of Nornianby, G.C.M.G. (Victoria), to The Eight Hon. the Earl of Derby. (Received June 6, 1883.) My Lord, Government House, Melbourne, April 10, 1883. I have the honor to inform your Lordship that I prorogued the First Session of the Twelfth Parliament of Victoria this day* I beg to enclose herewith copies Jof the speech I read on that occasion. I have, &c, NOEMANBY. . (Extract).

# No. 6. t Query " with," but sic in original. J Extract only printed.

(Extract.) [Enclosure in No. 12.] The proposed annexation of New Guinea to British territory has been received with groat satisfaction by the people of Victoria, and my Advisers have taken prompt action to support the Government of Queensland in urging that course on the Imperial Government.

No. 13. Governor Sir W. 0. P. Robinson, K.O.M.G. (South Australia), to The Eight Hon. the Earl of Derby. (Received June 6, 1883.) My Lord, Government House, Adelaide, April 25, 1883. I have the honor to report that, in consequence of representations made to this Government by the Government of Queensland and Victoria, the Chief Secretary has requested me to communicate to your Lordship the opinion of my Ministers that, in their judgment, New Guinea should be under British rule, and that they trust that the recent action of the Queensland Government in regard to that island may lead to the result which they desire to see accomplished. 2. I have this day telegraphed to your Lordship to this effect.* I have, <$c., WILLIAM C. P. EOBINSON.

No. 14. The Agent-General for Queensland to The Colonial Office. Queensland Government Office, 1, Westminster Chambers, Victoria-street, Sir, London, S.W., June 10, 18S3\ I have the honor to forward you herewith, for the information of the Earl of Derby, copies of correspondence received to-day from the Colony relative to the pearl shell and beche-de-mer Fisheries in Torres Straits, and of the number and tonnage of vessels passing through the Straits to and from the Colony during 1882, and also a printed copy of Mr. Chester's report of his visit to Port Moresby, and of the ceremony of taking possession of New Guinea in the name of Her Majesty. In laying these papers before Lord Derby, I would desire to bring to his notice one other point in favour of the annexation of New Guinea which has not been mentioned in my previous correspondence, but which has been brought to my knowledge in a despatch from the Colonial Secretary, viz., " That in addition to the contingent danger of occupation by a foreign and possibly hostile Power, there is an actual and present danger to Queensland interests in the fact of a coast-line so near to the scene of several of her industries, and dominating one side of the direct channel'of communication between Queensland and Europe, being in the hands of a savage race. "In view of the many necessities for landing on that coast, and the possibilities of shipwreck and other accidents, which may reasonably be looked for, owing to the development of the industries referred to and the rapidly increasing communication by the Torres Straits route, it is evident that the time has arrived for taking seriously into consideration whether we can now, with safety to our interests and the lives of British subjects, allow this territory to remain outside the control of civilisation." I have, &c, THOMAS AECHEE, Agent-General.

[Enclosure 1 in No. 14.] 11. 11. Chester, Esq., P.M., to The Agent-General for Queensland, London. Sir, Thursday Island, May 2, 1883. At the request of the Under Colonial Secretary I have the honor to furnish the following information re the pearl-shell and beche-de-mer fisheries in Torres Straits. There are now 192 vessels and boats employed in these fisheries, and some 1,500 men, principally South Sea Islanders and Malays. There are also a number of beche-de-mer vessels sailing out of Cooktown, and fishing on the New Guinea Coast, of which I have no statistics. The fisheries are extending rapidly, no less than twenty-five new vessels having commenced operations since the beginning of the year, and more are expected. The trade of the port is consequently increasing, and from ten to twelve large steamers call here every month. The revenue last year was over £7,000, and this year it will not be far short of £10,000. I have, &c, HENEY M. CHESTEE, P.M.

[Enclosure 2 in No. 14.] The Under Colonial Secretary to The Agent-General for Queensland, London. Sir, Colonial Secretary's Office, Brisbane, April 24, 1883. In continuation of my letter of yesterday with reference to the annexation of New Guinea, I have the honor to forward to you the accompanying return, showing the number and tonnage of vessels arriving at and departing from Queensland Ports, via Torres Straits, during the year ending 31st December, 1882. In drawing the attention of the Secretary of State to this return it would be desirable to mention that the figures supplied by no means represent the total of the vessels taking advantage of the Torres Straits passage during that perioij, but only such number as has come within official knowledge. I have, &c, E. GEAT, Under Colonial Secretary. ■ Eetuen

* See No. 61 in [C—36l7] May, 1883.

Return showing number and tonnage of vessels arriving at and departing from Queensland Ports viâ Torres Straits during the year ending 31st December, 1882. Arrivals.

Departures.

Her Majesty's Customs, Brisbane, T. M. RING, Collector of Customs. April 24, 1883.

[Enclosure 3 in No. 14.] Annexation or New Guinea. Me. 11. M. Chester has furnished to the Colonial Secretary the following very interesting report of his recent visit to Port Moresby, and of the ceremony of taking possession of New Guinea in the name of Her Majesty. Sir, Port Moresby, New Guinea, April 7, 1883. I have the honor to report that, in accordance with your instructions I left Thursday Island in the " Pearl "on the 24th ultimo. There being a difficulty in engaging a crew, I took with me three of the water-police and two men from the pilot cutter. Mr. Frank Walsh also accompanied me as a volunteer. I proceeded to Somerset to water the vessel, and left for Port Moresby on the 27th idem. We experienced light easterly winds with a strong westerly set and did not reach the Port until noon of 3rd instant. The same afternoon the annual large trading canoes arrived from Motumotu (Freshwater Bay) with supplies of sago. At 10 a.m. on the 4th instant I took formal possession, in Her Majesty's name, of all that portion of New Guinea and the adjacent islands not already in occupation by the Dutch, and read the accompanying proclamation in presence of about 200 Natives and thirteen Europeans. A royal salute was fired from the " Pearl," and at the close of the proceedings three cheers were given for Her Majesty the Queen. I then, in presence of the people, recognised Boe Vagi as head chief of Port Moresby, and gave the flag into his charge until such time as an official should be sent to represent the Government. Mr. Lawes kindly explained the meaning of the ceremony to the people, and assured them that they would remain in undisturbed possession of their lands. A short impressive prayer by Mr. Lawes terminated the proceedings, after which about £50 worth of trade was distributed to the heads of families by Euatoka, the Earotongan teacher, in the name of Her Majesty. In the afternoon a long procession filed up the hill to the mission-house, each man bearing some small present, such as two or three spears, an armlet, a grass petticoat, or an ornament, and after this the Europeans present, the teachers and their wives, and Boe Vagi, were invited to a banquet, given by Messrs. Lawes and Chalmers, at which, after the usual loyal toasts, "Prosperity to the latest gem added to the British Crown" was drunk, and the health of the missionaries who have done so much for the civilisation of the people. Great regret was expressed by all at the absence of Mrs. Lawes, a lady of whom it is no disparagement to our beloved Queen to say that she alone reigns in the hearts of this people. It is now five years since I first visited Port Moresby, and I was much struck by the improved appearance of the town. The mission premises are situated on a small hill to the westward of the harbour, overlooking Ethel Island and the village built on piles in the sea at its base. They consist of two neat wooden houses with iron roofs, one of which is the residence, and the other a training college for the mission students, drawn from all parts of the coast who occupy six neat grass houses on the right of the college. A fence surrounds the whole, and well-kept paths, covered with shingle and bordered with handsome variegated crotons, lead up the hill from the beach. Two years ago the village on the eastern side of the harbour was totally destroyed by fire, and the people have not yet recovered from the loss, the most serious part of it being the flooring boards of the houses, made of the sides of the old canoes, and handed down for generations. There are 221 houses in the two villages, and the population now numbers about 800 souls, having increased during the last five years. During the evening the missionaries received information that the Motumotu men on their return voyage intended to attack Kabadi, a village inland in Eedscar Bay, having been subsidised to do so by a tribe at enmity with them. If De Quinccy had visited New Guinea ho might have added a chapter to his essay on " Murder considered as one of the Fine Arts." In no part of the world probably is murder as an art more cultivated than in New Guinea. Apropos of this I relate a tragic story told me by Mr. Chalmers of the recent massacre of an entire village by the Lesi tribe. It may be remembered that a Dr. James and Mr. Thorngren wore murdered on the coast, near Yule Island, in 187G, by the Eoro tribe, who occupied a village some distance to the south-eastward of the Lesi, in Hall Sound. During one of Mr. Chalmers' visits to the westward, being in the neighbourhood of this tribe, he determined to visit them and make peace, it being«too late to punish them for the murders, but he narrowly escaped meeting the same fate, and reached his boat with difficulty. In an evil hour they surprised three of the Lesi and killed two of them. Their doom was sealed. The Lesi turned out in force, and lying concealed by day and travelling in their canoes at night, arrived after dusk at one of the many streams running into Hall Sound. Here they were at fault, not knowing which to ascend; but fortune favoured them,

Vessels. Tons. 48 6G,3G3

__„_. ....._—_— B ——^ Vessels. Tons. 42 5G,978

them, they captured a canoe in whicli was a Enro man and two women, and gave them the option of guiding them to their village (Paitana) or being killed. The man consented to pilot them, and the women were let go. When near Paitana they allowed the guide to escape in his canoe. Sending a party to surround the village the rest camped in the middle of it and sat silently down to await the first streak of dawn. One of the villagers awoke, and to his astonishment found the place occupied by strangers. " Who are you ? " said the Eorb man. The others sprang to their feet and cried out, "We arc the Lesi come to pay you ! You murdered foreigners; they did not pay you, they were afraid! That we have nothing to do with ; but you tried to kill Tamate, and yon murdered our men, and wo are here to avenge them ! Come out and fight! " At the same moment they let fly a cloud of arrows, until wearying of the slaughter the chief called out, "We have no lime to kill them all; burn the housesmnd those inside." The order was obeyed, and when the sun rose Paitana was a blackened heap of ashes. This happened last July, and Mr. Chalmers meeting a chief of Roro in August inquired how many were killed. "Ah! Tamate," said the chief, " I cannot number the slain, I can only tell you how many are left alive." A lad of seven years old was brought to Mr. Chalmers. His father had lowered him down through a hole in the floor of his house, and he hid in the scrub. After all was over he returned to find only the charred remains of father, mother, brother, and two sisters. The murderers of James and Thorngren perished with the rest. On the sth April, thinking that a little shell practice from the " Pearl " might deter the Motomotu from attacking Kabadi, we took the chiefs and several of their people on board, and fired six rounds of segment shell. In the afternoon I attended an examination of the school children. The building which is used both as a church and school-room, is 66 feet long by 24 feet, cool and well ventilated. About 120 boys and girls, of all ages between five and twenty, were assembled in classes. Large maps were unrolled, and it was pleasant to see the quick, bright intelligence displayed by the pupils. Scarcely did the wand of the teacher touch an ocean or a continent than its name was shouted by all simultaneously. Chief towns, rivers, and mountain ranges were given in rapid succession. The globe was produced, and ] found to my astonishment that zenith and nadir, equator and ecliptic, zones and signs of the zodiac, were "familiar in their mouths as household words." Each class was presided over by a pupil teacher, mostly native girls from Port Moresby, the chief's daughter being oner of the most intelligent. Only the most advanced scholars are privileged to attend the writing and English classes, and in a very few months a valuable staff of interpreters will be available should settlement on the coast progress. In laying in a supply of trade from the limited sources available at Thursday Island I had not forgotten the children. A number of really good mouth harinonicons, and some toy watches, lockets, and chains make capital prizes, while the system adopted in the distribution was not only novel but relieved Mr. Chalmers of the invidious task of selection. " Who best deserves the prize for arithmetic ?" cried Tamate. Without an instant's hesitation the children unanimously shouted the name of the girl or boy; and so on in geography, reading, &c, and in every instance the prize fell to the one whom Mr. Chalmers would have selected. Then ensued a scene which would have horrified an English School Board inspector. The children formed a line on either side and Mr. Chalmers and a native girl advanced from opposite ends. As he passed the girl, who, by the way, was remarkably pretty, he raised his hat, and with a bow, said, " Good morning." "Good evening," and "Goodnight" followed with the like ceremony. Then the children, placing their hands on the shoulders of the one in front, pranced round the long room in high glee, singing the multiplication table. A little elementary drill followed, and a distribution of lollies. Then a scramble for pieces of tobacco, which the children took home to their parents, and school broke up with the same boisterous mirth that is so characteristic of English lads of the same age. Too much credit can scarcely be given to Mr. and Mrs. I/awes and Mr. Chalmers for the wonderful results produced among a people who only eight years ago were pure savages. School work is interspersed with sufficient play to prevent it becoming irksome, it being evidently the aim of the missionaries " to make the people happy in their own way, even if that way should be quite opposed to European theories of how they ought to be happy." The average daily attendance at the Port Moresby School is 140, and the total number of children attending the various at places where teachers are established is 1,000. The following morning the mission teachers and their families, with the pupil teachers, came up to the mission house, each, bearing some little present for Mamoose (my native name), a plume of paradise feathers, or some other token of their goodwill. If Tule Island has been thought of as a site for the first settlement I trust the Government will reconsider the matter. Hall Sound as a harbour is not to be compared with Post Moresby. In consequence of the strong set of fhe current to the eastward it is at times almost impossible for sailing vessels to enter the Sound. The land opposite Tule Island is one vast swamp, and the neighbouring tribes are fierce and turbulent. The unhealthiness of the climate is such that the inhabitants have recently removed to the mainland, leaving only a few men to look after the plantations. Port Moresby, on the contrary, is now fairly healthy. The Motu tribe, inhabiting the port, are the great traders of the coast; their dialect is understood from Bald. Head to Milne Bay, and the missionaries, after eight years' experience, have come to the conclusion that Port Moresby is the only locality suitable. It is the real key to New Guinea, and from it civilising influences will radiate as from a centre. The Laloki Biver, which takes its rise in the Owen Stanley range, and receives the Astrolabe waters, runs through fine agricultural land, well watered by a chain of lagoons, and falls into the sea in Eedscar Bay. There is a depth of 6 feet on the bar at low water spring tides, and the river is navigable for vessels of light draught to within 5 miles of the diggers' camp at the back of Port Moresby. Cooktown is so situated that it must necessarily become the port of communication between Queensland and New Guinea. Vessels bound to and fromNNcrw r Guinea have a leading wind at all seasons. Sixteen years ago small-pox was introduced via Torres Straits, and decimated the coast and inland fribes. Old men still speak, with tears in their eyes, of the frightful disease that carried off their children and friends. Eight years ago measles was imported from Somerset, and the mortality was very great. This points to the necessity of strict enforcement of quarantine regulations at Cooktown and Thursday Island, the portals of New Guiaea, In 1878, before leaving Port Moresby, the diggers and others purchased large areas of land from the natives with the trade they had no further use for. lam informed that one man bought a square mile almost in the town. These lands have never been improved by the owners, and are still cultivated *>y

by the natives. The people complain bitterly of the damage done to their plantations by the horses left behind by the.diggers. These have increased to about (iO, and iho marvel is that they were not speared long ago. Cooktown, 13 April. Wo were detained at Port Moresby until the 9th instant by calms, met the south-east trades about 5 miles outside, and carried strong trades to the Barrier. Entered at Lizard opening (Cook's) on 12th instant, and arrived at Cooktown at 9 p.m. of 13th idea., all well. 1 have, &c. HENRY M. CHESTER. Proclamation read at Port Moresby on 4th April, 1883 : — » I, Henjiy Ma.toribanrs Chestek, resident magistrate at Thursday Island, in the Colony of Queensland, acting under instructions from the Government of the said Colony, do hereby take possession of all that portion of New Guinea and the islands and islets adjacent thereto, lying between the 141 st and 155 th meridians of east longitude,in the name and on behalf of Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, her heirs, and successors. In token whereof I have hoisted and painted the British flag at Port Moresby in New Guinea, this fourth day of April] in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three. God save the Queen ! HENRY M. CHESTER, The following is a list of places visited by Mr. Chalmers, with the population of each village or district. They are included in a coast-line of 60 miles from Boera to Kerepunu, say 60 miles by 40 to the Owen Stanley range: —Moumiri, 100; Munakahila, 300; Eikiri, 200; Kupele,'6oo; Logeri, 600; Faveli, 400; Moroka, 400; Maiara, 200 ; lovi, 300 ; Epakari, 500; Epara, 300; Taburi, 400; Makapili, 400; Tubuselci (inland), 400; Kaile (inland), 1,000; Kapakapa (inland), 1,000; Palanai, 500; Boera, 300; Porebada, 200; Port Moresby, 800; Vapukeri, 200; Pari, 300; Tupuselei, 350; Kaile, 350; Kapakapa, 300 ; Hula, 600; Papaka, 400; Kamari, 200 ; Kalo, 1,500; Kerepunu, 1,500; Kuaipo, 600; Animarupa, 300; scattered Koitapuans, 1000. 'Total, 10,500, equal to nearly seven persons to the square mile.

No. 15. Governor Sir A. E. Kennedy, G.C.M.G., 0.8. (Queensland), to the llight Hon. the Earl of Derby. (Received June 19, 1883.) My Lord, Government House, Brisbane, April 26, 1883. I do not propose to trouble your Lordship with a repetition of details already before you in reference to the Colonial annexation of New Guinea. 2. I have only to express my entire satisfaction with the action of my Government, especially Sir Thomas M'llwraith, in the matter. 3. I think his apprehension of New Guima being annexed by another European Power was reasonable, and his promptitude in adopting our only safeguard very laudable. 4. Sir Thomas has laid his views before you, and wo have the satisfaction of knowing that they are heartily adopted by all the Australian Colonies, which we trust maybe our excuse for any irregularity we have committed. 5. 1 have never heard any well-informed person doubt the great disaster which the occupation of Now Guinea by a European Power would prove to Australia. 6. I have had less difficulty in dealing with this subject from the knowledge that Her Majesty's sanction was necessary for its completion. 7. 1 do not anticipate any difficulty in providing for the cost of maintaining our authority. I have, &c, A. E. KENNEDY.

No. 10. The Hon. Sir A. 11. Gordon, G.C.M.G., to Under-Secretary of State, Colonial Office. Sir, 5, Bryanston Square, W., June 16, 1883. I have the honor to enclose, for the information of the Secretaiy of State for the Colonies, the copy of a letter which I have just received from the Russian explorer, Baron Miklouho Maclay. I have, &c, ARTHUR GORDON.

[Enclosure in No. 16.] Baron Mac! ay to Sir A. Gordon. ■Your Excellency, —Sir, Hongkong, May, 2 1.883 Learning from newspapers about the desire of the Government of the Colony of Queensland to annex the S.E. part of the Island New Guinea, I take the liberty, in the case if Her Majesty should sanction this annexation, of reminding respectfully your Excellency of request made by me in January, 1879, and April, 1881, which I now repeat again : — 1. That the right of the Natives of the Maclay Coast (New Guinea) to the soil in the fullest extent of the word should be respected. 2. That the importation of spirits should he prevented. Allow me also to quote here the own words of your Excellency (from a letter to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, dated Armitage Hill, April 9, 1879: —"! entirely agree with Baron Maclay in thinking that ' les tentrtives genereuses dcs Gouvernements, Europeens pour proteges les indigenes contre les violences et los injustices desenvaliesseurs blancs sont ordiniarement venues hop tard, quand le mal etait deja fait,' and that comparatively slight precautions taken in time might avert misunderstandings which lead too often to the murder of white men, and to the steps, too generally of a most unsatisfactory nature, which have'then to be taken for the punishment of those who have committed them. I also agree with him as to the importance of recognizing the native titles to land and of discouraging the importation of spirits and firearms." Knowing

Knowing well that your Excellency is a friend of justice, and is not afraid to take the part of the weak, I have reasons to hope that my request shall not always remain " vox clamantis in deserto." I have, &c., N. m MIKLOUHO MACLAY. Address —Biological Station at Watson's Bay, Sydney, N.S.W. i ■

No. 17. P. P. Labilliere, Esq., to The Colonial Office. Sir, 5, Pump Court, Temple, Juno 16, 1883. On looking over my papers about New Guinea, I have felt that the experience and opinions of Captain Yule, given in the enclosed letter, ought to be contributed to the other valuable information on the subject collected in your Department. I therefore send you the original letter which I received from Captain Yule, in reply to an invitation to be present at a private conference of gentlemen, which was held to consider the question of the annexation of New Guinea, just 10 years ago. I shall be much obliged by your kindly returning the letter when you have made any use of it you may think fit. I am, &c. T. P. LABILLIEKE.

[Enclosure in No. 17.] Mr. C. B. Yule to Mr. T. P. Labilliere. Sir, Anderton, Devonport, June 19, 1873. As I have no intention of going to London at present, 1 regret not being able to avail myself of your invitation to be present at the meeting which is to take place at the Royal Colonial Institute on the 25th instant, more especially as I take a great interest ml the part of New Guinea you refer to, having been engaged in the survey of its southern coast and that of the Louisiade Archipelago, very little of •which had been previously known to the civilised world, especially in the vicinity of Cape Possession, which I so named from my having formally taken possession of that part of New Guinea in Her Majesty's name, as it had previously appeared as a blank on the old charts. The chief aspect of our survey of this part of the island having been of a hydrographic nature, we were not prepared for exploring the interior, but its general aspect reminded mo much of the island of Java, with its lofty range of inland mountains, and vast tracts of undulating and apparently alluvial plains, with much wood and vegetation and numerous rivers, some of which are doubtless navigable between the mountains and the coast. We had frequent communication with the Natives, who are of various shades from copper colour to black, well formed and intelligent; their canoes and dwelling-places are of superior construction, and they pay much attention to the cultivation of yams and other vegetables, as they brought off in they canoes yams, bananas, cocoa-nuts, sugar-cane, and a quantity of coarsely manufactured arrowroot or sago, all of which were evidently indigenous as the inhabitants possessed no iron or any other article indicative of their ever having had any previous communication with civilised men. They are very warlike, and probably, like most untamed people of the kind, are treacherous, although they spared the lives of myself and two boats' crews at Cape Possession when we were upset in the surf and, unarmed, were quite at the mercy of a large body of armed Natives. The greater portion of the coast is fronted by a barrier of coral reefs, within which are perfectly sheltered harbours, and although the coast we surveyed lies within 8 to 12 degrees of the Equator we found the climate very healthy, which may, I think, in great measure be attributed to the south-east monsoon or trade wind which blows home to the coast during a great part of the year. I am very glad this apparently fine country is now attracting the attention of the influential gentlemen you name, as I have often thought the portion of New Guinea that I have seen is quite adapted to the cultivation of all such productions as those of Java. The " Voyage of the Rattlesnake " gives, as far as it goes, a correct account of the parts of New Guinea we visited ; and the second volume of the " Australia Directory," compiled by myself, will afford some hydrographic description of its coasts, and Tshall at any time be most happy to give you any further information in my power, for I think it a great pity that such an apparently fine country, and so near our Australian Colonies should remain fallow, or perhaps worse still, be eventually taken in hand by some Toreign Power. I am, &c. C. B. YULE.

No. 18. The Foreign Office to The Colonial Office. Sir, Foreign Office, June 30, 1883. I am directed by Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Toreign Affairs to transmit to you to be laid before the Earl of Derby copy of a despatch relative to New Guinea. I am, &c, ■ J. PAUNCETOTE.

[Enclosure in No. 18.] Lyons to Earl Granville. My Lord, Paris, June 27, 1883. This afternoon, in obedience to the instructions conveyed to me by your Lordship's despatch of the 20th instant, I recited to M. J. Perry the conversation which your Lordship had on that day with Count d'Aunay on the subject of New Guinea. "When I mentioned, thatfsyour Lordship had said to M. d'Aunay that you presumed you might feel confident that the Trench Government had themselves no designs of annexation in New Guinea, M. Jules Terry affirmed very positively that no design of the sort was entertained by the Trench Government. I have, &c, LYONS.

No. 19.

No. 19. The Eoyal Colonial Institute to The Colonial Office. My Lord, 15, Strand, W.C., June 30, 1883. Eeferring to a memorial* from the Council of the Eoyal Colonial Institute, which was presented to your Lordship on the Ist instant, advocating the annexation of New Guinea by Her Majesty's Govern, ment, I now have the honor to append a copy of resolutions on the subject which were adopted by the Fellows of the Institute at the annual meeting held yesterday : — " 1. That the Fellows of the Eoyal Colonial Institute in annual general meeting assembled approve of the action of the Council in presenting the memorial respecting the annexation of New Guinea to the Eight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies as expressed, in the annual Eoport. " 2. That his Grace the Chairman of the Council bo requested to transmit a copy of the foregoing resolution to the Eight Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies." I have, &c., MANCHESTEE, Chairman of the Coujacil, * Soo Enclosure in No. 5.

No. 20. The Colonial Office to The Eoyal Colonial Institute. Sir, Downing-street, July 4, 1883. I am directed by the Earl of Derby to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 30th ultimo,t containing a copy of resolutions in support of the proposed annexation of New Guinea by Her Majesty's Government, which had been adopted by the Fellows of the Eoyal Colonial Institute at the annual meeting held on the previous day. I am, &c, + No. 19. JOHN BEAMSTON.

No. 21. The Eight Hon. the Earl of Derby to The Administrator Sir A. 11. Palmer, K.O.M.Gr. (Queensland). Sir, Downing-street, July 11, 1883. Her Majesty's Government have given their careful consideration to the request of the Government of Queensland, as placed before them in the correspondence with Sir Arthur Kennedy and with the Agent-General for the Colony, which has been laid before Parliament, that the eastern portion of the Island of New Guinea, with the islands adjacent thereto, may be annexed to Queensland. Although the first communication reached me through Mr. Archer on the 28th February, it was not until the 19th of June that I received Sir A. Kennedy's observations on the subject, and through Mr. Archer, a copy of the proclamation with which Mr. Chester, the magistrate, took possession of the territory in the name of the Queen. It has therefore not been possible to communicate to you before now the conclusions at which Her Majesty's Government have arrived. 2. They are unable to approve the proceedings of your Government in this matter. It is well understood that the officers of a Colonial Government have no power or authority to act beyond the limits of their Colony,, and if this constitutional principle is not carefully observed serious difficulties and complications must arise. If there had been any evidence of the intention, which is said to have been apprehended, of a foreign Power to take possession of any part of Now Guinea, the views and proposals of the Colonial Government could have been placed before Her Majesty's Government by telegraph, and if the circumstances had justified immediate action it could have been taken without a delay of more than a very few hours. It is therefore much to be regretted that your advisers should, without apparent necessity, have taken on themselves the exercise of powers which they did not possess. 3. The apprehension entertained in Australia that some foreign power was about to establish itself on the shores of New Guinea appears to have been altogether indefinite and unfounded, and the inquiries which have been made by Her Majesty's Government have given them the strongest reasons for believing that no such stop has been contemplated. Nor is there at the present time any sufficient ground for anticipating the early settlement on the shores of New Guinea of a white population from the Australasian Colonies which, in the absence of any established authority, would become a source of trouble and danger to the Colony. The results of former expeditions have been disastrous, and unless there should be indications of their intended renewal on a considerable scale no question would arise with respect to the prevention of disorders resulting from that cause. 4. Her Majesty's Government are, moreover, clearly of opinion that even if the time had arrived for asserting and exercising the Queen's authority and jurisdiction on the shores of the island, or on some portions of them, there would bo no necessity or justification for including in these measures the whole of the vast territory to which the proclamation of the Queensland Government purports to apply. It is estimated that the interior of the country contains several millions of savage inhabitants of whom little or nothing is known, but it is certain that they have given no sign of a desire that their land should be occupied by white men. It would require exceptionally strong reasons to justify the annexation of these tribes and their territory, and in the absence of any such reasons a grave responsibility would be incurred in establishing the Queen's jurisdiction over a large coloured population which would certainly resist subjugation and has apparently nothing to gain by it. 5. If, however, it had been shown that the extension of the Queen's sovereignty to the eastern portion of New Guinea has become necessary, the proposal that the territory so annexed should form part of the Colony of Queensland would be open to strong objections. The Colony already comprises an immense extent of territory: the seat of Government is situated in the south, a thousand miles from the south-eastern point of New Guinea : it is practically governed by a Parliament which represents the white population, whose interests are altogether different from those of the coloured races, aboriginal and imported, within the Colony : and while I am aware of the difficulties "with which the Colonial Government has had to contend in connexion with the labour traffic and other questions affecting native interests, 331—M the

the fact that those difficulties have not in all cases been successfully dealt with cannot be disputed, and has often of late been the subject of much comment. The Queensland Government is at present undertaking heavy charges and responsibilities in connexion with the settlement and development of its vast northern territory, which cannot be fully occupied for many years to come, and even if it could be reconciled with former precedents and sound general principles that the Imperial Government should devolve upon any Colony the duties incident to the establishment of British dominion in such a country as New Guinea, neither the time nor the circumstances would appear favourable for the assumption by the Queensland Government of the control of a large native population owning a territory not required, and, to a great extent, at least not suited, for the occupation and labour of European settlers. It has been stated in the press that one reason for which some persons in Queensland desire the annexation 6f New Guinea is the facility which would thereby be afforded for obtaining a large supply of coloured labour for the sugar plantations without going beyond the limits of the Colony. It is no doubt generally understood that the natives of New Guinea would not willingly accept or be suitable for labour engagements at a distance from their shores, but the fact that the suggestion has been made indicates a special difficulty which might present itself if the request of the Colonial Government were complied with. 6. Her Majesty's Government have not failed to give due attention to the representations made by the Governments of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia in support of the action taken by your Government. Those Governments do not, as I understand, definitely endorse the proposal that the island should form part of Queensland, nor do they undertake to share the expenes which might be entailed by any attempt to govern it, but they express in general terms a desire that it should be brought under British rule. Such an expression of opinion has, necessarily, much weight with Her Majesty's Government, but it does not indicate any substantial advance towards the more effective settlement of a question of this nature. The affairs of the Pacific Ocean, and the political and commercial relations' of the Australian Colonies with adjacent places and powers, are matters of the highest importance to those Colonies, and require to be dealt with on broad and clearly defined principles, and by the united action of the Colonies. Her Majesty's Government regret that it should be necessary from time to time to refuse assent to proposals coming from individual Colonies for the assumption of large and serious responsibilities in regard to places and questions not specially concerning those of Her Majesty's subjects who live in other parts of the empire; and I trust the time is now not distant when, in respect of such questions (if not for other purposes of government) the Australasian Colonies will effectively combine together, and provide the cost of carrying out any policy which after mature consideration they may unite in recommending, and which Her Majesty's Government may think it right and expedient to adopt. 7. In the meantime Her Majesty's Government are of opinion that they must continue to decline proposals for large annexations of territory adjacent to Australia, in the absence of sufficient proof of the necessity of such measures. In the case of New Guinea there is already in existence a jurisdiction which may be made to suffice for immediate exigencies. The powers of the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific extend to that island, and if the Colony of Queensland, with or without assistance from other Colonies, is prepared to provide a reasonable annual sum to meet the cost of placing one or more Deputies of the High Commissioner on the coast, Her Majesty's Government will be willing to take steps for strengthening the naval force on the Australian station so as to enable Her Majesty's ships to bo more constantly present than hitherto in that part of the Pacific. A protectorate thus gradually established over the coast tribes would be capable of meeting the principal requirements of the case for some time to come, and would be free from the grave objections to which, as I have shown, the course now urged upon Her Majesty's Government is open. I have. &c, DEEBY.

No. 22. Governor the Marquis of Normanby, G.C.M.G., (Victoria), to the Right Hon. the Earl of Derby. (Received July 12, 1883.) (Telegraphic.) 12th July. —Am requested by both Houses of Parliament to forward resolutions unanimously agreed to by them, viz., that it is essential to the future well being of the Australian Colonies that New Guinea, and the Pacific Islands lying between New Guinea and Fiji, including New Hebrides, should be annexed to the British Crown, or that England should establish a Protectorate over them; that concerted action on the part of the Australian Colonies is desirable in order to accomplish this result; that this Colony is willing to contribute its proportion of the expense entailed by such annexation or Protectorate.

No. 23. The Agent-General for Victoria to The Right Hon. the Earl of Derby. 8, Victoria Chambers, Victoria-street, My Lord, Westminster, S.W., July 12, 1883. I have the honor to inform your Lordship that, at the instance of my Government, a resolution was passed unanimously by both Houses of the Victorian Parliament yesterday in favour of the annexation of New Guinea and other Islands in the Western Pacific; or, pending the adoption of such a course of policy, the assumption of a protectorate over these territories, in order to prevent the establishment of any foreign power within them. lam also to inform your Lordship that the Government and Parliament of Victoria have expressed their willingness to contribute towards the expense of such an undertaking. I would take the liberty of urging on your Lordship the evidence thus afforded of the strength and sincerity of Colonial feeling on this subject, which is further stimulated by the uneasiness excited by Trench movements in the Pacific, which my Government are of opinion indicate danger to the New Hebrides group of islands. I have, &c, EOBEET MUEEAY SMITH.

(4.)

[Laid before the Convention by the Sepresentatives of New Zealand.^ AREA, POPULATION, TRADE, &c, OE THE PRINCIPAL GROUPS OE ISLANDS. (By Mr. W. Seed, Secretary of Customs.) Hon. Mr. Vogel ,— 23 September, 1873. In obedience to your directions, conveyed to me in Mr. Fox's letter from Christchurch, dated the 20th ultimo, I have had a map of the Pacific Ocean made from the Admiralty sheet charts. Ill order to save time I had this done by the photo-lithographic process ; it would have taken a long time to construct a chart of this size by hand. I have also collated all the information I could procure aw to the area, population, and trade of the principal South Sea Island groups, and of the other tropical islands named in Mr. Fox's letter. This information is appended hereto. For facility of reference I have prefixed to it a table showing the area, population, imports, and exports of the islands referred to, where statistics of this nature have been procurable; as also a table showing the latitude and longitude within which the principal groups of islands in the Pacific are situated. I feel that the information here presented is most meagre and incomplete, but it is all I can procure at present, after most careful search in the library of the General Assembly, and in other directions where I thought it likely such information might exist. The general descriptions of the islands have been mainly taken from Findlay's South Pacific Directory ; but some of them have been taken from Admiralty hydrographic notices, from McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary, from Chambers's Encyclopaedia, from missionary notices and reports, and from variovis books of travel. The statistics have been gathered principally from the Statesman's Fear Book for 1873, the American Tear Book for 1869, and from the reports from Her Majesty's Consuls, which are printed annually and laid before Parliament. With regard to the government of the various islands, so far as I can ascertain, all the groups that are situated north of the equator (with the exception of the Sandwich Islands, which have a settled form of constitutional government, the Marshall Islands, about which I can gather no information whatever, and the Kingsmill group, part north and part south of the line, and which has no form of government) are either claimed by or are ill the possession of some civilized Power. The Philippines, Ladrones, Palaos or Pelew, and the Caroline Islands, are all Spanish possessions. The Galapagos belong to the Republic of Ecuador. Of the islands in the South Pacific, the Society Islands, Paumotu or Low Archipelago, Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, and New Hebrides are in the possession of or are claimed by the French. The Tongan Islands are governed by a King, assisted by a Parliament of chiefs. Fiji can scarcely now be said to have a Government, whilst all the rest are a kind of "no-man's land," are without government, and are constantly torn by the debasing and savage wars of the petty chiefs inhabiting them. In relation to the question of annexing the Samoan or other group of islands to New Zealand, I find that a small group in the Indian Ocean, the Seychelles, occupies the position of a dependency of the Mauritius, from which it is distant over 900 miles ; there is, therefore, a precedent for distant islands becoming " dependencies of a dependency." The revenue of the Seychelles is principally derived from Customs duties. The duties on goods sent from Mauritius to Seychelles are carried to the credit of the revenue of the dependency. Through this arrangement, which appears only lately to have been made, the Civil Commissioner, in his report to the Governor of Mauritius, dated the 9th February, 1872, says: " The settlement of the much-vexed question as to whether the Seychelles group is a burden to the parent colony or not is now happily solved." From this it would appear that the ordinary revenue of the group is sufficient to meet its expenditure without assistance from the Mauritius. In further relation to this question, it may be worthy of consideration whether the plan which is adopted in Ceylon for the Government of the native races inhabiting that island would not furnish a useful model for framing a system of government for the Polynesian Islands. Whatever may be done with regard to the occupation of those islands, is is certain that one of the main questions to be considered in connection with that occupation will be, " How are the natives to be governed ?" I have been led to refer to the case of Ceylon because, in the course of looking up the information appended hereto, I came across a copy of the Governor's Address on opening the session of the Legislative Council of that Colony in September, 1872, in which reference is made to a " Village Communities Ordinance," and to an amendment which it was proposed to make in that Ordinance for the purpose of empowering Police Courts to try breaches of rules made by village communities where no village tribunals exist. The object of this Ordinance is stated to be, " To enable village communities to frame their own administrative regulations, and to enforce them in Police Courts in districts where it may be inexpedient to establish the village tribunals created by tli^ Ordinance of 1871." The importance of the occupation of some of the Pacific Islands by Great Britain cannot be better set forth than by quoting the following passage from the letter addressed by the late Admiral Washington to the Colonial Office in 1859, on the occasion of his being called upon by that department to furnish some information regarding the Fijis. He remarked, " But on looking into the subject I have been struck

INTERCOLONIAL CONTENTION, 1883.

struck by the entire want, by Great Britain, of any advanced position in the Pacific Ocean. We have valuable possessions on either side, as at Vancouver's and Sydney, but not an islet or a rock in the 7,000 miles of ocean that separate them. The Panama and Sydney mail communication is likely to be established, yet we have no island on which to place a coaling station, and where we could insure fresh supplies. . and it may hereafter bo found very inconvenient that England should bo shut out from any station in the Pacific, and that an enemy should have possession of Tongatabu, where there is a good harbour within a few hundred miles of the track of our homeward-bound gold ships from Sydney and Melbourne. Neither forts nor batteries would be necessary to hold the ground. A single cruising ship should suffice for all the wants of the islands. Coral reefs and the hearty goodwill of the natives would do the rest." 23rd September, 1873. • W. SEED.

Table showing the Position of the principal Groups of Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Islands in the North Pacific.

Islands in the South Pacific.

Table showing the Area, Population, and Value of Imports and Exports of the undermentioned Countries.

Tonga oe Ebiendly Islands. The Tonga Archipelago is composed of at least 100 islands and islets, comprised between 18° and 20° S. lat., and 174° and 179° W. long. The three islands of Tonga-tabu, Vavao, and Eoa are alone of any extent, which is from 15 to 20 miles in length. Seven others, namely, Late, Tofua, Kao, Namuka, Lefuga, Eoa, and Ilaano, are from sto 7 miles in their greatest extent. The rest are much smaller. Many of them

Between. Names of Groups. Latitude. Longitude. Latitude. Longitude. landwich Islands jadrone or Mariana Island 3elew Island Marshall Archipelago Silbert Island Mapago Island /aroline Islands ., 18° 54' 12° 21' 6° 53' 4° 45' 3° 0' 1° 42' 1° 0' 154° 50' W. 144° 24' E. 134° 21' E. 165° 22' E. 172° 65' E. 89° 30' W. 137° 33' E. 23° 34' 20° 30' 8° 9' 11° 40' 1° 33' S. 1° 23' S. 11° 21' 164° 32' W. 146° 3' E. 134° 55' E. 172° 30' E. 177° 45' E. 91° 34' W. 162° 52' E.

iVdmiralty Islands Phoenix Islands Sfew Ireland Sew Britain ■Solomon Islands Elliee Islands Marquesas Islands , Charlotte or Santa Cruz Islands Louisade Archipelago Vayigators Islands Sew Hebrides Islands Low Archipelago ?i ji Islands Society Islands $ew Caledonia Conga, Islands book's Islands royalty Islands 1°57' 2° 41' 2° 46' 4° 4' 4° 36' b° 29' 7° 53' 9° 57' 10° 58' 12° 53' 13° 36' 11° 9' 15° 42' 16° 11' 17° 59' 18° 2' 18° 5' 20° 25' 146° 49' E. 171° 8' W. 150° 33' B. 148° 17' E. 151° 55' E, 179 C 15' W. 138° 43' W. 165° 41' B. 151° 3' E. 168° 6' W. 166° 40' E. 124° 48' W. 1 176° 51' B. 148° 5' W. 162° 55' E. 173° 40' W. 157° 11' W. 166° 25' E. 2° 55' 4° 37' 4° 51' 6° 30' 12° 20' 10° 41' 10° 30' 12° 15' 11° 30' 15° 57' 20° 15' 25° 3' 19° 48' 17° 53' 22° 46' 22° 52' 24° 26' 22° 32' 147° 48' E. 174° 40' W. 153° 2' E. 152° 15' E. 162° 30' E. 176° 6' W. 140° 44' W. 167° 11' E. 154° 26' E. 178° 21' W. 170° 11' E. 148° 44' W. 178° 12' W. 152° 12' W. 167° 35' E. 179° 24' W. 171° 48' W. 168° 5' E.

Area— Square Miles. Population. Value of Imports. Value of Exports. Sandwich or Hawaiian Islands Ladrone Islands Caroline and Pelew Islands Navigators Islands Low Archipelago or Paumotu Group < 6,000 1,254 005 1,660 square kilometres, 6,600 square miles, 3,30D 7,400 square kilometres, 1,175 square miles, 587 £ 62,950 5,500 28,000 34,000 £ (1871) 325,176 £ (1871) 378,413 (1871) 25,000 (1871) ' 45,000 3,500 Fiji Society Islands -j 170,000 (1870) 71,950 (1870) 98,735 21,000 (1571) 120,000 (1871) 90,000 West Indies (including British Guiana*) Ceylon Philippine Islands Java square miles, 89,103 24,454 1,190,400 2,405,287 (1871) 6,310,173 (1871) 4,707,952 of British produce, (1871) 463,359 (1870) 3,902,342 (1871) 7,374,729 (1871) 3,634,853 To Great Britain. (1871) 1,391,254 (1870) 5,464,183 65,100 4,319,269 | 51,336 16,452,168 /Census, 1871,) ) 316,042 j 193,401 Mauritius C76 (1871) 1,807,382 (1871) 3,053,051 * British Guiana 76,000 1,572,275 2,383,422

them are only banks of sand or coral, covered with some tufts of trees. Tofua, Kao, Late, and the two rocks of Hunga Hapai and Hunga Tonga, are sufficiently high to bo distinguished at 15 or 20 leagues off at sea. Eoa, Namuka, and Vavao are of a moderate height; Tonga-tabu and all the rest are very low. The population of the Tonga Islands, as given by the missionaries in 1839, was 18,500; namely, Boa, 200; Hapai, 4,000; Vavao, 4,000; Keppel's Island, 1,000; Boscawen Island, 1,300; Tonga-tabu, 8,000. At that time about 4,500 of the natives wore Christians, of whom 2,500 were church members. But a later missionary estimate made it very much more, about 50,000, but this is probably excessive (Erskine, p. 101). The group is divided into three Protestant missionary stations, Tonga-tabu, Hapai, and Vavao, at each of which missionaries reside. Tonga-tabu Group. —This is the principal and southernmost group, taking its name from the best known and largest of the islands. It is of the form of an irregular crescent, whose convexity faces the south and the concavity the north, deeply indented by a lagoon of 5 miles broad and 3 miles deep. Immense reefs of coral extend six or eight miles off the island on all its north part, and form different channels, with a useful road for any ship that anchors here. Many islets are disseminated on these corals ; the greater parts covered with trees. The island itself is nearly a dead level, with the exception of a few hillocks 30 or 40 feet high. Its highest point is 60 feet. Eoa, or Eooa, lies to the south-east of Tonga-tabu ; a channel of three leagues broad separates them. Tasman called it Middlcburg. The island is about 10 leagues in circuit, and is about 600 feet high. It is rocky and barren, and contains only about 203 inhabitants. Namuka Group. —The principal island of this group is that which gives it the name. Namuka is rather higher than the small surrounding islets, but still is low. It is composed of a steep, rugged, coral rock, 9 to 10 feet high, except where there are two sandy beaches ; defended, however, by coral reefs to seaward. In the centre of the island is a salt-water lake, without communication by the sea, and about 1| mile broad. Cook found the island to be well cultivated, chiefly with yams and plantains, with breadfruit and cocoa-nut trees interspersed. To the north and east of Namuka the sea is sprinkled with a vast number of small islands. _ They lie scattered at unequal distances, and are in general as high as Namuka, but only from 2 to 3 miles in breadth to \ a mile in length, and some less. Most of them are entirely clothed with trees, among which are many cocoa palms, and each forms a prospect like a beautiful garden placed in the sea. The Hapai Group is composed of four larger and numerous smaller islands, connected by coral reefs, so that they are considered by the inhabitants as but forming one island. They are all very low. Lifulca is not above 7 miles long, and in some places not above 2or 3 broad. The east side of it, which is exposed to the trade-wind, has a reef running to a considerable breadth from it, on which the sea breaks with great violence. The Kotoo Group may be almost considered as a portion of the Hapai group, as the distinction is not so well marked as in the others, being more or less connected together by coral reefs. The largest island of the group is called Kotoo, and is scarcely 2 miles long, and about the same breadth ; a coral reei surrounds it. Its N.W. extremity is as low as Hapai, and around it are eight other islands, as shown on the charts. Tofoa, or Toofoa, an active volcanic island, lies to the N.W. of Kotoo, in hit. 19° 45' S._, long._l7s° 3' "W\, according to D'Urville, and is about 2,800 feet high. A remarkable lake is said to exist on it, from which the islanders bring small black volcanic pebbles, which are much in request, to cover the graves of their friends. It is covered with trees to the summit, and is about 5 miles in diameter. Kao is a vast rock of a conical figure, and about 5,000 feet high, to the N.E. of Tofoa. Vavau Group. —This, which is the northernmost cluster, is one of the most important, as it is perhaps as much frequented as any. It lies 70 miles N.N.E. of the Hapai group. Vavau is the principal island of the group. Latte or Lette Inland lies to the west of the Vavau group. It is a high island, formerly a volcano. The peak, 1,790 feet high, is in the centre of the island, from which the hill falls with a pretty gradual slope into the sea. The island is 6or 7 miles in circumference, and is sufficiently high to be seen at 20 leagues off. Amargura, or Mcnoualsi, is the northernmost of the group. It is a barren spot. It is formed of two hills, the N.E. the highest, connected by a very low space, everywhere surrounded by rocky cliffs, except in two places on the west side. The following particulars regarding Tonga-tabu are extracted from Lieut. Meade's account of the South Sea Islands, visited by him in 18G5, in H.M.S. " Curacoa":— " The native population numbers from 9,000 to 10,000, all of whom profess Christianity. " The present King, whose name is George Trebon, and title ' Tui Kanakabulu,' governs with the assistance of a Parliament of chiefs, and has reigned for twenty years. There are fifty-four Europeans in the island, who look to the Consular Agent in the Fijis." In Commodore Wilkes's account of this island (1840) he states that " the natives cultivate yams, sweet potatoes, bananas, cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, sugar-cane, shaddocks, limes, and the ti (Spondias dulcis); the pandanus is much attended to, and is one of their most useful trees, and of it all their mats are made; a little corn is grown, and they have the paparo apple {Papaya) and water melon. The missionaries have introduced the sweet orange from Tahiti, and a species of chirimoyer (Aunona). The botany pi this island resembles that of the Samoan group. A species of nutmeg was found here, differing from either of the Samoan ones ; the trees were full of fruit and much larger; one of them was observed \\ feet in diameter, and upwards of 40 feet in height. Fiji. Admiral Washington, the late Hydrographer to the Admiralty, in his report dated the 12th March, 1859, in reply to certain questions sent to him by the Colonial Office, states that the " Fiji group consists of some 200 islands, islets, and rocks, 1,900 miles N.E. of Sydney, and 1,200 north of Auckland j the two largest islands may be some 300 miles in circumference : 65 of the islets said to be inhabited." A proposition was made In 1858 by Thakombau, the present King of Fiji, to cede the sovereignty of the group to Great Britain. The British Government thereupon sent Colonel Smythe, E.A., in December, 1859, as a special commissioner to inquire into the nature of the cession, and as to the desirability or otherwise of accepting it. Colonel Smythe, it will be remembered, reported that it was not advisable to accept this offer. '-The

The principal islands are Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Ovalau, Lakemba, Koro, Moala, Totoia, Vuna, Kandavau. Ngau, Vanua, Valavo Vatata, and Tasawa. The following description of them is abridged from that given in Findley's South Pacific Directory : — The island of Viti Levu is the largest of the Fijian group. The affix Levu means "great," thus Viti Leva means Great Fiji. It is about 30 miles in length by 55 in breadth. Vanua Levu, (" great land") is the great northern island of the group ; its greatest length is about 9G miles from E.S.E. to W.N.W., and its average breadth may be about 25 miles. Ovalau is 8 miles in length north and south, by 7 miles in breadth east and west; it is of volcanic formation, and its rocks are composed of a conglomerate or pudding-stone ; it is high and rugged throughout. The valleys only extend a short distance into the interior, and leave but little level ground; they are, however, exceedingly fertile and well cultivated. Ovalau is the principal residence of the white men of the group. It possesses a fine harbour, Levuka, on its eastern side. It has always been the favourite residence of the whites, and must continue so to be, from its central position with regard to the remainder of the group. LaJcemba is the largest island of the eastern group. Its form is nearly round, with an extensive encircling reef. Lakemba is 5 miles from east to west by 3 miles north and south, and, like the rest of this (the eastern) group, is of volcanic formation. The soil is similar to that of Vanua, composed-of a dark-red loam. Koro, or Goro, is considered by the natives one of the most fruitful islands of the group. It is a high island, though not so much so as the others, and from appearance would be susceptible of cultivation to its very top. The island is 9f miles long by 4 miles wide. The produce of Koro is oil and tortoiseshell, and exceeds in quantity that of any other island of the group. Moala or Monala is of a triangular form, and may be about 18 or 20 miles in circuit. ]t is mountainous and volcanic, about 2,000 feet high, and covered with wood. Totoia is of a circular form, 0 miles in diameter, and when viewed from its peak presents a huge extinct crater, now full of ocean water, of 30 fathoms deep, over a space of 3 miles diameter ; the wash of the tide and swell on the southern side has reduced the rim to low-water level, while the ridge contains peaks nearly 1,200 feet above the sea, surrounding this large but to a vessel inaccessible basin. The island is surrounded by a barrier reef of the triangular form, 22 miles in circuit, the elbows of which are 2 miles off the south-west, the north-west, and the eastern projections of the island. Vuna is one of the principal islands of the group. Its length is 25 miles, and breadth 5 miles; it rises gradually to a central ridge, the height of which is 2,072 feet. The summit is generally covered with clouds. From its gradual rise and its surface being smoother, it is susceptible of a much higher state of cultivation than the other islands. The soil is a reddish loam, and it appears to be considered the most fnuitful of the islands. Kandavau is the south-westernmost of the Fiji Islands ; it is 25 miles long, and throughout its whole length is high and mountainous, except a small part at its centre, near Malatta Bay. The island is well covered with pine timber, resembling the New Zealand Kauri pine, and most of the large canoes used in the Fiji Islands are built here. The people are industrious, and have abundance of provisions. Vanua Valavo is Ihe largest of the group called the Exploring Isles ; it is of a serpentine shape, and 14 miles in length. Each island of this group has its own separate reef around its shore, and the whole are enclosed within an extensive reef, somewhat in the shape of a triangle, w Those sides are 24 miles in length. Vairti, or Nairti, is the largest of the Yasawa group, and rises to the height of 954 feet above the sea. Tasawa, or Ya-asaua, is the northernmost island of this group ; it is very narrow, and about 10 miles in length; towards its southern end it rises to a peak 780 feet in height. Area. —According to Dr. Petermann's calculation the superficial area of the Fiji group is equal to that of Wales (7,397 English square miles), or eight times that of the lonian Islands. Productions. —Mr. Consul March, in his report for 1869, in speaking of the capabilities of Fiji, says: " The productions and resources of Fiji have been described in previous reports ;it is sufficient, therefore, to state that these islands, rich and fertile, yield an almost endless variety of vegetable treasures. They abound in edible roots, medical plants, scents, and perfumes, and timber of various descriptions ; whilst sugar, coffee, and tobacco grow most luxuriantly, and if cultivated would, I think, prove as remunerative as cotton." Dr. Secman's report to the Colonial Office, printed in the Appendix to " Correspondence relative to the Fiji Islands," presented to Parliament in 1862, contains an elaborate description of the productions of Fiji. lie remarks that " Colonial produce, properly so called, such as sugar, coffee, tamarinds, and tobacco, may be expected from Fiji in considerable quantities, as soon as Europeans shall have devoted their attention to the subject, since the plants yielding them, long ago introduced, flourish so well that a judicious outlay of capital might prove a profitable investment. The sugar-cane grows as it were wild in various parts of the group, and a purple variety, attaining 16 feet in height and a corresponding thickness, is cultivated to some extent. Coffee will one day rank among the staple products of the country, the mountain slopes of the larger islands, especially those of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, and Kandavau, and, above all, those of the Valley of Namosi, seeming well adapted for its growth." Population — Colonel Smytbo, in 1860, estimated the native population at 200,000, and the permanent white residents at less than 200. Mr. Thurston, formerly Acting Consul at Fiji, in 1867, estimated the natives at 100,000 ; but this number must be considerably below the mark, for in the report of the Australasian Wesleyan Missionary Society for the year ending March, 1873, there is a return given of 109,250 attendants on public worship. Mr. March, in 1870, estimated the native population at 170,000. In 1868, the number of white settlers had increased to 1,288, and in 1870, to about 4,000, of whom thi'eefourths were British subjects. Notwithstanding the unsettled condition of Fiji, the progress of the group, especially in the production of cotton, has been remarkable, as will be seen from the following statistics, taken from the commercial repoits of the ConsoFfor 1869 and 1870: — In 1865 the quantity of cotton exported was 2,400 cwt., valued at £9,300. In 1870 the value was, of Sea Island cotton, £91,500; and of short staple cotton, £1,200; total, £92,700. The

The total value of exports in 1870 was £98,735. The approximate total value of imports in that year was £71,050. Most of the articles were of English manufacture, and shipped from Australia and New Zealand. The imports from the latter place amounted to about 2,000 tons ; and, judging by the efforts there made to establish regular communication with the South Sea Islands, it is probable that the present year (1871) will see the trade doubled, and competing successfully with that of Sydney, which port has hitherto supplied Fiji with the bulk of its requirements. The principal articles exported in 1870 were, — Cotton, Sea Island £91,500 Cotton, short staple 1,200 Cocoa-nut 0i1... ... ... ... ... ... ... 4,950 Tortoise-shell ... *,' 260 Cotton-seed ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 250 Kauri gum ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 100 Other articles... ... ... ... ... ... ... 475 Total £98,735 This augmentation in the trade of Fiji is due to the increasing operations in cotton-planting, and the continued immigration from the neighbouring Colonies. The passenger lists of the vessels reported at the Consulate show that the white population in these islands received an accession of 1,035 souls during the past twelve months (1870). Navigators Islands. The following description of this group is by the Bey. J. Powell, F.L.S., of the Samoan Mission : — "Samoa is the native name of the Navigators group, which lies between 13° 30' and 14° 20' S. lat., and 169° 24' and 172° 50' W. long. Its number of inhabited islands is ten, with a population of about 34,700. It is 265 miles long, and includes an area of 1,650 square miles. All the islands are of volcanic orign, and contain several craters, the largest of which, if we accept the harbour of Pangopango, Tutuila, is on Savaii. " The variety and beauty of the appearance of these islands almost baffle description. The effect upon visitors of a first sight of them is enchanting, nor is much of the enchantment lost after a long acquaintance with them. " The first island that comes in sight of voyagers arriving from the eastward is Ta'u, the largest of the three islands that constitute the group, which the natives call Manu'a. It is about 6 miles long, 4J broad, and 16 in circumference, and contains 100 square miles. " About 6 miles west of Ta'u is the island of Olosenga. This is a very rocky island, 3 miles long, 500 yards wide, and about 1,500 feet high. It contains 24 square miles. It is precipitous on every side, least so on the north-east, most on the north and south-west. On the latter side, about 200 feet from the shore, rises up a mural precipice 1,200 feet high. The -principal village is situated, in times of peace, On the strip of land in front of this precipice. In times of war the people live on the mountain. " About 2J miles of the eastern point of the island a volcanic eruption burst out from tho deep ocean in September, 1866. " OJ'u, the smallest of the three islands included in the Manu'an group, is neither so high nor so precipitous as Olosenga. It is separated from the latter by only a narrow, shallow strait, about ajof a mile wide. A double-pointed crag off its eastern extremity, together with the precipitous, craggy nature of Olosenga, give to the neighbourhood a remarkably romantic appearance. The population of the Man.ua'n group is about 1,500. "Aunuu. —6o miles west of Ofu is the island of Tutuila. A mile from Tutuila, off its south-east point, is the little island of Aunuu. This island is about 5 miles in circumference. Population, 200. " Tutuila is a most beautiful island. It is 17 miles long, 5 wide, and 60 in circumference, and contains 240 square miles. Its population in 1866 was 3,948. It has a mountain range running along almost its entire length from east to west. From the main ridge spurs branch off north and south. The island appears to have been formed by a number of volcanoes, situated in a line extending in a direction from east by north to west by south. As these have thrown up their burning lava and scoria they have formed one united ridge, and many cratera on both its north and south sides, with wide openings towards the sea. The spurs running down from the ridges are the sides of these craters, and near their junction with the main ridge there occur at intervals along the island mountains towering far above the ridge and spurs. Thus are formed mountains and ridges, slopes and valleys, and bays of varied forms and sizes, which, covered with the luxuriant vegetation which a moist tropical atmosphere produces, furnish scenes of surpassing beauty. " Upolu is situated north-west by west of Tutuila, at a distance of about 36 miles. It is about 40 miles long. 13 broad, and 130 in circumference. It contains 560 square miles, and has a population of about 15,600. " Manono. —Two miles from the western point of Upolu, and encircled by its reef, is the island of Manono. It is nearly of a triangular shape, and less than 5 miles in circumference. It contains 9 square miles. It has a mountain a few hundred feet high, from whose summit can be obtained a splendid view of Upolu and Savii. It is itself ' one entire garden, in looking at which the eye can scarcely tire.' It has a population of about 1,000. This island held a very extensive political supremacy over Upolu till the war of 1847-54, in which she lost that supremacy, and was obliged to take her place on a level with those over whom she had formerly exercised much despotic power. "Apolima is about 2 miles from Manono. It is a crater somewhat resembling a horseshoe, while its depth may well suggest the idea of tho hand with the fingers contracted, which is the meaning of the name. Its highest part is 472 feet above the sea. The population is about 200. " Savaii —This island is the largest of the group. Its most eastern point is about 10 miles from the western point of Upolu. It is aßout 48 miles long, 22 broad, and 150 in circumference. It contains 700 square miles. It has a high mountain-chain running along its length, the highest point of which is more than 4,000 feet above the sea-level. This is the edge of a large crater. The volcanoes which formed this island seem not to have been extinct so long as those which formed the other islands of the group." The

The native population of Samoa at the beginning of 1872 was estimated at from 33,000 to 34,000. Of Europeans there were then about 250 on the group. The value of imports in 1871 was set down at £25,000 ; but the year before they amounted to £42,000. The exports in 1871 were valued at £45,000, and consisted chiefly of copra (dried cocoa-nut). Further particulars regarding the Navigators Islands can be gathered from Mr. Seed's report on Ihem, dated the 13th February, 1872, and printed in E.'—2, " Further Papers relative to the San Francisco Mail Service," presented to the General Assembly in the session of 1872. Cook's Islands. This group of islands, which lie scattered over a considerable space, extending from lat. 18° 54' S. to 21° 57' S., and from long. 157° 20' W. to 160° W., without any intimate connection between each other, consists of nine or ten separate islands, the greater part of which were discovered by Cook ; hence the appropriateness of their collective appellation. Mangaia is the south-easternmost of the group, is of volcanic origin, and is about 30 miles in circumference; population, 2,000. The productions of the island are numerous and cheap; they consist of pigs, turkeys, fowls, ducks, yams, sweet potatoes, pineapples, which the inhabitants obtain, in spite of the j)overty of the soil, by assiduous labour and care, but little common to these islanders. Marotonga is a beautiful island ; it is a mass of mountains, which are high, and present a remarkable and romantic appearance. It has several good boat harbours. The productions of this island, which is much more fertile than Mangaia, are exactly the same. The population does not exceed 4,000. Atui resembles Mangaia in appearance and extent. It is a more bank of coral, 10 or 12 feet high, steep and rugged, except where there are small sandy beaches and some clefts, where the ascent is gradual. Mitiero is a low island, from 3 to 4 miles long and 1 mile wide. Mauhi or Parry Island is also a low island ; it is about 2 miles in diameter, well wooded, and inhabited. Ilervey Islands. —This group consists of three islands, surrounded by a reef, which may bo G leagues in circumference. Aitutahai presents a most fruitful appearance, its shores being bordered by flat land, on which are innumerable cocoa-nut and other trees, the higher ground being beautifully interspersed with lawns. It is 18 miles in circuit. Population, 2,000. Tubai on Austral Islands. This is a dispersed group lying between lat. 21° 50' S. and 23° 42' S., and long. 147° 11' and 154' WV, to the southward of the Society Islands and Low Archipelago. They have not been much frequented, as they are small, and do not oft'er many inducements for the calls of passing navigators. Kekmedic IsLAsns. Are a scattered group of small rocky islets to the north-east of New Zealand, within lat. 29° 15' 30" and 3L° 37' 30" S., and long. 177° 51/ 52" and 179° 14' W. Society Islands. Tahiti. —The area of Tahiti and its dependencies is 1,175 square kilometers; the area of Poumotu Islands, 6,(!00 square kilometers. Tahiti is about 32 miles long from N."W. to S.E. Tetuaroa is a small low island, or rather group of small low islets, about 6 miles in length, enclosed in a reef about 10 leagues in circuit. Moorea, or Eivieo, is 10 miles distant from Tahiti. There are several large villages on the southern side of the island. Coffee, cotton, sugar, and all other tropical plants succeed well at Eimeo, and sugar is made to a considerable extent. Tapamanoa. —Length from E, to W. is about 6 miles. Iluaheine is the easternmost of the group, which was called the Society Islands by Cook. It is about 20 miles in circumference. Raiatca, or VUe/ea, is situated about 130 miles to the N.W. of Tahiti. It is about 40 miles in circumference, of mountainous character, covered with vegetation and well watered. The soil is exceedingly fertile. Taka, or OtaJia, lies to the northward of, and is about half the size of Eaiatea. Bola-Bola, or Bora-Bora, is four and a half leagues N.W. of Tahua, to which it is inferior in extent. Mania, or Maupiti, is the westernmost of the group. It is a small island of about G miles in circumference. Tubai, or Motu Iti, is the northernmost of the group, and consists merely of some very small low islets, connected by a reef about 10 miles N. of Bola-Bola. Population (foreigners from all quarters included) spread over Tahiti and the whole of its numerous dependencies is approximately estimated at 21,000, of whom some 500 or 600 are Chinamen, labourers, domestic servants, and artisans, whilst a largo number arc natives of distant islands in the Pacific, imported as contract labourers. Imports, during the years 1869, 1870, and 1871, valued approximately at from £110,000 to £120,000 per annum. About one-third of this consisted of British or British-colonial products and manufactures, imported for the most part from Australia and New Zealand. Exports. —Value of Tahitian and other island products : — 1n1869 £105,000 „ 1870 ■% 96,000 „ 1871 90,000 Cotton was the principal item of export. The value of it in 1871 amounted to about one-half the total value of exports. The apparent falling-off in 1870 and 1871 was owing to a reduction of the valuation of this chief article of export, The

The important position of New Zealand in relation to the South Sea Islands is shown by the following passage from the British Consul's report from Tahiti for 1871, from which the above figures are taken i— " The countries for which the exports of island produce were destined may bo stated as follows : England (chiefly through New Zealand or Australia), France, California, Chili, and lately some to Hamburg. " The foreign merchandise mentioned in the return as re-exported was mainly that portion re-shipped for islands in the Pacific beyond the limits of the French Protectorate over Tahiti." Government. —Tahiti is nominally under the French Protectorate, which was established in 1844, but practically their power is absolute. Papeite is the seat of Government. It stands at the foot of the highest mountain of the island. The ground here is level, but there is not much space between it and the foot of the mountains. It is covered with the richest and most beautiful vegetation. Commodore E. A. Powell, C.8., of H.M.S. "Topaze," who visited Tahiti in 1867, in speaking of the French occupation of the Society Islands, says: —"The French appear to be very liberal in their government, and the natives have only to pay a small capitation-tax, in default of which they give so many days' work. The Protestant religion is not intefered with, and the missionary schools are encouraged: order is preserved, and the only restrictions on the natives are for their own benefit. On comparing the state of this island with that of others where European influence is not felt, I am of opinion that the presence of the French at Tahiti has been very beneficial, and it is to be regretted that their settlements in the Marquesas have been abandoned, although doubtless they were expensive to keep up. Low Archipelago oe Paumotu Ghoup. This vast collection of coral islands, one of the wonders of the Pacific, extends over 16 degrees of longitude, without taking into consideration the detached islands to the S.E. of it. They are all of them of similar character, and exhibit very great sameness in their features. When they are seen at a distance, which cannot be great on account of their lowness, the aspect is one of surpassing beauty, if the dry part of the island or belt is sufficiently covered with trees; but much of this beauty is dispelled on a nearer appoach, as the vegetation is usually found to be scanty and wiry. The archipelago, like the adjoining groups of the Marquesas and the Society Islands, are under the French Protectorate. There are seventy-eight islands; eighteen are uninhabitated, and sixteen are still occupied by savage tribes. These are in the south-eastern parts of the group, furthest removed from the civilizing neighbourhood of Tahiti. The western portion is divided by the French into four groups or circles; that to the west with eight islands, the north with five, the centre with fourteen, the the eastern of seventeen islands. They are all coralline or lagoon reefs, with three exceptions, and a few have entrances for large vessels. The native population of the entire archipelago only amounts to 3,500, of which 700 are still uncivilized. There has been much improvement of late in their houses and clothing, to procure which they have opened some branches of industry, the chief of which is cocoa-nut oil and mother-of-pearl shell Marquesas Aeciiipelago. The Marquesas Archipelago is composed of two tolerably distinct groups, lying in a general N.W. and S.E. direction, between the parallels of lat. 7° 50' and 10° 31' S., and long. 138° 39' and 140° 46' W. They are all of volcanic origin, very high, and may be seen in clear weather at 15 or 20 leagues distance. The sovereignty of the group was ceded to France by a treaty with Admiral Dv Petit Thouars, in May, 1842, and a military Colony was established in Taiohai Bay, at Nukahiva, but the result was in no way commensurate with the expense of the establishment; and this, after the experiment lasted seventeen years, was abandoned on the Ist January, 1859. Nnlcahiva is the principal island of the Marquesas Archipelago. It is 17 miles in length from east to west, and 10 miles broad. It has been frequently visited and described, and its inhabitants are perhaps the best known of any in the archipelago. The population of this island was estimated by Captain Krusenstern, when he visited it in 1801, at 18,000. Notwithstanding the opinion of Krusenstern that his estimate for so large an island was low in 1804, it is reduced to 8,000 by the estimate of M. de Tcssan in IS3B, and to 2,690 by Lieutenant Jouan in 1856. O-hiva-oa, or La Dominica, is the most fertile, the most populous (6,000 inhabitants), and the most important for its productions of the whole archipelago. It is about 21 miles long from E. by N. to S. by ~W., and 7 miles in its average breadth. The following remarks are from the report of Commodore R. A. Powell, C.8., of H.M.S. " Topaze," 1867: — " Mayclalena Island. —On June 8, at 9 a.m., the island of Magdalona was sighted, bearing W. i N., and distant 40 miles, the summit of the high mountain being observed in the clouds. The eastern side of the island is extremely rugged, steep ridges coming down from the central mountain, and terminating in high precipices over the sea. Very few of the valleys or gorges appear to reach the beach, so that, independent of a dangerous surf which dashed against the rocks, landing would have been quite impracticable. On the north and south sides of the island the land sloped more regularly towards the sea, but there was no landing. " Point Venus, on the south side, is a perpendicular rocky cliff, about 700 feet high, overhanging the sea, which breaks within a few yards of its base; from some points of view the break assumes the appearance of a reef extending out further than it really does. Bon Repos Bay is immediately round Point Venus, on the western side of the island, and the best anchorage is about a mile from the shore in 17 fathoms, opposite a shingly beach, with the valley well open. This bay is open to westerly winds, which, according the native account, blow occasionally with great force from December to March, which would appear to be the bad months. A heavy surf rolls continually on the beach, but landing can be effected on the rocks on the noe^h side of the bay. "Water can be obtained, but with difficulty, as boats must lie a considerable distance from the beach where the stream comes down. The valley, which winds up among the hills from the bottom of the bay, is very beautiful, being covered with rich foliage of tropical fruit trees, whilst the native cottages and huts, sheltered under the bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, and orange trees, add greatly to the attractiveness of the scene. 331—N "Fruits

" Fruits of all descriptions arc to bo procured in sufficient quantities to refresh a large ship's company, but meat and vegetables are very scarce, pigs and poultry being the only animal food. The inhabitants are supposed to bo loss than 500 in number, and are said to be fast decreasing ; this may be attributed to the prevailing custom of polygamy, as well as to continual warfare, which exists between the tribes inhabiting the two principal valleys. " The French have practically given up all control over the natives, whose only intercourse with foreigners is confined to the crews of the few whalers that occasionally call for supplies. They are to all appearance in the same primitive state they were described to be in 100 years ago ; for, though some have Polynesian Bibles and all profess Christianity, they still practise the same heathenish rites and entertain the same superstitions as formerly, whilst cannibalism yet exists in connection with prisoners of war. ■ " The men, who are of ordinary stature, with good features, are rendered hideous by tattooing ; the women are fairer than the men, and pleasant-looking, as they are only tattooed on the face, with a few blue marks on the lips. The only apparent difference between what we saw and read in early accounts was the conduct of the women, all of whom wore a becoming robe of tappa or native cloth, and were very modest in demeanour, whatever their morals may be." San Christina Island was sighted on June 10. The " Topaze" remained here two days, without experiencing any difficulty from the swell or squalls from the mountains. There is no doubt, however, that a heavy swell sets in from the S.W. The landing-place, constructed by the French authorities at considerable expense, was washed away, and there were other marks of destruction by the waves. It was also reported that vessels had been driven to sea by the force of the violent gusts down the valley, and altogether the bay has such a bad character that whalers seldom visit it, although it is believed to be the only place where it would be advisable for ships to anchor. The formation of the island, with its steep shore on the east and numerous valleys on the west sides, closely resembles Magdalena Island, and the facilities for watering and obtaining supplies are about the same. There are wild cattle on the mountains, but difficult to got at, and still more difficult to carry away when shot. The inhabitants of this island arc far inferior in appearance and manner to those of Magdalena Island ; they do not number more than 300, and from disease and other causes are fast decreasing. The French had a considerable settlement here some few years since, but they have now entirely abandoned it, and fort, house, and gardens have fallen into a state of decay. Dominica Island. —Whilst the " Topaze" remained in Resolution Bay, Commodore Powell proceeded to Dominica Island with two boats. After skirting the shore around Tava Bay without being able to land, the boats made for a small round island (not marked on the charts) at the entrance of Taogon Bay, and, passing to the eastward of it, a small land-locked harbour was discovered, known to the French as Traitor's Bay, where the landing is good, and water can bo obtained with great facility. Ships of 1,000 tons could here refit with great security. The French have no settlement on Dominica, but there are two or three priests on the island, one of whom stated that they had entirely failed in making converts, and that in his opinion there was not a native Christian. He also described the inhabitants as being inveterate cannibals, always at war with each other, much addicted to drunkenness and other bad habits. The priests had succeeded in cultivating cotton, and had lately sold their produce for £2,000. The island has some well-watered, beautiful valleys, and was described as being extremely rich, and well suited for coffee, sugar, and other tropical productions. It was extremely difficult to arrive at any correct estimate of the number of inhabitants, but they are said to amount to about 1,500 and decreasing. The men are tall and able-bodied, but the women are depraved and ill-looking. NoukaSioa or llarchand Island. —The "Topaze" left San Christina Island on the 12th June, and sighted Cape Martin, Nouka-Hwa, at daylight the following morning. The French have reduced their establishment here to a resident, four soldiers, and a captain of the port, who also acts as pilot. The French authorities insist upon vessels taking the pilot, although he cannot possibly be of any service, as the only difficulties to contend with are baffling winds. The payment amounts to 200 francs going in, and the same sum going out; and this charge has effectually kept out whalers that formerly were accustomed to frequent the bay. The island of Nouka-Hwa offers great resources for cultivation, for its valleys are broad, well watered, and possess rich soil. Tropical fruits abound, as in the other islands; but the guava, recently introduced, is fast overrunning the land, and destroying the bread-fruit and many other valuable trees. In 1864-65 the small-pox raged here with great virulence, and carried off all but a few hundreds of the natives; in the Happar and Taipi Valleys, whore the population numbered nearly 2,000, only about 150 are left. These valleys have been purchased by an English Land Company, but as yet no stops have been taken to people or cultivate them. New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands. New Caledonia belongs to the French. It lies about 720 miles E.N.E. of the coast of Queensland in Australia, in lat. 20° to 22° 30' S., long. 164° to 167° E. It is about 200 miles in length, 30 miles in breath, and has a population estimated at 60,000. It is of volcanic origin, is traversed in the direction of its length, from north-west to south-east, by a range of mountains, which in some cases reach the height of about 8,000 feet, and is surrounded by sandbanks and coral reefs. There are secure harbours at Port Balade and Port St. Vincent, the former on the north-east, the latter on the south-west part of the island. In the valleys the soil is fruitful, producing the cocoa-nut, banana, mango, bread-fruit, &c. The sugarcane is cultivated, and the vino grows wild. The coasts support considerable tracts of forest, but the mountains are barren. The inhabitants, who resemble the Papuan race, consist of different tribes, some of which arc cannibals. New Caledonia was discovered by Captain Cook in 1774. In 1851 the French took official possession of it, and it is now comprised under the same government with Otaheite and the Marquesas Isles. The Loyalty Islands may be considered as part of the New Caledonia group, running parallel with the trend of that island, at a distance of 50 to 60 miles. They consist of three principal islands, Mare, Lif v, Uea; between the former two are five smaller islets. New

New Hebrides Islands. This group extends from iat. 13° 16' to 20° 15' S., and from long. 166° 40' to 170° 20' E., and includes the following islands : —Aneiteum, Tana, Errotnango, Vale or Sandwich Island, Api, Ambrym, Whitsun, Aurora, Lepers, Mallicollo, and Espiritu Santo. The last-named is the largest of the group. It is 22 leagues in length, and about half that breadth. Mallicollo is 18 leagues in length and 8 leagues broad. Erromango has acquired a sad notoriety from the massacre there of the indefatigable missionary Mr. Williams, the well-known author of " Missionary Enterprise." Aneiteum, Tana, and Vate are thus described by Lieut, the Hon. Herbert--Meade, R.N., who visited these islands in H.M.S. " Curacoa" in 1865 :— " Aneiteum is about 14 miles long by 8 broad, and bears a population of 2,200, which is at present stationary, or very slightly decreasing. The natives are all Christians ; the first teachers (Samoan) were placed here in 1841. The last case of cannibalism occurred thirteen years ago. Every person in the island above five years old can read more or less, and attends school. Crime is rare ; life and property secure. Mr. Inglis, the missionary, states that their standard of morality is at present a high one, but asserts that before Christianity took hold on them they were as bad as any in the group. The climate is damp and rather unhealthy. Cotton grows well. There are about twenty Europeans, traders and others, usually in the island. The island is volcanic, but reef-bound. Hurricanes frequent and severe. " Tana is about 25 miles long by 12 broad, and the population is between 10,000 and 20,000; but since the introduction of European diseases and weapons there has been a steady decrease. In 1861 a third of the people died of the measles. The state of morals is extremely low; the natives assert that the present excessive licentiousness was introduced by the whites who formerly resided on the island. The chiefs endeavour to get drunk every night on Kaoa. The women do all the work, the men the fighting, which is their constant employment. Cannibalism is the custom all over the island. " Vate. —This island is from 30 to 35 miles long, and about 15 broad. Population, which is said to be decreasing, is estimated at 10,000 to 12,000. Climate rather damp, but healthy enough if care be taken. One village, Erakor, is Christian, and in another are a few favourable to the faith; but all the other people are up to their ears in paganism, cannibalism, murder of old men, widows, and children, and all the other ills that affect the heathen morals at dead low-water. The cotton-plant, which has lately been introduced, does well. The Government is carried on by petty chiefs, who mostly rule over independent villages. Earthquakes common, sometimes severe." The following description of the New Hebrides is by Commander Thomas C. Tilly, R.N., lately in command of the Melanesian Mission schooner " Southern Cross": — " General Bemarlcs. —The fine weather or dry season among the New Hebrides and Solomon Islands may be said to extend from May to October, both months inclusive, and the wet season from November to April; occasionally much rain falls in the so-called dry season, and is generally accompanied by a change of wind from the eastward. The normal direction of the trade-winds is from E.S.E., but the stronger winds, which usually succeed calms, are from S.E., and as a rule such may be expected when the wind veers round to E. or N.E. When in the vicinity of the islands the prevailing trades are frequently interrupted, and calms occur, followed by easterly and north-easterly breezes accompanied with rain ; occasionally the wind backs round, by way of north to west, and the trade direction is resumed with what is known among the Banks Islands as the ' Lan San,' or strong S.E. wind. " Hurricanes prevail during the whole of the wet season, and blow with greatest violence during the months of January and February. It does not appear that they are of frequent occurrence, but the information on the subject derived from the natives is very vague. " It is said that storms are experienced more frequently at Aneiteum Island, at the southern extremity of the New Hebrides range, than amongst the islands further to the northward, and have been described as blowing with sufficient violence to destroy trees, huts, &c, their length of duration varying from two to four or even six days. They generally commence from the westward, from which quarter it blows hardest, and veer round by way of north, causing the sea to advance as a wave on the shore ; whilst between Amota, Vanua Lava, and Valua Islands the sea breaks as on a reef. " The approximate mean temperature of the air amongst Banks Islands, during May and June, was 84°, and that of the sea generally corresponded with the temperature of the air at 9 a.m. " Population. —The natives of the New Hebrides group are dark in colour, of moderate stature, and in some places, as at Pentecost and Mallicollo Islands, are robust muscular men, with woolly hair. For weapons they have clubs, spears, "bows and arrows—the latter generally poisoned —and, in some places, tomahawks. Their canoes are rude in shape, clumsily made, and fitted, with outriggers. They have no recognized chiefs ; and, as their lives are characterized by suspicion and constant quarrelling, their is no security for either life or property. "Although an appearance of friendly confidence will often tend to allay their natural feelings of distrust, strangers visiting those islands would do well to maintain a constant watchfulness, and use every precaution against being taken by surprise. " Productions. —The productions of the islands composing the New Hebrides, including Banks Islands, consist of bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, sago, bananas, nutmegs, sugar-cane, taro, arrowroot, sweet potatoes, and yams. Pigs are also occasionally procurable at Banks Islands, but principally at Mai Island. The best articles for barter consist of beads, fish-hooks, calico, axes, and, in some of the less frequented islands, iron hoops and iron cut into short lengths. " Mai or Three Hills Island has three elevations, which are respectively 1,850, 1,450, and 1,400 feet high; the eastern and highest hill, Bave-na, is the most regular in outline, with.a gentle slope from its summit, whilst its sides are thickly cultivated. The island lies about N.E. and S.W. for a distance of 6 miles, the average breadth being about 2\ miles. "A supply of pigs and yams, the latter very good, may be procured; the barter used by the 'Southern Cross'being calico rend tomahawks. No fresh water is obtainable, and but little fire-wood. The population has been estimated to be about 800 or 1,200, and in this small island no less than three dialects are spoken. The character of the natives is noisy and quarrelsome, and during communication strangers should be on their guard against surprise. The arms of these islanders consist of clubs, tomahawks, bows, and poisoned arrows ; and they daub their faces, as well as other parts of their bodies, with turmeric. They possess only a few canoes. " Api

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" Api or Tasiho Island. —This island is about 25 miles in length in a N.W. and S.E. direction, and from 6to 10 miles in breadth. It is of a very fertile character, well wooded, with a high range on its western part, and numerous appearances of streams or where water may be found after rain. The island is apparently thickly inhabited, and the natives in character and appearance resemble the inhabitants of Mai Island. " Namulcu Islet, off the centre of the south sido of Api Island, rises to the height of 500 feet, and forms a conspicuous object. " Lopevi Island resembles Star or Meralaba Island in appearance, but with a sharper cone. The crater was very active, and only a few inhabitants and but little vegetation remain." Ambrym Island. —The population appeared to be numerous, and the natives at the village on the north part of the island appeared very friendly, but at other places arrows were occasionally shot at the bishop's boat, probably in consequence of some injury received at the hands of traders. The canoes, like those of other islands of the group, are clumsily made, and would probably contain ten or twelve men. JUatticollo Island. —The north-east coast of this island is bordered with a succession of islets and fringe reefs, which in some places run out some distance. At the islet of Orumbau. which has a white sandy beach along its N.E. face, and somewhat bluft' at its S.E. extreme, the reef projects about £ a mile from its northern end. This islet, which lies in lat. 16° 4' S., long. 167° 21' E., is covered with cocoa-nut trees, and has a good landing-place on a steep beach at its inner or western side, with deep water close to the beach. The natives were friendly on the only occasion the islet was visited ; from 200 to 300 were assembled on the beach, and the island may possibly contain about 500 inhabitants. St. Esprit Island. —The Bay of St. Philip is not so deep as it appears on the charts; the position of the mouth of the river Jordan, which flows into the head of the bay, was found to be in lat. 15° 9' 41" 8., long. 166° 53' 15" E. This is a most convenient place for watering, as the boats pull into the river, where any quantity of good fresh water may be obtained. The ordinary trade-wind comes beautifully fresh and cool over the land, whilst the temperature is about 4° lower than in other parts of the group, and occasionally sea breezes from northward contend with the trade-winds when light. Lepers Island. —The magnificent mountain of this island, rising to the height of 4,000 feet, resembles a whale's back in outline, and from the sea assumes a most imposing appearance. An abundance of yams and cocoa-nuts are grown on the island, but in consequence of the swell on all the beaches it is difficult to land a ship's boat; and the natives, though apparently energetic, have not yet accustomed themselves to bring off supplies in their canoes, which, though numerous, are small. Pentecost or Whitsuntide Island lies N.N.W. and S.S.E., with moderately high ranges, and occasional fringe reefs on its western or lee side, extending in some cases J a mile off shore. There are two good watering-places towards the south-west end of the island, where boats may lie a few fathoms off running streams; but it should be borne in mind that the bods of the streams are liable to change after heavy rains. It is apparently more thickly populated and highly cultivated than the neighbouring island of Aurora. Communication was established with the natives at Vunmarama, a village at the north-west point of the island, where, in general, a good supply of yams, &c, may be obtained, At the southern portion of the island the canoes are largo, and the people dark, tall, and muscular. Banks Islands. These lie to the northward of the Now Hebrides, between lat. 13° IG' and 14° 10' S., and 107° 17' and 158° 34' E. Vanua Lava, the largest of the Banks Islands, is 15 miles in length north and south, and is a remarkable looking island, with several high rounded mountains, the highest, to the north-west, beiug some 2,800 feet above the sea. In the Suretamiti Mountain are several hot springs always steaming, whilst a stream impregnated with sulphur runs down to the sea on the north-west coast, and a similar one falls into Port Patteson on the eastern side. There are two waterfalls on the western side, one single and the other double. The population of Vanua Lava amounts to about 1,500. The natives were quiet and friendly. Santa Maria or Oana Island, the second largest of the Banks Islands, lies between the parallels 14° 12' and 14° 22' S., and between the meridians 167° 23' and 1(57° 3G' E. The main range of mountains, about 2,000 feet high, lies in an east and west direction, and excepting on the south side, where the land falls in ridges, the slopes are regular to the shore ; the island is well wooded and cultivated, but during the usual trade-winds landing would be very difficult, even if practicable, on the southern and eastern sides. The information respecting this island is somewhat limited, owing to the quarrelsome nature of the inhabitants of the western side, who seldom failed to shoot arrows after the boat on her leaving the shore. This occurred at Lakona, a village near the waterfall at the north end of the western bay. Although the natives at Lakona proved themselves unfriendly, those at Losolava, Avire, and Tarosag were disposed to be friendly to strangers, though quarrelling amongst themselves. The population appeared to be great, but the island cannot be recommended to strangers for obtaining supplies, in consequence of the uncertain nature of communication with inhabitants. Mota or Sugar-loaf Island is about 8 or 10 miles in circumference, and derives its English name from its peculiar shape. It lies about 9 miles to the eastward of Port Patteson, in lat. 13° 49' S., long. IC7° 39' 30" E., and attains an elevation of 1,350 feet. The island is better known by Bishop Patteson than any other; the inhabitants are quite friendly, and some of them understand a little English. The number of villages amounts to forty-two, with an aggregate population of about 2,000, but no recognized chiefs. The weapons of the natives consist of spears, clubs, bows, and poisoned arrows. Fruit, sugarcane, taro, potatoes, and yams, and occasionally pigs are to be procured ; the articles of barter being beads, fish-hooks (very small fish-hooks at Mota), calico, and axes. Valua or Saddle Island lief between lat. 13° 30' and 13° 41' S., and long. 167° 34' and IG7° 41' E., and is about S miles long, north-east and south-west. Araa Island.— -Off the S.W. end of Valua Island is the small island of Araa. The distance between Araa and the main island can be waded. The natives, numbering from 2,000 to 3,000, are friendly and well disposed. Urcparapara

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Ureparapara or Blic/h Island, about 16 milos to the north-west of Rowo Reef, attains an elevation of 1,950 feet, is nearly circular in form, and about 12 miles in circumference; it is steep, too, except a few fringed reefs close in on its lee side; it is well watered, and produces abundance of taro, though but little else. Santa Ckuz Islands. This group is composed of seven larger islands, Vanikoro, Santa Cruz (Nitendi), Guerta, Volcano {T'makord), Edgecombe, Ourry, and Lord Howe, besides [several smaller ones to the north and north-east of Volcano Island. Vanikoro is the southernmost of the group. It is an important island in the eyes of Europeans, not from its extent or riches, but from its being the scene of the disastrous loss of the two ships of La Perouse in 1788, an event which was not ascertained with any certainty until May, 182G, or thirty-eight years afterwards. The group forming the Vanikoro Islands is composed of two of unequal extent: the first is not less than 30 miles in circumference; the other is not more than 9 miles. They are both high, and covered, with trees to the water's edge. Vanikoro has but a slender population. The coasts are alone inhabited, all the interior being only a dense forest, wild and nearly impenetrable. Santa Oruz Island is thus described by Captain Tilley : — " Santa Cruz Island is about 15 or 16 miles in length, with fringe reefs along the shore, but apparently no off-lying dangers. The north point, near the centre of the island, was found to be in lat. 10° 40'S, long. 166° 3. The high land extends close out on its north-east side, but towards the north-west the hills slope at some distance from the extreme, leaving a considerable extent of low land near the coast. The island is well wooded and watered, the streams in some places running through the villages into the sea. " The natives are a fine athletic-looking race, and come off readily to the ship, bringing pigs, breadfruit, and yams ; mats, in the manufacture of which great skill is displayed, are also offered for sale. The appearance of the canoes, houses, &c, evinces great ingenuity. Canoes with out-riggers, and mostly limewashed, have a neat appearance; they have also large sea-going double canoes. The villages are large, and houses surrounded by stone fences. On the north side the villages are close to the sea, with, from 300 to 400 inhabitants to each. " The natives are apparently merry and good-natured, but not to be trusted ; for without any known reason they attacked the bishop's boat on leaving a village at the north-west extremity of the island, and nearly succeeded in cutting it off. Three of the crew were wounded with arrows, and of these two died from the effects of their wounds. Their bows are formidable-looking weapons, being 7 feet in length, with arrows in proportion." The Solomon Aechipelago extends north-west and south-east for the space of 200 leagues. It is composed of eight or ten principal islands, and many other smaller ones. The largest are Bougainville, Choiseul, Ysabel, Gaudalcanar, Malayta, and San Christoval. The last-named is stated to be 73 miles long and 23 miles broad at its widest part. Malayta is 70 miles long ; Tsabel, 120 miles long, and 25 miles in its maximum breadth. The sizes of Bougainville and Choiseul have not been ascertained, but they must be of greater area than those named above. The structure of these islands is throughout the same ; it is a long chain of mountains, often very lofty, which form their axes in the general direction of the group. On either side the slopes incline gently towards the sea; the shores generally appear low, and often furnished with a belt of mangroves, the edge of which is washed, by the salt water. An active and vigorous vegetation covers the whole of the land, and it is only here and there that in rare intervals the soil may be seen, or only covered with ferns, or often consumed by fire intentionally. The principal islands have all the advantages of extensive land ; extended plains and large rivers descend from the hills, and, if we may judge by the trees which cover the land, the soil is of great fertility. The inhabitants of these islands are generally shorter than those of the groups previously described, and appear to be characterized by greater energy and activity than are usually exhibited. Their canoes are exceedingly graceful and light, and without the outriggers common to all others. The natives also possess large war canoes carrying from thirty to sixty men, and in these they traverse great distances, sometimes beyond Ihe sight of land. They are skilful in carving, and most of their implements are inlaid with the mother-of-pearl shell. Louisiade Aechipelago, near the south-east end of New Guinea, embraces the following islands : Adele Island, Roussel Island, the Renard Islands, St. Aignan Island, Do Boyne Islands, the Bonvouloir Isles, D'Estrecasteaux Islands, and the Trobriand Islands. Eoussel and St. Aignan are the largest of the group ; the last-named is about 27 miles in length, The others are small coral islands. This group is but imperfectly known, and little or no intercourse appears to have been had with the natives, who are said to bo numerous. The known productions of the islands are cocoa-nuts, yams, bananas, and sweet potatoes. It is probable that fuller information regarding this group will result from Captain Moresby's recent visit to the coasts of New Guinea in H.M. ship " Basilisk," under his command. New Bkitain and New Irelaxd are two large islands situated between the eastern part of New Guinea and the equator; contiguous to them are numerous smaller islands. The western part of Now Britain is thus described by M. D'Urville, who visited it in 1827 :— "Rarely has nature imprinted so delicious an aspect on a country untouched by the hand of man, with such an agreeable diversity of surface and beautiful effects of perspective. The coast throughout quite safe, accessible, and washed by tranquil waves ; the land gently rising in the form of an amphitheatre in various places, here and thereshaded by dark forests, or by less thick vegetation, and more particularly by extensive tracts of greensward, the yellowish tints of which contrasted richly with the darker shades of the more sombre forests and woods surrounding them. The two peaks of Mount Gloucester crowned this smiling scene with their imposing masses, their majestic summits frequently hidden in the clouds. In all the western quarter, and at 12 miles distance, our horizon was occupied by the undulating lines of Rook Island, which, with New Britain, forms tlie Strait of Dampicr." Admiralty.

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Admiralty Islands. The largest; of this group is Admiralty Island, the centre of which is in lat. 2° 18' S., long. 146° 41' E. Some of the islands of this group are described as being thickly populated by an apparently happy and contented people. They appear to live principally on cocoa-nuts, which are abundant on the islands. ToKi<:r,AU oh Unjox Gbotjp, Ellice Group, and Gilbert ok Ktjhismill Group. These islands are thus described by the Rev. J. S. Whitmee, of the London Missionary Society, who visited them in the mission barque "John Williams" in 1870: — " Tohelau or Union Orowp. " This group consists of three clusters of islets, named respectively Takaofo, Nukunono, and Atafu. The islets of each cluster are connected by a reef, forming one of the numerous atolls to be found in the Pacific. These reefs are more or less circular in form, enclosing a lagoon in the centre. The land is formed on the raised reef by the washing of sand and broken coral from the sea during rough weather. In some of the older atolls the land is connected and forms a continuous ring round the lagoon; but more commonly land exists only here and there along the reef, thus forming a ring of islands, some from 1 mile to 6 miles in length, covered with cocoa-nut and palm and other trees, and some only a few yards across, upon which two or three stunted cocoa-nuts barely manage to exist, while others again are mere sandbanks destitute of ail vegetable life. " Talcaofo (Bowditch Island), lat 9° 26', long. 171° 12' W., the most easterly in the group, consists of more than twenty small islands, encircling a lagoon 8 miles long by 5 miles wide. All the islands are very barren, yielding little except cocoa-nuts, palms, and a species of edible pandanus. Upon these and fisl), which are plentiful, the people entirely subsist, and they appear to thrive very well upon them. "The population of the island is only 223 at the present time, and more than two-thirds of the adults arc females. "Atafu (Duke of York Island), in lat. 8° 33' S., and long. 172° 25' W.—This atoll is of similar formation to Takaofo, but the lagoon is smaller. The islands studding the annular reef are about twenty in number, and consist of sand and broken coral washed up by the action of the waves, without the slightest trace of soil. Here I had a peep into the secret of island formation. As I was walking on one side of the island on which the village is situated I noticed a series of sandy mounds running parallel with the coast, and varying from 10 to 50 feet in breadth. Some had cocoa-nut palms and pandanus already growing on them and producing fruit, on others the vegetation was of a more recent growth, while others were bare, or with only a few of the pandanus fruit, which had by some accident been cast upon them, sprouting aud giving promise for the future. The outer mound was fully 50 feet across it, and had been washed up during heavy weather at the beginning of the present year. The population of the island is 13(5, it having been greatly diminished by Peruvian slavers. " Ellice Group. " Nulailaelae (Mitchell Island or Group).—lt lies in laf. 9° 18' S, and long. 179° 48' E. There are several small islands encircling this lagoon, on one of the largest of which is the village. The population is very small, only ninety at the present time. This is the place where the Peruvian slavers made the greatest havoc in 1863. " Funafuti (Ellice Island). — We reached this atoll the day after leaving jVukulaelae. Its position is in lat. 8° 29' S., and long. 179° 21' E. The lagoon is 12 miles or more in one direction by sor 6 miles in the other. In two places there is a sufficient depth of water over the reef to allow vessels to go inside the lagoon. Captain Fowler took the vessel inside and anchored. The island presents an appearance very similar to the others we had visited. Some nf them were evidently older than any we had hitherto seen, except Quiros Island. The island oil which the village stands could boast of a nearer approach to a legitimate soil; consequently more variety of food is produced. Besides the cocoa-nut palm, which is almost sure to be found wherever a sandbank raises its head above low-water mark, and the pandanus, we found here a few bread-fruit trees and bananas, with two species of the edible arum or taro. One of these grows to an immense size ; and, although to our palates it appeared to be quantity without quality, it doubtless is an acceptable addition to the alimentary stores of those whose daily faro is chiefly confined to cocoa-nuts, pandanus fruit, and fish. The way the people cultivate the taro, bananas, &c, in these islands is worthy of a brief notice in passing. They dig large trenches, like wide moats, along the centre of the islands. Some of these are from 100 to 200 yards across them, and from 6to 8 feet deep. To carry out the sand from these trenches must have been the work of generations. These low levels are moist, and on them they make as much soil as possible by throwing in decayed wood and leaves, and hero they plant everything which requires special care. Nothing edible but the cocoa-nut and the pandanus grows on the upper sand. We brought two cases of useful plants from Samoa, and distributed them amongst the islands we visited, in order to add to the temporal as well as the spiritual well-being of the people. These were very gladly received. '■ Vtiiputu (Tracy Island), lat 7° 8V St., long. 178° 46' E.—We reached this island the morning after we left Funafuti, October 7 It is nearly round, about 4 miles across, and has a salt-water lagoon in the centre, completely shut off from the sea by a ring-like strip of land about half-a-mile across. The island is evidently older than some of the others we have visited, and is more productive. Cocoa-nut palms are very abundant and very productive. There is also a good supply of taro, and there are some bananas. These people are the most advanced we have yet visited ; they were delighted to see the missionary ship, and gave usa hearty reception. The population amounts to 376 ; and besides these there were thirty or forty natives of Nift'tfto', a heathen island in the group, here on a visit. Before we went ashore we were struck with the appearance of the settlement, which is very pretty. A neat stone chapel stands in the foreground, behind which is the teacher's house, while on either side are ranged the houses of the natives. " Nuhif'tau (Do Peyster ]sland\ in lat. 7° 51' S., and long. 178° 35' E., was the next atoll at which we called. Wo arrived on Sunday morning, October 9. Here there is a largo lagoon, surrounded by a coral reef, on which a number oftslands have been formed. The village is on one of the larger islands. There is a passage into the lagoon by which ships may enter, so we went in and auchored. The description of Funnfuii willapply equally well to Nukufetsu. except that the lagoon in (he latter is smaller and more circular in Conn. The population of the island is 202. " Nui (Netfcerland Island). —We reached this island the morning after leaving Nukufelau, 11th October. It lies in lat. 7° 15' S., and long. 177° E. It is a single island, nearly circular, with % lagoon on

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on one side of it partly open to the sea, but with no entrance for ships. Its productions are similar to those of Vaitupu, and very abundant. The people are very different from those peopling the rest of the Ellice group. All the other islands have been peopled from Samoa. The Samoan language is the basis of theirs, and they have traditions of their forefathers being drifted from Samoa to Vaitupu, whence they spread to the other islands. On Nui the people trace their origin to the Gilbert group, and they speak the language of that group, which is totally different from the Bamo.au. Here, for the first time, 1 had to speak entirely through an interpreter. The entire population is 212. " Niutao (Speiden Island).—This island is in lat. 6° 8' 8., and long. 170° 22' B. It lies to windward of Nui, and we had light winds and calms on the way, so we were more than two days in reaching it. We landed on the morning of October 15. The island is of similar formation to^the others we had visited, but has, I was told, two lagoons. I saw one ;it is very shallow, and not more than 1 mile across. The belt of land around it is not less than from three-quarters of a mile to 1 mile broad. This lagoon is situated in one end of the island, and I was told there is a similar one at the other end, but I had no time to visit it. The island is plentifully supplied with cocoa-nut palms and bananas, but there is not much besides of an edible nature. At the time of our visit there was a scarcity of food on account of a longcontinued drought. The population on the island at present is about 360 ; but over 100 people are away at other islands, many of them at Vaitupu. " Nunomaga (Hudson Island). —This island lies to the west of Niutao. I determined not to detain the vessel to call at the island, but to proceed at once to the north and visit the Gilbert group. " Nanomea (St. Augustine Island) is in lat. 5° 38' S., and long. 176° 17' E. This is the last island in the Ellice group. Asa call there would have taken us 50 miles to leeward of our course for the Gilbert Islands, we proceeded first to that group, and called at this island on our return south. But I will give my notice of it here, and finish up with this group before describing our work in the other. "We reached Nanomea on Sunday morning, October 23. There are two islands within 3or 4 miles of each other, connected by a reef, which is dry at low-water. The westerly island is named Lakena. It is nearly round, 2 miles or more across, well stocked with cocoa-nut and other trees, and has a deep fresh-water lagoon in its centre. The natives described it as being unfathomable ; but by that they would only mean they cannot dive to the bottom. This and Quiros are the only two islands where I have found fresh-water lagoons. Lakena is not inhabited, but is used by the people on the other island for the cultivation of food. Nanomea is the name of the other island, which is about 4 miles long by lor 2 wide. It has a shallow salt-water lagoon towards the east end, partially open to the sea. " The inhabitants of the island are, taken altogether, the finest race of men, so far as muscular development goes, I have ever seen. They are almost a race of giants. I believe nine out of every ten would measure six feet or more high, and their breadth is proportionate to their height. As a race the Ellice Islanders are very quiet and peaceable. Quarrels are rare, and ordinary disputes are settled by the authority of the king or chiefs. On some of the islands wars are unknown. An old man on Vaitupu brought me a hatchet made out of the back of a turtle, and I asked if it had ever been used in war. He replied that he had never heard of war at Vaitupu. " Gilbert or Kingsmill Group. " This group of islands lies between the parallels of about 4° N. and 2° 36' S. lat., and 172° and 178° B. long. There are, I believe, sixteen islands in the group, nine to the north and seven to the south of the equator. " Arorce (Hurd Island), in lat. 2° 36' S., and long. 177° E.—This island is from three to four miles long. At one end it is not more than half a mile across, at the other end it appeared from the ship to be a mile and a half broad. I was told there is a small lagoon at the wider end, but I had no time to visit it. From the number of houses, which are almost continuous for two and a half or three miles, one would suppose the population to be very great; but we only saw about four hundred, although we walked nearly the whole length over which the villages extended. The small number of people in comparison with the number of houses was soon accounted for. They had been taken away by what the natives themselves described as''the men-stealing vessels.' We could not find out the number who had been ' stolen,' but some said there were ' many taken, and few remaining.' When we lauded we found the people armed with knives and hatchets, while one man shouldered an old firelock, and had a revolver stuck in his belt. Our vessel was at first supposed to be a 'man-stealing ship,' and the poor creatures had determined to defend themselves against their 'civilized' assailants. As we were approaching the shore in our boat a canoe met us, and we informed the men of the object of our visit. One of them had been to a Christian island, and knew there was no harm to fear from a missionary ship, so the canoe preceded our boat to the shore, and carried the news of our peaceful and friendly intentions. 11 Tamana (Botch Island), in lat. 2° 30' S., and long. 176° 7' E.,' was the next island at which we called. It is not more than two and a half or three miles long, and from one to two miles wide. There is no lagoon. The island is well supplied with cocoa-nut palms and pandanus, and although it was suffering from drought when we were there, there seemed to be no lack of food. Good water is procured in abundance by sinking wells in the centre of the island. Many of the people were away working at their plantations when we were there; but 1 estimated the number of those we saw at about 600. All the males were naked, as on Arorao. We found a very bitter feeling existing against ' men-stealing vessels,' and especially against those from Tahiti. Onotoa (Francis Island), in lat. 1° 56' S., and long. 175° 44' E., was sighted before dark on the same day (October 19), and we were off one end of it early next morning. This is an atoll, with a number of islands partially surrounding a lagoon eight or ten miles across. Besides this large lagoon, there are several small shallow lagoons in various parts of the larger islands. Where we landed there was very little soil. The cocoa-nut and pandanus trees grow out of the sand, but on other parts there is more soil, and the people said they had plenty of food. When we were there they had been several months without rain, and the vegetation was very much parched up. " Peru, in lat. 1° IS' S., and long. 176° E. —This is an island several miles long, and varying from half a mile to a mile or more #ide. It is not an atoll like most of the islands we visited, but there are several shallow lagoons in it, some very small, surrounded by the land, and dry at low tide, others larger and open on one side to the reef which runs round the islaud. The island itself is formed of successive ridges of sand, broken coral, and shells. These ridges are most of them from 30 to 50 feet across, and the

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the hollows formed between them are generally from 4to G feet in depth. For some distance, at that end of the island which I examined, they run across, and in the middle, they run parallel with the sides of, the island. The whole extent examined presented the same appearance, and the ridges were so regular that they gave one the idea of being artificially formed. The waves must exert a mighty force during heavy weather to form these extensive ridges. There is little doubt but each ridge is the result of a single storm. I have already referred, in the notice of Atafu, in the Tokelau group, to a similar ridge of smaller dimensions which was thrown up during the present year ; and I have seen several small islands of broken coral and shells, which were formed on the reefs in Samoa during a hurricane of a few hours' duration. " The productions of Peru are in every respect similar to those of other islands hi the group. The natives appear to value the pandanus even more than the cocoariiut palm. They consume immense quantities of the fruit raw; and the variety which they cultivate in the Gilbert group (which is much superior to that found in the Ellice Islands, and immeasurably superior to the kind cultivated in Samoa) produces a very palatable fruit. The women prepare a kind of cake by baking the fruit till it becomes soft; they then pound a large number together in a fine mat, and spread the prepared pulp in cakes 2or 3 feet wide by 6or 8 long and one-sixth of an inch thick. The whole is then dried in the sun, and made into a roll like an ancient manuscript. This keeps for a length of time, and tastes something like old dates. " Peru was the last island in the Gilbert group which we visited. We had. information from Tapeteuea (Drummond Island), the nearest island to Peru, that the Sandwich Island missionaries were already there ; and we concluded that they had also occupied another island to the north of Drummond Island, but on the south of the equator, about which we had no information. Only one other island remained, viz., Nukuuau (Byron Island), which lies considerably to the east of Peru. As this was directly to windward of us, and would have been a dead beat, we made no attempt to go there this year." Phcenix Geoot. This group consists of seven or eight small low coral islands, extending from lat. 2° 53' to 5° 38' S., and from long. 170° 40' to 174° 22' W. Their names are Swallow Island, Enderbury's Island, Birney's Island, Gardner or Kemin's Island, M' Kean's Island, Hull Island, and Sydney Island. The following were visited by Commodore Wilkes, from whose description of them the particulars here given are taken : — Kemiris or Gardner Island, in 4° 37' 42" S., long. 174° 40' 18" "VV., is a low coral island, having a shallow lagoon in the centre, into which there is no navigable passage. MoKean's Island is in long. 174° 17' 26" W., and lat. 3° 35' 10" S., and lies about N.N.E., 60 miles from Kemin's Island. It is composed of coral, sand, and blocks, and is three-quarters of a mile long by half a mile wide. Enderburj/s Island is in lat. 3° 8' S., long. 171° 8' 30" W. It is 3 miles long by 2£ wide, and is only covered in parts with a stunted vegetation. Hull Island lies in long. 172° 20' 52" W., and lat. 4° 29' 48" 8. It has a little fresh-water upon it, and a few cocoa-nut trees. Sandwich on Hawaiian Islands. Sandwich or Hawaiian Islands, forming the Kingdom of Hawaii, are a rich, beautiful, and interesting chain, eight in number, exclusive of one or two small islets. The chain runs from south-cast to north-west, and lies in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, in lat. 19° 22' N., long. 155° 160' W. Area, 6,000 square miles. The names, with the areas of the respective islands, proceeding from the south-east of the group, are—Hawaii (formerly Owhyee), 4,00J square miles ; Maui, 620 ; Oahu, 530 ; Kaui, 500; Molokai, 167 ; Lanai, 100; Niihau, about 70 ; and Kahoolaui, about 60 square miles. Population. —The official census of 1866 puts the total population of the group at 62,959 souls, of whom 4,194 were foreigners (exclusive of Chinamen), and 55,765 natives. Imports in 1871, 11,625,834, £325,176. Exports in 1871, $1,892,069, £378,413. Sugar continues to be the groat staple of this group of islands, and shows an advance of 2,977,031 lbs. over last year, the whole export of 1871 having amounted to 21,660,773 lbs. Shipping. —There were fifty-seven Hawaiian registered vessels, of 8,068 tons, one of them a steamer of 414 tons ; 163 merchant vessels, of the united tonnage of 102,172 tons, arrived at the port of Honolulu in 1871, from all parts of the world; of these, eighty-nine, of 65,112 tons, were American; forty-four, of 24,267 tons, were British. Government. —In 1840 the King, Kamehameha 111, granted a Constitution, consisting of King, Assembly of Nobles, and Representative Council. In 1813 the independence of the Hawaiian Kingdom was formally declared by the French and English Governments. Philippine Islands. Area, 3,100 geographical square miles, or 65,100 English square miles. Population, 4,319,269. Total exports to Great Britain in 1871 were of the value of £1,391,254. Imports of British produce, value £463,359. The chief article of exports in 1871 was unrefined sugar, of the value of £604,114. Of the imports in 1871 the value of £290,203, or considerably more than one-half, was represented by cotton manufactures. The commercial intercourse between the Philippine Islands, as well as the rest of the colonial possessions of Spain and the United Kingdom, has been steadily declining for a number of years. Caboline Islands and Pelew Islands. Area, 431 geographical square miles, or 905 English square miles. Population, 28,000. Pelew Islands. A group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, 450 miles east of the Philippines, in lat. 7° to 8° 30' N., long. 134° to 136° E., at the western extremity of the Caroline Archipelago. The group includes about twenty islands, which form a chain running about 120 miles, from S.S.AV". to N.N.E. The principal island

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island is Babolthouap, 28 miles by 14, containing a mountain from whose summit a view of the whole group is obtained. As seen from the sea the islands appear mountainous and rugged; but the soil is rich and fertile, and water is abundant. Bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, bananas, sugar-cane, lemons, oranges, and other tropical trees and fruits, are grown. Cattle, fowls, and goats thrive, and fish abound on the coasts. The inhabitants, who are estimated at about 10,000 in number, arc of the Malay race. They show considerable ingenuity in building their canoes, are active agriculturists, and entertain exceedingly primitive notions regarding dress, as the men go entirely naked, and the women nearly so. In 1783 the " Antelope" was wrecked upon the Pelew Islands, and the crow wore treated by the natives with the greatest kindness. Further acquaintance with white men, however, seems to have altered their disposition, and several vessels, while visiting these islands, within comparatively recent years, hare narrowly escaped being cut off. The islands are said to have been discovered by the Spaniards in 1545. Ladeoses Islands. A group of about twenty islands, the northernmost Australasian group, in lat. 13 \° to 20i° N., and long. 1451° to 147° E. They are disposed in a row, almost due north and south. Their united area is about 1,254 square miles. They are mountainous, well watered and wooded. Among the trees are the bread-fruit, banana, the cocoa-nut; fruitful in rice, maize, cotton, and indigo. European domestic animals are now very common. At the time when they were discovered the population was reckoned at 100,000, but the present population is only about 5,500. The inhabitants, who are docile, religious, kind, and hospitable, resemble in physiognomy those of the Philippine Islands. The islands are very important to the Spaniards in a commercial point of view. The largest island is Gruajan, 90 miles in circumference ; on it is the capital, San Ignacio de Agamea, the seat of the Spanish Governor. Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos Islands are a group lying on the equator, extending I\° on each side of it, and about GOO miles from the west coast of the Republic of Ecuador, to which they belong. There are six principal islands, nine smaller, and many islets, scarcely deserving to bo distinguished from mere rocks. The largest island, Albemarle, is 60 miles in length and about 15 miles broad, the highest point being 4,700 feet above the level of the sea. The constitution of the whole is volcanic. With the exception of some ejected fragments of granite, which have been most curiously glazed and altered by the heat, every part consists of lava, or of sandstone resulting from the attrition of such materials. The higher islands generally have one or more principal craters towards their centre, and in their flanks smaller orifices. Mr. Darwin affirms that there must tie, in all the islands of the archipelago, at least 2,000 craters. Considering that these islands are placed directly under the equator, the climate is far from being excessively hot—a circumstance which, perhaps, is chiefly owing to the singularly low temperature of the surrounding sea.

West Indies (1871).

Java. Area of Java, including Madura, is 51,33G English square miles. Population, according to census of 1871, 16,452,168, or 320 per square mile. The population has nearly quadrupled since the year 181 G. Imports in 1870, merchandise ... ... ... ... ... ... •■• £3,704,229 Do. specie 197,413 £3,902,341 in 1870, merchandise £5,102,353 Do. specie ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ••■ 361,830 £5,464,183 The principal articles of «xport from Java arc sugar, coffee, rice, indigo, and tobacco. With the exception of rice, about one-half of which is shipped from Borneo and China, nearly four-fifths of these exports go to the Netherlands. The exports from Java to the United Kingdom in 1871 consisted principally of rice, of the value of £383,757. The chief articles of British home produce imported into Java in 1871 was cottons, including 331—0 cotton

Name. Area : Square miles. Population. Total Imports. Total Exports. Bahamas ... Turk Islands Jamaica Leeward Islands ... St. Lucia ... St. Vincent Barbadoes ... Grenada Tobago Trinidad ... ... ... ... British Guiana 3,021 420 0,400 731 250 131 166 133 97 1,754 76,000 39,1G2 4,723 441,264 117,732 31,811 35,688 162,042 37,795 17,054 109,638 193,491 £ 283,970 35,345 1,300,212 506,149 190,286 137,474 1,069,861 104,475 61,448 1,042,678 1,572,275 £ 190,253 18,855 1,283,030 070,457 147,172 221,140 973,020 127,184 82,616 1,277,574 2,383,422 Total, West Indies ... 89,103 1,190,400 0,310,173 7,374,729

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cotton yarns, of the value of £600,866. The exports from Java to the United Kingdom have increased enormously during the past few years, having risen from the value of £13,773 in 1867 to £470,235 in 1871. The total exports from Java to the United Kingdom in 1871 were valued at £470,234. The total value of British home produce into Java in 1871 was £826,476. Shipping. —There are 420 vessels of all sizes registered in Netherlands India. Cinchona cultivation in Java, under the special care of the Government, is increasing yearly. Ceylon. Area, 24,454 square miles. The total population, according to the census of March, 1872, was 2,405,287. Of tie total population in 1870, 2,128,884, including 2,847 military, 4,732 were Britis.tv 13^201 other whites of European descent, and the rest coloured. Total value of imports in 1871, £4,797,952. Total value of exports in 1871, £3,634,358. The staple exports are coffee, cinnamon, cocoa-nut oil, and coir, the respective values of which articles exported in 1871 were — Coffee £2,432,427 Cinnamon 68,410 Cocoa-nut oil 257,770 Coir 45,448 The greatest part of the exports go to the United Kingdom. The great bulk of the imports are from the United Kingdom and from British possessions in India. Matjbitius. Area, 676 square miles. Population, census, April, 1871, 316,01-2. Total value of imports in 1871, deducting specie, £1,807,382. Total value of exports in 1871, deducting specie, £3,053,054. The principal article of export is sugar. In 1871 the quantity exported was 123,000 tons, valued at £2,819,344. Average price per cwt., £1 2s. 7d. The Mauritius has several small dependencies between lat. 3° and 20° S., and long. 50° and 70° E. The chief of these is the Seychelles Islands, between lat. 4° and s°, about 930 miles north from the Mauritius, one of which, Mahe, is 16 miles long by from 3 to 4 miles broad, fertile, well watered, very healthy, and having a population of about 7,000. Mahe, its chief town, has on its north-east side about 100 wooden houses and a garrison of thirty men. Seychelles, a dependency of Mauritius. The staple article of export is cocoa-nut oil. The quantity exported in 1871 was 253,370 gallons. The total value of imports, 1871, was £61,780. The total value of exports, 1871, was £40,598. Eevenuein 1871, £9,787. Total expenditure in 1871, £8,035. Labitan. Area, 45 square miles. Population, 4,898. Total imports in 1870, £122,983. Total exports in 1870, £61,218. The chief articles of export, the produce of the island, or brought into the island from Borneo for exportation, are bees-wax, birds-nests, camphor, coals, gutta-percha, india-rubber, hides, pearls, seedpearls, rattans, sago, tortoise-shell, and trepang. Boeneo (Brunei). The population of the town of Brunei is a branch of the Malay race, and is estimated to number between 30,000 and 40,000 people. The trade is conducted with Labuan, Singapore, and places on the coast of Borneo. The value of exports from Brunei in 1871 was roughly put down at between £40,000 and £50,000, and the imports at £46,000 or £47,000.

THE NAVIGATORS G-EOUP. Eepoet bt Me. Seed. Sir, Custom-house, Wellington, 13th February, 1872. I have the honor to state that, in obedience to your instructions, I left Auckland on the evening of the 30th December last, by the mail steamer " Nevada," for the Navigators Islands, and reached that group at 3 a.m. on the (sth ultimo. The steamer, without anchoring, stopped off the eastern end of Tutuila, and sent a boat on shore to land me at Pango Pango Harbour. It was dark when we left the steamer, but daylight dawned just as the boat approached the shore at the native settlement at the head of the harbour. The natives, on hearing us, turned out in considerable numbers, and rushed into the water to drag the boat on shore and to assist us in landing. Very soon afterwards the sun rose and revealed to us the full beauties of the tropical scenery by which we were surrounded. Cocoa-nut palms, bread-fruit, bananas, oranges, limes, native chestnuts, and other trees covered the small flat on which the native village stood, and extended close down to the beach. Dotted about here and there in the shade of these trees were the natives' houses, and a little distance in rear of the village the ground rose rather abruptly towards the high, bush-covered hills that surrounded the harbour. I had been led to believe'^hat the language of the natives was very similar to that o£ the New Zealanders ; and I was disappointed at finding that, though a dialect of the same Polynesian language, it was so difficult that I was unable to carry on conversation with them. This was the more perplexing, as the resident missionary, the Rev. Mr. Powell, to whom I had letters of introduction, was absent, and had been so for several months. Fortunately one or two of the natives spoke a little English, and came to my assistance,

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assistance. They conveyed me to the house of the chief, Maunga, who welcomed me most courteously, and requested me to tako up my quarters with him. lat once accepted his offer, hoping that I should soon find some European settler who would be able to assist me in getting about the islands. My anxiety on this head was soon relieved by the arrival in the course of the morning of a white settler of the name of Hunkin, who, it appears, had boarded the " Nevada" outside, and had been urged by Captain Blethcn to communicate with me as soon as possible, with a view of facilitating my movements. Mr. Hunkin offered to assist me in any way he could, and I gladly availed myself of his services. He informed me that he had been a settler on the Navigators for the last thirty-five years, and had. acted as British Vice-Consul for a considerable part of that time. I am indebted to him for much, of the information I acquired, especially respecting the natives, with whose customs and traditions h« is acknowledged to be better acquainted than any other European in the group.. . J-n .the afternoon I accompanied him to his place at Tafuna, a few miles to the westward of Pango Pango, where I stayed for the night, and on the following day started for Leone, the principal town of Tutuila, where I was detained for a week waiting for a fair wind to TJpolu, the next island to the westward, on which there is the port of Apia, where most of the European settlers reside. Early on the 15th January I left Tutuila by a whaleboat, and reached Apia on the following morning. The distance from Tutuila to the eastern end of Upolu is 36 miles, thence to Apia is about 20 miles further. The British, American, and German Consuls reside at Apia, as it is the centre of trade, and altogether the most important place at present in the whole group. Immediately after my arrival I placed myself in communication with Mr. Williams, the British Consul, who showed me every attention in his power, and supplied me with much valuable information. I called on the American Consul and on the German Consul, both of whom courteousl/r furnished me with every information on various points. Mr. Weber, the German Consul, is the representative of the large mercantile firm of Messrs. Goddefroy and Sons, of Hamburg, who for many years past have had in their hands almost the whole trade of the group. I was unable to procure exact returns of this trade, but that it must be very large is shown conclusively by the fact that from ten to twelve large ships are despatched each year from Apia with full cargoes. These cargoes, however, are not composed, exclusively of local produce. Messrs. Goddefroy have trading stations in other parts of the Pacific, and employ small vessels to bring the produce to Apia for shipment. Some of the large vessels occasionally leave Apia and fill up for Europe at ports in the .adjacent groups. They have always, throughout the year, one or two large vessels loading for home, and have four brigs trading to Sydney, and five or six small vessels of from 40 to 140 tons trading regularly between Apia and the Solomon Islands, Friendly Islands, Savage Islands, Peru Island, and other islands in the Pacific, where their agents are stationed. The produce brought by these vessels is beche de mer, cocoa-nut oil, and cobra, which is shipped direct to Hamburg. Whilst I was at Apia they had five or six square-rigged vessels lying in port. I expected to have been able to return from Upolu by one of the small trading schooners, but found that there was no probability of one going to Tutuila for a considerable time. I therefore determined to return by the whaleboat by which I came, and accordingly left Apia on the evening of the 19th January, reached Ulotongea (at the eastern'end of Upolu) by daylight next morning, and about 11 o'clock started for Tutuila with a light leading wind, which died away before we were half-way across, and caused us to make a long and tedious passage. We landed at a harbour called Masefau, on the northern side of Tutuila, and the following day proceeded to the small island of Aunu'u, whore, by arrangement with Captain Blethen, I was to wait for the steamer. As I was detained at Aunu'u nine days, I took the opportunity of paying a second visit to Pango Pango Harbour, and had the pleasure of meeting the Rev. Mr. Powell, who had returned to his station a few days previously. He treated me with great kindness, and supplied me with much interesting information. The " Nevada" arrived off Aunu'u on the night of the 30th January, and I returned by her to New Zealand, reaching Auckland on the 17th instant. Having referred to the various localities I visited, I now proceed to give a general description of the whole group, and to remark upon such points as appear to me to be specially interesting. Samoa is the native name of the Navigators Islands. The group is situated in the Pacific Ocean, between the meridians of 169° 24' and 172° 50' west longitude, and between the parallels of 13° 30' and 14° 30' south latitude. There are ten inhabited islands, extending from Ta'u, the easternmost, to Savaii, the most western island —viz., Ta'u, Olosenga, Of'u, Aunu'u, Tutuila, Nuutele, Upolu, Manono, and Savaii. The native population is from 33,000 to 34,000._ The islands were surveyed by the United States Exploring Expedition in 1839. Commodore Wilkes, in his narrative of that expedition, states that they contain 1,650 square miles, divided as follows, viz.: — Savaii 700 Apolima 7 Upolu 560 Manu'a , 100 Tutuila 240 Olosenga 24 Manono 9 Of'u ... ' 10 The principal islands, it will be seen, are Savaii, Upolu, and Tutuila. Savaii, which I was unable to visit, is the largest island. The following description of it is quoted from the work mentioned above :— " Savaii is the most western island of the Samoan group, and is also the largest, being 40 miles in length and 20 in breadth. It is not, however, as populous or as important as several of the others. It differs from any of the others in its appearance, for its shore is low, and the ascent thence to the centre is gradual, except where the cones of a few extinct craters are seen. In the middle of the island a peak rises, which is almost continually enveloped in the clouds, and is the highest land in the group. On account of these clouds angles could not be taken for determining its height accurately, but it certainly exceeds 4,000 feet " • • ■ Another marked difference between Savaii and the other large islands is the want of any permanent streams, a circumstance which may be explained, notwithstanding the frequency of rain, by the porous nature of the rock (vesicular lava) of which it is chiefly composed. Water, however, gushes out near the shore in copious sprigs ; and, when heavy and continued rains have occurred, streams are formed in the ravines, but these soon disappear after the rains have ceased. " The coral reef attached to this island is interrupted to the south and west, where the surf beats full upon the rocky shore. There are, in consequence, but few places where boats can land, and only one harbour for ships, that of Mataatua : even this is unsafe from November to February, when the northwesterly gales prevail." " The

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" The soil is fertile, and was composed, in every part of the island that was visited, of decomposed volcanic rock and vegetable mould." Upolu is 10 miles to the eastward of Savaii, and is next in size. It is about 40 miles long and 18 miles broad. It has a main range extending from east to west, broken here and there into sharp peaks and hummocks. Prom this main ridge a number of smaller ridges and broad gradual slopes run down to a low shore, which is encircled by a coral reef, interrupted here and there by channels which form the entrances to safe and convenient anchorages for small vessels. At Apia the reef extends across a good-sized bay, and forms a safe and commodious harbour for largo ships, which is entered through a deep and clear channel formed by a break in the reef. Between Savaii and Upolu are two small islands. At the south-east end of Tatuila there is the small island of Aunu'u, and GO miles to the east of this lies M.anu'a. The following description of these islands is taken from an account of the Samoan group, published in ISGB, by the Bey. Mr. Powell, in the Chronicle of the London Missionary Society : — " The first island that comes in sight of voyagers arriving from the eastward is Ta'u (Ta-'oo), the largest of the three islands that constitute the group which the natives call Manu'a (Ma-noo-a). It is about 6 miles long, 4| broad, and 16 in circumference, and contains 100 square miles. " About 6 miles west of Ta'u is the island of Olosenga (O-la-say-nga). This is a very rocky island, 3 miles long, 500 yards wide, and about 1,500 feet high. It contains 24 square miles. It is precipitous on every side—least so on the north-east, most on the north and south-west. On the latter side, about 200 feet from the shore, rises up a mural precipice 1,200 foot high. The principal village is situated, in times of peace, on the strip of land in front of this precipice. In times of war the people live on the mountain. " About 2\ miles off the eastern point of the island a volcanic eruption burst out from the deep ocean in September, 18GG. " Of'u (O-foo), the smallest of the three islands included in the Manu'an group, is neither so high nor so precipitous as Olosenga. It is separated from the latter by only a narrow, shallow strait, about a iof a mile wide. A double-pointed crag off its eastern extremity, together with the precipitous, craggy nature of Olosenga, give to the neighbourhood a remarkably romantic appearance. " The population of the Manu'an group is about 1,500. " Annu'u, 60 miles west of Of'u is the island of Tutuila (Too-too-ee-la). A mile from Tutuila, off its south-east point, is the little island of Aunu'u (Au-noo'oo). This island is about 5 miles in circumference. Population, 200. " Manono : 2 miles from the western, point of Upolu, and encircled by its reef, is the island of Manono (Ma-no-no). It is nearly of triangular shape, and less than 5 miles in circumference. It contains 9 square miles. It has a mountain a few hundred feet high, from whose summit can be obtained a splendid view of Upolu and Savaii. It is itself ' one entire garden, in looking at which the eye can scarcely tire.' It has a population of about 1,000. This island held a very extensive political supremacy over Upolu till the war of 1847-54, in which she lost supremacy, and was obliged to take her place on a level with those over whom she formerly exercised much despotic power. " Apolima (A-po-lee-ma) is about 2 miles from Manono. It is a crater somewhat resembling a horseshoe, while its depth may well suggest the idea of the hand with the fingers contracted, which is the meaning of the name. Its highest part is 472 feet above the sea. The population is about 200." Tutuila, the easternmost and smallest of the three principal islands, is 36 miles distant from Upolu. It is 17 miles long, and its greatest width is 5 miles. The total native population of Tutui'a is about 4,000. The land is generally mountainous, with steep, sharp-edged ridges, rising here and there into lofty peaks, the highest of which (that of Matafae) is 2,327 feet above the sea, and forms a prominent landmark for the excellent harbour of Pango Pango. As the existence of this harbour so greatly enhances the importance of the Navigator's Islands, and as a description of it by a nautical man will be more valuable than any account of it I could give, I quote the following from a report by Captain Wakeman, an experienced master-mariner, who was recently deputed by Mr. Webb to visit Tutuila and ascertain whether this harbour would be a suitable place for a coaling station for his steamers : — "At daylight I found myself in the most perfectly land-locked harbour that exists in the Pacific Ocean. In approaching this harbour from the south, either by night or day, the mariner has unmistakable landmarks to conduct him into port; one on the port hand, a high, peaked, conical mountain, 2,327 feet high, and on the starboard hand a flat-topped mountain, I,47ofeet in height, which keep sentinel on either hand. These landmarks can never be mistaken by the mariner. The entrance to the harbour is $of a mile in width, between Tower Rock, on the port side, and Breaker Point, on the starboard hand, with soundings of 36 fathoms. A little more than 1 mile from Breaker Point, on the starboard hand, to Goat Island, on the port hand, we open out the inner harbour, which extends 1 mile west, at a breadth of 3,000 feet abreast of Goat Island, to 1,100 feet at the head of the bay, carrying soundings from 18 fathoms to 6 fathoms at the head of the bay. The reefs which skirt the shore are from 200 feet to 300 feet wide, almost awash at low water. They have, at their edge, from 4 fathoms to 5, 6 and 8 fathoms, and deeper in the middle of the harbour. The hills rise abruptly around this bay from 800 to 1,000 feet in height. . . . There is nothing tp prevent a steamer, night or day, from proceeding to her wharf. About half-way from Breaker Point to Goat Island, and near mid-channel, is Whale Bock, with 8 feet of water over it at low sea. It has a circumference of about 50 feet, and breaks frequently. A buoy renders this danger harmless. The services of a pilot can never be required by any one who has visited this port before, as the trade-winds from E.S.E. carry a vessel from near Breaker Point with a free sheet in a N.N.W. course into the harbour. It follows that vessels under canvas will have to work out, which in the ebb tide, with the trades, will generally be accomplished in a few tacks. The trouble is that a ship close into the reefs goes in stays, and frequently the whirlwinds off the high land baffle her a few points and prevent her tacking properly aback, whence a boat is kept ahead ready to tow her round upon the right tack. Mr. Powell, a missionary, has been a resident of this place twenty-two years, and says that he never knew of a longer detention than nine days to any ships in that time, and of but one gale, which came from the eastward, ixtd unroofed a wing of his kitchen. Even the trades themselves are frequently liable to haul from E.S.E. to E.N.E., giving a ship a chance to get out with a leading wind. At the different quarters of the moon the tides rises 4| feet. . . . On the top of the little island of Aunu'u, to the east of Tutuila, at an elevation of 600 feet, a sight for a light-house has been secured, as it can

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can be seen alike from the north or south, and is right in a line with the ship's course in passing. Being only 7 miles from the entrance to Pango Pango Bay or Harbour, the ships could pick up the port lights, and go in immediately to the wharf, in the darkest night. There are several fine harbours for schooners on both sides of Tutuila. Savaii and Opolu contain the largest extent of flat land ; fully two-thirds of their area, about 500,000 acres, are fit for cultivation. Tutuila is more mountainous than Savaii and Opolu ; probably not more than one-third of its area, or about 50,000 acres, would be fit for cultivation ; but it has a great advantage over the neighbouring islands in the possession of the excellent harbour of Pango Pango, described above. The whole group is of volanic origin. Craters of extinct volcanoes are seen at various points. Some of the small islands of the group are composed of a single largo crater rising abruptly from the sea. The soil on all the islands is exceedingly rich, and everywhere covered with dense vegetation, from the water's edge up to the tops of the mountains. The high mountain ridges, extending through the middle of the larger islands, attract the passing clouds, which furnish a copious and never-failing supply of moisture, and feed the numerous streams of beautiful clear water that abound in every direction. The climate is mild and agreeable ; the temperature generally ranges between 70° and 80°, but the heat is greatly subdued by the breezes that are constantly blowing. Mr. Williams, the British Consul, kept a meteorological register, for the Board of Trade, from 1860 to 18G5, from which I made an abstract of the mean recorded temperature in every month in the year 1861. (Copy of this abstract is appended hereto.) The south-east trades blow steadily from April to October, being strongest in June and July. From November to March westerly winds frequently blow, but not for any length of time together. A strong gale may generally be looked for some time in January, but frequently an entire year will pass without a severe gale. February, as a rule, is fine, with variable winds. March is usually the worst and most boisterous month in the year, the winds being still variable, and gales occurring from north to northwest. Copious rains fall from the beginning of December to March. June and July are the coolest, and (September and October the hottest months, although it will be seen, from the abstract above referred to, that there is very little variation in the temperature throughout the year. Hence the growth of vegetation goes on without check all the year round. Cotton and Indian corn yield three crops a year. I saw some of the latter gathered in the middle of Jannary, which had been sown at the beginning of last October: thus it was planted and the crop gathered within four months. The taro also comes to maturity in four months, and is planted continuously all the year round. When the natives take up the taro they cut oil' the top, make a hole in the ground with a stick, into which the top is thrust without the ground being dug over or in any way prepared. A short time after it is planted they clean the ground, and mulch between the plants with grass and leaves to keep down the seeds. Bananas yield ripe fruit nine months after planting ; some of the introduced varieties come to maturity in six months. This fruit attains a great size, especially the indigenous varieties, some of which I measured, and found to be 8 inches long and 9 inches in circumference. Samoa is very rarely visited by the destructive hurricanes that so frequently sweep across most of the groups in the Pacific. In December, 1810, there was a severe gale, but scarcely what could be called a hurricane. In April, 1850, a hurricane occurred, when two ships and a schooner were wrecked at Apia, For twenty years after this —that is, up to 1870 —the islands were entirely free from hurricanes; but four or five heavy gales occurred during that period. These hurricanes, when they occur, are often very local; sometimes they visit one island, leaving the others untouched; for instance, in January, 1870, a cyclone swept over Tutuila, but did not reach the other islands. The following are the principal productions of the group: Cocoanuts, cotton, native chestnuts (Inocarpus edulis), candlenuts, bananas, mountain plantains, oranges, lemons, limes, citrons, shaddocks, pineapples, mangoes guavas, Malay apples, rose-apples, custard-apples, pawpawrs, tamarinds, bread-fruit, yams, taro, pumpkins, melons, sweet potatoes, arrowroot, ginger, wild nutmeg, sugarcane, mandioc or sweet casava, indigo, coffee, Indian corn, tobacco, chilis, vi {Spondian dulois), medicinal plants, several trees with very fragrant blossoms that might be used for the preparation of scents, some that exude aromatic gum, and others that furnish very handsome and durable wood, suitable for cabinet-ware and furniture. There are two cotton plantations on Upolu, of from 200 to 300 acres each, belonging to Messrs. Goddefroy, and several smaller ones, belonging to other Europeans. Both the Sea Island and kidney cotton grow most luxuriantly, and bear well. When planted in March the first crop is ready for picking in July. The first year of planting there are two crops, one in July and one in September or October ;in succeeding years three crops may be picked. The chief article of export is cobra, which is the kernel of the cocoanut cut into small pieces and dried in the sun. The preparation of cocoanut oil has been almost entirely given up by the natives, as they find that they can get a more rapid and certain return for their labour by the simple process of preparing cobra. The oil is now expressed from the cobra on its reaching Europe. The trade mostly in request by the natives is white and printed calicos (which are known by the general name of " cloth," and are used by both sexes as lava-lavas or waist-cloths), gay-coloured cotton handkerchiefs, butcher's knives, and American axes. The knives most approved of are large heavy ones of about 14 or 16 inches in length,, which the natives use for all purposes. Soap, sewing-cotton, and small fish-hooks come next. Double-barrelled guns, powder, lead, and shot are also in great demand just at present. It is alleged that since the introduction of fire-aims the loss of life in the native wars is much less than it used to be formerly, when they fought only with clubs and spears at close quarters, as the combatants observe great caution in approaching each other, from fear of the guns, and both sides commence firing a long way out of range. The British Consul puts down the European population as under : — British subjects ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 250 Subjects of the United States of America ... ... ... 45 Germans, Spaniards, Portuguese, and others ... ... ... 150 * 445 This must include the half-castes, for I am satisfied, from inquiries I made from old residents and others best able to give information on this point, that the foreign residents do not reach the number here given. I believe there are altogether about 250 Europeans on the group, most of whom are English. The

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The following statistics of imports, exports., and shipping, for the last five years were supplied to me by the British Consul: — imports. Exporls. Year. Value. Value. 1867 £36,600 ...... £40,598 1868 37,200 38,020 1869 35,992 32,500 1870 42,800 25,600 1871 25,000 45,000 The imports in 1871 were less than in previous years on account of the large stocks that were on hand ; the increase in exports was caused by the natives pouring iff all the produce they could gather for the purpose of purchasing arms and ammunition for a war that was going on between two of the tribes. The arrivals of shipping were as under : — No. of Ships. Tonnage. 1867.—British 26 5,951 Foreign 31 3,800 9,791 1868.—British 34 8,038 United States of America 5 3,072 German 24 3,875 Tahitian 2 159 15,144 1869.—British 29 4,402 United States of America 3 3,690 German 22 4,230 Tahitian 2 150 ■ 12,472 1870.—British 32 4,940 United States of America 6 3,791 German 28 7,004 Tahitian 4 650 16,385 1871.—British 26 4,856 United States of America 3 500 German 36 8,696 Tahitian 2 230 14,282 In 1871 four ships of war visited Apia, namely, one British, one American, one French, and one Russian. Referring to the trade of Samoa, Mr. Williams, in his last consular report to the British Government, states that "The imports are from the Australian Colonies and Hamburg : the greater part, however, are of British manufacture. About one-third of the exports are shipped to the Colonies, and go thence to England ; two-thirds to Hamburg direct, being shipped by the representatives of the German firm, Messrs. Goddefroy & Sons. "In 1858 the business of those islands was in the hands of two British merchants, one Gorman house, and one American. In 1870 six British merchants and traders were established in Apia, besides a number of small agencies; one German house, with several out-stations and agencies; and three American houses, with their agencies." Large tracts of land are being sold by the natives to the foreign residents. Upwards of 70,000 acres have already been disposed of, principally on Upolu. The price paid has been from 4s. to £1 per acre; but where the land is near the sea-shore, and covered with bread-fruit and cocoa-nuts, it has fetched as much as £2 and £3 an acre. Whilst enumerating the advantages possessed by the Navigator's group it is only right to point out that these islands, like all other tropical countries,"are not free from certain drawbacks. Chief of these is the prevalence of elephantiasis, from which disease the foreign residents are not exempt. They are not usually attacked by it for several years after their arrival, and some have remained free from it after a lengthy residence ; but most of the old settlers suffer more or less from it in some shape or other. Opinion varies very much as to the cause of the disease ; some say that it is caused by incautiously lying about in the bush in wet weather ; others, that it arises from the constant and almost exclusive use of vegetable diet; whilst others say it results from the malaria that must constantly arise from decaying vegetation. Many of the residents think that the moderate use of stimulants averts this disorder, and it is generally believed that quinine is an excellent remedy for it. At some parts of the islands, especially in damp, low-lying situations, the inhabitants are more affected by it than they are in others, whilst on the small island of Aunu'u they are entirely exempt from itFlies and mosquitoes are very numerous, and are particularly annoying and troublesome, especially to strangers ; but they will probably disappear, to a great extent, when wider clearings are made in the dense vegetation that everywhere surrounds the towns and villages. The Samoan natives are a fine, tall, handsome race, of a light-brown colour. They are docile, truthful, and hospitable, and are very lively and vivacious. In conversation among themselves and in their intercourse with foreigners they are exceedingly courteous and polite. They have different styles of salutation, corresponding with the social rank of the persons addressed. For instance, in addressing the chiefs or distinguished strangers they use the expression Lau-Afio, or " Your Majesty." In speaking to chiefs of lower rank they address them as Law Skisu, as we would use the words " Your Lordship." To chiefs of lower degree than those^who are thus addressed the term Ala-ala is used ; and to the common people the salutation is Omni or Sau, simply meaning "You have arrived," or " You are hero." The men only-tattoo, and not on their faces, as the New Zealanders do, but on their bodies, from the waist to the knee, entirely black for the most part, except where relieved here and there by graceful stripes and patterns. At a short distance this tattooing gives them the appearance of having on black knee-breeches.

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knee-breeches. The clothing of both sexes is a piece of calico or native cloth wound round the waist and reaching to the knees. Some of the women wear a couple of coloured cotton handkerchiefs, in the shape of a narrow poncho, over their breasts and shoulders, and hanging loosely down to below the waist. When in the bush, or working in their taro plantations, or when fishing, they wear a kilt of the long handsome leaves of the ti (Draccenti terminalis). They have a kind of fine mat, plaited of fine strips of the leaves of a plant called lau-ie. These mats are only used on important occasions, and they esteem them more highly than any European commodity. Some of them are quite celebrated, having names that are known all over the group —the older they are the more they are valued. The oldest one known is called moe-e-fui-fui, meaning "the mat that slept among the creepers." This name was given to it from the circumstance of its having been hidden away among the creeping kind of convolvulus that grows on the shore; it is known to be over 200 years old, as the names of its owners during that time can be traced down. The best mats are made at Manu'a. They are the most coveted property a native can possess, no labour or enterprise being considered too great to secure them. Both men and women spend a deal of time in dressing their hair, and frequently apply lime to it, which is laid on in a liquid state, about the consistency of cream, and has the effect of turning the hair to a reddish hue. Both men and women frequently wear flowers in their hair, generally a single.blossom of the beautiful scarlet hybiscus, which is always found growing near their houses. Nature has supplied them so bountifully with food, in the shape of cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, bananas, native chestnuts, and other wild fruits, and the taro yields them an abundant crop with so little cultivation, that they have no necessity to exert themselves much, and they are therefore little inclined to industry, and probably will never be induced to undertake steady labour of any kind. Their houses are neat, substantial structures, generally circular in shape, with highpitched conical roofs, supported in the centre by two or three stout posts, and open all round, but fitted with narrow mats made of cocoanut leaves, which are strung together like Venetian blinds, and can be let down in stormy weather. The Samoans are very expert in the management of their canoes, of which they have five different kinds —the a-lia or large double canoes, some of which are capable of carrying 200 men; the tau-mua-lua, from 30 to 50 feet long (these were first made about seventeen years ago, and are fashioned after the model of our whaleboats) ; the va ah, or fishing canoes, with outrigger (these are a most beautiful little craft, and very fast; they look exactly like our modern clipper ships, and probably furnished the model from which they were designed) ; then there is the soatua outrigger dug-out canoe, capable of carrying five or six people ; and lastly, the paopao, a smaller dug-out canoe, for one person. The natives are all professed Christians. Christianity was first introduced into Samoa in August, 1830, by the father of the present British Consul, the Rev. J. Williams, who landed a number of native teachers from Tahiti. A few years afterwards, about 1835, five English missionaries, belonging to the London Missionary Society, landed on the islands, and from that time to the present several Congregational missionaries have been constantly resident on the group. In addition to these there is a Roman Catholic Bishop resident at Apia, and a number of Catholic priests in various parts of the islands. The natives for nearly thirty years past, I understand, have annually contributed considerable sums towards the support of the mission establishments. There is no principal chief having authority over the whole group, although there are three great chiefs having the title of tui or king—viz., Tui-Manua, Tui-A-ana, Tui-ahia. The first named is at Manu'a and the other two at Upolu. Although holding the high-sounding title of king, these chiefs really have no more authority than the alii, or chiefs of towns, all being controlled by the councillors of the towns. Formerly there was a tui somoa, or king, of the whole group, similar to the Tui Tonga and Tui Viti (King of Tonga and King of Fiji), but this has not been the case for probably hundreds of years. Each town or village has its own chief. In some cases a number of villages are banded together in a kind of confederacy, over which the chief who has the greatest influence exercises a nominal kind of rule. The principal chiefs are called alii, next to whom are the heads of certain families in each village, called tu-la-fale, who comprise a very considerable section of the community, and really exercise more influence than the chiefs. Everything affecting the interest of the village is debated in council, where the tii-la-fale sit with the chief, and do most of the speaking. The decisions of the council become law for the whole village. The system of government varies in different districts. In some towns the onatuas, or patriarchs, exercise considerable authority, whilst in others the tu-la-fales have the most influence; this, however, they only possess collectively, not individually. The natives, having so little to do, spend a great deal of time in their councils, where they discuss and regulate all the affairs of the town or village, down to the most trifling matter. They are constantly laying down laws for the price of food when sold to the Europeans, and what shall be paid by the Europeans to the natives they employ as boats' crews. The village council leaves no man, not even the chief, free to bargain for the disposal of what is his own. No argument can overcome its decisions, and the only way to remove these restrictions is for foreigners to abstain altogether from having any dealings with the natives whilst they endeavour to enforce these mischievous and absurd laws for regulating prices. None of the Samoan natives up to the present time have been taken away in labour-vessels. They would have the strongest objection to being removed from their own islands, and would not willingly engage themselves as labourers. There is, however, on Samoa a considerable number of natives from islands near the line, and from Niue, or Savage Island, who have been imported to work on the cotton plantations and about some of the warehouses. I saw a gang of thirty-five of the Line islanders hoeing in a cotton field ; they are darker in colour, and much smaller men than the Samoans. It struck me that they looked wretchedly dejected and forlorn, and that they plodded along at their work in a most languid and monotonous manner. Some were engaged, I was told,- for five years, and some for three years, with pay of from $3 to $5 a month. They have to labour from 0 o'clock in the morning to 6 o'clock in the evening, with a rest of an hour for breakfast and an hour for dinner. The Niue men that I saw were working about one of the stores at Apia ; they were clothed in European costume, and had a lively and cheerful look. Several of them, I was told, after being sent back to their homes, had engaged themselves for a second term of service and returned to Apia; but I did not hear that this had been the case with any of the natives from the Ljjie Islands. A feud has existed for some time past between two sections of the natives on Upolu and Manono ; they have already fought twice during the last three years, when several were killed on each side, and hostilities are again imminent. The quarrel commenced about three years ago between Tua Masanga and Manono (one of the small islands off the western end of Upolu, the inhabitants of which formerly had considerable

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considerable political influence over the people of Upolu), as to which party should have the right to nominate a chief to succeed to the title of malieatoa, which is an old hereditary title of high rank. The Tua Masanga nominated for the title the eldest son of the late Malieatoa; the Manono party sot up the brother of the deceased chief. The chieftainship, although hereditary, does not necessarily descend from father to son. Although the present war began ostensibly for the purpose of settling the succession to the title of maliealoa, yet it soon took wider dimensions; and the Manono party, with a view of gaining more adherents their side, declared it to be the taua o tv la fono, or "war for establishing laws ;" but probably the real motive that impelled the Manono party to take up arms was a jealousy of the advantages enjoyed by the Tua Masanga in having the foreign settlement of Apia within their borders. This jealousy, and the fear of being deprived altogether of their political supremacy, induced th& Manono party to establish themselves on the long low point that forms the western boundary of Apia Harbour, the name of which they changed from Marinuu to Samoa ua tasi —" Samoa is one." From this position they hope to gain the ascendency over the party who are now paramount in Apia. Great preparations are being made by both sides, and blows will no doubt be come to very shortly ; but the Samoans do not appear to be a warlike race, and the war, although it may bo protracted, is not likely to be a sanguinary one. The present disturbed state of affairs, however, is most disastrous to the natives, as they congregate together in large numbers aud neglect their cultivations. They are selling their land in all directions to buy arms, without retaining sufficient reserves for their own support; and of course this disposition is being eagerly taken advantage of by many of the white settlers who desire to acquire land. Although not a warlike they are a very vain race, and their vanity compels them to enter into hostilities that both sides would probably gladly avoid. It is the opinion of many of the oldest residents, who are thoroughly acquainted with the natives, that the parties now at war would be glad to soo peace restored, and that they, as well as the rest of the native population, would welcome a foreign Power that could put an end to their troubles and establish law and order among them. "Whilst I was at Apia I took the opportunity, through the aid of Mr. Williams, the British Consul (who has been thirty-three years in the islands, and is thoroughly acquainted with the language, manners, and customs of the natives, and has their confidence), to ascertain their views, from one of the leading chiefs from each side in the present quarrel, as to the feelings of the natives with reference to a foreign power assuming the government of the islands. The most influential chief of the Manono party, and. representing one of the three great districts into which the island of Upolu is divided, said: " There is no country we should like to take over Samoa equal to England. Wo know the English are just; an English protectorate would be sweet." The principal chief belonging to the Tua Masanga, or section inhabiting the central district of Upolo, in which is the harbour and settlement of Apia, said that " his own feeling and that of his people was that they would gladly welcome British rule, but that they did not want any other Power." He was repeatedly questioned, and his answer was always the same. He was then asked why the natives preferred the English ? His reply was that " they knew that the British would deal justly by them, but other Powers would oppress them." This conclusion, he said, was formed from the experience of the oppressive treatment they had already experienced at the hands of the subjects as well as the vessels of war of other nations. His opinion was that-the great majority of the natives were anxious for the British Government to come to Samoa to establish law and good government. What they would prefer would be to have a council of chiefs, aided by English officers, to frame and carry out laws, and to have the occasional presence of an English vessel of war to back up the authority of the Council. On Tutuila, Maunga, the chief at Pango Pango Harbour, told me that the natives would be glad to see Great Britain take the Islands under her protection. He said they made an application to this effect through the British Consul to the Queen about twenty-five years ago ; that they were still of the same mind, and were waiting for a favourable reply. An answer, I was told, was returned to this application, to the effect that the British Government was not prepared to take possession of the islands, but that it would not stand by and see any other Power exercise greater authority in them than it did. The chiefs of Tutuila and of TJpolu, I understand, have twice forwarded requests, through the British Consul, to the Home Government to take possession of the islands, or establish a protectorate over them. The foreign residents are exceedingly desirous of seeing some settled form of Government established, and the great majority of them arc in favour of British rule. In an interview I had with the Koman Catholic Bishop at Apia, he told me that he very much regretted the present disturbed state of the natives on Upolu, as it stopped all progress among them. He would like to see some Government take possession of the group, and thought that the natives would bo glad to welcome any Power that would establish law and order, and put an end to their fights. He would rather see England or America than any other foreign power take possession of the islands. He knew that British rule was just and liberal, and that all religions would have equal liberty. Any authority that came to the islands would have to be from some recognized Government, and should be introduced by a vessel of war. He estimated the population at about 34,000 ; this was the number set down a few years ago, after careful inquiry, and he did not think there was much difference now —the population was about stationary. He had a high opinion of the Samoans, and considered them docile, truthful, and honest; but the chiefs were exceedingly jealous of each other, which led to frequent wars. In the course of conversation with Mr. Weber, the German Consul, he informed me that he had large claims against the natives, and that ho had been applying to his Government for several years past to get a vessel of war to call. The Prussian Government had at length acceded to his application, and promised that the " Nympha" should visit the islands on her way to China. This vessel is expected at Apia very shortly. Mr. Weber told me that he had no intimation whatever that it was the intention of his Government to take possession of, or to assume any authority over, the islands. On reaching Auckland, on my return from the Navigator's, I learnt from a gentleman just returned from Sydney that the " Nympha" had reached that place, and that the captain had stated that he had instructions tojproceed thence to the Navigator's Islands, where he was to refit his ship, and to land and exercise his men. There can be no doubt, I .think, that both natives and Europeans would gladly welcome the establishment of British authority on the islands, and that it will be a matter of lasting regret to all who are in any way interested in the extension of commerce and civilization among the countless islands of the Pacific if the Government disregard the wishes of the natives, and refuse to take possession of, or to establish a protectorate over, this valuable group. The importance of securing possession of the harbour of

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of Paiigo Pango for a coaling station for tho steamers carrying the Now Zealand and Australian English mails to and from San Francisco is too obvious to require comment. The distance from — Pango Pango to Auckland ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,577 miles. „ Vavau, Friendly Islands ... ... ... ... ... 380 „ Levuka, Fiji 630 „ „ Tongatabu ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 475 „ Tahiti ... 1,250 „ „ Now Caledonia ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,445 ~ Sydney 2,410 „ „ Melbourne £-,864 „ Honolulu *.-. 2,283 „ From its central and commanding position in respect to the other groups in the Pacific, Pango Pango Harbour would further appear to be admirably suited for a naval depot, or for a station from which Her Majesty's cruisers would rapidly reach the different islands, and thus be able to suppress the abuses of the South Sea labour traffic. The Government of tho United States appear to be fully sensible of the important position of the Navigator's Islands, for intelligence has just been brought by the " Nevada" that the United States sloop of war " Narragansett," which vessel was at Honolulu when the " Nevada" loft that place, is under orders to proceed to the Navigator's for the purpose of forming a naval station at Pango Pango Harbour. Commerce is rapidly increasing in the Pacific, and trading stations owned by British subjects are being established in it in various directions. Large numbers of British vessels are now constantly employed in distributing British manufactures, and gathering up produce at the various islands for shipment (generally through the Australian Colonies and New Zealand) to Great Britain. Very large interests are thus rapidly springing up among the South Sea Islands, and the necessity for having some station in the Pacific where British authority shall prevail, and where British justice can bo administered, will year by year become more pressing. If British authority should be established on Samoa I believe that the natives, under proper management, would readily adapt themselves to our institutions, and conform to all necessary laws for maintaining order among themselves. They have already made efforts to establish laws for the punishment of crime. A simple code was some time since drawn up by the British Consul, which the natives approved of, but owing to dissensions among themselves it did not come into operation. Perhaps the most certain indication of their fitness for civil government that can be adduced is the fact that they have adopted the plan of levying taxes among themselves for particular objects. For instance, quite recently the Upolu people fixed a tax of f>l a head on adult males, $J on youths, and li on male children, for the purpose of buying arms and ammunition for tho present war. New Zealand, in addition to being the nearest British Colony to the Navigator's, is also most favourably situated for communicating with that group, owing to the prevailing winds for nine months in the year being favourable for the passage both ways. One or two vessels are already employed in trading to them ; and it is certain that at no distant date this trade will rapidly increase, as the islands are capable of yielding sugar, coffee, cotton, and almost every kind of tropical produce; whilst New Zealand raises in abundance and can supply, in exchange for these commodities, exactly those articles which tho white settlers on the islands stand most in need of, such as flour, butter, cheese, preserved meats, &c. Many of the European settlers are fully alive to the advantages they would derive from a connection with New Zealand, and a large number of them, I have no doubt, would willingly aid in establishing such a connection. Several of them recognize that the long experience the New Zealand Government has had in the management of the Maoi'is would enable it to suggest measures or to take steps that would avert many complications that they think would arise if the management of the islands were placed entirely under persons having little or no knowledge of the character and prejudices of the Polynesian natives. From the particulars given above it will be seen that the Navigator's Islands occupy a most important position in the Pacific ; that they possess two safe and commodious harbours, suitable for the largest sized vessels, which harbours are admirably adapted for stations from which operations could be rapidly carried out for suppressing the pernicious and iniquitous labour traffic that is now carried on among the South Sea Islands; that the islands are capable of producing almost everything that is grown within the tropics ; and that; they are likely to become an important centre for trade ; further, that they are inhabited by a docile and amiable race of natives, who have the warmest attachment to Great Britain, ■and earnestly desire to place themselves under her rule and protection. On reviewing these conditions, and having regard especially to the geographical position of New Zealand in relation to the Navigator's and adjacent groups, and to the fact that a considerable trade is likely soon to spring up between this Colony and those islands, the conclusion, I think, that must be arrived at is that it would be advisable that the New Zealand Government should strongly support the wishes of tho natives, and should urge upon tho Imperial Government to comply with those wishes, by establishing British protection and authority over the islands of Samoa. I have, &c, WILLIAM SEED. The Hon. the Commissioner of Customs, Wellington.

331—P

ExTKACT

114

Extract from the Meteorological Register kept at the British Consulate at Apia, in the Navigators' Islands, for the year 1864.

Lowest and highest temperature during the month. Month. G o'clock a.m. 4 o'clock p.m. Highest recorded temperature during the month. Lowest. Highest. Lowest. Highest. o O o o o armary February ilareh Lpril •lay une "uly Lugust September )ctober November December 70 71 70 70 65 65 Gl 59 67 61 73 71 75 79 81 7G • 82 74 74 77 78 79 76 78 76 77 74 74 78 78 79 78 81 82 78 82 82 84 85 88 85 83 82 84 83 84 79 86 85 at 8 a.m 85 at 10 a.m. 86 at 8 a.m, 88 at 4 p.m. 85 at 4p.m, 83 at 4 p.m. 82 at 4 p.m. 84 at 4 p.m. 86 at 8 a.m. 86 at 8 a.m. 84 at 8 a.m, 86 at 4 p.m.

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(5.)

[Laid before the Convention by the Representatives of Queensland^ DESPATCH RESPECTING TRANSPORTATION OF FRENCH CRIMINALS TO NEW CALEDONIA. The Agent-General for Queensland to The Colonial Secretary, Brisbane. Queensland Government Office, 1, Westminster Chambers, Victoria-street, gir London, 8.W., 21 September, 1883. I have the honor to transmit herewith, for your information, copies of the correspondence which has taken place between the Foreign Office, the Colonial Office, and the Embassy at Paris, relative to the transportation of Eelapsed Criminals from France to New Caledonia. I have, &c, THOMAS AECHEE, Agent-General.

The Foreign Office to The Colonial Office. gir Foreign Office, 27 August, 1883. I am directed by Earl'Granville to transmit to you herewith, for the information of the Earl of Derby a copy of a Despatch which His Lordship has addressed to Her Majesty's Minister at Paris, instructing him 'to make a representation to the French Government in the sense suggested in your letter of the 10th instant, respecting the transportation of relapsed criminals from France to New Caledonia. I have, &c, J. PATTNCEFOET.

Earl Granville to Mr. Plunkett. sip Foreign Office, 25 August, 1883. I communicated in due course to the Colonial Office Lord Lyon's despatch, No. 313 of the 9th of May last in which His Excellency reported that the " Transportation of Eelapsed Criminals Hill had passed the first reading in the French Chamber of Deputies, and that New Caledonia and its Dependencies were included amongst the settlements to which relapsed criminals are to be sent. The Earl of Derby has now brought under my notice, in connection with this matter, a pint communication, annexed herewith in copy, which has been addressed to His Lordship by the Agents-General of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, and Victoria and in which, inter aha, very strong representations are made with a view to the adoption of effective measures for preventing the serious consequences to be anticipated from the above-mentioned resolution of the French Government, by which large numbers of the worst class of criminals would be transported to New Caledonia, where, as it is stated, they would be free. " _ . . And with further reference to this subject, His Lordship has received from the Agent-General ol Queensland a letter, of which copy is also enclosed for your information, and which forwards a telegram from the Premier of the Colony, calling attention to the refusal of the French authorities ot JNew Caledonia to apply for the extradition of criminals who escape from Noumea to Queensland. It is clear that this question, being is one which gravely concerns the welfare of the Australian Colonies, must command the prompt attention of Her Majesty's Government, and I have accordingly to request that you will loose no time in placing yourself in communication with the French Government upon the subject with a view to ascertain what is the course which they propose to pursue ; in the first place as regards the number of convicts to be sent out to the Western Pacific, and as to the position ot such criminals after arrival; and, secondly, with respect to the failure of the Government of JNew Caledonia to demand the extradition of criminals whom they have permitted to escape m the cases pointed out in the above mentioned telegram from the Queensland Government. I am, &c, GEANVILLE.

The Colonial Office to The Foreign Office. gi r Downing-street, 10 August, 1883. I am directed by the Earl of Derby to transmit to you, to be laid before Earl Granville, a copy of a letter from tbo Agent-General for Queensland, forwarding a telegram from the Premier of_ the Colony in which he desires that the attention of Her Majesty's Government may be called to the refusal of the French Authorities in New Caledonia to apply for the extradition of criminals who have escaped from Noumea. . . . 2 In connection with iiiis matter, I am to request Earl Granville s early consideration ol the enclosed copy of a joint letter "from the Agents-General of New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, and Victoria on the subject of New Guinea and the New Hebrides, in which it is strongly urged that measures should be taken to prevent the consequences anticipated from the declared intention of the French Government to transport large numbers of the worst class of criminals to New Caledonia, where they would be free on arrival.

INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883.

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3. Considering the grave importance of this question to the welfare of the Australian Colonies, it appears to Lord Derby to be necessary to obtain immediate explanations from the French Government as to the course contemplated (1) in regard to the number of convicts proposed to be sent out and their position after arrival, and (2) the failure of the Government of New Caledonia in the cases just reported to demand the extradition of criminals whom they have permitted to escape : and Lord Derby will be glad to be enable to assure the Government of Queensland that Her Majesty's Government has not failed to give prompt attention to the serious representation which has been made to them, and has communicated with the French Government. 4. lam also to request that Lord Granville may be reminded that in 1881 the Queensland Legislature passed a Bill to prevent the influx of foreign and other criminals into the Colony, which was the subject of correspondence between this Department and the Foreign Office. This Bill did not at that time receive Her Majesty's assent, as objection was taken to the unequal incidence of certain of its provisions; but under the circumstances now reported, and having regard to the contemplated increase in the number of French convicts to be transported to the Western Pacific, it appears to Lord Derby that it will not be possible to continue to resist such legislation. I am, &c, The Under Secretary of State, Foreign Office. E. H. MEADE.

See CO. to F. 0. 26 Nov., 1881. F. O. to C. 0., 27 Mar., 1882.

Sir, Downing-street, 19 September, 1883. With reference to your letter of the 26th of July, enclosing a telegram from the Premier of Queensland respecting the refusal of the French Authorities in New Caledonia to apply for the extradition of criminals who have escaped from that Colony, I am directed by the Earl of Derby to transmit to you copies of a letter from this Department to the Foreign Office, and of two letters from that Department, with their enclosures on the subject. 1 am, &c, JOHN BEAMSTON.

The Foreign Office to the Colonial Office. Sir, Foreign Office, 5 September, 1883. With reference to my letter of the 27th ultimo, I am directed by Earl Granville to transmit to you herewith for the information of the Earl of Derby, copy of a Despatch from Her Majesty's Minister at Paris, enclosing a copy of a " Note Verbale " which he has left with the French Government, respecting the proposed transportation of habitual criminals from France to New Caledonia. I am, &c, The Under Secretary of State, Colonial Office. E. V. LISTEE.

Mr. Plunkctt to Earl Granville. No. 563. Paris, 31st August, 1883. My Lord, On the receipt of your Lordship's Despatch, No. 820 of the 25th instant, I drew up the memo., copy of which I have the honor to enclose, explanatory of the anxiety felt in the Australian Colonies as to the serious consequences which the proposed French law for the " transportation of relapsed criminals" to New Caledonia may entail. My intention was to speak to M. Challemel Lacour in the sense of your Lordship's instructions, and to leave the memo, with His Excellency only as a semi-official document. I found, however, on calling at the Foreign Department this afternoon, that M. Challemel Lacour, who has been in poor health for some days past, has suddenly become so much worse that he is about to proceed at once to Vichy, and at that moment he was in conference with the President of the Council arranging the temporary transfer of his duties to the latter. I therefore placed the memorandum in the hands of M. Marcel, the Chef de Cabinet of M. Ch. Lacour, and begged him to submit it to the Minister for Foreign Affairs in my name. Speaking quite unofficially, M. Marcel said he thought there was little prospect of the Recidivist Bill being passed in its present shape, and in any case many months must yet elapse before it can become law. He promised to call the attention of the Minister as soon as possible to the failure of the Government of New Caledonia to apply for the extradition of the three persons who had escaped from Noumea, as reported in the telegram from the Governor of Queensland of the 26th ultimo. I have, &c,

■ F. E. PLUNKETT. Note Verhale. The Australian Colonies of Great Britain have made strong representations to Her Majesty's Government with a view to the adoption of effective measures for preventing the serious consequences which they fear will result to them if the Bill now before the Chamber of Deputies for the transportation of relapsed criminals to New Caledonia and its Dependencies should become law. The Queensland Government, in particular, complain that the Government of New Caledonia now decline to demand the extradition of criminals who may have escaped from Noumea, and in the absence of such a demand on the part of the French authorities the British colonial authorities cannot act against these individuals. The Governor of Queensland telegraphed on the 26th ultimo that the French authorities have hitherto applied for the extradition, but now refuse to do so, and that consequently he had just been obliged to discharge three convicts who had escaped from Noumea. As the transportation to New Caledonia is intended to rid France of the worst class of her criminals, who apparently are to be set free when they reach New Caledonia, and whose neighbourhood will be a constant source of danger to the Australian Colonies, Lord Granville would be glad to know what covirse the French Government propose to pursue as to the number of convicts to be sent out to the "Western Pacific ; and as to the position of such criminals after arrival at their destination. His Lordship would also be glad to learn what course the French propose to follow with regard to the failure of the Government of New Caledonia to demand the extradition of the criminals who escaped, as explained in the telegram from the Governor of Queensland above referred to. 31 August, 1883. _

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(6.)

MEMORANDUM BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR OE FIJI AND ACTING-HIGH COMMISSIONER OE THE WESTERN PACIEIC ON THE EUTURE OF NEW GUINEA AND POLYNESIA WITH REFERENCE TO THE QUESTION OF AUSTRALASIAN ANNEXATION OR PROTECTORATE. Governor of Fiji and Acting High Commissioner of Western Pacific to His Excellency Lord Augustus Loftus. My Lord, Pfahlert's Hotel, Sydney, 24 November, 1883. I have the honor to forward to your Excellency a memorandum which I have written on the future of New Guinea and Polynesia with reference to the question of Australasian annexation or protectorate, and I request that you will be good enough to cause this paper to be made known to your Ministers, with a view to its being brought under the notice of the Conference oi the Australasian Colonies in such manner as to your Excellency may seem fit. _ '_ _ . _ I deem it right to mention that my estimate of Australasian sugar consumption is, 1 find, probably under the mark, and there are certain parts of the paper which require to be slightly modified in consequence ■ but as I have been unable to obtain the correct figures, and as the error could not appreciably affect the position which I have taken up, even if it were far greater than it can possibly be, 1 have not deemed it necessary to incur the delay which would be involved in re-printing. I have, &c, G. WILLIAM DES VCEUX, Acting High Commissioner of the Western Pacific.

New Zealand Statistics, 1882. Imports. Sugar raw 9,090 cwt Value, £11,996. Sugar^ refined 305,049 „ Value, £478,098. Exports. Sugar, raw 499 cwt Value, £724. Sugar, refined 6,383f „ Value, £6,473. *• Ta^ J' DU2?/11/83.

New Zealand. Sugar imported 314,139 cwt. „ exported ... ... 5,883 „

308,256 cwt, == 34,524,672 lbs. which, divided by estimated population, 507,811, gives consumption of sugar at nearly 68 lbs. per head.

Memorandum on the future of New Guinea and Polynesia, with reference to the question of Australasian Annexation or Protectorate. Government House, Suva, Fiji, 7 November, 1883. An ordinary acquaintance with the circumstances of this part of the world can scarcely fail to create sympathy with the desire of Australasians (by which term is meant the people of Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania), to obtain control over the neighbouring islands. The establishment there by foreign nations of depots, either for convicts or for purposes of war, would constitute a serious danger to the colonists, which in making a strenuous effort to avert, they are simply discharging a duty to themselves and their descendants. But though holding this view strongly, I should not in my position feel justified m giving it expression, but for a reason which seems to render such a course a matter of duty. Having beei^ now over four years officially concerned with the islands of the Western Pacific comprised within the jurisdiction of the High Commission, IJiave learned quite enough of their condition to justify the conviction that the attainment of the object desired by Australasia may be made consistent with their best interests. Indeed, in view of the not unnatural reluctance of the Imperial Government to undertake additional responsibility, I have gradually formed the opinion that control on the part of the confederated Colonies over these islands affords the only reasonable prospect of material and moral advantage to them, and the only rational hope that they will for centuries to come prove of any substantial benefit to the world at large.

INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883.

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I propose, therefore, in the following paper to give my reasons for this conclusion; and I shall at the same time venture to indicate the only policy under which the annexation of, or assumption of protectorate over, the islands is likely to be useful for any other purpose than that of defence. Though the jurisdiction of the High Commission has a considerably wider range, extending in some places considerably to the north of the Equator, the islands whose destiny I propose to consider (and which for the sake of convenience I shall term Polynesia), are New Guinea, with the exception of the portion claimed by the Dutch, and all the other islands which lie between it and Australia on the one side, and the Navigators and Friendly Islands on the other, with the exception of those comprised within the Colonies of Fiji and New Caledonia. As colonization by white men is commonly regarded, especially in New Zealand, as one of the principal objects to be aimed at in the annexation of Polynesia, it may serve to clear the ground if I consider in the first instance how far this is practicable or desirable. With one or two trifling exceptions, all the islands of Polynesia are situated within the tropics, and are thus places where, according to all previous experience, field labour must be exclusively that of coloured men.* Many attempts have been made in various parts of the world during the last three centuries to carry on tropical plantations with white labour ; but the result has always been failure, even in mountainous districts enjoying a comparatively temperate climate. In all cases the labourers have either died miserably, or have been compelled to seek other means of livelihood. We have thus at the outset a very serious limitation of the possible number of Polynesian colonists; and when we consider what other occupations are likely to be followed by white men, we find that those of a pastoral nature must be almost altogether excluded. Pastoral pursuits under the sun of the tropics have not in other parts of the world proved a sufficient economical success to encourage emulation. In most countries, with a hot damp climate, such as that of Polynesia, the wool of sheep almost entirely disappears in the second or third generation. Even in tropical Australia sheep-raising is not believed to have been a success; and if that country constitutes an exception as regards cattle, there are entirely absent from Polynesia the tropical, and also probably the climatic, conditions which tend to render it so. But, however this may be, it cannot be regarded as within the range of reasonable probability that Polynesia will ever be able to compete with Australia in this branch of industry. A certain number of cattle may be raised, as in Fiji, merely for the supply of local consumption, but the likelihood of stockraising having any appreciable effect upon the future of the islands may be regarded as extremely small. As regards mechanical trades, all experience is against their being generally pursued by white men in the tropics. High wages occasionally offer a temporary attraction, but the great majority leave after a short time, and the instances are very rare indeed where white mechanics, who remain such, find in the tropics a permanent home. ■ Apart therefore from commerce, the occupations of white men in Polynesia must, speaking generally, be expected to be confined to the cultivation and manufacture of tropical products. What are the prospects of such enterprises I will now proceed to consider. Though there are, probably, in one or other of the islands of Polynesia, many places suitable as regards soil and climate for all, or nearly all, tropical products, one essential condition of success in this kind of agriculture is nearly everywhere wanting, namely —a supply of regular and sufficiently cheap labour. Nearly the whole, if not all Polynesia, has an extremely sparse population, and it is only in densely populated countries that, in the absence of slavery, the natives can be depended upon to work for wages with the certainty and regularity which are necessary for the success of all, and especially tropical, agriculture. For this reason, all the West India Colonies that are in a flourishing oondition (with the single exception of Barbados, which has as dense a population as any in the world), have been compelled to import labourers ; and similarly, such plantations as have been opened in Fiji and Polynesia could not have been maintained with labour obtainable in their immediate neighbourhood. For some plantations where the treatment is known to be good, a certain number of labourers may occasionally be obtained in the vicinity ; but speaking of plantations in the Pacific generally, their main dependence has been, and must always be, upon people brought from a distance, and this is equally true of the plantations of Hawaii, Samoa, and the New Hebrides, as it is of those situated in the Grown Colony of Fiji. Now this movement from island to island, whatever may be its other good or evil effects, is certainly having one upon which all independent authority is agreed : it is rapidly extinguishing the people taking part in it. Polynesians, though sometimes muscular, are constitutionally a weak race ; and though as a rule it is only the young and able-bodied who emigrate, they have a terribly high death rate when transferred to European plantations, even where, as in Fiji, the most stringent regulations are in force for their protection. Again, the abstraction of so large a proportion of the able-bodied men, together with the other accompaniments of the labour trade, have had an even more rapid effect in decreasing the population at the places from which the labourers come ; so that, if the process should be allowed to continue —and any extension of white colonisation would tend to accelerate it—all question as to the labour of Polynesians would in no long time be set at rest by their entire extinction. But apart from this ultimate result (which may bo expected within a generation in places such as the New Hebrides and Solomons, that have been a long time subject to the labour trade), it is evident that in the meantime, as plantations increase in number, Polynesian labour, which is already expensive from the mere fact that it requires to be for the most part imported, will inevitably become dearer, not only from the enhanced demand but from the exhaustion of the supply ; and as other labourers from the more distant parts of the world can only be imported at heavy cost, a very slight consideration will serve to show that the prospect of profitable production in the Western Pacific is on this account much more limited than is generally supposed. There are certain articles of large consumption such as rice, and many in less demand, in the production of which no country, except to an extremely limited extent, has ever been able to compete with the densely populated countries of Eastern Asia and their immediate neighbourhood (countries which, for the sake of convenience, I shail henceforward designate as Asia); and there appears to be good reason for supposing that the competition of these countries will preclude the profitable cultivation in Polynesia of nearly all other articles except for the supply of the wants of Australasia. So

* Since writing the above, I have been informed that parts of Queensiand furnish an exception to this otherwise universal rule. If so, it must be owing to a dryness of climate which probably exists nowhere else in the tropics, and certainly not in Polynesia.

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So far export from Polynesia to countries outside Australasia has proved profitable as regards only one agricultural product, namely—copra, the dried kernel of the cocoa-nut, and even that has been in only a limited degree derived from European cultivation ; an enormous majority of the cocoa palms having been planted either by nature or by the natives, and not cultivated at all. As within a very recent period the market price of the article fell to a point which is believed to have been unremunerative to European cultivators even at the present price of labour, and in view of the fact that the cocoa-nut is equally at home, and thrives fully as well, in the many islands of the Eastern Archipelago, it may be doubted whether the field for extended enterprise in this production is other than a very narrow one ; for even if at some future time this Polynesian product should come to be required in Australasia, not merely for export as now but for local consumption, it is not improbable that it may have even there to compete with" an article brought from Asia, and produced under conditions in all other respects equal and superior as regards cheapness of labour. Unless, as there is as yet no reason to suppose, there are in parts of the Western Pacific conditions of soil or climate so far more favourable to certain tropical products than any which exist elsewhere as to outweigh the disadvantage of dear labour, it may be regarded as probable that the causes above indicated will impose a serious restriction upon nearly all agriculture on the part of Europeans in this part of the world. The consumption of Australasia may be supplied from Fiji and Polynesia, possibly in a large proportion as regards sugar (the weight of which relatively to its value renders carriage an important element in its cost), and more doubtfully and, in any case, in lesser proportions as regards coffee, tea, cocoa, tobacco, spices, cinchona, edible fruits, <fee. But if it be conceded, as it probably must be, that there are nearer to all other centres of large consumption places where these articles can be more cheaply produced, it cannot be anticipated that they will ever, except to a very limited extent, be exported beyond Australasia. If it should be suggested that the western seaboard of North and South America is likely to furnish markets for Polynesian produce of the future, the reply is that the cost of freight upon imports received from China and its neighbourhood, will be little if at all greater than in the case of imports from Polynesia, and at all events the difference is not at all likely to be such as to outweigh the comparative cheapness of production in the former country. Moreover, it is to be borne in mind that in the important article of sugar, South America has hitherto been able to supply its own wants, and even to export largely elsewhere; while the Western United States obtain all they require from Hawaii, which, having a soil even more remarkably adapted for the growth of the cane than any yet known in Polynesia, has over the latter a great advantage as regards proximity. It is possible that the recent war in Peru may have placed a permanent check upon production there, and a similar effect would no doubt be brought about in Hawaii, if the reciprocity treaty with the United States should come to an end. But even then Polynesia would have to face other competition scarcely less formidable than that of China. The completion of the Panama canal will open all the western markets of America to the planters of the West Indies, and there is good reason for believing that they will have over those of Polynesia a great advantage in other respects than proximity. As the case of the West Indies illustrates in various ways the opinions above expressed, it may be useful to draw further attention to it. The natives of the West India Islands were long ago almost completely destroyed by causes very similar to those now operating in Polynesia. Their place was supplied by negro slaves imported from Africa, and it is the free descendants of these who now form the principal source of labour supply. In those islands (except Barbados, the dense population of which renders it an exception) where agriculture conducted by white men has proved most successful, it has however been found necessary to stimulate the industry of the negro by the introduction of coolies, at great expense, from the countries of Eastern Asia. This importation has now been carried on for nearly a generation, and to such an extent that the small island of Trinidad, with an area only about one-fifteenth that of Tasmania, has introduced more than 60,000 people,* and yet even there, where in proportion to its size the immigration has been largest, it was found only a few years ago (and the case is probably not very different now), that the descendants of the slaves furnished the larger proportion of labour to the plantations. This latter circumstance has an extremely important bearing upon the question now under consideration. Though all the West India Islands, except Barbados, are thinly peopled, and nearly all of them have by far the greater part of their cultivable land still in a state of nature, yet in none of those which are colonies is population nearly as sparse as it is in the greater part of Polynesia. In New Guinea the highest of recent estimates gives a population of only five millions to an area of over 300,000 square miles, or less than seventeen for each mile, and, in so far as is known, there are few, if any, islands with a population greater relatively to area than Fiji; and yet while there 125,000 people live upon 8,000 square miles, in Jamaica, one of the most thinly-populated of the West Indies, 500,000 live upon only 4,000 square miles. Moreover, while the population of Polynesia is dwindling, that of the West Indies has a high natural rate of increase (that is, exclusive of immigration), which in some islands approximates to 2 per cent, per annum. It may indeed be said that, though the West Indies have thus a great advantage in respect of existing population, Polynesia is, on the other hand, nearer to Asia, which is commonly regarded as an inexhaustible source of labour supply. Past experience, however, does not tend to show that this fact would be likely to give any advantage to Polynesia. Though the people of Southern China are admirably adapted for agricultural labour in the tropics they, except when subjected, as in Cuba and Peru, to conditions very nearly approaching to slavery, have not hitherto been found to work satisfactorily under binding engagements with Europeans, such as would alone justify the heavy cost of importation. It is possible that a scheme might be successful of introducing them under contracts with their own guilds ; but too little is known of that system to enable any safe calculation upon it; and it is at least open to question whether, in connection with tropical agriculture at so great a distance from the homes of the labourers, it would not have too close a resemblance to slavery to be tolerated under the British flag. It is also to be borne in mind that Chinese

* I have not the statistics at command, but I have reason to believe that this number is within the mark. It is also worth mentioning, as further illustrating the question considered in a later part of this paper, that the small island in question from 93,300 acres, or less than one-twelfth of its surface, produces 55,000 tons of sugar, or about one-half the consumption of Australasia, besides a quantity of cacao, which (in so far as I recollect) exceeds one-third of that consumed in Great Britain.

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Chinese prefer almost any occupation to that of field labour, and even those who could bo induced to emigrate to gain their livelihood thus, would in all probability choose places nearer home, such for instance as Borneo, which, if its settlement prove successful, I should for this reason, and on account of its proximity to India, expect to be the most dangerous of all the rivals of Polynesia in Australasian markets. For the above reason it is probable that, as regards imported labour, Polynesia (including Fiji) must, in a by no means distant future, rely mainly upon Indian coolies as the West Indies do now, and it is therefore important to know that a comparison between the cost of carrying Indians to Fiji and to the West Indies is so far in favour of the latter. It is true that the voyages to Fiji have all been by sailing-ships to the south of Australia, and the cost of passage would no doubt have been less in steam-vessels coming through Torres Straits. It is, however, to be hoped that this latter route will never be taken for this purpose, at least until Polynesians are extinct, as, being wholly within the tropics, the use of it would create special danger of the introduction of Indian disease. Out of the five vessels which have brought Indians to Fiji, two have had on board cholera and small-pox, and it was probably due mainly to the cold weather experienced at the south that these dread diseases disappeared before the end of the voyage. It is no doubt possible that the cost of introducing Indians will decrease as the chance increases of a return freight for the carrying vessels ; but, in view of the high rates of insurance charged in respect of navigation in Polynesia, it is extremely improbable whether this part of the world will ever in this respect obtain any appreciable advantage over the West Indies. But apart from the cost of passage, in which the West Indies and Polynesia may be considered to be on about an equal footing, there is another limitation to Indian immigration which is likely to operate to the greater disadvantage of Polynesia as having the smaller resident population,—l mean the increasing difficulty of inducing Indians to emigrate at all. Whether from the general improvement of their condition or from enlarged opportunities for employment in their own country, the people of India are year by year showing a greater reluctance to leave home, and the cost of recruiting labourers is thus continually rising, while the requisitions of the colonies can rarely be complied with. Finally, there is another difficulty in the way of this immigration into Polynesia, which will probably be found the most serious of all. The Indian Government, warned by former experience, rightly exacts very stringent conditions, as to the treatment of its people and as to the control of their labour contracts, from those colonies which are allowed to import them ; and in view of the practical impossibility of effectually supervising the proceedings of employers in the greater part of the Pacific, on account of the difficulty and cost of communication, it is open to grave doubt whether this immigration will ever be allowed except to places like Fiji, where there is a Government near at hand to afford to the labourers the requisite protection. It would thus appear that, besides Asia and the islands contiguous to it, the West Indies and other places, like Mauritius, which are in a similar position, will for a long time to come have a great advantage over Polynesia as regards the cost of labour, inasmuch as, being able to import labourers at equal or lower cost, they will be by no means dependent upon those imported, and will have at command an incomparably better supply of resident labourers, even if the process of depopulation should in the course of a few years leave any such to Polynesia. It may be urged that this disadvantage would be outweighed by the newness and richness of Polynesian land. This, however, appears improbable for two reasons :—First, as land becomes exhausted tillage, improves, and thus lands in Barbados and Mauritius, which have been used for centuries, are still able to maintain a competition with those recently brought into cultivation; and second, not to speak of the vast unreclaimed forests of tropical Asia and of the Malay Archipelago, where the advantage in respect of labour is likely to be greatest, there is probably, even in the British and Foreign West India Colonies, including Guiana and Honduras, quite as much rich virgin soil as exists in Polynesia. Speaking comparatively, but very small areas of Cuba, Jamaica, Trinidad, and many smaller islands, have been cultivated within the period of European settlement, while the British portion of Guiana, with its 80,000 square miles, though it produces more sugar than is consumed in Australia, is reclaimed from forest only in portions of a thin fringe of coast and river frontage, which is nowhere greater than six miles in depth. In view of the fact that these colonies have, up to a time still very recent, supplied by far the larger proportion of the requirements of the civilized world in respect of tropical produce, and even yet export the larger portion of the cane sugar consumed by it, the thought cannot but suggest itself that the area required for tropical cultivation is comparatively a very small one, and that making full allowance for the increasing wants of civilization, its extension can scarcely be otherwise than very gradual, and will be chiefly confined to those parts of the world where conditions are specially favourable. This, and the other above-mentioned considerations, would appear to point unmistakeably to the conclusion that in any period which can be regarded as within the range of practical politics, agriculture on the part of whites in Polynesia can for the most part be directed only to the supply, and the very partial supply, of the Australian Colonies ; and if this view be correct, the field for European colonization is evidently very narrow indeed. Ido not for a moment contend that no sugar or other cultivated products will be exported from Fiji and Polynesia to places beyond Australasia. Under exceptional conditions of markets and freights some will, and not unfrequently perhaps, be attracted to America and even to Europe. But what I do say is, that the amount of such export must in any case be extremely insignificant relatively to the area of Polynesia, and that the cultivated land required for it, as well as for the consumption of Australasia, will be of far too small extent to render further colonization of the ordinary kind desirable. In order to make this clear it is well to draw special attention to sugar, the only product the cultivation of which has as yet proved to be sufficiently profitable to attract any substantial amount of capital to Western Pacific agriculture. At present the annual consumption of Australasia (which is considerably larger per caput than that of any other part of the world*) is only 110,000 tons. Supposing the population to increase within the next century so as to reach 20,000,000 (a very sanguine estimate in consideration of the fact that the number of immigrants will bear :jr a continually less proportion to the other inhabitants), and supposing also, what is scarcely probable, that the present high consumption per caput should be maintained, the total quantity consumed would even then fall short of 750,000 tons. This quantity, though large, is not greater than

* A few years ago the consumption of Australasia was 85 lbs. per caput, as against 02 lbs. in the United Kingdom and 51 lbs. in the United States, being, in this respect, far in advance of all other countries,

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than has been exported in a year from the single island of Cuba which, as mentioned above, is still forest as regards by far the larger portion of it; and, with virgin soil such as that of Northern Australia or Polynesia, it could be easily produced from 400,000* acres, an area scarcely larger than is probably suitable for the cane out of the 5,000,000 acres of Fiji, and incomparably less than is available for the same purpose in tropical Australia. But besides this reason and those above indicated, there is another which renders it additionally improbable that any very large proportion of this quantity can be produced in Polynesia. The cultivation of beetroot for sugar-making in the temperate climates of Europe, though commenced in comparatively recent times, has of late years been immensely extended. Though speaking from memory, and having no statistics at command, I believe I am right in stating that, notwithstanding the enormous importations of cane sugar from the West Indies, from Brazil, and from the East, the quantity of beet sugar manufactured in Europe is now fully equal to it, and it is, I observe, estimated for this year at 2,000,000 tons, or much more than half of the total consumption there. Sugar is also being largely produced in the United States and Canada, not only from the beet but from sorghum ; and as it is not, I believe, a matter of doubt that there are large areas in Australasia, especially in New Zealand, which have a soil and climate favourable to this kind of agriculture, it may be expected at no distant date to occupy, with reference to local consumption, if not as prominent a position as it does in Europe, at least ona that will materially diminish the necessity for importation. As Queensland and New South Wales are, I understand, already producing about one half of all the sugar consumed in this part of the world, it is thus by no means improbable that Australasia will in the future be able, whether from the cane or from the beet, to supply all its own wants in respect of sugar ; and in view of this, and of the competition of the countries which now supply its markets, as well as of others, such as Borneo and the Malay Peninsula, which are only just beginning to be developed, I should regard as unduly sanguine any estimate which would leave for Polynesia anything beyond a very small portion of the total supply. As regards tropical products of large consumption other than sugar, it is of course possible that some may be eventually found which will yield a profit on their cultivation. So far, however, no- such experiments have proved successful, except in respect of cocoa-nuts, and the demand for these in the world can, as shown in a recent instance, be very easily over-supplied. In view of the fact that the difficulty and cost of obtaining labour are likely to become greater instead of less, and also that no single article can be named the cultivation of which is not being vigorously prosecuted elsewhere under conditions more favourable in this respect and not less advantageous in all others, it may well be doubted whether the Western Pacific affords anything beyond an extremely limited field for such enterprise. It is at all events certain that the existing British Colonies of Northern Australia and Fiji could, from a very small portion of their surface, supply all the probable wants of Australia as regards tropical produce for centuries to come, while for several generations Fiji could easily do so alone; and, as the trade produced by cultivation is in the aggregate no larger, because the latter is widely scattered, it would appear to be by no means to the advantage of Australasians, to encourage planting enterprise in this part of the world outside of existing British Colonios. There is, moreover, another consideration which points to the same conclusion. Except in countries having very dense population, tropical agriculture can be successfully carried on only by labourers bound under contract. For securing just treatment to coloured labourers in this condition, the experience of the whole world goes to show that strict regulations are necessary, and their observance requires to be carefully supervised. It is sometimes forcibly urged against such regulations that the welfare of the labourer is to the direct interest of the employer ; but, as the blue books of the last generation show, this consideration did not shield from all kinds of barbarous treatment slaves who were worth several hundred pounds each ; and, as is proved by the recent records of every tropical colony, it is by no means a sufficient protection for labourers who can be replaced for a far less sum. Though deliberate cruelty is now probably of rare occurrence, want of consideration for people of a totally different origin, needs, and habits, and inability to see from their point of view, are still common even among men of humane disposition ; and this, there is reason to believe, has caused far more suffering and death among coloured labourers than any of the graver forms of ill-treatment. As security against such evils, regulations are more or less strictly enforced in all British Colonies, and it is scarcely necessary to say that their observance involves considerable cost to the employer. Now, it will never be contended by any one who has had experience on the subject, that such regulations could be effectively enforced on plantations scattered over the large area of the Pacific; and especially such regulations as experience has proved to be necessary for securing the barest justice to the peculiarly unintelligent and helpless, and on that account specially irritating Polynesian. Except in a few cases where the plantations were sufficiently numerous and near together to warrant the appointment of a resident official staff, some of the most important regulations could not be enforced, and would in all probability be rarely observed at all. Moreover, land in these remote places would be obtained at extremely low cost; and thus employers who have voluntarily separated themselves from the restraints of civilized government would have, in both these respects, an appreciable advantage over those of existing British Colonies. To encourage planting enterprises of this kind, which for reasons above stated would not be desirable on other grounds, would thus appear open to this additional objection, that it would be to foster new interests deserving of little consideration at the expense of existing and established interests in British Colonies. For the above reasons I hold strongly, that, even for the purely economical interests of Australasia, and apart altogether from higher considerations on the score of humanity, the best policy to be pursued in Polynesia would be to discourage planting there, except such as could be carried on in each island by the natives indigenous to it, there being no other apparent means of putting an end to the depopulation now going on, and of thus preserving the only secure foundation for commerce in the future. For the same reason the labour trade should be inexorably suppressed, land purchases should be placed under stringent regulations, and the sale to natives of firearms, explosives, and intoxicating liquors, should be prevented by heavy penalties, all due encouragement being at the same time given to such legitimate trade as involves no recruiting and carrying away of labourers. Though

*In Hawaii as much as 0 tons of sugar is said to have been produced from an acre, while in other places 4 tons per acre is not an uncommon yield from new land.

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Though an appreciable advantage has been conferred by the labour trade upon Queensland and Fiji, it is one of a very ephemeral character, which, even if no such measure of suppression be adopted, will in a few years come to an end by the exhaustion of the people who are producing it. But, on the other hand, the evils caused to the islands from which the labourers come, even when regarded simply from the point of view of Australasian interest, are according to all independent authority of a far more lasting character, and, if the trade be allowed to extend as it is now doing, will very soon become irremediable. There are many indications in most of the islands that, within a very recent period, the population was much greater than it is now, and there appears to bo no reason whatever why Polynesians should not again increase and multiply, if an effective check were given to the plainly evident causes which are now destroying them. For in tropical countries the disappearance of coloured races is by no means the necessary result of contact with whites. This is shown not only in India but by*the enormous increase of population in Java and Natal, and by the fact that even in Fiji the decrease which has been going on for generations has been effectively checked, though the conditions, on account of the number of whites, are far more unfavourable than they are likely to be in the greater part of Polynesia. 1 am aware that a policy directed to the saving of native races is commonly regarded, if not avowedly characterized, as undeserving of consideration when it at all affects the interests of white men ; but, even if it be admitted that this view has force with reference to countries like Australia and the United States, which are fitted to be the permanent home of the superior race, I venture to think that, as regards Polynesia, it is entitled to no weight at all. For there the place of the natives as they disappear cannot be supplied by white men, —indeed, for many generations, can only be partially supplied at all, and the greater part of the islands will gradually become as useless to Australasians as if they were in the other hemisphere. On the other hand, an increasing population, under the civilizing influences of the missionary and trader, might in no long time render them of immeasurably greater value to Australasians than they are now, and would, in any case, give them a commercial importance beyond all comparison greater than that of the interests sustained by the present system of destruction. As it would thus appear that purely economical as well as philanthropic interests point in the same direction, it remains to be considered how the object indicated can bo best attained. Both this and the other object mentioned at the beginning of this paper, which has been hitherto regarded as of chief importance, might of course be secured by international agreement between the civilized Powers concerned; but such an agreement would probably be long in the making, and before it could be concluded, even if it should prove practicable at all, some of the principal dangers which are feared might bo actually incurred. Such agreement apart, the only sure means of securing the desired objects would be to annex to the British Crown, or to take under British protection, all the islands mentioned, except those which are already in the possession of civilized Powers, or where foreign interests are too predominant to admit of such a course. An undertaking of this kind would no doubt appear at first sight to involve heavy responsibility and enormous expense, and it has on that account been regarded with disfavour by those who consider, not without much reason, that British responsibilities are already heavy enough, and who recognize that the demand for national expenditure is continually increasing,,while the growth of national wealth has, as regards the most recent years, by no means kept pace with it. But, though there would indeed bo a certain responsibility with reference to foreign nations, I question whether that would be of any very appreciable amount, if no attempt were made without their consent to interfere with islands in which they are specially interested. We cannot, for instance, without the consent of France, contravene the international understanding with respect to the New Hebrides; and with regard to Samoa, again, it would bo both unjust and unwise to take action without the previous approval of Germany, whose existing interest in the group is considerably greater than ours, and which in keeping war vessels there for several years past, has afforded the principal protection to the white residents. But if the commission of such follies he considered out of the question, the responsibility of adopting the proposed policy would scarcely be greater than that of leaving things as they are, and would not probably be such as to prevent its being undertaken if no additional burden to British taxpayers were necessarily involved in it. The whole question is so evidently one rather of local than Imperial concern that, I apprehend, there need be no doubt on this latter point. If, as indicated in Lord Derby's recent despatch, England were to make a small addition to its squadron in the Western Pacific in connection with this policy, 1 venture to think that Australasia would not expect more. For if, as I estimate, the whole cost of administration, including that of necessary means of communication, should not exceed £100,000 per annum (and after the first year it would, I believe, fall considerably short of that sum), it may be doubted whether the expense of a single small war vessel would not bear a larger proportion to it than would fairly represent the material interests of Great Britain. It is no doubt probable that the strong attachment entertained by the jieople of Great Britain for their Australasian cousins (as remarkably illustrated by the almost complete unanimity of the English and Scottish Press on a recent occasion), might induce Parliament to undertake a larger share of the cost than mere material interest would require*: but knowing the just sense of dignity which is entertained by colonists with regard to the great position achieved by them, I feel satisfied that they would not only not demand, but would not permit, such a sacrifice; and I venture to think, therefore, that if this policy be adopted at the request of Australasia, the question of necessary cost to the mother country may be left entirely out of consideration. As to the question whether Polynesia should be annexed, or merely a protectorate of it assumed, the reply which would suggest itself is that the action to be taken might be called by either name, so long as it is distinctly recognized as securing the two following objects:— First—power to legislate in respect of, and to control, persons of all nations in their relations not only with natives but with one another. Second—exclusion of foreign nations from assuming the sovereignty of any islands not already annexed by them. ■% If

* Though the notion of national sentiment prevailing over material interest is not uncommonly derided, I venture to think that the maintenance of the present Australian squadron, out of the heavily-burdened resources of the mother country, is an instance in point.

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If the term "protectorate," as describing tLe relation to bo assumed towards the islands, be held to cover these objects, it would probably be more convenient than any other; and this especially if annexation would necessarily involve the elevation of Polynesians to the status of British subjects. For it is obvious that in New Guinea, and in any of the larger islands, to enforce upon the natives the observance of British laws would be out of the question; and though punishment for outrages committed by them should, wherever possible, be preceded by trial, it would not probably be convenient to give up altogether the right to inflict it by act of war, as it might be necessary to do if they had become British subjects. As regards the policy to be pursued in administration, I would strongly deprecate any attempt in the first instance to govern the natives. For until they know something more or better of us than they do now, their consent would be hard to obtain, and to govern them without it would be not only unjust but in a high degree impolitic and, as regards the greater part of the-large islands, impracticable. As a commencement, a certain number of Commissioners (probably from twelve to twenty would be sufficient) should be stationed in the more important places. They should besides their salaries have good houses provided for them, and should be enabled to maintain" a native guard, not only for police purposes but with a view to make a moral impression on the natives, which it would be more difficult to secure otherwise. These officers should have complete civil and criminal jurisdiction over whites and over individual natives in their relations to whites. Where a whole native community "was at fault, either by conniving at an offeiice or shielding the offenders, their punishment would probable be best achieved by act of war. The latter, however, would in all probability be very seldom necessary if the officers were carefully selected, and were instructed to direct their chief attention to promote the idea of British justice and consideration. No interference in tribal warfare should be permitted, and attempts to use one tribe for the conquest of another should be prohibited, except for defence from imminent danger or under instruction from the supreme authority. But, on the other hand, the Commissioners should always show themselves ready to offer their friendly arbitration in native disputes, making it clear that the desire of peace is their only object in doing so. By such a policy as this (which I have only sketched in the rough, leaving the details to be filled in if necessary hereafter) I feel satisfied that a desire for British Government might be made to spread round each Commissioner in an ever widening circle, and that the way might thus be prepared for the complete government of the natives such as now exists in Fiji. The superintendence of these Commissioners should be entrusted to an officer having no other duty to perform, and able to give his whole time and attention to it. He should have at least one swift despatch vessel for every five Commissioners; and his powers should be similar to those of the present High Commissioner, from which, if dangerous complications are to be avoided, that of deporting persons dangerous to good order must certainly not be excluded. The Chief Commissioner's place of residence, though a matter of comparatively little importance, is one as to which I have much doubt. All things considered, lam at present inclined to think that it should be in Australia, and probably in Melbourne, where he would be comparatively free from the pressure of interests at variance with the policy to be pursued, and would, with the assistance of the telegraph, be quite as well able to perform his duties as if he lived further north. As it would be important that he should make occasional visits to the different posts, and business would have to bo transacted at head-quarters in his absence, he would require to be furnished with an assistant, armed with all his own powers. Probably there might also be required in the islands a few medical men for quarantine purposes, and perhaps also a small number of Customs officers, if it were deemed necessary to raise a revenue to meet expenditure. But in any case the administrative staff required for a long time to come would be very small, if the policy above indicated were to be strictly kept in view. What would be necessary when the islands began to be governed in the ordinary sense may well be left for future consideration. I have left to the last the important question whether the control of administration should be Imperial or Colonial. That it not only would be, but in no long time ought to be, undertaken by the confederated Colonies, I regard as beyond doubt, and the question is really therefore one which concerns only the immediate future. Having had many and varied opportunities of learning what is required to obtain the confidence and respect of natives, and having seen how common is the want, even in able and humane men, of that imaginative faculty which enables the recognition of this, I must frankly confess that it is not altogether without anxiety that I contemplate the conduct of a great experiment of this kind by Colonies which, however remarkably supplied with able statesmen, have had either no experience at all of native government, or such as was gained under conditions that would for this purpose render it worse than useless. But, on the other hand, I fully recognize the difficulty in the way of Imperial control; which must, I fear, be regarded as out of the question. Assuming therefore that the policy above indicated would be pursued, I should immeasurably prefer the control of a confederated Australasia, even in the first instance, to the continuance of the present condition of things. The above assumption, however, I regard as allimportant ; and I make it in the confidence that the public opinion of a large confederation, as distinguished from one swayed by local interests, will bo such as to warrant it. lam satisfied that when the true position of things comes to be recognized, Australasians will refuse to permit a policy which, for the sake of a temporary and selfish end, would destroy a whole population, and would thus render eventually useless possessions likely under better auspices to be of inestimable value to their descendants. For this, I emphatically repeat, would be the result of present colonization for any other than trade purposes, as unmistakeably foreshadowed by many instances in history, and by the present condition not only of the Western Pacific but of the apparently flourishing kingdom of Hawaii. As the latter is likely to be quoted as in one respect an instance against me, I think it may be useful for this and other reasons to draw attention to its circumstances. It is true that the revenue of Hawaii and the value of its exports have greatly increased during the last few years, despite the decay of its native population. This, however, has been entirely due to tho reciprocity treaty with the TJnite^ States, under which Hawaiian sugar enters the American market without any payment of duty, and thus has an enormous advantage* over imports from any other country. Under

* I believe this amounts to about £12 per-ton, a sum equal to the total cost of production in some of the West India Colonies.'

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Under these exceptional, and as I venture to think unhealthy, conditions, Hawaiian planters are able to pay wages to their imported labour such as under ordinary circumstances would leave no margin of profit ; and yet even this temptation is failing to keep up the required supply, and the Government is at this moment seeking to supplement it from the very islands which have been the subject of this paper, and which under the pegis of an Australasian Dominion will, I trust, in no long time be protected against such enterprise. As showing how the latter is sometimes regarded in the United States, I quote -from a recent number of an American paper:—"lt is evident that the supply of Scandinavians and Portuguese for Hawaiian sugar-fields is running short. A schooner has just been despatched to the South Sea Islands to gather recruits from the New Hebrides and Solomon Islands and other groups. The captain is fortified by letters and presents from Kalakaua for the chiefs of the island, and it is expected that with their aid a large number of these poor islanders may be secured for the sugar-coated slavery by which the reciprocity monopolists thrive." It is of course probable that there exist in Hawaii excellent regulations on paper for the protection of imported labourers, and it is even possible that they may be carried out; but, in view of the difficulties which have been encountered in British Crown Colonies, and knowing that Hawaii is completely controlled by the sugar interest, I should in any case have had grave doubts on this point, even if a complaint recently received from a neighbouring island- had not given special reason for them ; and that these doubts are shared by others than myself is shown by the recent refusal of the Indian Government to permit the importation of its subjects there. Though the language of the American writer above quoted may be unjustifiably strong, I cannot but regard as open to question the humanity of a Government with reference to coloured labourers if, after all the experience of the past, it permits white men, and especially such as come from a climate like that of Scandinavia, to be imported for field work on tropical sugar plantations. If this action has been allowed, it will afford only another striking instance of how the greed of money-making adds to the sum of human suffering, and one which will not be without use in forming the judgment of Australasians upon some of the opinions which. I have above ventured to express. But what I chiefly wish to point out in the case of Hawaii is the condition of its native population, under a Government which, though nominally that of a native King, is controlled by white men's interests alone, and in the face of a colonization such as that not uncommonly desired for Polynesia. That population, which was estimated at 250,000 sixty years ago, had within the last decade been reduced to 40,000. Since the late epidemic of small-pox it can scarcely exceed 25,000, and in the course of another generation it will in all probability be extinct. When that occurs a few white men may still become rich on such labour as can be brought from China or elsewhere, but even that prospect would be out of the question on the occurrence of the often-threatened repeal of the reciprocity treaty. In any case, is this a future which Atistralasians would desire for Polynesia 1 I feel sure that it is not; and I have every confidence that their statesmen will forego immediate advantages which can be purchased only at so heavy a cost, and will direct their energies to the real civilization of these savage islanders instead of a sham one—which means nothing less than their destruction. In expressing some of the above views, let me not be for a moment misunderstood as saying that colonization of the ordinary kind, as distinguished from the policy recommended, might not for a few years be profitable. Indeed, if in connection with it the labour trade were permitted to continue without check, it might no doubt for a short time be very profitable in places situated in the immediate neighbourhood of islands from which labourers could be cheaply imported. But what Ido say is that the benefit would be derived by very few, and those principally capitalists, while the cost, not only to the natives but to present and future Australasians, would be out of all proportion. Let me endeavour, therefore, in conclusion, to forecast, from experience already acquired in these seas, what would be the immediate result of such colonization as apart from the ultimate one of native extinction. I may premise by saying that, in so far as is known, all, or nearly all, land in Polynesia is owned in community, and that the greater part of the people as well as the chiefs have individual rights in it. Now one of the first results of the policy deprecated would be a rush of land speculators to all parts of the Pacific. The probability that the greater part of the land purchased would not be utilized for generations would no more be recognized generally than it is at the present moment in Fiji; and even many who did recognize it would buy in the hope of selling at a profit. That in all, or even in the majority, of these purchases all the owners would willingly join in the sale is in a very high degree improbable. Perhaps in most cases the chief owners would take part, and where these were powerful the rest might accord a compulsory acquiescence, which would be repudiated on the first favourable occasion. But some transactions would unquestionably take place such as that reported in the following telegram, which I extract from a recent issue of an Australian newspaper : —" From our own correspondent. Port Moresby, via Cooktown, 15,000 acres of good sugar land has been bought for a Sydney syndicate at Id. per acre. The real owner of the land was never seen, and took no part in the transaction." But whether all, or part, or none of the owners take part in sales, it is certain that for a long time to come natives will for the most part be unable to appreciate the effect of absolute alienation. Their own alienations have no effect beyond existing lives ; and though they may seem to understand transfer in fee simple when it is explained to them, and under the temptation of some immediate benefit, their almost complete inability to look forwards precludes the possibility of its real meaning being fully comprehended. Again, the deeds of many of such purchases will in all probability (as has happened in Fiji) describe large blocks, the back boundaries of which are unknown both to the native and the white man, while the latter only will at all comprehend the extent of area. The villages and planting lands of whole tribes may sometimes also be expected to be included (as again has happened not only in Fiji but in Samoa and elsewhere) ; and when the people discover that they are offered the alternative of becoming the serfs of the white man or of removing to the lands of other and perhaps hostile tribes, they will in most instances either resist its enforcement, or indulgejn secret retaliation of a more protracted character. Such evils would no doubt1 be considerably less if a law were enacted that no purchases would be recognized unless made through or from the Government; hu\ they would be by no means entirely precluded. Indeed, I can conceive no provision, practicable of enforcement, w*hich would prevent some of the worst consequences to be feared ; and I have not the slightest doubt, that by the end of two or three years

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years after annexation, there would have been fighting and bloodshed in almost every island annexed. In the small islands, the greater part of which could be dealt with by ships of war, this would be of comparatively little moment; but in New Guinea especially, and also in New Britain, New Ireland, and the larger Solomons, it would mean either military expeditions involving great cost, or continual warfare with the settlers for an indefinite period. But even if the above picture should be overcoloured—and lam satisfied that many who have a better acquaintance with the subject than I have will not regard it so—l apprehend that no one at all fit to form an opinion upon it will doubt that a policy of agricultural colonization will involve enormous cost, not only for additional war vessels but for police purposes. I would ask, therefore, are Australasians prepared to pay this ? or will they, however small the preliminary expense, desire a measure which may at the best enrich a few capitalists or speculators, and afford a.livelihood for some years to a few thousand others ; but which will much more certainly be the cause of horrors unspeakable, and eventually render tenantless and desolate one of the fairest portions of God's earth. After reading over this paper, and recognizing a want of lucidity in the logical connection of its argument, besides other obvious defects, I deem it necessary to say that, though I have thought much on the subject to which it refers, the idea of writing it occurred to me only a few days before it required to be finished. It has therefore been composed hastily, under a heavy pressure of other duty ; and for want of the necessary books of reference I have been compelled to trust unduly to memory. For these reasons there are also probably some errors. These however must, I think, be very great indeed to affect the general conclusion ; and in any case I trust that I may have afforded information on a subject of which but little is generally known, and may have made some few suggestions likely to be of use, with reference to a question of such vital importance to the Australasian future. It is also incumbent upon me to say that, though I hold a position which causes me to take a deep interest in the affairs of the Western Pacific, my opinions, as above expressed, are in this sense unofficial, that I have been unable to obtain for them the previous,., sanction of, and am unaware how they may be regarded by, Her Majesty's Government. & G. WILLIAM DES VGEUX, Governor of Fiji, and H.B.M.'s Acting High Commissioner for the Western Pacific.

The Colonial Secretary, for the information of the Intercolonial Conference.—A.L., Nov. 26/83. Submitted, 27/11/83. The Conference.—A.S., 28/11/83.

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NOTES ON SOME UNDERTAKINGS OE EEDERAL IMPORTANCE IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA. (By His Excellency Governor E. Napier Broome, C.M.G.) The commanding geographical position of Western Australia, upon the seaboard of the continent nearest to India, to Europe, and to England, cannot fail to give that Colony a more important place in the Australian system of the future than its present resources and population would seem to indicate. The fortification of King George's Sound has lately been declared to be part of the general scheme of continental defence, and this excellent harbour has for many years been the first and last port of call of the steamers of the Peninsular and Oriental Company, which carry the principal European mails of the Eastern Colonies. Since 1877 the arrival and departure of those mails has been notified to Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane by means of the Eucla telegraph, a work of Federal importance. The object of these notes, which I take the liberty of transmitting to the Australasian Convention through the representative of this Government, is to draw attention to some other West Australian undertakings, also of high intercolonial value. The chief of these, and one which may be called a truly Federal work, is the projected Eucla railway, by which it is proposed to connect Fremantle with South Australia. The total length of this line will be 840 miles, of which a section of 90 miles, from Fremantle to York, is now in course of completion, and will shortly be open. The construction of the remaining 750 miles, with borrowed capital, would be an enterprise quite beyond the present resources of Western Australia, and would probably have to remain in abeyance until it could be undertaken by the Federal Government of the future, were it not for a proposal to proceed with it on the Land Grant System. A syndicate of capitalists now offers to build and work the entire railway, in consideration of a grant of 12,000 acres of land per mile. The scheme has been approved; and, if the syndicate be as prepared as would appear, the whole line may be completed in ten or twelve years. In conjunction with this railway, the West Australian Government propose to construct at Fremantle harbour works which will render that port safe and commodious for the largest steamers, and plans for these works have been prepared by Sir John Coocle. The estimate of cost is £638,000 or £242,000, according as a larger or smaller scheme be adopted. The continental advantage of this Eucla line of .railway is so great and manifest that its construction, even should the present scheme fall through, can only be a matter of time. Coming first to Fremantle from Ceylon, the European mail steamers would reach Australia at a saving of three degrees of southing, and of about 300 miles of distance, as compared with tho present arrival at King George's Sound. Passengers landing at Fremantle would avoid the rough and cold weather of the voyage round the Leeuwin and across the Australian Bight; and both mails and passengers—presuming the railway to be continued from Eucla, in the same manner as the intercolonial telegraph, by the South Australian Government —would reach the Eastern Colonies from two to four days sooner than at present, after a land-journey through the most temperate regions of Australia. The time thus economized would be a most valuable saving in the business of the continent. The West Australian Government have just taken a step which will, it is hoped, solve the difficulties arising out of the existing monopoly of tho Eastern Telegraph Company. They have granted a concession to Sir Julius Vogel, for twenty-one years, for the laying of a Submarine Cable from a point on the Northwest coast to Ceylon or Singapore. The inland lines of the Colony will in a few months form a second transcontinental telegraph, another work of intercolonial value. They will be completed over a distance of 2,113 miles, from Eucla to Roebourne, where the now cable will probably be landed. The distance from Roebourne to Ceylon is about 2,600 miles, to Singapore about 1,300 miles, and it is a condition of the concession that the cable is to be laid and ready for use within five years. It is scarcely necessary to point out that this additional submarine line will be of the highest advantage to all the Australian Colonies, placing them, as it will, in more certain, and probably considerably cheaper and speedier telegraphic communication with the world than at present. In connection with the subject of telegraphs, it may be mentioned that tho West Australian Government, having been in confmunication with the Committee of Lloyds on the matter, are now laying a short submarine cable from Breaksea Island, off King George's Sound, to the mainland. This signalling station will be very useful to Australian shipping, as Breaksea Island is the first land made after passing the Leeuwin. A

Commanding geographical position of Western Australia.

Fortification of King George's Sound.

Sirst and last • port of call of Australian mails. Eucla Telegraph

Eucla Railway,

Frcmantlo Harbour Works.

Continental advantage of tho Eucla Railway.

Submarine Cable to Ceylon or Singapore.

A second transcontinental Telegraph.

Breaksea Island Cable and Signal Station.

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A liglit of the first order, and an ocean signal station, on Cape Leeuwin itself would be most desirable, and a work of Federal importance. It would cost about £12,000. The West Australian Government have not felt justified in incurring this expense, since it considers that the cost of such a light-house should be contributed to by the other Colonies, or that the general boon to shipping would warrant, as in the case of the Great Basses and other lights, the levying of a duo, guaranteed by Imperial and Local Acts. If the matter could be arranged on this basis, Western Australia would be glad to contribute its share of the expense, and to execute the work. It has been proposed to organize a Federal Quarantine Station at King George's Sound. The Government of the Colony are ready to give every facility, and it may be hoped that a j)asis of action on this and other Federal matters of pressing need will be settled or suggested during the sitting of the Convention. The systematic Marine Survey of the coasts of Western Australia, begun ten years ago, is a work of Federal value. The expense is borne jointly by the Admiralty and the Colony. The survey is steadily progressing, and a great extent of coast line, from King George's Sound and Cape Leeuwin in the South to the new port of King Sound in the far North—entered a month or two ago by a merchant steamer for the first time—has been carefully mapped, and sounded out to the 100 fathoms edge. One important resist of the survey is that the Rambler and Beaver roofs, so long a cause of anxiety to seamen, have been conclusively proved not to exist. The West Australian seaboard embraces nearly half the continent, but she has kept pace with the sister Colonies in providing mariners with full and accurate charts. Taking into account her small means, she has probably spent a larger proportionate sum than any other State of the continent in perfecting the knowledge of Australian waters. These few notes may serve to show how the geographical position of the Western Colony already connects it in no small degree with works and projects of continental concern, promising to make it the thoroughfare of the European mails, passengers, and telegrams of the federated Dominion of the future ; and how its Government and Legislature are occupying themselves with undertakings which must tend to knit the Colony more closely to the rest of Australia. F. NAPIER BROOME. Government House, Perth, 14th November, 1883.

Cape Leeuwin Light-house and Signal Station.

Federal Quarantine Station at King- George's Sound.

Marine Survey of West Australian Coast.

Object of the Notes.

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(8)

ON THE SUBJECT OF THE ANNEXATION OR PROTECTORATE OF NEW GUINEA AND THE WESTERN PACIFIC ISLANDS. The Agents-General for New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, and Victoria, to Lord Derby. My Lord, London, 21 July, 18.83. In accordance with the desire expressed by your Lordship on the occasion of our recent interview with you, we purpose now to place before your Lordship in writing the representations which we then submitted to you on the annexation or protectorate of the Western Pacific Islands and the eastern portion of New Guinea. It is no doubt well known to your Lordship that during a period now extending over more than thirty years, the Australasian Colonies have one after another pressed upon Her Majesty's Government the expediency of bringing the islands of the Western Pacific within the dominion or the protection of England ; and we feel assured that the whole question will appear to your Lordship invested with a graver aspect, when for the first time the Governments of nearly all the Dependencies of England in Australasia come before Her Majesty's Government to make a united remonstrance against the present state of affairs in the Western Pacific, and to ask from the Imperial authority the adoption of such a definite policy and purpose as they believe is essential to their future well-being. It is true that fear of foreign intervention has been the immediate cause of this concerted action on the part of the Australasian Governments; and this, we understood, seemed to your Lordship hardly adequate to justify a strong sense of present danger. We can assure you that our Governments would receive with a sense of great relief your Lordship's assurance that there is no foundation for our fears. P>ut it is not only the apprehension of immediate foreign intervention that has influenced our Governments, nor would its removal change their opinion as to the necessity for making it impossible in the future. Other powerful reasons bring them together to urge upon the Imperial Government the necessity of a policy different from the one that has been pursued in the past: the conviction, indeed, that the state of things in the Western Pacific has at last become intolerable. We feel that we ought not to say this without an attempt to trace the course of events that have led to so grave a declaration. It was in 1848 that Sir George Grey, then Governor of New Zealand, first called the attention of the Imperial Government to a " species of trade in the native inhabitants which had commenced in the Pacific," and to the danger of foreign annexation, pointing out the necessity of providing against these in time. For many years successive appeals of the same kind, and from one Colony after another, were made to Her Majesty's Government to interfere. In the meanwhile, the constant repetition of outrages in the Pacific had become such a scandal to civilization that the Imperial Government resolved to make a vigorous attempt to repress them. The Foreign Jurisdiction Acts, which had been in existence in various forms since 1828, and the Pacific Islanders Protection Act of 1872, had proved insufficient to meet the increasing difficulties of the case. At last, in 1875, two Acts of Parliament were passed, amending the former law, defining more clearly the powers and jurisdiction of Her Majesty in the Pacific Ocean, and creating the office of High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. These were followed, two years after, by the promulgation of the "Western Pacific Order in Council of 1877," which established the High Commissioner's Court, with elaborate provision for the government of the Western Pacific : and the new Colony of Fiji, which had meanwhile been created in 1876, became the centre of the High Commissioner's operations. The humane intentions of the Imperial Government in these measures have always commanded the respect and sympathy of the' Australasian Colonies : and if it had ever been possible to give them real effect, we should not be addressing your Lordship to-day ; but there was an inherent difficulty, the result of which could hardly have been foreseen at the time, but which was certain to paralyze every endeavour to confer the benefits of law and order on the vast region, stretching from New Guinea across the Pacific Ocean, which those measures embraced. The Act of 1875, which created the office of High Commissioner, only empowered Her Majesty to " exercise power and jurisdiction over her subjects" within the islands, and expressly declared that nothing in the Act or in any Order in Council under it should " extend, or be construed to extend, to invest Her Majesty with any claim or title whatsoever to dominion or sovereignty" over the islands, or to " derogate from the rights of the tribes or people inhabiting them, or of their chiefs or rulers, to sucli sovereignty or dominion." And although the powers of the Order in Council were apparently extended so as to include foreigners in a few specified cases, they were practically restricted to British subjects only, for no foreigner could be brought under the High Commissioner's jurisdiction unless he could produce " the consent in writing of the competent authority on behalf of his own nation," a condition which, from the nature of things, could seldom iPever be fulfilled. Nor did the Order in Council fully carry out the idea with which it had been originally devised. Though the Act was passed in 1875, it was not till 1877 that the Order in Council under it was issued ; and it was not till 1878 that it could be brought into operation in the Pacific. Meanwhile the intentions of Her

INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION.

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Her Majesty's Government had undergone some change. Differences arose between the naval authorities and the Acting High Commissioner as to their respective powers. The work to be done was daily becoming more and more difficult, and the nature of the difficulty was becoming better known to Her Majesty's Government. Hardly was the Order in Council brought into operation, when it was found to be too intricate and complicated an instrument, bristling as it did with technicalities and minute provisions in precise legal language, to be really workable. The High Commissioner described the position in which he was placed in the clearest terms. His jurisdiction being one extending over British subjects exclusively, he had no authority whatever to deal, whether judicially or in his executive capacity, with offences by natives of islands not under the dominion of the Crown. He more than once represented to the Inrperial Government, that unless such a jurisdiction were created as would be competent to take cognizance also of offences committed against British subjects, the infliction of punishment on "these for outrages against natives in the same regions was certain to excite on their part a natural irritation, and a sense of being treated with injustice. But the reply to his representations invariably was, that "in the opinion of the Law Officers of the Crown, insuperable obstacles existed to any assumption of jurisdiction by Her Majesty over other than British subjects, beyond the limits of Her dominions." The High Commissioner could not with fairness be reproached for not having exercised a jurisdiction which he had been strictly forbidden to assume. Early in 1881 he reminded Lord Kimberley how often the attention of Her Majesty's Government had been painfully called to the greatly increased frequency of the murder of Europeans by natives in the islands of the Western Pacific; this he attributed (among other causes) to the " far greater intercourse between whites and natives," and to the possession of firearms by the latter, "which had given them a confidence and boldness they did not before possess." Later on he recommended that power should be granted for the trial of natives for offences against British subjects, where such a power might be conceded by the native chiefs themselves ; but it would have been no easier to get the assent of the natives than that of foreigners. The High Commissioner regretted that so elaborate an instrument as the Order in Council had been in the first instance prepared; and he represented that of its 321 articles by far the greater part were never called into use, that it was constantly found, in the remoter regions of the Pacific, impossible to comply with its directions, and that the powers intended to be conferred by it were therefore ineffectual. So things went on from 1877 to 1881. Another year elapsed, and the evils only got worse. In the hope of lessening them, the High Commissioner appointed two officers, Captain Dale, R.N., and Captain Cyprian Bridge, R.N., commanding H.M.S. "Diamond," and Espiegle," to be Deputy Commissioners. But the old difficulty reasserted itself at once, that there was no jurisdiction over foreigners : the evil-doers of any nation had only to represent themselves as belonging to some other nationality in order to escape control. In his instructions to the Deputy Commissioners, Sir A. Gordon warned them that they would have difficulty in ascertaining who were British subjects and who were not, because many would seek to plead some other nationality ; and that they would find caution to be essentially requisite, as they had no jurisdiction whatever over any foreigner unless he submitted to it voluntarily. There was never any doubt that this device of assuming other nationalities would bo resorted to by criminals ; but it was hardly necessary to resort to it, for outrages in which foreigners were openly concerned took place. A boat from a vessel named the " Aurora," flying the French flag, had a collision with the natives of an island called Api, in the New Hebrides group, in which the chief of a small village was shot. The natives thereupon resolved to murder the first white man they could in revenge. An English labour vessel, the " Dauntless," went to the island shortly afterwards to recruit labourers ; her boat was decoyed to the beach, when the natives opened fire with rifles, killing the second mate and wounding the Government Agent. Complaints were often made of there being cases of kidnapping by French vessels at one island or another, and consequent threats of the natives that they would kill the first white man who went there. An inquiry was held at Noumea respecting the French vessel " Aurora." In her case it was clearly shown that the crew had put in practice the worst form of kidnapping, such as staving in or running down canoes, capturing the natives, and shooting those who attempted to escape. Labourers were being apparently recruited by the crews of vessels, nearly all of which flew foreign flags. The planters of all nationalities were greatly exasperated by the conduct of masters of labour vessels, both French and English, in enticing away their servants. Where the foreigner committed an outrage, he was not amenable to punishment; where he suffered injury, he could get no redress in the High Commissioner's Court. But if there was serious trouble by reason of there being no jurisdiction over foreigners, another trouble was growing up even more serious because there was none over natives. So far from outrages diminishing after the Order in Council was promulgated they increased. In November, 1880, Commander Bower, R.N. of H.M.S. "Sandfly," with a boat's crew, was put to death on a small island of the Solomon group, under circumstances of much barbarity. The Governor of New South Wales reported to the Colonial Office that " the atrocious murders lately committed by the South Sea Islanders had caused and were causing a very deep feeling of pain and indignation." The newspapers teemed with accounts of these outrages : it was said that "no week passed without the announcement of another massacre in the Islands." The exasperation predicted by Sir Arthur Gordon as certain to occur was becoming greater every day. Early in 1881 Lord Kimberley, in a despatch to the High Commissioner, deplored the "unusual number of outrages by natives upon white men which had recently been reported to the Colonial Office." In the meanwhile stern reprisals had been resorted to. When the outrage took place at the island of Api in revenge for what had been done by the crew of a French vessel, the Commodore had gone down in H.M.S. " Wolverene" and landed a party of 100 seamen and marines, who destroyed four of the villages implicated, and cut down the fruit plantations in. their vicinity. And now, after the " Sandfly" outrage, the Commodore felt it his duty to take even severer measures. In December, 1880, lie sent down Captain Maxwell, R.N., in H.M.S. " Emerald," to inflict punishment not only for the " Sandfly murders, but for others that had been committed on crews of the vessels " Kipplc," " Esperanza," " Borcalis," and " Anne Brooks." The punishment was very severe. From bay to bay, from island to island, the villages were set in flames, the cocoa-nut and otheis fruit trees cut down, and the canoes destroyed. " There was no more to be done," said Captain Maxwell, "in the way of hunting these wretched people. . . . They have been hunted and worried till it will be long before they settle again. ... I regret that my whole voyage in these islands has been one of apparently ruthless destruction, but no other course has been possible." Nor was this enough. A few months afterwards a still stronger step was taken. Commander Bruce, of 331—E H.M.S.

Sir A. Gordon, July 16, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, Feb. 26, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, April 23, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, July 16, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, June 10, 1882.

Sir A. Cordon, May 31, 1882.

Commodore Wilson, Aug. 2, 1880.

Governor Dcs Voeux, Feb. 23, 18S2.

Commodore Wilson, Feb. 26, 1882.

Captain Bridge, R.N., Aug. 3, 1882.

Captain Bridge, R.N., Aug. 15, 1882.

Commodore Wilson, Dec. 2,1880.

Lord A. Loftus, Dec. 28, 1880. Sydney Telegraph.

Lord Kinibcrlcy, Jan. 16, 1881.

Commodore Wilson, Aug. 22, 1880.

Captain Maxwell, 8.N., Jan. 31, 1881. i

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H.M.S. " Cormorant," was sent to the Florida Isles by the Commodore to bring the perpetrators of the "Sandfly" murders to justice. There he issued a declaration that "In consequence of an English officer and boat's crew being murdered by Florida men, the Queen of England declares war with the whole tribes of Floridas, unless the actual murderers are given up in fourteen days"; adding that "in case of any other white man. being killed in the Florida Isles, the whole of the chiefs would be held responsible, and the Florida Islands be considered to be at war with the Queen of England." Bishop Selwyn, being then on the spot, humanely did all he could to save life. Writing to Commander Bruce, he says : —" I have acted as I have done, because you, sir, as the representative of Her Majesty, have declared war against all the people of these islands unless the murderers are given up. It appears to me to be my duty to save the. people from such a calamity, by using what influence I possess to induce them- to comply with Her Majesty's demands." The Commodore " fully approved of the 'Cormorant's' action at the" Floridas." Thus it seemed that a naval officer, in reprisals for an outrage, might issue a " declaration of war" against entire tribes in the Western Pacific, and that what he required must be considered as being "Her Majesty's demands." Surely it was not this which could ever have been looked for as the outcome of the scheme of 1875 for the government of the Western Pacific. Remedies which were suggested. It is no wonder that such a state of things should have caused serious anxiety to Her Majesty's Government, or that the Secretary of State should have desired the High Commissioner to advise what was now to be done. That the Order in Council had failed was evident ; "an acknowledgment," says Sir Arthur Gordon, " that the present system is a failure, and the consequent repeal of the Order in Council would have the merit of simplicity." But the question was what should be put in its place. When the news came home of the events we have just described, Lord Kimberley sent a despatch to the Governor of Queensland, saying that it was contemplated to invite the naval powers to agree to the appointment of a Joint Commission for considering the measures which should be taken for the regulation of the labour traffic, the trade in firearms, and the prevention and punishment of outrages of all kinds, under the sanction of a Convention between Her Majesty's Government and the other Powers. The Queensland Government immediately expressed their willingness to co-operate with the Imperial authorities for such a plan. The High Commissioner expressed his own concurrence. " Some sort of international agreement," he said, " seems to me to form an essential part of any satisfactory arrangement." He then went on to makeseveral recommendations for improving the existing system, one of. which was that the judicial powers conferred by the Orders in Council should be so extended by Act of Parliament as to render offences committed by natives against British subjects equally cognizable with those committed by British subjects against natives. But it would evidently have been useless to assume jurisdiction over the native people and continue to except foreigners. Nor did the High Commissioner shrink from admitting this. "To obtain," he said, " the power of dealing satisfactorily with the misdeeds of other whites than Englishmen, or of punishing attacks upon them, an international agreement, having the sanction of a treaty, with France, Germany, and the United States, would be necessary. Such an arrangement would probably involve the substitution for the High Commission of a mixed Commission similar to the old mixed Commission Slave Trade Co arts." And Sir Arthur Gordon then went on, with perfect truth, to touch the real kernel of the whole matter. "It should be borne in mind," he said, "that the punishment of outrages, though at present forced into prominence, is not the only nor the most important matter which has to be dealt with in these seas ;" and he reminded the Secretary of State that the jurisdiction of the High Commissioner and his Court was one " primarily created to bring law, both civil and criminal, within the reach of British subjects far from all other legal tribunals, to check aggressive lawlessness, and to regulate the growth and development of British settlements in the Western Pacific." This was wise language. But when such recommendations were made, it was difficult to escape the logical conclusion from them. Once let it be admitted that the Imperial Government can pass an Act such as was advised by the High Commissioner, and is there anything but the thinnest veil left between that and the assertion of the very right of " sovereignty or dominion" which it was the purpose of the Act of 1875 to forbid? It would not be fair if we did not refer to other remedies which were suggested by the High Commissioner. Early in 1881, after reciting the causes for the increased frequency of murder of Europeans by natives in the Western Pacific, Sir Arthur Gordon referred to two ways by which they could be prevented in future. " One is," he said, "that which I know on good authority was seriously contemplated by Her Majesty's Government some years ago,—the establishment of a strong charted Company possessing an exclusive right to trade. . . . Another course would be to limit the protection given for trading operations, to those carried on at certain specified localities." But Sir Arthur Gordon even then allowed that the time for any scheme of a chartered Company had passed ; and last year he proposed another plan to improve the working of the existing High Commission, the leading features of which, in addition to extending his jurisdiction by a new Act of Parliament, were the appointment of three Deputy-Commissioners, the conferring of Deputy-Commissioners' powers on naval officers in command of H.M. cruisers, and the permanent employment of a vessel, not a man-of-war, in the service of the Commission. Whatever might have been the recommendations some years ago, in favour of granting an exclusive right of trading in the Western Pacific to a chartered Company, we entirely agree with Sir Arthur Gordon that the time for any such scheme has long gone by. An elaborate plan was devised in 1876 by Sir Julius Vogel, then Premier of New Zealand, and the present Premier of that Colony, Mr. Whitaker, for the establishment of a great trading Company for the Western Pacific; but it fell to the ground, as any scheme of the kind now proposed must inevitably do. There are no circumstances in the Pacific similar to those which were held to justify the granting of a Royal Charter, in November, 1881, to the North Borneo Company; on the contrary, there are circumstances essentially adverse to any plan of the kind. But even if there were not, we may point to two things which alone ought now to dismiss it from consideration. In the first place, it would always have been futile to imagine that any grant of exclusive rights of trade to a Company would be effectual evi&i in the case of British traders; not only would they have traded in spite of it, but at no time after the promulgation of the Order in Council could any such exclusive grant have been made without grave injustice to them ; while, as regards foreigners, such a right would not have affected the French, German, and American traders; and if it was not to be respected by everybody, it must necessarily fail as a remedy. There are already French Companies established in New Caledonia, whose operations

Commander Bruce, May 15, 1881.

Bishop Selwyn, May 17, 1881.

Commodore Wilson, July 30, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, June 16, 1882. (Memorandum.)

Lord Kimberley, Oct. 1,1881.

Sir A. Kennedy, Dec. 23, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, June 10,1882.

Sir A. Gordon, June 16, 1882. (Memorandum. )

Sir A. Gordon, April 23, 1881.

Sir A. Gordon, June 16, 1882.

131

operations extend over many of the islands, and there will certainly be several others. By what process could these Companies be prevented from trading 1 The slightest attempt to do so would show how the question ever comes back to the same point; to the exercise, namely, of rights of "sovereignty and dominion." But in the second place, we feel sure that your Lordship will allow that, in any scheme for giving a chartered Company exclusive rights of trade, the interests and the wishes of Australasia could not be left out of consideration. Now, the exclusive right to trade could not exist for a moment in the islands without some right to govern; and the Governments of Australasia could not be expected to acquiesce in any right of government being transferred from the Imperial authority to any other authority than their own. Moreover, even if anything could be said for the palliatives which have been suggested as being applicable to the smaller groups of islands, it is certain that they would be utterly useless in the case of New Guinea. Sir Arthur Gordon has himself pointed out the.only means by which the question of New Guinea can ever be settled. His ojiinion on this subject has long been familiar to your Lordship, btit it is only now that it has become known. "I am irresistibly compelled," lie said, "to adopt a conclusion, which I should have wished to avoid, and which I was at first inclined to think might be avoided, namely, that the annexation by Great Britain of at least certain portions of New Guinea will speedily become inevitable, even if the necessity for such a step has not already arisen . . CouM I see any other way of dealing satisfactorily-with such a state of things, I would recommend a resort to it; but I must with regret admit that after the most careful consideration, I am unable to perceive any mode of meeting these difficulties except by annexation ; for it appears to me necessary that territorial jurisdiction should be assumed by Great Britain, to enable us to deal with offences committed by foreigners associated with British settlers, or with those committed by natives, and unless such jurisdiction over them be assumed, I question the practicability of exercising it with the smallest degree of efficiency over British subjects themselves ; and I must confess, therefore, that I see no middle course between annexation and the abandonment of all control over the acts of British subjects in New Guinea, involving a practical acquiescence in the establishment there of a reign of lawless violence and anarchy. This latter is a course which we cannot creditably adopt, and which, indeed, were we disposed to take it, we should after a time be forced to abandon. , A greater or less degree of annexation, consequently, appears to be inevitable. Should there be any other method, unknown to me but known to Her Majesty's Government, by which such cases could be met, I need not say I should prefer its adoption." It is true that this opinion was given by the High Commissioner at a time when there was much excitement over the reported existence of rich gold-fields in New Guinea, and when an expectation existed of a great influx of miners taking place there, which was never fulfilled. But though gold-mining on a large scale has not yet come to aggravate the evils described by the High Commissioner, other events have happened whoso impelling force has not been less towards the same solution than would have been the presence of a large body of miners. To these we shall refer later on. Trade. We have endeavoured to trace the events which have gradually but surely been pressing with ever increasing force for a new policy on the Western Pacific question. Wo now turn from those to a matter just as pressing, namely, the constantly growing trade of all that region. At the end of 1881 Commodore Wilson collected from the various Customs officers some valuable returns of the commerce between the Australasian Colonies and the Western Pacific Islands ; from these we have taken out the following evidence of what the trade amounted to in the ten years from 1871 to 1880 :—

Sir A. Gordon, Nov. 22, 1878

i Customs returns: Commodore Wilson, Feb. 26, 1882.

The Commodore did not merely point out how large was, even at that time, the value of this trade : he said significantly that "as yet the sources of trade may be said to be in their infancy." Ho might have added that these Customs returns only included, of course, the British trade, and took no account of foreign traders : if the French, German, and American trade could have been added, the total would have amounted to a much larger sum than 6J millions. It is needless for us to point out that the greater part of the produce of the Western Pacific only passes through Australia, and really comes to England. That this produce will greatly increase is beyond doubt. The whole trade, indeed, of the Pacific is destined to undergo a great change whenever the Panama Canal is made. It is then that will be seen the foresight of France in establishing herself at Tahiti and the Marquesas : and the Navigators, with the splendid harbour on Tutuila Island, will come into a new importance, while the Fiji group will become the nearest colony of England in the Pacific. The pearl-shell and beche de mer fisheries alone amount to nearly a million sterling annually. The growth of sugar plantations is equally remarkable. Probably £1,000,000 has been spent in Queensland alone in creating sugar estates where only a few years ago there was nothing but the wilderness : the actual produce of these estates is already 19,000 tons, and in three years will probably be 50,000 tons. The great importance of this to Australasia will at once be seen from the fact that in the single year 1881 sugar to the value of close on £2,700,000 was imported into Australia and New Zealand, of which the import from Mauritius exceeded £1,500,000. is quite certain there will be a great extension of the growth of sugar in Queensland and Fiji, and in it a constantly larger amount of Polynesian labour is sure to be employed. Now the necessity of further regulations for the labour trade and traffic in firearms, by foreigners as well as our own people, is one of the things that have been most strongly pressed upon Her Majesty's Government. by the highest Imperial officers, and by every authority of importance in the Colonies concerned. Foreign

Dr. Robertson, Dec. 29, 1882.

Victoria, Year Sook, 1883,,

Value. Colony. Vessels. Tonnage. Imports. Exports. Total. Jew South Wales , 'ictoria 'ueensland few Zealand 1,305 187 320 908 395,391 67,725 47,390 349,681 £ 2,147,858 162,095 2,899 705,223 £ 2,726,227 110,647 83,800 548,187 £ 4,874,085 272,742 86,609 1,253,410 2,720 860,187 3,018,075 3,468,861 6,486,936

132

Foreign intervention. The chief difficulty we have in referring to this is that no one in Australasia really knows how far the ground is clear of foreign claims, or to what engagements Her Majesty's Government is now committed. It is of the first importance to define with accuracy the political relation in which each group of islands stands to-day, whether to the Imperial Government or to any Foreign Powers. We therefore trust that we may ask your Lordship to enable us to place before our Governments a full statement of what claims have yet been made by Foreign Powers, and of the extent to which such claims have been recognized by Her Majesty. The sense of uncertainty and insecurity which prevails in Australasia on this subject may perhaps be best illustrated by what has happened in the case of the .New Hebrides. That group was originally part of the Colony of New Zealand, under the Charter of 1840. At some time, of which we are not aware, a rather vague understanding appears to have been come to with the Government of France that the New Hebrides should be relinquished as a possession of the Crown and their independence recognized. In 1878, upon reports coming to Europe of a French project to annex the group, the French Ambassador declared that his Government had no intention to interfere with the independence of the islands, and asked for an assurance that Her Majesty's Government would also respect it. Your Lordship, being then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, informed the French Ambassador, with the concurrence of the Colonial Office, that Her Majesty's Government had no intention of " changing the condition of independence which the New Hebrides now enjoyed." Upon a remonstrance being made by Sir George Grey, then Premier of New Zealand, the Secretary of State replied that the New Hebrides were no longer within the limits of New Zealand, and that the Imperial Government had no intention of proceeding in the direction of a political Protectorate. In the Order in Council of 1877, the New Hebrides had (evidently by design) been omitted from the islands specified byname; nevertheless, the High Commissioner understood that his authority extended over them, for he appointed Captain Cyprian Bridge, R.N., to be a Deputy-Commissioner there, and it was in that character that Captain Bridge went down to the islands. Now wo venture to ask whether it is quite certain that after Her Majesty had once been graciously pleased to include the New Hebrides in the boundaries of New Zealand, the mere fact of new boundaries being afterwards fixed for that Colony was sufficient to make the New Hebrides cease to be a possession of the Crown 1 At any rate, if they have ceased to be so, and there is an understanding between the Governments of England and France to respect the independence of the group, the least that can be. asked is that English and French subjects shall be on the same footing there. But it transpired, in a debate in the Chamber of Deputies, on the Bth May, that a Company had been formed at Now Caledonia, by a planter who had acquired ' dcs terrains important^ ' at Sandwich Island ; and the Temps, only a few days ago, announced that a Company composed of colonists from New Caledonia had succeeded in " creating very important interests in the islands, had bought several of them, and had obtained large concessions in others;" whereupon that journal suggested that the "best method of procedure would be to grant to the Company rights similar to those recently accorded by the English Government to the North Borneo Company." We venture to ask whether the agreement, whatever it is, which exists between the two Governments, would allow of any grant of that kind being made by France 1 Nor can the colonists fool secure against some sudden act on the part of France in annexing other islands whose independence may stand on, at any rate, no worse a footing than that of the New Hebrides. It is only a few years ago since Commodore Hoskins reported to the Admiralty that a French ship of war had been sent to the Chesterfield and Bampton Reefs by the Governor of New Caledonia, to proclaim those islands to be French territory, which " was done with the usual formalities." But the Governor of New South Wales had already granted a lease of the islets for working guano deposits ; and it had to bo arranged that the deposits should be worked jointly by French and English Companies until the question of title was decided, as to which Sir Hercules Robinson had sent a telegram to the Colonial Office immediately on receiving notice of the annexation from the Governor of New Caledonia. Still less can the colonists feel any security against other acts of which they have already complained. Early in 1880 a schooner arrived at Auckland from New Caledonia, chartered by the French authorities, bringing eleven political o (lenders, and nine convicts for criminal offences. Sir John Hall, then Premier of New Zealand, immediately telegraphed to all the Governments of Australia, asking them to join in urging Her Majesty's Government to remonstrate with the Government of the French Republic against a repetition of that act. The Government of New South Wales stated that " batches of pardoned convicts from New Caledonia had on several occasions arrived there." The Agent-General brought the case before the Colonial Office, and Lord Kimberly requested the Foreign Office to move the French Government to discontinue any shipments of convicts from New Caledonia to New Zealand. But convicts have often escaped from New Caledonia in open boats, and landed on the Queensland coast; more than fifty who came to Queensland were afterwards extradited, besides many others known to be French convicts from Noumea. Again, by a "Reciprocal Engagement" entered into between England and France, in 1847, respecting the Raiatea group of islets (to the leeward of Tahiti), both nations bound themselves "never to take possession of the islands, either absolutely or under the title of a protectorate, or in any other form whatever." But the French flag has been hoisted for three years on those islands, without, so far as we know, any consent or recognition having been ever given by Her Majesty's Government. Again, a scheme is being debated even now in France, which, if it is carried into effect, will be more disastrous for the Pacific than anything that has happened since the creation of the penal settlement at New Caledonia ; for it is nothing less than a well-matured design for transporting for life (transportation (i vie) to Now Caledonia, the Loyalty Isles, and the Marquesas Islands, great numbers of French habitual criminals (recidivistes et malfaiteurs d'habitude). Four proposals to this effect were before the French Legislature, one of them a bill brought in by the Government. They were all referred together to a Committee, which reported that the Minister of the Interior had accepted certain modifications, and that there was no further difficulty. In the debates in the Chamber of Deputies, the reporter of the projet de hi (M. Gerville-Reache) stated thafeat least 60.000 could be sent to New Caledonia, and 23,000 to the Loyalty Islands. It was calculated that in the first year after the law came into force 5,000 convicts would be transported for life under it, and an official estimate was presented of the probable cost of sending these 5,000 to the Loyalty Islands and the Marquesas. It was said by the opponents of the measure that the number of convicts transported would be 100,000; this was denied ; whereupon it was asked whether since in

Marquis d'Harcourt, Jan. 18. 1878.

Foreign Office, Feb. 1, 1878. Colonial Otfice, Feb. 20, 1878.

Sir M. 11. Beach, Oct. 10, 1878.

Sir A. Gordon, Juno 16,1882.

Commodore Hoskins, July 31, 1878.

Sir J. Hall, March 5, 1880.

Sir J. Vogel, Feb. 24, 1880.

Premier of (Queensland. Telegram.

Declaration, June 19, 1847.

Rapport SuppUmentaire, 17 Mars, 1883.

Journal OJJlcisl, Stance dv 1 Mai 1883.

Ibid., Seance dv 8 Mai.

133

in the very first year 5,000 were to be sent, it could be expected that the number would not increase every year after. The class to be sent was officially described by M. Gerville-Reache as dangerous, steeped in vice, debauchery, and crime {homines dangereux, perdus de vices, uses par la debauche, souilles de tousles crimes). These criminals were to be transported for life (la relegation consistera dans Vinternement perpetuel dcs condamnes); but were not to serve any term of punishment and were to be free on arrival (en resume, le transports a son arrivee dans la colonie sera libre). The object was to rid France of them (en debarrasser la patrie). The Government was to support them at first, till they could get work; if they would not work, they must live how they could (Us vivront comine Us pourront). The projet de hi appointed New Caledonia and its dependencies, and the Marquesas Group, as li colonies to which the recidivistes were to be sent; but it was openly proposed in the debate to include the New - Hebrides, the Loyalty Islands, and the Isle of Pines. The Comte de Lanjuinais said it had been talked of to-Send-the convicts to the New Hebrides (on avait parle d'envoyer les transports aux Nouvelles Hebrides). M. Richard Waddington, speaking officially as a member of the Committee, said that the title to the New Hebrides was not settled (il s'agit dune question de propriete non encore determined), but that he thought the French title was good, and that the French flag might very soon be hoisted en the islands (je crois que notre litre de possession est serieux, et que dans tin avenir ires rapproclie le pavilion de la France pourra y flotter) ; adding, however, that in saying so he was speaking for himself and not for the Government '(en engageant ma resposibilite seule et non celle dv gouvernemeni). Another speaker went further, and said that, in response to the supposed action of England in New Guinea, the New Hebrides would be seized by France (pour repondre a V Angleterre, gui si audacieusement vient de mettre la main sur la Nouvelle-Guinee, nous saurons a notre tour nous emparer dcs Nouvelles Hebrides). The Chamber of Deputies, after adopting most of the Government Bill, sent it back for revision to the Committee, who returned it with very little alteration. They estimated that in the first four years the number of convicts to be sent would be 20,000. The colonies to which the convicts might be sent remained the same, namely, New Caledonia and its dependencies, the Marquesas, an island called Phu-Quoc, and Guiana. The Bill has passed the chamber, but is not yet before the Senate. Your Lordship will not be surprised at our Governments urging that this scheme for making the Pacific Islands the receptacle for the dangerous classes of France, is one deserving the serious consideration of Her Majesty's Government. It is impossible for Australasia to look without the gravest apprehension at the prospect of any proposal of the kind receiving the tacit acquiescence of England. What hope is there for the Pacific Islands, if a great nation like France pours into them vast numbers of her dangerous classes, not as convicts under penal servitude, but free the moment they land, so long as they do not return to France; or how can Australia and New Zealand be expected to hear with patience of such a law being passed ? There have been rumours of some proposal by which the penal establishment at Now Caledonia should be altogether given up by France, and the convicts transferred to the New Hebrides; the inducement being that New Caledonia would then be opened to settlement by free colonists. We do not deny that there would be an advantage in freeing New Caledonia from the curse of transportation ; but the Bill before the French Chambers expressly retains New Caledonia as one of the places to which the recidivistes arc to be sent ; therefore, as to the New Hebrides, all the Colonies trust thai full effect will bo given to Lord Granville's assurance in the House of Lords a few days ago, that " both Her Majesty's Government and the French Government acknowledge in full the obligation which the understanding about the New Hebrides imposes upon both," and that the group shall not be allowed to pass in any way under the dominion of France. Nor is it only with regard to French policy that there is, in the opinion of the colonists, cause for some apprehension. It is often said that Prince Bismarck has no desire to extend the influence of Germany to the Pacific ; but what happened in the case of the Navigators group shows that idea to be a mistaken one. In the early part of 1880 a scheme was proposed in Germany for a great trading Company to take over the*property of Messrs. Godeffroy. In a communication to the Imperial Under Secretary of State, Prince Bismarck laid down the conditions on which the Company was to receive a guarantee from the State of an interest of 4| per cent on its capital, not to exceed 300,000 marks a year, and to be for twenty years. The Chancellor referred to " the interest which the State takes in the prosperity of German enterprise in the South Seas," and justified the financial assistance he proposed giving to the new Company, by reason of the Godcifroy firm having "got into difficulties which threatened the German South Sea trade with the loss of their factories and plantations in the Samoa Islands." A Bill to give effect to the Chancellor's proposal was introduced accordingly, but rejected by the German Parliament in April, 1880. Again, as recently as December last, the Royal Colonial Institute called the attention of the Colonial Office to an article in the Allgemeine Zeitung strongly advocating the annexation by Germany of Eastern New Guinea. The answer was that neither Lord Granville nor your Lordship saw any reason for supposing that the German Government contemplated any scheme of the kind; but we venture to ask that a more definite assurance should be obtained from that Government, which can hardly refuse to recognize the vital character of the matter to every Colony in Australia Before leaving the subject of foreign intervention, we submit that it would be expedient to settle more clearly the extent to which the independence of the chiefs in the various islands is recognized, and their right to make treaties admitted. Where the treaty-right exists, is it quite certain that the Western Pacific Order in Council is in operation 1 For instance, the Navigators and the Friendly Islands are among those specified by name in the Order in Council ; but we understand there is an English treaty with the " king" of Tonga ; and in the case of the Navigators there is a treaty with Germany, which Prince Bismarck communicated to the Reichstag in 1879. And we believe a treaty of some kind was made between Samoa and the United States, giving to the States the exclusive. right of using the fine harbour at Tutuila as a coaling and naval station, the U.S. frigate "Narragansett" thereupon saluting the chief's flag with fifteen guns; indeed, this treaty was afterwards the subject of a representation by Sir Edward Thornton to the Government of Washington. Again, several of the Powers have appointed Consuls to the Islands ; Her Majesty has a Consul at Rarotonga, a Consul at Samoa, and a Vice-consul at Tonga, while Sir Arthur Gordon, the High Commissioner, is Consul-General^for the Pacific Islands, the conduct of relations with native States and tribes being confided to him in that capacity, under the control of the Foreign Office. As there is nothing that can be called law administered by the native States and tribes, it is difficult to see-how one day the same evil will not arise from conflicting consular jurisdictions as have been so powerfully described by Lord Dufferin in the case of Egypt.

-Projet de lot, Art. 1.

Journal Officiel, Stance dv 7 Mai ma.

Journal Officiel, Siancc dv 1 Mai

lUd.

Ibid., Seance dv 7 Mai.

Ibid., Jttillct 1883, Annexe 2002.

Lord Granville, July 10, 1883.

Prince yon Bismarck, Varzin, Jan. 1, 18S0.

Sir J. Vogel, April 30, 1880.

Royal Colonial Institute, Dec. 9 1882.

Prince Bismarck, Jan. 1,1880.

Foreign Office List, 1883.

Sir A. Gordon, July 16, 1881.

Lord Pufforin, Egypt, No. C.

134

The new policy proposed. Tho two things we sot ourselves to show were, first, that the Western Pacific Order in Council could never be made adequate to do what is wanted, without assuming a jurisdiction hitherto forbidden by Act of Parliament; and secondly, that the fear of foreign intervention which has existed in Australia was not without warrant. For this purpose we have relied not on assertions of our own but on official records, and with hardly an exception have only spoken of events that have happened in the last three years. If we have established these two points, then the Imperial Government can hardly reject the consequences, that the time has come when complete jurisdiction ought to be assumed by England over tho Western Pacific, as the only means of meeting the difficulties which beset alike the* Imperial and tho Colonial Governments, and of averting evils which threaten Her Majesty's loyal subjects in all that region. We have rejoiced to see that such a policy lias already received the almost unanimous support of the English Press. Some opposition to it is perhaps only natural. Wo are sensible of the repugnance that exists to the idea of adding to the already vast responsibilities of England a new and admittedly immense charge like that of the Western Pacific Islands. Yet it is difficult for any one to avoid the conclusion that these islands, unless they are meanwhile lost by foreign annexation, will inevitably belong to England in the end. The same impelling power, not of mere desires but of events, which induced the Imperial Government to do at last in Fiji what they had so often refused, is constantly at work, and incessantly being renewed and strengthened, with regard to the Western Pacific. But it was not till Fiji had become the opprobrium of the Southern seas that Her Majesty's Government would interfere. Surely they will not now inflict upon Australasia the hard necessity of waiting till New Guinea also, and perhaps other islands, become Alsatias as dangerous as Fiji once was, scourges to the peaceable subjects of Her Majesty, and a disgrace to civilization. For it is vain to think that the trade and intercourse between Australia and New Zealand and these islands can be suppressed. Settlement both English and foreign is spreading in every direction, yet of safety for life and property there is none. The High Commissioner himself has shown that it is quite impossible to do what is wanted by any Order in Council capable of being issued under the Act of 1875 : in other words, impossible to do it without assuming the very jurisdiction which it was the purpose of that Act to forbid. Nor would an International Convention do it, for a convention could only extend to the nationalities concerned, and could not embrace the natives. England could not claim, in a convention with Foreign Powers, any jurisdiction over the native tribes, without herself asserting over them the same right of dominion as would be asserted by the policy of the Colonies are urging upon your Lordship : nor could any convention be made at all, without first acknowledging that Foreign Powers possessed an equal right with England to exercise a right of dominion over natives, an acknowledgment against which every subject of Her Majesty in Australia and New Zealand would unite in making tho strongest remonstrance. The case of New Guinea is very pressing, because whatever powers are given to the High-Commis-sioner, they can, in the nature of things, be even less exercised there than in any of the other islands. New Guinea is in such close proximity to Queensland, that whateveris done there must affect Queensland more than anything that is done in the other islands could affect the rest of Australia or New Zealand. All the trade of Queensland with England and India by steam passes through Torres Straits : regular steam communication is now established there : it is really indispensable not only that the Straits should be free to navigation, but that there should be no risk of a foreign Power establishing a naval station there. Adventurous men arc occupying portions of the New Guinea coast-line, and irregular settlement is sure to take place more and and more. What has so often happened will happen again. Failing the colonization of the great island under proper authority, adventurers will flock there who will neither show regard for the native inhabitants nor be under any restraint among themselves : the evils and dangers which existed in Fiji will repeat themselves, only on a larger scale, and Queensland of all the Australias will suffer from them the most. This has been stated over and over again, in speeches in both Houses of the Imperial Parliament, by the Governments and Legislatures of Australasia, by the Royal Colonial Institute, and by private persons of high rank and experience in affairs, till we are almost ashamed to repeat it ourselves : yet it must be repeated, for the clanger is not far off and a pretence, but imminent and a reality. Surely the Imperial Government cannot continue to refuse so reiterated an appeal. But if, fearing the responsibility of assuming authority over a vast and inaccessible region of mountains and forests peopled by several millions of savages, the Imperial Government finally determine not to take full jurisdiction over all New Guinea east of 143°, we trust that the same objection will not apply against establishing law and order along the coast where settlenent is now extending. Let it at least exist over the fringe of the southern coast-line for the present, as was done tho other day on the West Coast of Africa. No Act of the Imperial Parliament is necessary for this purpose, because Pier Majesty has the same right now to assume jurisdiction over the southern coast-line of the island as she had to assume it when the islands of Torres Straits were annexed; and if it were deemed more convenient, the same process as was adopted then might bo adopted now, of giving power by Letters Patent to the Governor of Queensland to declare by proclamation that certain portions of the coastline of New Guinea should be annexed, under such conditions as it might be thought fit to prescribe. We have referred to the irregular settlement that is even now taking place. We must with all respect remonstrate against the doctrine laid down by the High Commissioner on the New Guinea question in 1878, when he "formally and emphatically declared that the imperial Government disclaimed all obligation to protect or interfere on behalf of persons voluntarily placing themselves in positions of danger in a savage country, and that those who entered on such enterprises must do so at their own risk and peril." It is certainly not by colonists who have founded communities on the other side of the world, whose trade already exceeds in volume the whole foreign trade of England at the, accession of Queen Victoria, that this doctrine will ever be acquiesced in. It was by " voluntarily placing themselves in danger that English adventurers built up our Indian and Colonial Empire, and created a commerce which now is numbered by hundreds of millions every year : nor is the colonizing spirit which has done that work capable of being extinguished by the knowledge that the enterprise of founding new settlements involves risk and peril. But at least it may be said that if the Imperial Government was not to interfere on. behalf of English settlers, it should not interfere against them. It surely can never be contended that an elaborate scheme of Government was to be invented whose sole object should be to punish a subject of the Queen for any wronghe might commit, while it denied him redress for any wrong that ho might suffer. Imperial

Letters Patent, 42 Viet.

Sir A. Gordon, Speech at Melbourne, 1878.

135

Imperial interest also conoerned. So far we may perhaps be said to have urged only points that specially affect Colonial interests, or at any rate do not closely touch Imperial ones. This may be true so long as Europe is at peace ; but the Imperial interest would spring up the moment any war broke out which involved England in hostilities with a European Power. The Imperial Government have called upon the Colonies to do their part in the defence of their own harbours, and our Governments have not only acknowledged they had a duty in that respect, but are doing their best to fulfil it. They feel that they have a right to ask in return that the task shall not be more difficult for them than the Imperial Government can help, and that they shall not be exposed to the creation of fortified naval stations and. places d'armes in the Pacific, which should shelter an enemy's fleet and threaten their commerce, their coal measures, and even their safety. The nation will never permit that her naval supremacy in the Pacific shall be endangered; and it can hardly be contested that if France and other European Powers created new naval stations in the islands, the existing conditions in all that ocean would be changed, and everything relating to Her Majesty's Australian squadron assume a new aspect and a new importance. Concert between the Imperial and Colonial Governments. But while we have thus represented what the Australian Colonies believe ought to be done by the Imperial Government, they are also ready to acknowledge what they ought to do themselves. Your Lordship stated in the House of Lords, that if anything was to be done, it must be done either by the Imperial Government itself, or by the Australian Colonies acting together in concert, or by the Imperial and Colonial Governments combined ; and we assure your Lordship that our Governments will hail with the greatest satisfaction such an invitation to them to co-operate with the Imperial authority. There are two immediate ways in which the Colonies can give their co-operation : by contributing to the cost of the policy they are asking your Lordship to pursue, and by placing themselves in a position to act in union with each other and in concert with you. As regards the first, whatever differences there were when Lord Carnarvon made his proposal of 1876, there are none now. The Victorian Parliament has already passed an Address, assuring Her Majesty that Victoria will share in the cost of the policy which is being urged upon your Lordship ; the Queensland Government has assured your Lordship of its readiness to do the same; and the other Colonies will also do their part. But it does not need for us to remind your Lordship that no Ministries can engage for the payment of indefinite sums, and that the assent of our Legislatures to grants of money must be expressed in the usual way. Permanent appropriation will certainly be necessary ; and for this not only time is required, but consultation among the Governments, arrangement of the respective contributions of the Colonies, and the passing of the requisite votes ; in the meanwhile, the first point for us to know is the amount which the Imperial Government would require to be provided for whatever action is contemplated by your Lordship. As regards the other question of concerted action between the Imperial and Colonial Governments, your Lordship expressed your opinion to us at our interview with you in the clearest terms, and repeated it in the House of Lords. " If," you said, " the Australian people desire an extension beyond their present limits, the most practical step that they could take, the one that would most facilitate any operation of the kind, and diminish in the greatest degree the responsibilities of the mother country, would be the confederation of the Colonies into one united whole, which would bo powerful enough to undertake and carry through tasks for which no one Colony is at present sufficient." The large question of Federation which your Lordship has here raised is one on which the Colonies have not made up their minds, and is one of too grave moment to be decided even under the sway of the strong feelings which now exist among them respecting the policy that ought to be pursued in the Western Pacific. But there is nothing to prevent concerted action at once with the Imperial Government for that particular policy ; and we acknowledge that your Lordship may justly require not only such concerted action, but joint engagements on the part of the Colonial Governments for the permanence and stability of the policy itself. This too requires time, consultation amoug our Governments, and probably legislation also—at any rate concurrent resolutions in the respective Colonial Assemblies. On the other hand, the Colonies will not imagine that your Lordship has invited them to a co-operation which is to be barren of results ; and our Governments will feel assured that if they on their part pass the requisite appropriations, and combine for that concert with the Imperial Government which is necessary for any policy to succeed, they may rely upon the policy itself being adopted, and effect being given at last to the wishes which they have cherished for more than thirty years. In once more urging these wishes on Her Majesty's Government, they have not come as suppliants for some light favour, but as Englishmen to whom their country has given a great destiny which must be kept from harm ; desiring no new territories for themselves, but asking that the Queen's subjects may enjoy the blessings of peace and order where now the law has no terrors for the evil-doer; not seeking by a clearer policy to set new burdens on the English taxpayer, but willing themselves to bear its cost: and welcoming with gladness an invitation to be associated with the Imperial Government in a work which must assuredly be done one day, and can as certainly be best done now. We have, &c, SAUL SAMUEL. F. D. BELL. THOMAS ARCHER R MURRAY-SMITH. The Right Honorable the Earl of Derby, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, &c, ifcc, &c.

Colonial

136

Colonial Office to The Agents-General for New South Wales, New Zealand, Queensland, and Victoria. Gentlemen, Downing-street, 31 August, 1883. I am directed by the Earl of Derby to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 21st July, placing before His Lordship the representations with regard to New Guinea and the islands in the Western Pacific Ocean which you had promised during your recent interview. Lord Derby recognizes the care and ability with which you have recapitulated the history of past transactions in that part of the world, and, as His Lordship does not perceive that this department need take exception to any of the statements in the earlier part of your letter he will not at present examine them in. detail. 1 am, however, to inform you that, as it contains many references to the acts and opinions of the High Commissioner and of Her Majesty's naval officers, Lord Derby has transmitted copies to Sir Arthur Gordon and to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, for their consideration. 2. Turning to your inquiry as to the extent to which the claims of Foreign Powers in the Western Pacific have been recognized by Her Majesty's Government, His Lordship is disposed to doubt whether there is really so much uncertainty or absence of information on this subject in the Australian Colonies as you seem to apprehend. 3. Referring, however, first to the islands of the Western Pacific which are most distant from Australia, the Navigators' Islands, no Power has claimed or indicated any desire to obtain a paramount influence or protectorate over that group. The Consular Officers of Great Britain, Germany, and the United States have, jointly or separately, from time to time exercised influence over public, and native affairs at Samoa ; and this country, as well as Germany, has entered into treaties with the King- and Government of Samoa, The group therefore forms an independent State, recognized as such by European diplomacy, and under these circumstances the question might possibly arise whether its annexation by any Power would not be a violation of international law. 4. The Government of the Tongan or Friendly Islands is also recognized as independent, and this country and Germany have recently concluded treaties with the King of that group. The same argument therefore applies in this as in the former case. 5. Proceeding westward past Fiji, which, with the neighbouring island of Rotumah, is British, we come to the New Hebrides ; and your letter shows that you are aware of the understanding arrived at in 1878 between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of France, in pursuance of which the independence of those islands has been up to the present time recognized and respected by both Governments. The Loyalty Islands, being close to New Caledonia, are to be looked upon as dependencies of the French Government in that island. 6. The foregoing brief statement may suffice to explain to you that the claims and interests of other countries constitute a very serious impediment to that " complete jurisdiction" which you represent that England ought now to assume over the Western Pacific, and that the best known and most frequented groups of islands have already such relations with Foreign Powers, in common with England, as cannot be summarily ignored. You do not specifically refer to the important islands or group of islands known as New Britain, New Ireland, the Solomon Islands, and the Santa Cruz Islands. They are at a considerable distance from Australia, and are for the most part of great size, and inhabited by warlike and cannibal tribes. Her Majesty's Government have not before them any evidence that the Governments of the Australasian Colonies have sufficiently considered the extent of the responsibilities which the annexation or protectorate of those islands would involve, and they are far from being satisfied that the assumption of those responsibilities is necessary or justifiable. 7. With reference to that part of your letter which treats of New Guinea, Lord Derby desires me to observe that he has at present nothing to add to the despatch which he addressed on the 11th July to the Acting Governor of Queensland. His Lordship concludes that, after receiving that despatch, the Governments of any Colonies desiring to bear the cost of any measures which, as indicated in the two last paragraphs of that despatch, Her Majesty's Government may be prepared to take, will confer together and make those imited recommendations which have been invited, furnishing also an effective guarantee for such expenditure as may be incurred. They will, no doubt, at the same time consider whether they wish to make jointly any similar definite proposal with regard to other islands not already connected by treaty or otherwise with Foreign Powers. 8. I am to add that Lord Derby has read with attention your representations as to the inconvenience and injury which, unless great precautions are taken, might result from the continuance and development of the French penal settlements in New Caledonia and the adjacent islands, and that His Lordship is in communication with the Foreign Office on the subject. I am, &c, JOHN BRAMSTON.

Fy Authority : George Didsbury, Government Printer, Wellington.—lSB3.

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INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883., Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1884 Session I, A-03

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INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1884 Session I, A-03

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INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1884 Session I, A-03

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Pages 1-20 of 134

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INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1884 Session I, A-03

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INTERCOLONIAL CONVENTION, 1883. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1884 Session I, A-03

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No known copyright (New Zealand)