D.—No. I

No. 53. 43, Chancery Lane, London, 3rd December, 1863. Sir, — AVhen and where could you favour me with an interview relative to the contract with the Inter-Colonial Royal Mail Steam Packet Company for carriage of the Panama mail. I am instructed by the Directors that you will produce the documents proving your authority for entering into the contract. I have, Ac, Robert Citnliffe. To the Honourable Crosbie Ward, Postmaster-General New Zealand, 3, Adelaide Place, London, E.C. No. 54. London, 4th December, 1863. Sir,— Having entered into a contract on behalf of the Government of New Zealand with the Inter-Colonial Royal Alail Steam Packet Company to perform a Steam Postal Service between New Zealand and Panama, under which the Company undertake to provide within a certain time a number of Bteam vessels to be employed on such service, of a size, speed, and general efficiency described in the contract, I have the honor to request that the Postmaster-General will be pleased to permit any one of these vessels, or of those to be employed under the already existing contract, if tendered for the purpose by the Company, to be inspected and surveyed according to the provisions of the contract in each case, in the same manner as if they were submitted for the service of Her Majesty's Post Office. I have further to request that the result of each survey may be communicated to the Government of New Zealand, and also to the contractors, so far as may be necessary for them to remedy defects or to supply deficiencies. The consent of the Postmaster-General to this request will confer a favour upon the Government of New Zealand, inasmuch as it will remove a great difficulty which would otherwise be experienced by them in properly surveying before acceptance, vessels built in this country, but to be employed at the other side of the world. Copies of the contract referred to will be forwarded to your Department as soon as they are completed. I have, Ac, Crosbie Ward. The Secretary, General Post Office, St. Martin's le Grand. No. 55. London, Bth December, 1863. My Dear Sir, — I send you herewith the Time Table which I propose as that for the Panama and NewZealand Service. Tou will see that I have not been able to provide that the vessel should return from Panama immediately after her arrival there as you suggested. But you will observe the reasons for this at once. In the first place, it would, I conceive, be exceedingly dangerous to risk the outward service upon the chance of the time of the homeward vessel being kept exactly, so that if the latter broke down, both must fail. To give fourteen days' rest there is not at all more than enough to provide against contingencies and to give time for small repairs, and for coaling between two such long voyages. At the other end there is only a two days' interval, or at most three ; but this means simply that the service cannot be done with three boats, but must take four if it is to occupy 37 days each way. If on trial it does, as I hope, take less time, then without altering the Panama times which are fixed by the AVest India Royal Mail dates, you will be able in case of necessity to turn your vessel round on her heel in Sydney and send her back to Panama without docking, as the P. and 0. Company have sometimes been obliged to do. As there are two days in the month to go for Panama, it is desirable that that of departure should be at the fortnightly interval from that of arrival, ic-v this reason, viz., that your mails must go through without delay: but if you make your boat that is to carry the outward mail bring the homeward one for the same period of the month, then it muit arrive a few days beforehand, and so establish a considerable break in the carriage of the homeward mail. For instance, a boat has to leave Panama on the 22nd, she must arrive on the 19th at latest; but she carries the homeward mail, and thus has to await the Southampton boat's departure from Colon until the 24th. I don't think you can ask me to agree to that ? And if there is to be a spare boat, I assume that it would be at Sydney. But the strongest argument still remains. To take the other fortnightly date would be, as you will see, to make the outward mail arrive in AVellington on the 23rd, and the homeward mail leave on the 24th, thus practically using up a month in replies to letters. We must save a fortnight out of this, and the remainder will then just suffice for the delivery and collection of our mails throughout the colony. At Sydney they will, under ordinary circumstances, have but two days for replies,

35

ESTABLISHMENT OF A PANAMA MAIL SERVICE.