D.—No. 3.

"We think, too, you have misunderstood our paragraph about establishing a monopoly in the Auckland carrying trade ; we did not state you had a wish to create such, but suggested " that if the business were intrusted to one house, —and that, too, without any opportunity being afforded to any other to share in it, —it would virtually, as far as the New Zealand Government is concerned, create a monopoly," &c.; and we feel assured your own knowledge and experience will fully confirm this remark. In fact, so strongly do the opinions of the English Government coincide with ours on such matters, that all business of this sort is invariably offered by them for public tender. The circular of ours you referred to was, as already explained to you verbally by our Mr. Houlder, a private one for the guidance of our agents. It was written to counteract the general impression in the country that the Government Auckland emigrants were destined for military settlers ; its tendency was therefore to benefit the Government; and any injury your scheme suffered probably arose from the injudicious way in which reference to military settlers was made in the Colonial papers and elsewhere. We are glad to observe you pay particular attention to the concluding paragraph of our letter, as, in continuation and illustration of the same, we may point to the fact that our ship the " Ernestina " is now about sailing to Auckland with nearly 300 emigrants, who pay their passage here in part or in full, as it must be a great desideratum to the Colony to get as large a number of emigrants sent there at the smallest possible cost; and we hope, if more ships are required after the 31st December, that you will consider it in the interests of the service to apply to us for tenders for the same ; and we have only to assure you the same care and attention shall be given to the interests and welfare of the passengers, and all concerned, which have gained for our lines their well-known reputation. We are, &c, Hottldeb Beothebs & Co. W. S. Grahame, Esq., and John Morrison, Esq., New Zealand Government Emigration Board. Enclosure 4 to No. 4. New Zealand Emigbation Boabd to Messrs. Hottlder Brothers & Co. New Zealand Government Emigration Board, 3, Adelaide Place, London Bridge, Gentlemen, — 26th October, 1864. We beg to acknowledge receipt of your favor of 25th instant, and we deem it unnecessary at present to continue the correspondence on the subject of chartering ships for the conveyance of the New Zealand Government emigrants to Auckland. Suffice it to say, that you may depend upon it, if we consider it to be in the interest of the service we are conducting to apply to you for tenders of ships, this will be done; and we have to thank you for the assurance, that when so applied to, you will give it your best care and attention. We beg to make only one additional remark on your paragraph in reference to your circular. You state it was a " private one " for the guidance of your agents. On this account we consider it the more dangerous. In protecting the assisted or Provincial Government emigrants it was unnecessary to insinuate that the General Government free emigrants from England, or rather Great Britain, were for military settlers, or to serve as soldiers. Any reference to the military settlers made in the Colonial newspapers has not, so far as we are aware, damaged or in any way interfered with the General Government emigration ; but of your circular we cannot say as much. We are, &c, Wm. S. Geauame, John Mobrison, New Zealand Government Emigration Board. Messrs. Houlder Brothers and Co. No. 5. New Zealand Emigbation Boart>, to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetabt, Auckland. OiEce of the New Zealand Government Emigration Board, 3, Adelaide Place, London Bridge, Sir,— London, E. C, November 19th 1864. We have the honor to report that the Government emigrant ship " Ganges" was despatched from Cork with Irish emigrants on the 4th instant. She conveyed three hundred and eighty-six and a half statute adults, to which has to be added the scholmaster and matron, making in all three hundred and eighty-eight and a half adults ; but it is only upon the former number that the moiety of passage money is payable by the Board. Under charge of the commander of the " Ganges," Captain Funnell, we forwarded a parcel containing the contracts or schedules of the emigrants ; the schedule of James Latimer, sent forward under a separate cover —he had been substituted for another who was short-shipped, and had been overlooked ; he is a single man. In same parcel were forwarded the testimonials of the Surgeon-superintendent, Mr. Toung; the testimonials of Mr. Costello, the schoolmaster; and the testimonials of Mrs. Eusk, the matron, to be delivered to them respectively on arrival at Auckland. We had no time to address you by the vessel on leaving Cork without running the risk of delaying her final departure, which we were most anxious to avoid. The number of souls on board the " Ganges" was 474. We think they are suitable people for the Waikato district, a large proportion of them being of the agricultural class and accustomed to country work, and we hope will succeed. Considerable difficulty is experienced in limiting the number of children, and in several cases we have had to relax our regulations in favor of desirable people ; we also made considerable exertion to equalise as near as possible the sexes. In future, however, we will send fewer unmarried females, and increase the number of young men, as the Agent of the Provincial Government informs us he will be able to supply

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CORRESPONDENCE RELATIVE TO DESPATCH