FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO

E.—No. 3a

6

Vide ant*.

No. 18. Copy of a Letter from the Hon. John Hall to the Hon. J. Dockee, Sib,— General Post Office, Wellington, 2nd July, 1867. I have the honor to enclose for your information copies of a letter received from the Postmaster-General, Melbourne, and of my reply thereto, having reference to the transmission of mails for Victoria, received by way of Panama, direct from New Zealand to Melbourne, instead of by way of Sydney as heretofore. I have, &c, John Hall, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, New South Wales. Postmaster-General.

No. 19. Copy of a Letter from the Hon. J. Dockee to the Hon. John Hall. Sic, — New South Wales, General Post Office, Sydney, sth July, 1867. I have tho honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter F. 67-108, dated 7th June last. In reply I beg to state that your letter dated the 16th April was duly received at this office, but unfortunately it has been mislaid, I shall therefore feel obliged by your furnishing me with a copy thereof at your early convenience. With reference to the alleged ambiguity of the third paragraph of the letter addressed to you from this office, bearing date of the 18th April, I have to state that the intended meaning of the paragraph in question is, that as Sydney and Wellington are jointly to be responsible for the Isthmus transit cost upon all mails received and despatched, when the portion of mails for the non-contracting Colonies passes through Wellington your office will take the weight and bring it forward iv the accounts, and when the non-contracting Colonies' portion passes through Sydney, this office will take the weight and bring it forward in the accounts between the Sydney and Wellington Post Offices. The Letter Bills enclosed in your letter have been carefully compared with the Bills now in use by this office. The London Bill is found to be the same as yours ; but it is thought that our Panama Bill better meets the circumstances of the case, and, moreover, as copies of it have been forwarded to the non-contracting Colonies it is presumed that they use our Form. I quite concur in your observation that it is desirable that the same form should be used by all the Colonies, aud would suggest that the Sydney Bills be generally adopted. I have, &c, J. Dockee, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, AVellington. Postmaster-General.

No. 20. Copy of a Letter from Mr. S. H. Lambton to Mr. G. Eliott Eliott. Sic,— General Post Office, Sydney, 12th July, 1867. I am directed by the Postmaster-General to state that a Despatch has been received from the Tasmanian Government addressed to the Colonial Secretary of this Colony, signifying the acquiescence of that Government in the twenty shillings per pound arrangement, so far as the mails despatched from Tasmania via Panama are concerned, but raising objection to the levying of that rate upon the inward mails on the ground that no advantage is conferred in the shape of postage, while the payment of twenty shillings per pound is a clear loss, as the postal laws of Tasmania do not enable the Government of that Colony to collect the amount from the receivers of the correspondence upon which the charge is made. I am to enclose a copy of my letter to the Under Secretary on the subject (wliich will no doubt be embodied in a Despatch to the Tasmanian Government) explaining that in consideration of the payment of twenty shillings per pound, credit will be given to Tasmania by the London Office, for the regular rates agreed upon for this route. It is hoped that this explanation will prevent any further difficulty in the matter. I have, &c, S. H. Lambton, The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Secretary.

Enclosure in No. 20. Copy of a Letter from Mr. S. H. Lambton to the Umdee Seceetaey, Colonial Secretary's Office, Sydney. Sic,— General Post Office, Sydney, 10th July, 1867. I am directed by the Postmaster-General to state, for the information of the Hon. the Colonial Secretary, with reference to the last paragraph of the Despatch from the Colonial Treasurer, Tasmania (herewith returned), that from correspondence lately received from the London Post Office, it appears that since January last a sum sufficient to cover the cost of the Isthmus transit has been credited to New South Wales on all correspondence received at this office for Tasmania via Panama. There is therefore no objection to remit the cost of this transit (at the rate of elevenpence per pound) which appears in the books of this office to the debit of Tasmania on correspondence despatched from England subsequent to January last, and received at Tasmania prior to the charge of twenty shillings per pound coming into operation. , . On the mails despatched from England in January last, and previous thereto, no rate was accounted for to this office on newspapers (of which the bulk of the mails consists), and the rate accounted for on letters, viz., fivepence per half-ounce, was considered to belong to this Colony and New Zealand in lieu of a contribution from the other Australian Colonies, and cannot therefore bo remitted.