SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE

23

E.—No. 4.

Xo. 24. The Hon. J. A. Cresweix, Postmaster-General. "Washington, to the Hon. J. Vogel. (No. 22.237.) Post Office Department, Sib,— 'Washington, D.C., May 28, 1870. In compliance with a request made by Mr. William Gray, Her Majesty's Inspector of Post Offices in the Colony of New Zealand, during his recent visit to this Department, I have the honor to enclose herewith for your consideration an informal draft of Articles for a Postal Convention, establishing and regulating a direct exchange of correspondence between the two countries by means of the line of Colonial Mail Packets recently placed upon the route from Auckland to San Francisco, via Honolulu. This draft embraces substantially the basis of an arrangement, as suggested in my interview with Mr. Gray, viz.: an international letter rate of sixpence (12 cents), of which prepayment of at least one single rate shall be compulsory ; each country to levy and collect its domestic rates of postage on newspapers and other printed matter, whether sent or received ; and no postage accounts to be kept between the two Departments, except in the correspondence which the Colony of New Zealand shall send in closed mails via the United States to other countries. The rates of United States territorial and sea transit charges on any closed mails which your Department may wish to forward to other countries by way of the United States, as proposed in this draft, are fixed at a low standard as compared with the postage rates charged in the United States upon correspondence addressed to these countries, my desire being to extend to your Department as cheap facilities as possible for the transmission of this class of correspondence by way of the United States. I have to request that you will examine and consider the details of the arrangement proposed and the accompanying draft of Articles, and advise me of any suggestions you have to offer on the subject. If the draft of Articles proposed meets with your approval, you will please cause the Articles to be prepared for formal execution in duplicate, and, after signing the same on behalf of your Government, transmit them to me by return steamer for execution on behalf of this Department. I am, &c, The Postmaster-General, Wellington, Jno. A. J. Creswell, New Zealand. Postmaster-General.

Enclosure in No. 24. Postal Contention between the United States of America and the Colonial Government of New Zealand. The undersigned, being thereunto duly authorized by their respective Governments, have agreed upon the following articles,- establishing and regulating the exchange of correspondence between the United States of America and the Colony of New Zealand. Article I. There shall be an exchange of correspondence between the United States of America and New Zealand, by means of the direct line of Colonial Mail Packets plying between San Prancisco and New Zealand, as well as by such other means of direct mail steamship transportation between the United States and New Zealand as shall hereafter be established, with the approval of the respective Post Departments of the two countries, comprising letters, newspapers, and printed matter of every kind, originating in either country and addressed to and deliverable in the other country ; as well as correspondence, in closed mails, originating in New Zealand and destined for foreign countries by way of the United States. Article 11. The Post Offices of New York, Boston, and San Prancisco, shall be the United States Offices of Exchange, and the Marine Post Office the Office of Exchange of the Colony of New Zealand, for all mails transmitted under this arrangement. Article 111. No accounts shall be kept between the Post Departments of the two countries upon the international correspondence, written or printed, exchanged between them, but each country shall retain to its own use the postages which it collects. The single rate of international letter postage shall be twelve cents in the United States, and six pence in New Zealand, on each letter weighing half an ounce or less, and an additional rate of twelve cents (six pence) for each additional weight of half an ounce or fraction thereof, which shall in all cases be prepaid, at least one single rate, by means of postage stamps, at the office of mailing in either country. Letters unpaid, or prepaid less than one full rate of postage, shall not be forwarded; but insufficiently paid letters, on which a single rate or more has been prepaid, shall be forwarded, charged with the deficient postage, to be collected and retained by the Post Department of the country of destination. Letters fully prepaid, received in either country from the other, shall be delivered free of all charge whatsoever. The United States Post Office shall levy and collect, to its own use, on newspapers addressed to or received from New Zealand, a postage charge of two cents; and on all other articles of printed matter addressed to or received from New Zealand, a postage charge of four cents per each weight of four ounces or fraction of four ounces. The Post Office of New Zealand shall levy and collect, to its own use, on newspapers and other articles of printed matter, addressed to or received from the United States, the regular rates of domestic postage chargeable thereon by the laws and regulations of the Colony of New Zealand.