SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE.

29

E.—No. _.

distribution, he promised to forward the works in a few weeks, together with the publications of the Institution for the year ; these may be expected by the next steamer or the one following. Professor Henry requests, in return, that the Smithsonian Institution may be furnished with copies of scientific works published in the Colony. I would also suggest that the Secretary of State's Department be furnished regularly with copies of such works as they are published, and with public documents, such as Statistics of the Colony, &c. And, as considerable ignorance prevails in the United States respecting New Zealand, I would further suggest that similar documents be regularly furnished to the State Governments of California, Nevada, and Oregon, and to the Chamber of Commerce and Merchants' Exchange at San Francisco, by which accurate and reliable information may be disseminated respecting the climate, resources, and capabilities, &c, of this Colony. As the London Office had intimated its intention to despatch the mails for New Zealand in separate portions —the first and main portion about twenty days before the date fixed for the departure of the mail steamer from San Francisco, the second and third by such opportunities thereafter as would, in ordinary circumstances, enable them to reach that place in time —it became necessary, in case of delays arising from accidents or bad weather, to make arrangements to obviate the steamer's leaving San Francisco without either of these mails. I requested the Postmaster at New York to telegraph to me at San Francisco the date on which the last of the mails should leave his office, so that I might be in a position to determine whether I should require the steamer to postpone its departure or not. The last of the mails arrived on the evening of the 9th at San Francisco, consequently there was no necessity for detaining the steamer; but I would submit that it is exceedingly desirable that you should possess the power of detaining, if necessary, the steamer at San Francisco for forty-eight hours beyond the fixed date for her departure, free of cost, as it is possible, for the reasons already stated, especially in the winter season, that one or more portions of the mail may be within twenty-four or forty-eight hours of San Francisco on that date. On my return to San Francisco I waited on the Superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and arranged with him that the General Manager of the Government Telegraph in New Zealand should act as agent in this Colony for the Western Union Telegraph Company for receiving and despatching telegrams by the Atlantic Cable, to any part of England and France, and to and from any part of the United States and Canada ; a tariff of charges on messages from San Francisco to these places was furnished to me in duplicate. The Superintendent desires that messages from New Zealand for transmission from San Francisco, may be enclosed in an envelope addressed to the Superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph Company, San Francisco, accompanied with a list or memorandum of the messages sent, the number of words in each, and the amounts collected therefor. Such amounts to be transmitted by the following mail, through the Bank of California at San Francisco, at the rate of four shillings and twopence per gold dollar. This arrangement I think, will prove very convenient to parties in the Colony desiring to use the cable, as it will obviate the necessity of employing agents in California, or of transmitting their messages by private hands. During my stay in California, I endeavoured to obtain a collection of animals, birds, plants, and seeds suitable to the climate of this Colony, but, unfortunately, it happened to be the close season, and I failed to obtain any, although I offered high prices for both animals and birds. I have however left instructions to forward, when the proper season arrives, 200 mountain quail, 100 pin-tailed grouse, 20 or 30 hares, and a hive of humble bees, the latter for distributing the pollen of the red clover to enable it to seed, which, lam led to understand, it has not yet done in New Zealand. Being midsummer, the season was also unfavourable for bringing trees or plants. I have however brought a few of several varieties, which were represented to me as good and useful sorts ; these, with an assortment of garden seeds, I have handed to Dr. Hector for distribution. Among the seeds are those of the various vegetables used in California. Some of them, such as the different varieties of the cabbage, are common here, but, being inexpensive, and an occasional change of seed being desirable, besides, the blight, which is so common here being unknown in California, I thought the introduction of healthy seeds into the Colony would be useful. As my stay in California was of necessity limited, according to your instructions I engaged Captain Baldwin, of Otago, who was a fellow-passenger in the " Wonga Wonga," and who contemplated remaining for some time in California, to make inquiries and gather every possible information respecting the mining and sericulture interests in that State, and to embody the result in a report for the information of the Government. This he has done ; and the report, which I think is a very good one, I have already handed to you. I left San Francisco, with a large mail, in the s.s. " Ajax," on the 10th of June, and arrived at Honolulu on the 20th, where I found the Flying Squadron at anchor oft' the harbour. Several letters for the officers and men on board had been found in our mail while it was being sorted; these were delivered, and receipts taken for them. The " Wonga Wonga " did not arrive until the evening of the 22nd; the mails were immediately transhipped. The " Ajax " left with the outward mails next morniug at 10 o'clock. The " Wonga Wonga," after taking in 260 tons of coal and a little cargo, left on the 24th at 5 p.m. for Auckland, and had fine weather throughout. When a few degrees south of the equator, it was discovered that there was not sufficient coal on board to take the vessel to Auckland. The captain, I believe, was misled by the engineer as to the quantity of coals on board when the steamer arrived at Honolulu. This quantity, with the 260 tons taken on board at Honolulu, was reported by the engineer as sufficient for eighteen days' full steam, instead of which, however, it turned out that there was scarcely sufficient for thirteen days. On this discovery being made, the consumption of coal was reduced to eighteen, and subsequently to ten tons a day; the wind, though light, was ahead, consequently we made but little progress. I need not say how thankful we all were when we sighted the North Cape, on the morning of the 13th, being the nineteenth day out, for had the wind been strong, as it generally is at this season of the year off the New Zealand coast, we could not have made the land. 8