SAN FRANCISCO MAIL SERVICE.

21

E.—No. 2:

That the said Company shall provide, to the satisfaction of the Contractors and the PostmasterGeneral, on board all steam vessels employed under this contract, proper, safe, and convenient places for the deposit of mails, with locks, keys, and secure fastenings. That the said Company shall also provide, to the satisfaction of the Contractors and the PostmasterGeneral, all necessary and suitable accommodation, including lights, for the purpose of sorting and making up the mails on board the several steam vessels employed under this contract; and, on being required to do so by the Contractors or the said Postmaster-General, shall or will, at their own cost, erect or set apart, on each of the said vessels, a separate and convenient room for such purposes. The master or commander of each of the said vessels shall also provide assistance for conveying the mail between the mail-room and the sorting-room. That if the Postmaster-General shall think fit to entrust the charge and custody of the mails to the master or commander of any vessel to be employed under this contract, and in all cases where the officer or other person appointed to have charge of the mails shall be absent to the knowledge of the master or commander of such vessel, such master or commander shall, without any charge other than that herein provided to be paid to the said Company, take due care of, and the said Company shall be responsible for the receipt, safe custody, and delivery of, the said mails. That the said Company shall take and deliver, and the Postmaster-General respectively shall cause all mails in Auckland, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne, (if any) to be delivered at or taken from the ship's side, and such delivery shall be taken within two hours after arrival at the appointed place of delivery. That the said Company, and all commanding and other officers in charge of the vessels employed under this contract, shall at all times punctually attend to the orders and directions of the PostmasterGeneral, his officers or agents, as to the mode, time, and place of delivering and receiving mails, subject to the special provisions herein contained, and so far as such orders and directions are reasonable and consistent with the safety of the vessel. That the said Company shall have no claim to any postage, nor to any payment on account thereof, for mails carried under this contract, except as herein provided ; but the said Company shall be entitled to receive, for their own sole use and benefit, the usual postage money to be obtained for conveyance by their vessels of mails between ports or places in Australia, not mentioned in this contract. That the said Company shall provide suitable first-class accommodation for a mail officer or agent on board each of the vessels employed under this contract, who shall be at liberty to use such accommodation as may be required for the performance of his duties, and such officer or agent shall be victualled by the said Company as a chief cabin passenger without charge either for his passage or victualling. That every such mail officer or agent shall be recognized and treated by the said Company, their officers and agents, as the agent of the Postmaster-General in charge of the mail, and as having full authority in all cases to require a due and strict performance of this contract: Provided that no such agent or officer shall have power to control or interfere with any commander or officer in the performance of his duty, and every such agent and officsr shall be subject to all general orders issued by the master or commander for the good order, health, and comfort of the passengers and crew, and the safety of the vessel. That if the Postmaster-General, or his officers or agents, shall at any time deem it requisite for the public service that any vessel should be detained beyond the appointed time of departure, it shall be lawful for the Postmaster-General, his officers or agents, to order such delay not exceeding forty-eight hours at Auckland, and not exceeding twenty-four hours at any of the other ports or places in Australia, by letter addressed to and delivered to the commander of the vessel or the person acting as such, or left for him on board the vessel, or to the agent of the Company at such port or place, four hours at least before the hour appointed for departure : Provided that the Postmaster-General of New Zealand, or such person as he may appoint, may detain any vessel at Auckland, for the arrival of the Contractors' steam vessel, beyond such forty-eight hours, but not beyond one hundred and sixty-eight hours : Provided that the Contractors shall pay to the said Company two pounds per hour for every hour during which any vessel shall be so detained after the first seventy-two hours. That the Contractors shall have power to assign this contract to a Company intended to be established by them for the purpose of taking over and carrying out the aforesaid line; but this contract or any part thereof shall not be otherwise assigned, underlet, or disposed of by the Contractors, or by the Company to whom the same may be assigned, without the consent in writing of the said Company, party hereto; first obtained for that purpose. That the said Company shall in all other respects conform to the stipulations of the said Memorandum of Agreement of the seventh day of March, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, and shall be equally bound with the Contractors by all directions of the Postmaster-General of New Zealand ; and the l'ostmaster-General of any colony from which a subsidy as aforesaid may be obtained, shall have the same powers with regard to his colony, as the Postmaster-General of New Zealand has by the said agreement of seventh day of March, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-one, and by this agreement with regard to New Zealand ; and the words " Postmaster-General " herein, shall apply to and mean the Postmaster-General of the Colony or place from or to which mails shall be carried as aforesaid, whose Government shall pay a subsidy as aforesaid. That all goods and passengers carried under this agreement shall be carried under a through bill of lading and through passenger ticket, to be from time to time agreed upon between the parties hereto. That in case of the breach by either party of this agreement, or any clause, matter, or thing herein contained, and of such breach continuing for twenty-one days, the other shall be at liberty to put an end to this agreement by giving six calendar months' notice in writing in manner herein contained, in case of failure to obtain any of the subsidies herein contained. That in case it should become necessary for the Contractors to send on from New Zealand any vessel of theirs, employed in their said line, to Melbourne or Sydney, for repairs, they shall be at liberty by such 6