17

A.—3.

Governments and Legislatures of Her Majesty's Australasian possessions, in the matter of Intercolonial commercial reciprocity. That Mr. Parkes, Mr. Vogel, and the Mover, bo a Committee to prepare a draft of such joint memorial, for the consideration of the Conference at its meeting on a future day." The Conference adjourned at 4 o'clock, until next day at 10 o'clock a.m. Henet Parkes, Chairman.

At the Treasury, Sydney, Tuesday, 4th February, 1873. Present: — New South Wales : The Hon. Henry Parkes. South Australia : The Hon. Sir Henry Ayera. The Hon. Saul Samuel. The Hon. J. H. Barrow. New Zealand: The Hon. Julius Vogel. Tasmania : The Hon. ~E. M. Innes. The Hon. W. H. Eeynolds. The Hon. J. M. Wilson. Queensland: The Hon. A. H. Palmer. Victoria: The Hon. J. G. Francis. The Hon. J. M. Thompson. The Hon. E. Langton. Western Australia : The Hon. I\ P. Barlee. The Conference having met at 10 o'clock, tho minutes of the proceedings of yesterday's date were read and confirmed. 1. Mr. Barrow then gave notice of the following motion :■—" That he will, on an early day, call the attention of the Conference, or the representatives of those Colonies more immediately interested therein, to the unsatisfactory nature of the existing arrangements for the collection of Customs Duties on the Eiver Murray, and will move that it is desirable to terminate as soon as possible the present system of the collection of duties, and to substitute instead the payment of lump sums in lieu of duties, to be arranged by the Colonies concerned on an equitable basis, calculated upon past actual collections." 2. Mr. Palmer gave notice of the following motion : —" That the present state of the law in regard to the Extradition of Criminals escaping from one Colony into another is defective. That in lieu of the present system, an Act should be passed in each Colony, enabling a criminal warrant duly issued in one Colony to be executed in another, on the indorsement of a Judge or Magistrate. That such Act should provide (with such safeguards as may be deemed necessary) that the contents of any such warrant issued in one Colony may be transmitted by telegraph to another Colony, and that a certified transcript of the message shall have the same effect as an original warrant. That the Act referred to should, as nearly as possible, be alike in each Colony. 3. Mr. Palmer moved a resolution, in accordance with notice given by him on the preceding day, on the subject of the establishment of a Mail Service through Torres Straits to Singapore, when, after discussion, it was moved by Mr. Palmer, and seconded by Mr. Thompson, that the following motion be substituted for the original one, which was agreed to unanimously, and carried : —" That Queensland negotiate for a service between Singapore, Brisbane, and Sydney, at a cost not exceeding £25,000 per annum. The cost to be divided between all the Colonies in proportion to the number of letters they despatch by this route. The Imperial Government to be asked to contribute £5,000 per annum towards the subsidy." 4. Mr. Barrow proposed, and Mr. Palmer seconded, the following resolution :—" That the minutes of proceedings of the Conference be printed, confidentially, for the use of the members only, and that each day's proceedings be printed after being confirmed by the Conference," which was unanimously agreed to. Mr. Vogel, with the concurrence of the Conference, withdrew the notices of motion given by him on Monday, 27th ultimo. Mr. Samuel, with the concurrence of the Conference, withdrew the notice of motion given by him on Monday, 27th ultimo. Mr. Langton, with the concurrence of the Conference, withdrew the notice of motion given by him on 31st ultimo. Mr. Francis also, with the concurrence of the Conference, withdrew the notice of motion given by him on 31st ultimo. 5. Mr. Vogel then gave notice of the following motion : — " The Eepresentatives of the Colonies of desire to express their sense of the untiring energy and perseverance displayed by the Colony of South Australia in connection with the establishment of through telegraph communication between the Australasian Colonies and Great Britain. " That the arguments which may be used in favour of the Governments of a country and its dependencies taking charge of the land telegraph lines apply with greater force to their taking charge of the lines of telegraph cable which connect them. " That if the means of telegraph communication between Great Britain and the Colonies were in the hands of the joint Governments, the rates of charge for the use of the line might be materially reduced, since the interest required by the shareholders of the various Companies interested is much larger than that which would have to be paid on borrowed money. " That Great Britain, by the use of her navy, has great facilities for maintaining the cables in a condition of efficiency. " That for these and other reasons of a self-evident character, the Conference urge on Great Britain to join with India and the Colonies in acquiring or constructing a through line of telegraph communication between Great Britain, India, and the Australasian Colonies. " That the money necessary for the purpose be borrowed by Great Britain, and that the yearly interest, together with the annual cost of maintenance, and, if necessary, an annual sum for renewal, 3—A. 3.