11

D.—lA,

and it was the Superintendent's idea that these immigrants would defray the cost of their passages to New Zealand. The Government would very much regret that there should be any breakdown of the scheme on the score of assisted passages, and they have come to this decision that if any of Mr. Stewart's party require assisted passages you should grant such to eligible emigrants ; but that at the same time they should be given to understand that before they obtain Crown Grants for the land they may select, the cost of their passages must be refunded. The Government, in encouraging this special class of settlement, attach great importance to the fact that Mr. Stewart was reported by Mr. Farnall to be a gentleman of means and responsibility, and that the forty or fifty families that would accompany him would be united to him by ties of acquaintance and friendship, so that he should be looked to by the Government as the acknowledged head cf the whole party. Government repose the fullest confidence in your giving your best assistance to bring this scheme of emigration, as it has been represented to them by the Superintendent of Auckland, to a successful issue. G. Matjeice O'Eobke. Immigration Office, Wellington, 2nd August, 1873.

No. 18. Mejiobanditii No. IG7, 1573, for the Agent-Gexeeal, London. In reply to your memorandum of the 16th May, in which you state that it is unfair not to credit you with sending out " Erogden's men," I can assure you that it was understood in the Colony that the task of collecting and embarking these emigrants rested entirely with Messrs. Brogden, subject to their being passed as suitable emigrants for the Colony by you. The Government now, for the first time, learn that your labour in selecting and shipping these emigrants was quite as great, if not greater, than in the case of the emigrants nominally despatched on behalf of the Government. It will, however, be admitted by you that the instructions of the Government with regard to this body of immigrants were invariably to the effect that these immigrants were to be in addition to, and not a portion of, the number you were instructed to procure. The same rule also applied to immigrants nominated in the Colony. You also state in this despatch that the Messrs. Brogden were formidable competitors of yours through offering more favourable terms than you could. Here the opposite is alleged, and the Government has been appealed to to relieve Messrs. Brogden from their liability in respect of these immigrants on the ground that your immigrants were sent out on much easier terms than " Brogden's men." I hardly like to pursue the question further now of whether the time allowed for the despatch of 8000 emigrants in 1872 was sufficient, but I must note a discrepancy between a statement in this despatch of the 16th May, to the effect that you were instructed not to land immigrants in June, July, and August, and that which is stated in your previous month's despatch (12th. April), in which you state that you received instructions " that no emigrants were to be landed in Otago in the months of June, July, and August, whereas no such embargo was laid upon emigration to other Provinces," and having thus accounted for the stoppage of immigration to Otago during the winter months, you add, " It naturally followed that while I was pouring in emigrants to other Provinces up to the date of Mr. Waterhouse's memorandum, emigration to Otago was altogther stayed." This mention of your pouring emigrants into other Provinces when you were prohibited from doing so into Otago does not tally with what is stated in your May despatch, that your instructions were to send out no emigrants for the year 1872 till the beginning of Juno of that year. I can find in Mr. Gisborne's general instructions of the 25 th November, 1871, nothing to warrant such a restriction upon the landing of 8000 immigrants in the Colony in 1872. Under date August 30, 1871, you ■were, no doubt, directed to carry out the old Otago Provincial regulations as to non-shipment of any large number of emigrants to arrive in June, July, and August, but you must have fully realised the fact that Mr. Gisborne's memorandum of November 25, 1871, entirely superseded all former instructions. Indeed, he twice over in that memorandum repeats the instruction to send half the number, or 4000 immigrants, with the least possible delay. It is, however, gratifying that this prohibition—not to despatch any emigrants until June, 1872—which you allege to have been given, did not receive a very full measure of obedience on your part, as I observe from the list you furnish of the vessels you despatched in 1872, that eight vessels were despatched during the prohibited months of April and May. In reference to the issue of the regulations of the 10th March last granting free passages, and to the sudden revocation of the same a week afterwards, I have only to say that the granting of free passages has been left to your discretion since November last, and that if you were satisfied you had made a blunder in granting such, it was your duty to correct it as speedily as possible. I am sorry, however, that you waited for a period of two months before communicating these facts to the Government, as the two sets of regulations —those of the 10th March and 17th March—were well known in Wellington two months ago, but the Government, in the absence of any information from you, were unable to account for the sudden changes which had taken place in your conduct of emigration to the Colony.