E.—2

4

take. It is a very common case for barges to be put alongside one vessel and afterwards transferred to another. Under these circumstances it is impossible to insure in all cases the exact proportion of materials, though no effort is spared in endeavouring to secure it. In some cases the goods from a manufacturer when ordered up for a ship arrive too late, and the ship will not take them in—or even when in time, the vessel is sometimes filled up with other things, or wants the space for other goods, and in this way the calculations of proportions of the various fittings are necessarily thrown out. The shipments for each port are sent in so many different vessels, and in such comparatively small quantities, that no risk of delay is run in the aggregate, although individual vessels have not each got their exact proportion, and that is all that can in practice be attained. Yours faithfully, (for G. W. Hemans and Self), The Agent-General, London. George B. Bruce.

Enclosure 2 in No. 5. Mr. G. B. Bruce to the Agent-General. 2, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, S.W., Dear Sir,— 6th April, 1874. New Zealand Railways. We have seen the Memorandum No. 5, 1874, dated 10th January, 1874, from the Public Works Office in New Zealand. That Memorandum draws attention to the fact that an original invoice from Messrs. Shaw, Johnson, and Reay, for 446 rails of various lengths, did not agree with the storekeeper's receipt of the rails as received in New Zealand, the total number of the rails being correct, but the relative proportions of the various lengths differing. It is hardly possible to be sure of anything more than the correctness of the actual number of rails put on board any vessel. A steamboat load of rails is sometimes sent up from the works to wait in London for vessels. We know the exact number and lengths of the rails as sent away from the works, but when these come to be divided out into the different barge loads to be put on board different vessels, it is almost impossible to keep any account of the exact disposition of the various lengths, and all that can be done in the invoices is as nearly as possible to divide the short lengths over the shipments as a whole, making the total numbers received by each ship correct, as also the total weight in the various ships loading from that one delivery from the works. The proportion of short lengths to the whole cargo is not large, and any error in individual shipments cannot be great. The Government in every case do receive in one ship or another the actual varieties of lengths named in the invoices. Yours faithfully, (for G. W. Hemans and Self), I. E. Featherston, Esq., Agent-General. George B. Bruce.

No. 6. The Aoent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Co.onial Secbetaby. (No. 1233.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 14th May, 1874. With reference to the Hon. the Commissioner of Public Works' Memorandum No. 12-74, of the 7th February, 1874, calling my attention to the backward state of the order for rails and rolling stock forwarded in the Hon. Mr. Ormond's Memorandum No. 123, of the 25th October, 1872,1 have to express my regret that any inconvenience should have been suffered by the Government on this account. I beg leave to enclose a tabular statement showing the quantity of material shipped, and the names of the vessels by which it was forwarded ; also of the rolling stock and engines. I may observe that some of the permanent-way material was diverted to supply the order for Auckland, under Memorandum 28-73, of the 2nd June, 1873, for tho Kaipara Railway, as the Memorandum stated it was urgently wanted. With regard to the carriages, delivery should have been given by the Eailway Carriage Company in November, 1873, and I am sorry to say the last six for Auckland are only now being delivered. This great delay applies also to the wagon ironwork contracted for by them at the same time, which is not yet completed. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, W. G. McKellab, Wellington. (for the Agent-General).