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Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure in No. 13. Mr. Lambton to the Secbetaey, General Post Office, London. Sic, — Genera] Post Office, Sydney, Ist December, 1873. With reference to the mail service about to be established by the Government of this colony and New Zealand, between Sydney and San Francisco, and between New Zealand and San Francisco, I am directed to forward herewith some copies of a temporary time-table for the service. 2. You will perceive that the first mail w rill be despatched on the 20th instant, and will be due in London on the 6th February next, and that the first mail is intended to leave London on the 10th January next, and I am to request that you will be so good as to cause mails for this colony to be made up and despatched from Great Britain in accordance with the time-table. 3. The Imperial Government has, as you are aware, agreed to provide for the conveyance of the mails between England and San Francisco free of charge to this colony. 4. So far as regards the despatch from this office, correspondence not otherwise specially marked will be forwarded by the new route, and I am to request that you will have the goodness to issue the necessary instructions that a similar course be pursued with respect to mails forwarded from England. 5. The Government of this colony having offered to convey the mails of the other Australian colonies in consideration of the payment to New South Wales of postage equivalent to the rates now charged on correspondence for the United Kingdom via Suez and Southampton, I am further to request that the mails to and from those colonies may likewise be conveyed between England and San Francisco free of charge to the colonies in terms of the letters from the Lords of the Treasury dated 14th and 16th May, and 2nd June, which accompanied Lord Kimberley's despatch of the 13th June last. 6. It has been arranged that each colony shall be at liberty to despatch direct mails by this route, and I am to request that you will be good enough to cause direct mails to be made up in London for each colony. The Post Offices of the respective colonies will no doubt notify to your department to what extent this service is to be used for the transmission of their correspondence from Great Britain. 7. It is intended that the colonies shall be credited by your department with the portion of the postage collected in England, referred to in the correspondence between your department and the Imperial Treasury before adverted to. 8. A copy of the table of rates received from your department by Mr. Samuel, and of your letter to that gentleman of the Ist October last, will be forwarded to the other colonies, in order that they may be put in possession of the rates of postage necessary to be accounted for on American correspondence, and on correspondence for British Columbia and foreign countries sent through the United Kingdom. I have, &c, S. H. Lambton, The Secretary, General Post Office, London. Secretary.

No. 14. Mr. Page to the Postmastee-Geneeal, Wellington. Sib,— General Post Office, London, 22nd December, 1873. In my letter of the 28th ultimo, transmitting copies of the letter-bill proposed to be used with the mails sent from this country to New Zealand under the new arrangement, I stated that only the bulk weight of the several classes of correspondence would be entered in the letter-bill; and that the mode in which the amount due to the colony should be calculated would form the subject of a future communication. I am now directed by the Postmaster-General to inform you that a return has been taken here of the total weight of letters, books, patterns, and newspapers sent to the several Australian Colonies during the period of two months; and of the number of single rates of postage levied on each class of correspondence. According to that return, the following rates per ounce or per pound represent closely the amount of postage collected, less the British inland rate, and are the sums which should be accounted for to the Post Office of New Zealand by this department on the mails despatched, viz., — On correspondence despatched via Southampton, or via San Francisco — Letters ... ... ... ... ... ... Is. 3|d. per oz. Newspapers ... ... ... ... ... ... Os. 3id. per lb. Books ... ... ... ... ... ... Is. 2d. per lb. On correspondence despatched via Brindisi — Letters ... ... ... ... ... ... Is. 2d. per oz. Newspapers ... ... ... ... ... ... Os. 2|d. per lb. Books ... ... ... ... ... ... Is. 2|d.^er lb. I am to transmit a copy of the return taken, and to request that you will be good enough to cause the Postmaster-General to be informed whether you will accept the rates proposed to be accounted for. I have, &c, The Postmaster-General, Wellington!. W. J. Page.

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