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No. 34. Mr. Lambton to the Seceetakt, General Post Office, Wellington. Sic,— General Post Office, Sydney, 31st May, 1875. With reference to previous correspondence respecting the application of the French Post Office to make use of the San Francisco mail steamers for the transmission of closed mails between France and New Caledonia, I am directed to transmit herewith, for the information of the PostmasterGeneral of New Zealand, copies of further letters which have been received from the General Post Office, London, on the subject, and of the reply thereto which has been forwarded by this department. I l iave , &c, S. H. Lambton, The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Secretary.

No ; 27 of this series.

Enclosure 1 in No. 34. Mr. Page to the Postmastee-Genebal, Sydney. Sic,— General Post Office, London, 9th March, 1875. Referring to my letter of the 4th May last, and to your reply of the 3rd October following, I am directed by the Postmaster-General to inform you that he has received a communication from the French Post Office, stating its intention, commencing with this present mail, of making use of the route of England, the United States, and Sydney, for the transmission of closed mails between France and New Caledonia. Mails from New Caledonia for France will be forwarded via Melbourne and Suez, addressed to the offices of Alexandria, Marseilles, and Modane to Paris; and mails will be made up for transmission to the Travelling Office, Calais, to Paris, via the United States. Nevertheless, it is the wish of the French Post Office that the mails for Marseilles, Modane to Paris, and Calais to Paris, should be forwarded by the first despatch from Australia after their arrival in Sydney, without regard to their superscription. On the other hand, the mail addressed to Alexandria should always be sent by the route of Melbourne and Suez, even on those occasions when its arrival at Sydney coincides with the departure of a mail for San Francisco. In conveying to you the above information, I have to request that you will be good enough to give such instructions to your officers as will insure a compliance with the wishes of the French Post Office. I have, &c, The Postmaster-Genera], Sydney. W. J. Page.

Enclosure 2 in No. 34. Mr. Lambton to the Seceetaex, General Post Office, London. Sib,— General Post Office, Sydney, 17th May, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated the 9th March last, in which you state that the French Post Office intends to make use of the route of England, the United States, and Sydney, for the transmission of closed mails between France and New Caledonia. In reply, I am to inform you that the necessary instructions have been given for carrying out the wishes of the French Post Office, as indicated in your letter. I have, &c, S. H. Lambtoit, The Secretary, General Post Office, London. Secretary.

Enclosure 3 in No. 34. Mr. Page to the Postmastee-Geneeal, Sydney. Sic, — G-eneral Post Office, London, 4th May, 1874. The Director-General of the French Post Office has expressed his desire to make use of the line of colonial mail packets, recently established between Sydney and San Francisco, for the transmission of closed mails between Trance and New Caledonia. In my letter of the 21st January last, I informed you that it was the intention of the French Post Office to forward these mails every fortnight, alternately, via Point de Galle and Melbourne, and via Singapore and Brisbane; but, on further consideration, the French Office wishes to adopt the alternative route of San Francisco and Sydney, in substitution for that of Singapore and Brisbane. It is assumed as a matter of course that your office will have no objection to the transmission of the French mails by the line of packets maintained, jointly by the Governments of New South Wales and New Zealand, and the only question is that of the rate to be paid by France for their conveyance between San Francisco and Sydney. By the terms of the postal convention between this country and France, the payment for sea conveyance by British packet of correspondence in closed mails is fixed, for a distance exceeding 2,000 miles, at, for letters, If. 20c. per 30 grammes; for printed papers and patterns, If. per kilogramme ; and these are the sums which would be payable by France to this office, if the packets between San Francisco and Sydney were maintained by this department. But, as they are colonial mail packets, it remains for the Post Offices of New South Wales and New Zealand to determine whether they will accept the same rates of payment; and I shall be glad if you will consider this question, and favour me, as early as convenient, with your decision upon it. Of course, whatever rates may be fixed, they will be accounted for by France to this department, and will be placed to the credit of your office in the accounts prepared periodically by the Eeceiver and Accountant-General of this department. I have, &c, The Postmaster-General, Sydney. W. J. Page.