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The difficulty indicated must be met in one of three ways : — I. —By calling Parliament together at once. II. —By stopping all further immigration until after the regular meeting of Parliament. 111. —By withholding the Agent-General's accounts, so that they will not be brought to charge during the current financial year. Ist. The ordinary constitutional course, and that which would be most in accordance with the wishes of Ministers, would be to call Parliament together at once, and ask it to vote the necessary supplies. But after a careful consideration of all the interests involved —both constitutional and other —the Government have come to the conclusion that they would not be justified in putting the country and Members to the great inconvenience and expense of a special meeting of the General Assembly; more especially as there can be no reasonable doubt that the present difficulty is really .a technical one, and that the Government are only carrying out the intentions of Parliament by introducing the number of immigrants, the expenses on whom will cause the deficit. 2nd. It is evident that without bringing great disaster upon the country, the Government cannot suddenly stop free immigration. The Public Works Department are even now obliged to submit to long and vexatious delays on the part of contractors in the completion of important contracts; and are actually prevented from placing many other necessary works upon the market, from the impossibility of obtaining labour at a reasonable rate. The Government are also continually pressed for more immigrants from all parts of the colony. 3rd. Propositions 1 and 2 being impracticable, there remains open only the third alternative. Immigration must go on, and the necessary funds must be found. The Government will therefore give orders that the whole of the immigration accounts of the Agent-General are to be withheld from the audit until the Ist July next, to prevent them being brought to charge during the current financial year. The Government feel the grave responsibility they incur in thus practically suspending, without authority, the operation of the law, but they are of opinion that in so doing they are simply fulfilling the important trust reposed in them, and that Parliament will willingly grant the required indemnity. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 3. MeJIOEANDUM. Undebstanding that some doubt has been expressed by the Commissioners of Audit, as to whether the unexpended balances of the appropriations of Parliament for Immigration purposes, made in the years 1870 and 1871 are available for expenditure now being brought to account, I have the honor to state that the Hon. Mr. Vogel, when framing the estimates for the current year, requested to be supplied with a return of the total appropriations to date and of the unexpended balances. In compliance with that request, a return, of which the enclosed is a copy, was prepared. It was, I know, the belief of the Hon. Mr. Vogel that the unexpended balances of the sums granted by the Immigration and Public Works Acts, 1870, and 1871, namely, £240,130 4s. 2d., were available, and it was on that belief that the sum which Parliament was asked to grant for Immigration services during the year was fixed at £275,000. C. T. Batkin, 12th February, 1875. Secretary to the Treasury.

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