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the Superintendent of Otago for taking over the agency, and making it available for the whole colony' If this can be done, I shall propose that the Scotch agency be to some extent independent of your own: that is to say, I would give to it a final power of approving emigrants, and the power of regulating the services of its various officers and of dealing with its sub-agents ; but that with you should rest the approval of arrangements for chartering ships, and that, in the absence of express instructions from the colony as to numbers, reference should be made to you as to the number of emigrants to be shipped. In addition, it would no doubt be convenient, when a stated number of immigrants were ordered for any province, to leave you to decide what proportion should be sent by the Scotch agency and what by your own. To avoid overlapping, I propose to distinctly define the area over which the Scotch agency shall extend ; but to make it clear that, in the event of any differences of opinion occurring, your express instructions on any point must be observed. I propose to take over Mr. Adam, and to appoint the Eev. Mr. Barclay to the Scotch agency, to perform the duties described in a former part of this letter. 14. Emigrants from the North of Ireland, when they cannot be shipped at Belfast, should, in my opinion, be shipped at Glasgow. I intend to propose the establishment of a distinct agency for Ireland; but lam not now in a position to carry this out, as it will involve arrangements which Ido not feel myself at liberty to make. I will, therefore, leave you to determine the extent to which the Irish emigration shall proceed from Glasgow ; merely expressing my opinion that it would be better to combine the North of Ireland emigration with the Scotch, unless you see objections in the way which are not apparent to me. Final arrangements about the Scotch agency cannot be made until the receipt of a reply to my telegram to the Government. VIII. —Nominated Immigeants. 15. I have already written to you on the subject of nominated immigrants, and have asked you to revise the form issued to nominees. I desire now to explain the footing upon which I consider nominated immigrants should be placed. So long as payment is not exacted from, or responsibility devolved upon, those persons in the colony who make nominations —and seeing that the nomination papers are sent Home without direct approval by the Immigration Minister —it is obvious that the approval or disapproval of the nominees must rest with you. Generally, I think, you should be guided in your decision by the same principles as would guide you in dealing with ordinary emigrants; but that special cases may present themselves as to which you might feel justified in departing from the stricter rules held to be applicable to ordinary emigrants. There are cases, too, in which 1 think it would be desirable, if you entertain doubt, that you should refer the papers directly to the Immigration Minister; but I am far from suggesting this as a general rule. I must leave you to consider, supposing the Scotch agency is placed on the footing I anticipate after receiving advices from the colony, the extent of the responsibility you will devolve on that agency in respect to approving or disapproving nominated immigrants. Whilst you should intrust to that agency a great deal of discretion, you should not part with the power of final decision in cases of a doubtful nature. It might be well to place the matter in this position: that the Scotch agency should have the power of approving nominations, but that in cases where disapproval is considered desirable, the decision should rest with you, and the papers with the reasons attached be forwarded to you. IX. —Immigbants to gite Pbomissoby Notes. I believe the time has come when immigrants should pay some portion of their passage money. The colony has incurred expense for immigration to such an extent as should make it reasonable to suppose that those who have had their passages paid have left behind them a number of relatives or friends who, on their representations, would be glad to follow. I desire, however, that we should not, by making some cash payment a condition, shut out from proceeding to New Zealand persons who, though eligible as settlers, have no pecuniary means. I propose, therefore, that you should exact from, or on account of, each adult emigrant a promissory note for £7, or the payment of £3 10s. in cash here. The case of children should be dealt with upon the basis of your shipping arrangements for them: that is to say, for those for whom you have to pay half the cost of a statute adult, you should exact promissory notes or cash payments in the same proportions I have named; whilst infants, for whom you have not to pay, should of course be shipped tree. 16. In thus reverting to the promissory-note system, I think you should make widely known the exceeding liberality of the colony in dealing with immigrants. I append a draft form of notice,* which you should freely distribute, in the form of a hand-bill, throughout the country, as well as advertise it, or a summary of it, in the newspapers where it is most likely to be seen by working men. The Government think it not desirable that you should obtain many emigrants from the large manufacturing towns; but in smaller towns, and in those of agricultural districts, as well as in the agricultural districts generally, you cannot too widely disseminate a knowledge of the New Zealand immigration arrangements. The draft notice I enclose is merely a sketch, and you are at liberty to remodel it. I think that it should contain —1. A statement of the numbers you propose to send out during several months in advance, and the ports and provinces to which you propose to send them. 2. A statement of the terms upon which immigrants will be accepted, including, generally, the nature of the necessary certificate. 3. The reception of immigrants in depot in this country (if they go to depdt), and on board ship. 4. The dietary scale, with that of the Emigration Commissioners placed by its side, so as to allow of comparison. 5. The reception of immigrants in the colony. Under this last head, it should be explained that immigrants are sent to a depot and maintained there; that after two or three days, engagements are made there ; but that some of the immigrants are generally sent to a country depot, where engagements can equally well be made. Without pledging yourself or the Government that every immigrant will be maintained in depot for any specified time, beyond three or four days if * Encloßure No. 3.