7

E.—2

Enclosure 2 in No. 11. Seceetaey of the Eailway Caeeiage Company to the Agent-Geneeal. Eailway Carriage Company, Limited, Oldbury, near Birmingham, Deae Sie,— 19th April, 1875. On the other side is copy of Mr. Bruce's letter of the 16th, in which he states that you will kindly forward any statement we may wish to make to New Zealand, and that you are sure the amount will be refunded to us iu the event of the Government being convinced that the damage was not due to defective packing. Under these circumstances I have the pleasure to enclose cheque (value £525 135.) for tho amount claimed, and shall feel obliged by your acknowledgment of its receipt. I have, Ac, H. Wheelee, I. E. Featherston, Esq., Agent-General. . Secretary.

Enclosure 3 in No. 11. Mr. G. B. Beuce to the Eailway Caeeiage Company, Oldbury. 2, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W.; Gentlemen, — 16th April, 1875. I forwarded the letter written by your Mr. Stableford to the Agent-General. In his reply he expresses his willingness to forward to New Zealand any statement you may wish to make relative to the damaged packages. The Agent-General at the same time does not feel justified in entertaining your recent tender prior to your payment of the cost the New Zealand Government has been put to in this matter: this he feels sure would be refunded to you, in the event of the Government being convinced that the damage was not due to defective packing. Yours, Ac, The Eailway Carriage Company, Oldbury. Geoege B. Beuce.

No. 12. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetaey. (No. 289.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sie,— 7th May, 1875. I have the honor to state that immediately upon receiving the Hon. the Minister for Public Works' memorandum, relative to the deficiency in the bed-plates and clips supplied by Messrs. P. and W. MacLellan, I put myself in communication with Messrs. Hemans and Bruce, and directed them to require an immediate explanation from those gentlemen. I now enclose a copy of the correspondence that has taken place, and very much regret the cause that has occasioned it. The deficient bed-plates aud clips to be supplied by Messrs. P. and W. MacLellan shall be be forwarded with as little delay as possible. I have, Ac, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 12. Mr. G. B. Beuce to the Agent-Geneeal. 2, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, S.W., 30th April, 1875. Deae Sie, — New Zealand Bailwayt. We have duly received a copy of Memorandum No. 13-75, addressed to you by the Minister for Public Works iu New Zealand, relative to deficiencies in the number of bed-plates and clips supplied by Messrs. P. and W. MacLellan under their contract with the Government. Attention had been previously drawn to this from New Zealand in reference to the shipment by the " Halcione;" and on calling Messrs. MacLellan's attention to it, they replied by letter, dated 13th January, 1875, which letter was forwarded on to you. At that time we did not eutertain the smallest doubt that the short delivery would be found to be limited to that one particular vessel. We deeply regret to find that this is not the case, aud that the deficiencies appear to have been so systematic throughout the contract. We bog to forward a letter from Messrs. MacLellan, dated 27th April, in reply to a previous letter of ours, asking for an explanation. We are perfectly at a loss to understand how so marked a deficiency could have escaped the attention of Messrs. MacLellan, as well as our Inspector at the works We can only account for it by all parties having relied very improperly upon the mechanical exactness, with which the boxes were made to hold a certain number of layers of the bed-plates aud clips. Trusting to this, they did not give the attention which ought to have beeu given to testing by counting and by weight the goods actually supplied. The matter was so easy of detection when each box had painted outside of it " 80 bed-plates and 160 clips," that we do uot imagine any one to have done it with the intention to deceive. We have instructed Messrs. MacLellan to pack and ship immediately the necessary number of bedplates and clips to make up for the average deficiency on the whole 2,500 cases, calculated on tho average deficiency as shown in the 227 cases which were opened and examined by the Government.