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No. 9. Mr. Gray to Messrs. McMeckan, Blackwood, and Co. Gentlemen,— General Post Office, Wellington, 16th May, 1876. I have been directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th ult., and to thank you for having taken the trouble to point out an error which was made in transmitting your telegram of the 29th March, addressed to the Postmaster-General. lam to add, however, that the Postmaster-General is not prepared to extend the contract for the conveyance of the Suez-English mails, to and from this colony and Melbourne, beyond two years. Herewith I forward two copies of the Articles of Agreement for the service in question, signed by the Postmaster-General, one of which I have to request you to be good enough to return to this department after being duly executed. I have, &c, W. Gray, Messrs. McMeckan, Blackwood, and Co., Melbourne. Secretary.

Enclosure in No. 9. Aeticles of Agreement. Aeticles of Agreement made this thirteenth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, between James McMeckan and John Hutchison Blackwood, both of Melbourne, in the Colony of Victoria, carrying on business in copartnership as Shipowners under the style or firm of "McMeckan, Blackwood, and Company," (hereinafter styled "the Contractors,") of the one part, and the Honorable Sir Julius Vogel, Knight, the Postmaster-General of the Colony of New Zealand, on behalf of the Government of JN re\v Zealand, in pursuance of the provisions of " The New Zealand Post Office Act, 1858," of the other part, witness, that for the considerations hereinafter mentioned, the said Contractors, for themselves, their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, covenant with the said Postmaster-General, and his successors in office, hereinafter styled " the Postmaster- General," — 1. That at all times during the continuance of this agreement, or so long as the service hereby agreed to be performed between Melbourne and Wellington ought to be performed in pursuance thereof, the Contractors will, for the purpose of conveying, as hereinafter provided, all Her Majesty's Mails, which shall at any time, and from time to time, by the Postmaster-General, or any of his officers or agents, be required to be conveyed, provide and keep seaworthy, and in' complete repair, for such conveyance, once each way every four weeks between Melbourne and Wellington, a sufficient number of good, substantial, and efficient steam vessels for the said service. The term " Mails," used in this agreement, shall mean and include all letters, boxes, bags, or packets of letters, newspapers, books, or printed papers, sent by the post, to whatever country or place they may be addressed, or in whatever country or place they may have originated; and all empty bags and other stores, used or to be used in carrying on the Post Office service, which shall be sent by or to or from the Post Office. 2. The vessels to be employed under this agreement shall be always furnished, while in actual use, with all appropriate and necessary machinery, engines, apparel, furniture, stores, tackle, boats, fuel, lamps, oil for lamps and engines, tallow, provisions, anchors, cables, fire-pumps and other proper means for extinguishing fire, lightning conductors, charts, chronometers, proper nautical instruments, medicines, and whatsoever else may be requisite for equipping the said vessels, and rendering them constantly efficient for the service hereby agreed to be performed; and also manned and provided with competent officers, and with a sufficient number of efficient engineers, and a sufficient crew of able seamen and other men —to be in all respects, as to vessels, engines, equipments, officers, engineers, and crew, subject to the first instance, and from time to time, and at all times afterwards, to the approval of the Postmaster-General, or of such other competent person or persons as he shall at any time or times, or from time to time, authorize to inspect and examine the same. 3. The steam vessels to be employed under this agreement, when carrying mails from Melbourne, shall proceed thence by way of and calling at Bluff Harbour, Port Chalmers, and Lyttelton, in New Zealand ; and when carrying mails from Wellington to Melbourne, shall proceed thence by way of and calling at Lyttelton, Port Chalmers, and Bluff Harbour aforesaid. At each of the ports named in this clause the said steam vessels shall land and receive mails, whether on the trip from Melbourne to Wellington or from Wellington to Melbourne, and such service shall be included in and be deemed to be part of the service herein agreed to be performed. 4. One of the said steam vessels shall, within a reasonable time after the arrival of the European Mail at Hobson's Bay in each month, leave that port for Wellington aforesaid, proceeding thereto by the route specified in clause 3 ; and shall deliver the said mails in New Zealand within the following times from the arrival of the European Mails in Hobson's Bay, that is to say,— At Bluff Harbour ... ... ... ... 168 hours, or 7 days. „ Port Chalmers ... ... ... ... 192 hours, or 8 days. „ Lyttelton ... ... ... ... ... 228 hours, or 9-|- days. „ Wellington ... ... ... ... ... 252 hours, or 10J days. Provided that, if the said European Mail shall arrive in Hobson's Bay more than forty-eight hours before its due date, then a proportionate time shall be added to the number of hours fixed for the delivery of the mails at Wellington. 5. One of the said steam vessels shall, in the event of the European Mail not arriving in Hobaon's Bay at its due date, await the arrival of such mail for a period of forty-eight hours without extra

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