8.—4.

1876. NEW ZEALAND.

GUARANTEED LOAN ACT, AND ACT NO. 25, 1874, (CORRESPONDENCE RELATING TO).

Presented to both Souses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1. Mr. Herbert to Sir J. Vogel. Sir, — Downing Street, 23rd June, 1875. I am directed by the Earl of Carnarvon to transmit to you a copy of a letter from the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, in which certain objections are pointed out to the Act No. 25 of 1874, passed in the last Session of the New Zealand Legislature, "to authorize the raising of Money for Immigration and Construction of Public Works." I am also to enclose a copy of their Lordships' previous letter in regard to the application of moneys raised under the Imperial Guarantee to the purposes specified in the Colonial Act No. 49 of 1873. Lord Carnarvon desires me to request your early attention to the points raised by the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, and will be glad to receive any observations which you may wish to make on this subject. I am, &c, Sir Julius Vogel, K.C.M.G. Eoeeet G. W. Herbert.

Enclosure 1 in No. 1. The Treasury to the Colonial Opfice. Sic, — Treasury Chambers, 26th May, 1875. I have laid before the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury your letter of the 2nd Feburary last, with the copies of the two Acts of the Legislature of New Zealand enclosed—namely, No. 25 of 1874, "An Act to authorize the raising of Money for Immigration and Construction of Public Works," and No. .34 of 1874, " An Act to enable the Auckland Harbour Board to construct a Dock and other Harbour "Works, and to raise Money to defray the cost thereof." With regard to No. 34, relative to the dock, &c, at Auckland, I am to state that, unless the Act in any way aft'ects the loans guaranteed to the colony by the Imperial Government, which it does not appear to do, seeming to be in the nature of a private Act, my Lords have no observations to make on the subject. With regard, however, to the Act No. 25, for raising money for immigration, &c, their Lordships would observe that some of the purposes specified in the schedule, and covered by section 20, cannot in their opinion be deemed to come within the purposes for which the loan of £1,000,000 was guaranteed under the Act 33 and 34 Viet. cap. 40 ; and they request that the attention of the Secretary of State may be called to the letter from this department of the 27th April, 1874, and to the observations contained therein, with reference to the application of moneys raised under that guarantee to the purposes specified in the Colonial Act of 1873. The objections of this Board would, however, be removed by the section referred to being amended as follows: — " Any part of the loans respectively authorized to be raised under the Loan Act No. 1, and the Loan Act Ko. 2, which is not guaranteed by the Imperial Government, may be applied to any of the purposes to which is applicable the loan authorized by this Act to be raised; but that portion of the loan authorized to be raised under the Loan Act No. 1, which is guaranteed by the Imperial Government, shall be applied only to the purposes specified in the Act of the Imperial Legislature, 33 and 34 Viet. cap. 40." I am, &c, The Under Secretary of State, Colonial Office. E. E. W. Listen. I—B. 4.