11

D.—2

Enclosure 1 in No. 18. Mr. G. Andrew to the Agent- General. Otago Home Agency, 3, Hope Street, Edinburgh, Sir,— 26th October, 1875. As Home Agents of the Provincial Government of Otago, we have to-day received a telegram from his Honor the Superintendent of that Province, in the following terms:—" Continue Clyde emigration, 100 adults monthly. Province will pay if Agent-General declines." In accordance with that message, we therefore propose to lay on a ship from Glasgow to Port Chalmers early in December, so as to accommodate farm servants leaving their situations at the term of Martinmas. We have little doubt that, if you are not already authorized to advance the necessary funds to meet the expense of that ship, the matter will be adjusted between the General and Provincial Governments before the money falls due; and we would suggest that the passengers for that ship should be collei-ted under the arrangements, including those for advertising, which Mr. Andrew recently made with you, and which have been in force since Ist instant. "We shall therefore be glad to hear at your convenience—(1.) "Whether, in the event of Mr. Andrew seeing his way to fill a ship early in December, you will authorize that to be done on behalf of the General Government; and, in the event of your not being in a position to give such authority— (2.) Under what arrangements you would prefer the emigrants being collected till some arrangement as to payment is made between the General and Provincial Governments. "We have, &c, Geo. Andrew, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. (for self and Mr. Auld). Enclosure 2 in No. 18. The Agent-Geiteral to Mr. G. Andrew. 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sir— 28th October, 1875. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 26th instant, in which you inform me that you have received a telegram from his Honor the Superintendent of Otago, instructing yourself and Mr. Auld, as Home Agents of the Provincial Government, to send 100 adults a month from the Clyde to Otago, and, in reference thereto, requesting to be informed whether, in the event of your being able to fill a ship early in December, I will authorize it to be done on behalf of the General Government. In reply, I have to inform you that, when in June last a telegram was received from the General Government limiting the number of emigrants to be sent to Otago to 2,000 for Port Chalmers and 1,000 for the Bluff, I concurred with Sir Julius Vogel in sending a telegram to the Government, suggesting that I should be authorized to send out an additional 1,000. To this telegram no reply has been received, and I am therefore unable to give you any authority to send any more than those originally ordered in June last. I would remind you, however, that the " Corona " sails this week with about 250 emigrants for Port Chalmers; and that I have been endeavouring, through yourself, to arrange for a ship to take about 200 emigrants direct to the Bluff, to sail the end of next month or beginning of December. I cannot authorize you to incur any expenditure for the purpose of collecting any emigrants for Otago, beyond the numbers I have given ; but with this understanding I shall be glad, however, to consider any proposal you may make for enabling you to do what is necessary with the least possible interference with the arrangements which at present exist. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, George Andrew, Esq., Edinburgh. Agent-General.

No. 19. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 849.) 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 24th November, 1875. Referring to your letter No. 168, dated 19th July, in which you direct my attention to certain matters relative to the ship " Hannibal," I have the honor to report to you the result of special inquiries which I instituted with reference thereto. As regards the complaint as to the incapacity of the baker, I may mention that that officer of the ship is always required to make some bread before the ship proceeds to sea, not only for the purpose of proving his ability, but also as a test of the quality of the flour. This course was adopted on board the " Hannibal," but I regret to hear that in this case it did not prove sufficient. I have given directions that, for the future, every possible inquiry should be made as to the efficiency of the person appointed baker, and, as an additional precaution, I.shall, if opportunity presents itself, accept for a free passage a person of similar occupation, in order that, if the man appointed fails to do his duty properly, there will be another on board to take his place. I also regret to note that the flour is reported to have been indifferent. The usual inspection and trial of it took place in this case, and the report of all the officers engaged therein was favourable. In order to secure its good preservation, for some time past two-thirds of the flour has been required to be packed in air-tight casks, and a similar precaution has been taken as regards the biscuits,