19

D.—2.

I had asked £100 too little, which I also thought when I found what the work was, and that the appointment continued so long. The Agent-General said I should have £250 at least. The work specially to be done was to make known New Zealand, by tongue and pen; and in many parts of Scotland and its Isles it was really a terra incognita. Immediately I went to the "West Highlands and the Hebrides. Free emigration had not been then proclaimed, and, as the people in those parts are generally very poor, not a great many went. Since free emigration has been the law they have had little information or encouragement, saving that I have written a considerable number of letters, and I planned a few meetings in the more accessible parts for Mr. Duncan, from Canterbury. 2. Thereafter, by request of the Agent-General, I wrote a pamphlet, which, although short, cost me a good deal of trouble. It was translated into Gaelic, and in all about 22,000 have been circulated over the kingdom. There was no special remuneration for this, as some friends think there should have been. In this I can only blame myself, as I never applied for any remuneration. I can testify that this tract (to which I added in successive editions) has been of much service in many places. 3. I had no guarantee for the appointment, and I did not know how long I should hold it. This uncertainty added to my expenses in some ways, having, e.g., to take a furnished house for my family, which in these days costs money; though I took no more than was absolutely required. 4. In Shetland, where I have been so much during the last three summers (rather to the neglect of the North-west of Scotland and the Hebrides), work and travelling are often very difficult. I visited almost every corner of it, and succeeded beyond expectation, in spite of tremendous opposition, in securing in all nearly 800 emigrants, many of whose friends will doubtless follow. Here some work had to bo done which I hardly bargained for—viz., planning for and shipping a large number of people to Aberdeen and thence to London. Being afraid to do this alone, I engaged Mr. A. H. Smith, Agent for New Zealand Government in Edinburgh, to go and give me necessary help. I charged the half of what I paid him—£2s (the half) —to the New Zealand Government, which the Agent-General kindly allowed on explanations being given. This is the only extra allowance I ever asked, and Mr. Smith could testify as to the absolute necessity of the extra help. 5. I have given my whole time, or very nearly so, to this New Zealand work. Ido not think I have made, on an average, £7 a year in any other way during these four years. Two or three years ago, it was made a question in New Zealand Parliament, why my salary was so small compared with that of others. Mr. Ormond replied that he could not tell, but that "he supposed Mr. Barclay did not give all his time to New Zealand work." It was also made the subject of one or two leading articles in New Zealand newspapers. Who the writers were I know not. 6. "When I met Sir Julius Vogel in London I spoke about increase of salary. "When I told him at what I had been working, he said that I had certainly done my work at a very low figure. And I have kept down expenses as much as possible —difficult to do in remote islands, &c, where there are no railways and little means of communication. 7. If it be said that emigration from Scotland has not been great, it must be remembered that comparatively few can be got from the Lowlands. Many have gone thence to Canada, and it is difficult to turn the tide. In most places labour is scarce and wages are very high. In the remote Highlands and Islands (such as Shetland, 800 miles from London) the people are miserably poor from the infamous truck system, &c.; and many who are most anxious to go cannot avail themselves even of the New Zealand Government scheme, which is so liberal in its terms. Had not the Agent-General allowed me to take promissory notes for expense from Lerwick to London, many of those who have gone must have remained at home. Even clothing and the ship-kit money are too much for many of them to provide. 8. In the early spring of 1875 I was tempted to resign, having the unsought offer of good work in my own profession. But I felt that I must not resign till I had fully completed my work in Shetland, and brought it generally there and elsewhere to an honorable issue. Hence I declined it. I have now resigned, although I fear it may not be easy for me to get work in my profession, especially after being so long out of the ecclesiastical groove. But the kind of work I was asked to do four years ago is pretty well done, and alongside that work it is impossible, as a rule, to do local agency-work. And I question if the local agents appointed by the Agent-General would be well pleased if I did. To them it might seem that I, a salaried officer, was intruding into their province. I may add that a good deal of work has been done for New Zealand that can hardly be made to go into a report, such as writing to people of various classes and counselling them. Such work is likely to continue, and it is quite possible I may publish again on New Zealand in a way to help its interests directly or indirectly. And now I ask the New Zealand Government to examine these statements, and to consider if one year's salary might not be awarded me over and above the pay I have had, thus raising my income from £250 to a little over £300 a year for the whole period of my service. And if the Government be pleased to grant this request I shall feel very grateful. Edinburgh, 7th January, 1876. P. Babcxay.

No. 32. The Agent-G-ekeeal to the Hon. the Mintsteb for Immigration. (No. 77.) • 7, "Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, "Westminster, S."W., Sib,— Ist February, 1876. I have the honor to inform you that I have decided to direct persons who apply for certificates under the Immigrants Land Act, but who do not sail from any port of the United Kingdom or from Hamburg, to make special application to the Government in New Zealand to have their cases dealt with under the Immigrants Land Act Amendment Act of last Session of the General Assembly, and consequently on arrival to make application to the Immigration Officer at the port at which they