H.—23.

FURTHER REPORT BY THE SPECIAL COMMISSIONER. To the Chairman of the Philadelphia Exhibition Commission. Sib, — Wellington, New Zealand, 15th August, 1877. I have the honor to report in continuation of my letter of the sth October last, that in accordance with the request of the Commissioners, I prepared and transmitted to Sir Herbert Sandford, on the 17th November, a statistical report on tho representation made by the colony of New Zealand at the Philadelphia Exhibition, for incorporation with the reports on the subject which are to be laid before the Imperial Parliament. A schedule of the contents of this report is hereto appended. (Enclosure No. 1.) A similar report, modified to suit the request of the Centennial Commissioners, was also forwarded to tho Director-General of the Centennial Commission on the same date, to be incorporated with their final report to Congress. I expect shortly to receive copies of these reports which will be duly communicated to you. I have to report that during the continuance of the Exhibition until its close on the 10th November, 187(5, I received regular statements of the current expenditure every month, from Mr. E. T. "Webb, and that the instructions he received respecting the disposal of the exhibits at the close of the Exhibition, have been carried out in a satisfactory and complete manner. On behalf of the Commissioners, I have conveyed to Mr. Webb, an acknowledgment of the important services which he has rendered to the colony, by the efficient manner in which he has performed the onerous duties entrusted to him. The articles which were directed to be returned to the colony, have, with few exceptions, been received in good order, and those which are the property of private persons have been returned to the owners or otherwise accounted for as directed by them. On the 20th December, and again on the 2nd March last, I reported to the Hon. Colonial Secretary the full particulars respecting the manner in which the gold exhibits had been disposed of, and on the 20th March, received an assurance that the Commissioners were relieved from all responsibility in respect thereof. On the 18th July I received through the Hon. Colonial Secretary, the reports of the Judges, together with the diplomas awarded, which have been distributed to the successful New Zealand exhibitors, and a list of their names was published in the New Zealand Gazette, on the 12th April, 1877. I append hereto a copy of the reports which set forth the grounds on which the awards were made. (Enclosure No. 2.) The accounts for the expense incurred in connection with the Exhibition have been passed through the Treasury, and it may be interesting to compare the actual expenditure with the estimate previously made by the Commissioners in their letter to the Colonial Secretary of 16th August, 1865 : — Estimate. Expended. £ £ s. d. Local Committees ... ... .. 1,350 ... 293 3 8 Freight in Colony (outward) ... ... 50 ... — Packing, Ac. ... ... ... 100 ... 37 6 3 Freight to Philadelphia ... ... 750 ... 874 5 7 Expense in Colony (freight inward) ... 50 ... 13 0 0 Gold ... ... ... ... 400 ... 459 16 7 Expense of Agent to Philadelphia ... 200 ... 336 19 9 Contingencies ... ... ... 500 ... 365 0 0 Special Commissioner ... ... 300 ... 335 0 0 Maintenance of Court and re-packing ... — ... 265 18 3 Clerical Assistance... ... ... — ... 142 17 9 Expended by Agent-General ... ... — ... 108 2 6 3,500 .'.'.' 3,308 15 10 From this has to be deducted, for the value of gold sold or returned to the colony, and other credits ... ... ... — ... 735 1 1 Leaving an actual outlay on the Exhibition — ... 2,671 14 9 The short time of my stay in Philadelphia after the opening of the Exhibition, and the numerous duties I had to perform, prevented my personally inspecting the Exhibition as fully as I would hare wished, and made it altogether impossible that I could comply with the instructions I received to report on the machines and processes of manufacture, and matters and objects for the increase of knowledge, and the improvement of the mental, intellectual, and moral condition of man. I feel, however, that any attempt to prepare such a report would be thrown away, as, from the large number of judges, and the voluminous notes they made, I look forward with confidence to the final reports of the Centennial Commissioners as being able to furnish all the information required in a complete and useful manner. I regret somewhat that I was not authorised to purchase a selection of the most improved implements for exhibition, and after sale, in the colony, as in this manner some substantial good could have been effected by making the agriculturist and others practically acquainted with their merits. As the nearest approach I could make towards collecting information on this subject, I obtained a complete set of the Catalogues and advertisements relative to the exhibits which were distributed in the various sections, and most of these documents have been deposited in the General Assembly Library. I have, &c, James Hectob.

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