D.—2b.
1878. NEW ZEALAND. IMMIGTATION. (FURTHER LETTERS FROM THE AGENT - GENERAL.)
Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.
No. 1. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to the Agent-General. "Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, New Zealand, 12th A.ugust, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th of June last, No. 517, with reference to the expenditure of the Agent-General's Department in the United Kingdom, and in reply to transmit, for your information, copy of the estimates for the financial year 1878-79, from which you will learn that it is proposed to obtain a vote of £4,000 for the purpose, that sum being charged against consolidated revenue, instead of loan as heretofore. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Robert Stout.
No. 2. The Agent-Genebal to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 517.) Sic, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 18th June, 1878. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the sth April, No. 66, in which you direct me to further reduce the expenditure of this department, and in which you indicate some of the officers from whom I may choose those whose services can be dispensed with. I am sensible of the fact that it is my duty to defer to the wishes of the Government, and if merely dispensing with certain officers would give effect to your wishes I should have nothing to do but to obey your instructions. But you throw on me also the responsibility of maintaining the efficiency of the department, so that, in effect, beyond making the reductions, the discretion as to their nature falls on me. You will not therefore, I hope, think it unreasonable that I should take some little time to consider a matter of so much importance ; and, in order to do so, I propose postponing an answer to your letter till next mail, when I hope I will be able to lay before you fully the plan I propose to give effect to your wishes. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.
No. 3. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 634) Sin,— 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 17th July, 1878. In continuation of my letter No. 517, of the 18th June, I have now the honor to further reply to your despatch No. 66, of the sth April. I first anxiously considered the time when any reductions which would have to be made should commence, and came to the conclusion that it would be very injurious to the interests of the colony to •do anything to disturb the prevailing arrangements during the present emigration season. All the plans for emigration during this season are fixed, and every officer in the department is very much occupied. If the reductions commence after the emigration season is over, we shall be able to make different arrangements next season—indeed the only mode of reducing which I can see, without entailing disastrous results, depends upon alterations which I propose in our emigration system, which alterations it would be impossible to bring into force during the present season.