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and Singapore free of cost to the colony, and New Zealand and New South Wales, the mails for which colonies are now carried at a considerable expense to the Home Government between this country and San Francisco. My Lords cannot but think that the arrangement to which they have agreed is one by which the colonies will be dealt with very liberally. The Home Government will merely retain that which may be considered equivalent to its inland postage, whilst the remainder of the postage on the outward and the whole of the postage on the homeward correspondence will accrue to the colonies concerned. My Lords have now only to request that you will state to Sir Michael Hicks Beach that they are decidedly of opinion that they would not be warranted, on the part of the Home Government, in acceding to the request preferred by Sir Julius Vogel. I have, &c, R. G. W. Herbert, Esq., Colonial Office, London. H. Selwin Ibbotson.

Enclosure 3 in No. 15. The Treasury to the Colonial Office. Sib, — Treasury Chambers, 27th May, 1879. The Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury have had before them your letter of the 20th instant, transmitting, with reference to previous correspondence, copy of a letter from the AgentGeneral of New South Wales, requesting that the present arrangement respecting the division of postal receipts between the Australian Colonies and New Zealand may continue in force as regards the San Francisco Service until the termination of the contract for that service in November, 1883. I am commanded to acquaint you, fur the information of Secretary Sir Michael Hicks Beach, that my Lords see no reason to come to any other conclusion on this subject than that which was communicated to the Secretary of State in their letter of the 13th instant with reference to a similar application from the Agent-General of New Zealand. I have, &c. R. G. W. Herbert, Esq., Colonial Office, London. H. Selwin Ibbotson.

Enclosure 4 in No. 15. The Agent-General for New Zealand to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Sib, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, 25th June, 1879. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a letter from Mr. Bramston, written by your instructions, and covering the copy of a letter from Sir Henry Ibbotson on the subject of the division of postal receipts. Sir Henry Ibbotson in this letter states that the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury have decided to retain twopence per half-ounce letter on the correspondence passing between this country and New South Wales and New Zealand by the San Francisco route. He explains that this decision is come to in consequence of a negotiation with Mr. Berry. Sir Henry Ibbotson states that My Lords consider that by this arrangement the colonies will be dealt with very liberally. On the 17th January last you addressed a circular letter to the Governors of the Australian and New Zealand Colonies, in which you asked them to appoint representatives in this country to conduct negotiations with Her Majesty's Government upon the subject of the future carriage of the mails. In accordance with this request 1 was appointed by my Government to represent New Zealand, and I advised you to that effect in my letter of the 16th April. Of that letter you have not done me the honor to take any notice, but you caused a letter to be addressed to me on the 29th April, informing me that the Lords of the Treasury were prepared to reduce their previous demand of fourpence per letter to twopence. To this I replied, urging that no change should be made with respect to the San Francisco Service till the contract expired. The letter now under answer is the reply I have received. It seems to ure to convey a fixed decision of the Treasury, based solely on an interview with Mr. Berry. I should have been prepared, as representative of my Government appointed iv accordance with your express invitation, to go into the whole question, and the matter might have been fixed on some intelligible basis. As to what the result would have been it is idle now to inquire, since my Lords have taken a stand which forbids discussion. They are now prepared to receive half what they asked a few months since, without any basis or computation, and say that they are liberal. I venture to think that nothing can be more mischievous than that the colonies should be taught to look upon the English Treasury as a capricious dispenser of benefactions, at one time inclined to be exacting, at another liberal. My Government will, I think, regret to find that their compliance with the invitation of the Secretary of State to appoint a representative has resulted in his receiving no recognition. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, The Secretary of State for the Colonies. Agent-General for New Zealand.

Authority: Gseobgb Didsbuey, Government Printer, Wellington.— lB79.

Price 9d.]

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