9

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each of the other colonies, Victoria undertaking to make the necessary payments to Her Majesty's Post Office. Her Majesty's Government have no intention of proposing any alteration of the arrangement under which 4d. is credited to the colonies on letters sent via the San Francisco route, and the objection which you conveyed to the Secretary of State on behalf of the Government of New South Wales appears therefore to be sufficiently met. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New South Wales. R. G. W. Herbert.

Enclosure 5 In No. 19. The A&ent-Genbral to the Colonial Office. Sir,— 7, Westminster Chambers, London, 6th February, 1880. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Herbert's letter of the 4th instant. In reply I have to state that I do not know the nature of the objections my Government has to the Victorian proposals respecting postages; so that I cannot say if the explanation given in the letter to the Agent-General for New South Wales will remove those objections. I have, fee, Julius Vogel, The Secretary of State for the Colonies. Agent-General for New Zealand.

No. 20. The Secretary, General Post Office, London, to the Hon. the Postmaster-General. Sir, — General Post Office, London, 19th February, 1880. Referring to my letter of the 31st December last, in which I stated that after the Ist of this month the Italian transit rate for mails forwarded between the United Kingdom and Australia by the route of Brindisi would be reduced by about 35 per cent., I now beg leave to inform you that the Italian Post Office has since fixed its transit rates thus : 6fr. 50c, in lieu of lOfr.j per kilogramme for letters; 37|c, in lieu of 50c, per kilogramme for printed papers. These rates, added to the French transit charge of lOfr. per kilogramme for letters and 50c. ;per kilogramme for printed papers, converted into British equivalents, give the following result: Letters (per ounce) —France, 2-72 d.; Italy, 1"77 d .; total, 4"49 d. Printed papers (per pound)— France, 2-18 d.; Italy, l-63d.; total, 3'Bld. I request that you will be good enough to cause these transit rates, in lieu of the present rates, to be accounted for to this department for all correspondence sent to the United Kingdom by the route of Brindisi since the Ist of this month. I have, &c, The Postmaster-General, Wellington. W. Jas. Page.

No. 21. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Postmaster-General. ,g IB 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 18th March, 1880. I have the honor to enclose a copy of a despatch received from the Colonial Office, covering copies of correspondence with that department relating to the rearrangement of the Australian postal charges. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure in No. 21. Mr. Herbert to the Agent-General. Sir, — Downing Street, 15th March, 1880. With reference to recent correspondence on the subject of the arrangement of Australian postal charges, I am directed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies to transmit to you a copy of a letter from the Treasury, enclosing one from the Postmaster-General, from which you will learn that Her Majesty's Government have agreed to the proposals made on behalf of the Government of Victoria, and that the postal charges on correspondence sent via Brindisi, Adelaide, and Melbourne will for the future be fixed at the same rates as those which were charged until the Ist February for correspondence forwarded by way of Southampton. I am also to transmit to you a copy of a letter from Mr. Mcllwraith, dated 25th February, and to inform you that the above-mentioned rates will also be charged upon correspondence sent via Brindisi and Singapore. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Robert G. W. Herbert. 2—F. 5.