zV«' a X

1880. NEW ZEALAND,

DESPATCHES FROM THE GOVERNOR OF NEW ZEALAND TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE,

Presented to loth Houses of the General Assembly by command of His Excellency,

No. 1. Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor the Most Hon. the Marquis of Normanby to the Right Hon. Sir Michael Hicks Beach. (No. 35.) Government House, Wellington, Sir,— New Zealand, 20th July, 1878. In reply to your Despatch No. 12, of 25th February, 1878, enclosing a letter from the Board of Trade relating to certain practices connected with the engagement of seamen at the ports in New Zealand, New South Wales, and Victoria, I have now the honor to enclose the copy of a memorandum which I have received from my Government, together with a report from the Customs Department, giving full details on the subject; by which you will see that the statement made by a discharged seaman to the Consul at Noumea, to the effect that his discharge certificate would be taken away from him on his reshipping in New Zealand, and that a charge of five shillings would be made, is not correct. I have, &c, The Right Hon. Sir Michael Hicks Beach. NORMANBY.

Enclosure in No. 1. Memorandum for His Excellency. The Premier presents his respectful compliments to the Marquis of Normanby, and has the honor to state that inquiries made have shown that complaints, through the British Consul at Noumea, to the Board of Trade—referred to in Sir Michael Hicks Beach's Despatch No. 12, of 25th February, 1878—as to certain alleged practices at Australasian ports respecting the engagement of seamen, do not apply to New Zealand. Copy of a memorandum for the Hon. the Commissioner of Customs, stating all necessary details, for the information of the Board of Trade, is enclosed. Wellington, 10th July, 1878. G. Grey.

Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure in No. 1. The Secretary of Customs to the Hon. the Commissioner of Customs. The information supplied to H.B.M. Consul at Noumea by a seaman on his being discharged from a New Zealand vessel, to the effect that the form of discharge given to him in pursuance of the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act would be taken away from him on his shipping again in New Zealand, and a fee of ss. charged to him for permission to ship, is not correct. I have heard, however, that the Shipping-master in Newcastle, N.S. Wales, deprives seamen of their discharges and retains them in his office. Certificates of discharge, of which a specimen is annexed, similar to those sanctioned by the Board of Trade, are in use in New Zealand. These are not withdrawn from the seaman, as they are specially designed to be retained by him to show his whole service extending over a long period. They are always carefully preserved and highly prized by seamen of good character. I—A. 1.