11

D.—4,

No. 50. Mr. A. Holmes to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (Telegram.) Dunedin, 17th January, 1880. Think it will be about three weeks before Company ready to employ. Waiting reply from manager as to exact time. Company deny all liability for maintenance. Matter turns on an interview with late Government, with which you are probably not acquainted. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. A. Holmes.

No. 51. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration to Mr. Allan Holmes. (Telegram.) Wellington, 17th January, 1880. I shall at once take steps to send colliers elsewhere. With reference to liability of Westport Company for maintenance and cost of removal, you will hear from me again. Mr. Allan Holmes, Dunedin. W. Rolleston.

No. 52. The Under-Secretary for Immigration to the Immigration Officer, Nelson. (Telegram.) Wellington, 17th January, 1880. " Stella " will leave here to-morrow to take all the colliers direct to Lyttelton. Please have them ready to leave early Monday morning. The Immigration Officer, Nelson. H. J. H. Eliott.

No. 53. The Immigration Officer, Nelson, to the Under-Secretary for Immigration. (Telegram.) Nelson, 19th January, 1880. Fifty-eight and a-half adults shipped per " Stella," which left for Lyttelton at 11.30. The Under-Secretary for Immigration, Wellington. Alfred Greenfield.

No. 54. The Immigration Officer, Christchurch; to the Under-Secretary for Immigration. (Memorandum.) Christchurch, 26th January, 1880. I have the honor to report the arrival of the miners, with their wives and families, from Nelson, on Tuesday evening, 20th instant. As these men also appeared very anxious that their wives and children should accompany them, Mr. Hamilton, manager of the Springfield Colliery, arranged to obtain tent-accommodation for them and their families until the cottages were erected ; and I forwarded them all to Springfield by the 7.20 train on Thursday morning. J. E. March.

No. 55. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sir, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, 10th March, 1880. I have the honor to transmit two extracts from newspapers published in this country by which it would appear that some difficulty has arisen with respect to the employment of the coal-miners which, by the instructions of the Government, I selected and sent out for the Westport Colliery Company. As some of the friends of these men are asking for information respecting the way in which they have been treated, I shall be glad to receive such information as will enable me to satisfactorily reply to such inquiries. I have, &c., Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 55. Extract from the Barnsley Chronicle of 28th February, 1880. To the Editor of the Harnsley Chronicle. Sir, — Immigration Depot, Nelson, 3rd January, 1880. Would you kindly allow me a small space in order to make a few statements which I hope may be interesting to the miners of South Yorkshire. Many of your readers are particular friends of ours, who will be anxious to know how we are getting on in the country of our