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1).—4
Enclosure 1 in No. 32. Memorandum re " Euapehu." The Despatching Officer and myself frequently asked the New Zealand Shipping Company to inform us whether they could take emigrants by this steamer (starting on the 12th January), but it was not until the afternoon of the Saturday before Christmas Day when the clerks had all left the office, that we were told that emigrants could go by her It being Christmas-time, it was useless to take any steps until the day alter Boxmg Day (zbtn December) "but the first thing on the morning of the 27th December telegrams were sent to all the people who'were approved for passages to Auckland, offering them passages by the The number was, of course, limited, as in December the " Eangitikei' and "Northumberland had embarked upwards of 450 for Auckland, but the steps taken by this office resulted m 132 souls, equal to 109* statute adults, embarking by the " Euapehu." The cost of telegrams amounted to £6 12s. W Kennaway 29th January, 1884.
Enclosure 2 in No. 32. Memorandum re "Tongariro." The Despatching Officer and myself frequently asked the shipping company to say whether they would take emigrants by this steamer On the 16th instant Mr Smith saw both Mr. Coster and Mr Strickland, and told them that if they wanted emigrants for her they must let us know without delay Mr Coster said that probably they would want emigrants for both the " Tongariro " (21st February) and the " British King " (13th March), but he would not decide then. I saw Mr Strickland in my office on Friday, the 25th instant, and asked him agam, and he said that they would take some, but, as they had not yet decided whether the steamer would go through the Suez Canal, he could not give me the date of embarkation. I then arranged with him to prepare embarkation orders at once, leaving date blank, and he promised to let me have the date next morning (Saturday), so that I could get out the orders on that day No communication came, however on Saturday from the shipping company, and I wired down to them that orders were waiting for date, but had no reply On Monday morning a letter, dated on Saturday, came from Mr Strickland saying that he would let us have date as soon as Mr Coster came to town and m the afternoon of Monday a telegram came from the company saying that they had decided not to take emigrants by the "Tongariro." W Kennaway. 30th January, 1884.
No. 33. The Hon. the Premier to the Agent-General. (Telegram.) Wellington, 4th March, 1884. Shipping Company Don't encourage idea subsidy H. A. Atkinson
No. 34. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister of Immigration g IB _ 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W , 26th March, 1884. I received in due course your telegram of the 4th instant, desiring me not to encourage the idea of a subsidy being granted for a steam service. I need not say that these instructions will be obeyed, but I trust I may be permitted to express the hope that your message does not announce a, final decision against any subsidy at all. At the same time I should like to add that I should certainly have submitted no recommendation to the Government for a subsidy which did not effectually guard against a combination afterwards between the shipping companies for the exaction of high rates in either passage-money or freight. Not that I should think it necessary to attempt binding the companies down to particular rates , they might well be left free to charge what rates they could get, but any subsidy that I would ever recommend would only be payable so long as certain rates were charged, and would automatically cease if they were exceeded. It is, of course, a question whether it would be worth the while of the companies to go for a subsidy with such a condition, but I should not, for my own part, have ever recommended a subsidy without_ it. Let me illustrate what lam saying by a reference to the freight on frozen meat. The shipping companies have, even now, contracts to bring over this year a number of sheep whose total weight will not be much under 30,000,000 lb. This, at 2d. a pound, is a freight of £250,000. Is it supposed that the producers will go on paying that sum year by year ? If the meat sells m London at, say, 6d a pound, the freight is a third of the selling value , that is to say (not counting in the comparison the cost of engines and refrigerating chambers), it is as if the colony had to pay £1,000,000 for freight on its wool clip. If the companies were to continue receiving £250,000 a year for freight of frozen meat, it would not be likely that the colony would listen to a request for a subsidy besides. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Immigration, Wellington. F D. Bell.
By Authority: Geobqe Didsbusy, Government Printer, Wellington.—lBBl.