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had been obliged to pay deference to it. The impossibility of giving the rScidivistes freedom on arrival had been demonstrated, and, during the prolonged sittings of the Senate Committee, the Colonial Minister had declared the necessity of giving the Government absolute power to determine upon some system of restraint to be applied to the rScidivistes. As to the proposed distribution of the criminals, the debates in the Deputies respecting the place of relegation had shown that it was to New Caledonia that the larger proportion of the people were to be sent. This was now completely changed, and, of the total number of nine thousand, four-fifths were to be sent to French Guiana, and only one-fifth to New Caledonia ; moreover, those for New Caledonia were to be chiefly tradesmen, able to gain their living. In the first stages of the agitation which had arisen in Australia upon the Bill the French Press had evidently been inclined to treat that agitation with contempt; but representations from French residents in Australia, and from the Governor of New Caledonia, had greatly modified this attitude, and more regard was now being paid to the remonstrances of the Australasian Colonists. Several articles in leading French papers had lately referred to the subject in friendly terms, and the BSvue dcs Deux Mondes now asked whether it would be worth while to carry out the scheme in the face of so determined an opposition by the English colonies ? Notwithstanding these changes, however, it was necessary to point out to his Lordship that, although differences of opinion had taken place in the colonies on other questions, there was so complete a unanimity among them about the rScidiviste scheme that there was a strong probability of the " uniform law" proposed by the Sydney Convention being passed. If, therefore, the Eecidiviste Bill became law, in however different a shape, the difficulty of the case would hardly be diminished. The " uniform law " might result in the fine and imprisonment of a captain of a " Messageries Maritimes " steamer, and even in a forfeiture of the vessel itself; and this must, evidently, be productive of great embarrassment. Not merely must it embroil the relations of the English and French settlers in Australia, but it might easily lead to serious international complications on this side. Her Majesty's Government would have before them the alternative of either refusing assent to the uniform law, which would cause great dissatisfaction there, or of assenting to it, which would cause at least equal dissatisfaction in France. Mr. Garrick here stated that, as a member of the Convention, he could assure his Lordship of the unanimous and emphatic opinion of all its members upon this question; and, further, that, in view of the continuance of criminal transportation to the Pacific by France, Mr. Griffiths, the Premier of Queensland, had, in pursuance of the resolution of the Convention as to the passing by the colonies of a uniform law on the subject, prepared and submitted for their approval a "Bill to prevent the Introduction of Foreign Criminals into Queensland," under the provisions of which the master of a ship was liable to fine and imprisonment, and the ship itself to forfeiture. Sir Francis Bell, continuing, urged that, under these circumstances, it seemed that a new and favourable opportunity had arisen for representations to the French Government before the Bill got any further. Now that the question had been so far transposed that, instead of the bulk of the rScidivistes being sent to New Caledonia, they would go to Cayenne, and now that the place of relegation was struck out of the Bill and the choice left absolutely to the Executive, the Minister for the Colonies might, without in any way derogating from the dignity of France, now meet the wishes of the Australasian Colonies. It had been admitted in the Senate debates, not only that unexpected difficulties had to be encountered, and that costly preparations for the rScidivistes were necessary, but that a year must at any rate elapse before the law could be brought into practical operation. Why not, then, ask the French Government to make a beginning with their scheme in the place where the bulk of the rScidivistes were to be sent, and to delay, at any rate, the sending of any rScidivistes to New Caledonia until the system of restraint to be actually established over them should have had some time to work ? If this were done, the delay in applying the scheme to New Caledonia would no doubt cause an equal postponement of the " uniform law;" and time would thus be given for a further development of public opinion in France in the direction already taken Bevue dcs Deux Mondes. The Agents-General could not doubt that the same discretion and sagacity which had already enabled Lord Lyons to make so great a change in the position in eighteen months would succeed in now persuading the French Government to delay action so far as New Caledonia was concerned; and the peculiar chance now offered was that, inasmuch as almost absolute power would now be placed in the Executive, the delay would not involve any discussions in the Senate or the Chamber which the French Government might consider hostile to itself. Mr. Garrick stated that there appeared to be a rather general opinion here, whether correctly formed or not he did not know, that the French Ministers had not at any time been altogether indifferent to the representations of the Australasian Colonies on this matter, nor denied that there was much force and justice in those representations; but, in view of French opinion and sentiment, the Ministers there had not felt themselves at liberty to materially withdraw from the positions they had taken up. The amendment of the Bill, however, by the omission of the names of all places of relegation, and leaving these to be named by the Executive, seemed certainly to open a further way for negotiation. While, then, the Agents-General still asked the Imperial Government to continue to use such measures as should be deemed expedient to stay the further progress of the Bill, they also asked, in the event of failure in this, that negotiations might yet be continued with the object of having the islands of the Pacific exempted by the French Ministry from the operation of the Bill. Sir Saul Samuel stated that he had recently received a cable message from his Government instructing him to represent to his Lordship that the colonists of New South Wales entertained serious apprehensions concerning the operations of the Eecidiviste Bill, and suggested the necessity of the Imperial Government endeavouring, in a friendly way, to induce the French Government to reconsider the measure in the interests of the Australasian Colonies. Sir Saul further remarked that the present time appeared particularly opportune for again communicating with the French Government, as the views of the most influential portion of the French Press, and public opinion in