A.—4.

convicts. By the law which the Committee recommend it is left to the Executive Government to determine by decree the measures of police and supervision to which the transported recidivistes are to be subjected. Section 4 of the report (pages 12 to 17) contains an estimate of the number of the rScidivistes to whom the law would apply. Section 8 (pages 28 to 34) explains, article by article, the changes proposed by the Committee in the Bill as passed by the Senate on the first reading. Pages 35 to 44 contain, in parallel columns, the Bill passed by the Chamber of Deputies, the Bill adopted by the Senate on the first reading, and the Bill now proposed by the Committee. Among the annexes will be found— Evidence given by Captain Pallue de la Barriere, formerly Governor of New Caledonia (page 47.) Evidence of Messrs Schoelcher and Michaux concerning protests of the Conseils Generaux of Guyana and New Caledonia against the transportation of recidivistes to those colonies (page 53). Evidence of various kinds relative to the question of the unhealthiness of Guyana (pages 57 to 91). Suggestion by M. Chesse, Governor of Guyana, respecting the conditions as to treatment and other matters, under which, in his opinion, recidivistes might, with advantage, be transported to that colony (page 92). The session of the Chambers was closed on the 29th ultimo, without the second reading of the Eecidiviste Bill having come on in the Senate, but it will probably come on next session. According to the French parliamentary practice the close of the session does not cancel the previous proceedings respecting Bills in either Chamber: the Bills are taken up in the next session at the stage at which they had arrived in the session before. I have, &c, The Earl Granville, K.G., &c. Lyons.

Enclosure No. 4. The Agent-Genebal for New Zealand to the Colonial Office. Sib, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 11th February, 1885. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 30th January, relating to the precis I drew up of the first report of the French Senate Committee on the Eecidiviste Bill; and I beg the Earl of Derby to be pleased to accept my thanks for communicating to me the despatch received from Her Majesty's Ambassador at Paris, with the supplementary report of the same Committee. I now beg permission to forward to you, as desired by Lord Derby, copy of & precis I have made of the latter report, and of the Bill as now proposed to be amended, with the appendices to the report. I also take this opportunity of enclosing separate copies of the precis of the first report, and also of the debate in the French Senate on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th October last upon the first reading of the Bill. As Lord Derby is aware, a debate is now going on in the French Senate on the second reading of the Bill, and I shall presently make a precis of the debate and take the liberty of submitting it for his Lordship's information, together with a few remarks upon what seems to me the present position of the matter. I have, &c, The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies. F. D. Bell.

Enclosure No. 5. K^CIDIVISTE BILL. [Note. —The following precis, like those of the First Beport in August, 1884, omits much of the general argument, retaining only that which has seemed to me of most interest to Australasia.—F. D. Bell, 31st January, 1885.] No. 1. Pe^ois of the Supplementary Report of the Senate Committee (M. de Verninac), January, 1885. 1. Introduction. The report begins by stating that the debates in the Senate on the first reading of the Bill (23rd-25th October) had traced the points to which the Committee had to direct their attention before the second reading. In those debates the fact had come out that, while no one contested the imperious necessity of restraining the growing extent of relapse into crime, grave doubts had arisen as to the possibility of carrying the Bill into effect, for want of a place where the relegation of recidivistes could take place. New Caledonia, it was said, was already encumbered with 10,000 forgats and liberes ; and, as to Guiana, the failure of all attempts at colonization there, and the abandonment of transportation after fifteen years' experience, had shown that even incorrigible criminals could not now be sent there without inhumanity. Besides carefully examining a variety of documents, the Committee had taken the evidence of M. Felix Faure, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, Captain Pallu de la Barriere, late Governor of New Caledonia, M. Franconie, Deputy for Guiana, and others; and they hoped that their present conclusions would appear to be justified. 2. Place of Relegation. As to Guiana, the Sanitary Council of the Marine Department had formally condemned any proposal to renew transportation there. This, however, had been strongly contested by the Undersecretary of State.

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