J.—2.

1885. NEW ZEALAND.

PETITION OF HON. SIR JULIUS VOGEL, K.C.M.G.

Presented by Mr. Macandreiu and ordered to be printed

To the Hon. the Speakee and the Membees of the House of Repeesentatives, in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of Julius Vogel, of Wellington, in the Colony of New Zealand, formerly Agent-General of New Zealand, and Agent for the Inscription of Stock, &c, showeth, — 1. That your petitioner was appointed Agent-General for the colony in the year 1876, and continued to hold that office until the 9th day of October, 1880. 2*. That during this period your petitioner became interested in and a director of the New Zealand Agricultural Company (Limited), with the knowledge of some of the then Ministry. 3. That the Ministry did not afterwards approve of your petitioner being Agent-General and director of the said company, and asked him to sever his connection with the company, and your petitioner, by a telegram dated the 7th day of November, 1879, pointed out that it would be unfair to the shareholders to do so. The said telegram was as follows : " Cannot name time resign. Shareholders would think unfair entertain such intention now. Am willing to take loan agency payment, by percentage, and act Agent-Oeneral without salary, as long as suits Government. Eeply.— Vogel." 4. That your, petitioner received a telegram from the Hon. the Premier, Sir John Hall, as follows: "Wellington, 10th November, 1879. Vogel, London. Agency - General incompatible other business. Government considering expediency relieving therefrom, appointing you Agent under Inscribed Stock Act, at ccntage. Eeport fully by post arrangements you would propose. Sketch scheme, estimate annual conversion. We would associate two Agents with you. — Hall." 5. That your petitioner, in sending the first-mentioned telegram to the Ministry, intended that the offer to take the loan agency made thereby should include the then proposed loan of £5,000,000, and that he should receive a percentage on that loan as well as on other loans to be thereafter raised. 6. That your petitioner was induced to believe, from the telegram received from the Hon. John Hall, and from the reason that the proposed new loan of £5,000,000 would at that time, so far as it appeared, be the chief source of profit, that the offer held out by the telegram of appointment as Agent for the inscription of stock would include the agency connected with the floating of the new loan, and your petitioner acted upon that belief. 7. That your petitioner, fully believing that the £5,000,000 loan was to be included in the agency to be undertaken by him, and that he was to receive commission for his services, in common with the Agents associated with him in floating the said loan, refrained from communicating with the Ministry on the subject previously to the issue of the new loan. 8. That if the £5,000,000 was not intended to bo included in the w Tork to be done by your petitioner for which he was to be paid, then your petitioner was misled by the inducement held out to him, and the proposed appointment was not of the substantial character that your petitioner had the right to expect. 9. That, one of the Agents associated with your petitioner in floating it was Sir Penrose Goodchild Julyan, who stipulated that, before he lent his aid to the floating of the loan, the payment of his services should be fixed, and it amounted to more than four years' salary of the Agent-General. 10. That your petitioner had, as the correspondence will show, great anxiety and trouble in helping to float the new loan. 11. That the Loan Agents claimed a commission on the floating of the loan and on inscribing the stock, but afterwards, on the suggestion of Sir Erancis Dillon Bell, agreed to accept one commission. 12. That your petitioner was also satisfied to receive only one commission. 13. That your petitioner has been paid no commission, although a considerable portion of the loan was inscribed after he ceased to be Agent-General, but still continued to be Stock Agent.