A.—9

20

In order to establish an English claim to the whole of New Guinea (exclusive of the Dutch part), Mr. Meade read me a telegram from the Governor of Victoria to the Colonial Office, the strong expressions of which make it likely that it was intended to impress us with the fact that a partition of the unoccupied portion of New Guinea between England and Germany would bo looked upon as a serious injury to important interests of Australia. I drew attention to the fact that public opinion in Australia was opposed by an equally legitimate public opinion in Germany, tut that I should never expect the English Government to shape its resolutions in accordance with it. When the other islands were mentioned which Mr. Meade proposes to neutralize, I observed that on most of these islands German settlements preponderated, and that their neutralization would consequently be a concession on the part of Germany and not on that of England. As regarded Samoa in particular, the agreement between Germany, England, and the United States would have to be considered, an infringment of which by one of the parties concerned even Mr. Meade thought would be act of " meanness." The abandonment of the aspirations of New Zealand to Samoa on the part of England could not therefore be looked upon by us as a concession to be purchased. In conclusion, Mr. Meade observed that recent proceedings, of German men-of-war on the north coast of New Guinea were contrary to a promise made to the English Government to abstain from annexations until the negotiations proposed should have been concluded. In connection with this he referred to notes exchanged between the two Governments in September and October last. I replied that I could not believe that his reproach was justified by facts, but that I reserved further remarks on the point until 1 had informed myself about the details, as owing to my absence from Berlin at the time, I was not fully aware of the exact course which diplomatic negotiations had taken. I have since looked through the documents, and I find that Mr. Meade has attempted to charge me with a contradiction which does not in fact exist. I forward an abstract of these documents for the information of your Excellency. The course of events as summed up in this abstract leave no doubt that the English Government, through the note of its Charge d'Affaires of the 9th October last, had officially bound itself to confine its protectorate to the south coast of New Guinea, and this is confirmed by statements made in Parliament and by Proclamation. On our side we have not bound ourselves to abstain from taking those steps in Northern Guinea which had already been resolved upon in the course of last summer. Had we been called upon to bind ourselves in this respect we should have declined, on the ground that England could not ask us to maintain the status quo whilst herself changing this status quo by taking possession of the south coast of New Guinea by Proclamation only, and without making settlements there. Looking to the repeated assurances of Lord Granville, that England sympathized with German colonial development in the South Sea and in Western Africa, I am bound to assume that Mr. Meade's proposals cannot represent the views of the English Foreign Office. I look upon the proposals rather as a fresh symptom of the fast that Lord Granville's sentiments are more kindly towards us than the policy of the English Colonial Office. I request your Excellency to discuss this matter with Lord Granville in the above spirit, and to leave no doubt as to the fact that we should be unable to reconcile a post factuin attempt to place difficulties in the way of German enterprise on the north coast of New Guinea, between the Dutch frontier and the East Cape, with the assurance given us by the English Government that its protectorate would be confined to the south coast of the island. Although not hoping for any success from continued negotiations with Mr. Meade, we were nevertheless still willing to refer the questions of the inland boundaries of the two New Guinea protectorates and the independent islands of the South Sea, and of the principles to be mutually applied, to a Commission as proposed.

Enclosure.— Abstract of Documents concerning Negotiations with England about New Guinea. As early as June last a society of German subjects informed us that they were prepared to carry out a scheme, respecting the north-east coast of New Guinea and the New Britain group, which had been resolved upon in 1880, but which, owing to the rejection of the Samoa Bill, had been deferred (see No. 19). This society asked that its enterprise should be granted with the protection of the German Empire, which had under similar conditions been granted in Western Africa. The Imperial Government granted this request. Our Consular officials and commanders of vessels were even then authorized to place the independent territories on the north coast of New Guinea, to the east of the Dutch frontier, as also the New Britain group, under the protection of His Majesty the Emperor, whenever settlements should have been formed, or laud had been acquired by German subjects. In our instructions to the German Ambassador in London, of the 2nd August (see No. 20), we-ex-pressed a wish to come to an understanding with the English Government with reference to the extension of our respective authority (MachtsjjJuire) in the South Sea, and the principles on which the subjects of one Power should be treated by the other. In the memorandum accompanying these instructions, and the contents of which were subsequently communicated to Lord Granville, it was expressly stated with reference to New Guinea that we considered Queensland justified in claiming the independent south coast opposite to that colony, but that wo could not look upon the claim to the north as justified. As a matter of fact the independent parts of New Guinea were quite as much open to German as to English enterprise. That it was our intention, in West Africa, no less than in the South Sea, to place these territories under the protection of the Empire, where German commerce preponderated or was about to establish a preponderance (see No. 20). We learned from a report of the German Ambassador in London, of the 9th August (see No. 23), that Lord Granville had willingly entered upon a friendly discussion upon this subject. With reference to New Guinea he was reported to have stated that negotiations between the English