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given up to the officials in the colony, requesting them to transmit one copy to London. The Agent-General will give instructions-that you be paid, on the satisfactory completion of your work at the end of the voyage, the sum of £15, and your assistant the sum of £7 10s. Thomas Johnson.

Salmon-ova Shipment, s.s. " Aobangi." To the ofdcer deputed by the Government of New Zealand to receive the salmon ova from the engineer in charge on arrival of the s.s. "Aorangi" at Otago.—On taking over the shipment of salmon ova previous to forwarding it to the hatchery or hatcheries each box should be carefully examined, and before the cases are finally closed the trays of each box should be Tully charged with pulverised ice. For the purpose of transport from the ship to the hatchery or hatcheries, means should be taken to provide a safe and easy mode of carriage. If a cart, van, or wagon is used it will be advisable to make up on the bottom a good bed of straw in sacks, so as to protect the 'ova in the cases from the evil effects of the wagon's jolting, and each case should be well blocked off to prevent any other kind of movement of the wagons. Should it be necessary to send the ova any great distance, it may be necessary to use the large portable insulated cases, well charged with ice, in which case, before placing the salmon-ova boxes in them, each large portable case should be got into the carts, vans, or wagons, resting on the straw-bed already named and securely blocked off. The ova-cases when placed inside of the cases should also be well secured. The crates which have been ordered in the colony by Sir F. D. Bell are to be used for the purpose of packing the remainder of the Howietoun ova-boxes in, and it will be necessary to have a good supply of ice on hand for use. These crates should also be placed on straw-beds lying on the bottom of the vans, and securely blocked off. Thomas Johnson.

* The Agent-General to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetaey. Sie, — 7, Westminster Chambers, London, S.W., 20th March, 1889. I beg to enclose a summary of expenses in connection with the two shipments of salmon ova. I regret that, owing chiefly to circumstances which I could not control, the total exceeds the limit you had fixed. In any case, it would hardly have been possible to send you 640,000 ova at a cost of £500, and so large a quantity having been collected, there was, of course, the alternative of giving the excess away ; but this seemed such a pity, especially in view of the Salmon Fisheries Bill, that I felt sure the Government would not desire it, and on the contrary would wish all to be sent out that were got. The " Arawa's " chamber had been prepared for a larger shipment than it was at the last moment found possible to make, owing to the progress of incubation at Howietoun ; and the " Aorangi's" chamber had to be extended in consequence, while the plan of placing a number of Howietoun boxes on shelves, by which a good deal of freight and charges would have been saved, had to be given up, and new insulating-cases built. The total is also made rather larger by the item of £11 ss. for trout ova, with which we filled up one of the insulating-cases at the last moment. Here again there was an alternative of leaving the space empty, but after the insulator had been built and freight incurred it would hardly have been right to do so. It is always impossible to make an accurate forecast of expense in such a matter as the collection of shipment of ova ; but if it is really true that young salmon have been seen in one of our rivers the Government will be glad to have got all the ova possible this season, even at the excess beyond their limit which has been incurred. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. F. D. Bell.

Analysis of Expenses in connection with the Salmon-ova Shipments by the s.s. " Arawa " and " Aorangi," January and February, 1889. 1. Collecting the ova (about 670,000)— £ s. d. £ s. d. On the Tweed ... ... ... ... ... *53 10 8 On the Forth ... ... ... ... ... 23147 77 5 3 Expenses at Howietoun Fishery... ... ... ... ... 74 14 6 2. Cost of fitting steamer for ova — Johnson, Gregson, and Co., s.s. "Arawa" ... ... 60 8 10 s.s. "Aorangi" ... ... 124 15 3 — . 185 4 1 3. Freight and shipping expenses— Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company, s.s. " Arawa " ... ... 91 9 8 New Zealand Shipping Company, s.s. "Aorangi" ... ... 156 3 9 Shipping and dock charges, &c. ... ... ... 7 12 3 Marine insurance ... ... ... ... 2152 258 0 10 4. Contingencies— Petty disbursements _ ... ... ... ... ... 1 11 5 £596 16 1

* This amount includes a gratuity of £23, not yet paid, to Mr. Donaldson and his men, the Board's authority having still to come,