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Enclosure 2 m No. 49 The Secretary, General Post Office, London, to the Agent-General. Sir— General Post Office, 18th August, 1893. I duly received your letter of the 10th instant, announcing that the Government of New Zealand had arranged for the despatch of mails to that colony via San Francisco, to take place one week later than under the existing arrangement, counting from Saturday, the 9th of September, which date would be substituted for Saturday, the 2nd. In reply, I have to acquaint you that the necessary steps have been taken by this department for giving effect to the arrangement, and for bringing the alteration in question to the notice of the public in this country I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H Buxton Forman

No 50. The Eesident Agent for New Zealand, San Francisco, to the Secretary General Post Office, Wellington. Sir, — San Francisco, 21st September, 1893. I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 10th ultimo, confirming your cable of the same day referring to change of time in departure of steamer conveying mails from London and San Francisco. This change will commence with departure of the E.M.S.S. "Alameda" to-morrow one day late, caused by delay of the "Etruria" on the Atlantic. My communication of the 15th August will have informed you of register of cable address in this city The homeward mails ex ' Alameda" are reported to have reached Southampton by the " Paris " (late "City of Paris ") on the 13th instant, time-table date, severe Atlantic gales having retarded this vessel's usual quick trips nearly two days, thus defeating the indications of a remarkably fast through transmission. I have, &c, 11. Stephen son Smith, W Gray, Bsq , Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Eesident Agent.

No 51 Mr Cockeoft of Oceanic Steamship Company) San Francisco, to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Sir,— San Francisco, 22nd July, 1893. I have just made the trip to London and returned, and observed the transportation of the mails, and made note of the changes, &c. By way of information, I might say that the present service could be greatly expedited if the stop at Queenstown were omitted. The steamer from Liverpool loses at least eight hours there, with no particular gain to the mail despatched from London. As you are probably aware, the steamer leaves Liverpool about 4 p.m., and makes its way slowly to Queenstown, arriving there early Sunday morning, and waits in Queenstown Harbour until 1 or 2 o'clock in the afternoon for the mails by the way of Holyhead. If the mail were despatched from London, say Saturday noon, it could be ready to be put on board by the tender early Sunday morning, and thus save waiting this six hours, the steamer coming down from Liverpool in the ordinary course. This detention of six hours is a very serious one, and through it the Liverpool steamers are prevented from getting into New York before late in the afternoon the following Saturday, and this often means an entire twenty-four hours to our steamer at Ban Francisco. If the mail does not get into New York before seven or eight Saturday evening, our departure from San Francisco is made Friday instead of Thursday I think, if the attention of the London Post Office were called to this, they might be induced to forward their mails Saturday noon instead of Saturday p.m. As you know, Saturday is a half-day in London, and business practically closes at Saturday noon, or, for that matter, letters to catch the steamer are generally written on the Friday. Another means of transportation from London is by the way of the fast steamers of the American Line, which leave Southampton noon on Saturday, arriving generally in New York on the following Friday As you will see by the item enclosed [not printed] the " Paris " arrived in New York yesterday about 6 p.m. On similar run across the Atlantic, bringing the New Zealand mails, it would be possible to fix our day of departure from San Francisco on Wednesday instead of Thursday as at present, but in event that the mails were despatched from London by either the " Paris " or " New York," the day of departure would rarely be later than Thursday from here, but as it is now it is oftener Friday than Thursday and to-day the " Mariposa " sails on Saturday, because the Cunard Line substituted the " Servia " for the " Lucania," which was to have brought the mails. With the present facilities for bringing the mail by the San Francisco route, it seems to me a practicable thing would be to have some one in London to look after the despatch of this mail by a steamer that would land it in New York to make the proper connection with us in San Francisco for the sailing on Thursday in accordance with the time-table. For instance, when the Cunard Line substitute a slow steamer, to have the Post Office despatch it on that particular day by a steamer that would make the trip across the Atlantic in six days and a half. There are several of these, as you know —the North German Lloyd, the Hamburg Line, &c, have six-and-a-half-day steamers. The run which the Canadian-Pacific advertise their quick time by was made in con-