B.—lB.

Enclosure 3 in No. 18. Sib,— 13, Victoria Street, S.W., 7th November, 1894. Referring to your letters of the 12th ultimo and 6th instant, in which you request the payment of a charge made by the bank for the management of the conversion of outstanding debentures into stock, I desire to direct your attention to the letters which passed between the Governor of the Bank and Sir Julius Vogel, in November, 1875, and which contained particulars of the agreement then made, under which the bank undertook the inscription, conversion, &c, of the public debt of New Zealand. I may observe that these letters were, in April, 1881, the subjeot of further correspondence with Sir F. D. Bell, when they were mutually recognised as covering all the duties arising out of future conversions. The letters of November, 1875, specified the duties which were to be performed by the bank, and amongst these is named that of the conversion of outstanding debentures into stock, and the consideration for the performance of the duties thus stated is given as £600 per annum for every million pounds of stock up to the amount of ten millions, and thereafter of £550 per million pounds. I am unable, therefore, to come to any other conclusion but that the consideration payable to the bank for the duty of converting outstanding debentures into stock is included in the amount which is paid half-yearly by my Government, and that any further charge is inadmissible under the agreement made in 1875, and confirmed in 1881. I am, &c, The Chief Cashier, Bank of England. W. B. Pebceval. Enclosure 4 in No. 18. Sib,— Bank of England, London, E.C.,loth November, 1894. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th instant, with reference to the charge made by the bank in connection with the recent conversion of outstanding New Zealand Government debentures into inscribed stock. Before replying to the question which you raise, I shall be glad to know what, in your opinion, constitutes the difference between this charge and those previously made and met by your Government, namely : — February, 1884.—Conversion of £5,397,900 ; charge, £3,238 14 10 July, 1885.— „ £3,651,700; „ £2,191 0 0 May, 1886.— „ £4,162,600; „ £2,497 11 2 September, 1891.— £247,600; „ £148 11 3 I am, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, H. G. Bowen, Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, S.W. Chief Cashier.

Enclosure 5 in No. 18. Sib,— 13, Victoria Street, S.W., 13th November, 1894. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, with reference to the charge made by the bank for the conversion of outstanding debentures, and, in reply, I beg to state that I am unablo to reconcile the fact of the bank having received the payments specified by you with the terms of the arrangement made with the bank in 1875, and confirmed in 1881. I can only assume that my predecessor, under special circumstances, deemed it expedient to admit the bank's claim for a charge which is not provided for in the above-mentioned arrangement as set forth in the letters of 1875. I am, &c, The Chief Cashier, Bank of England. W. B. Peboeval. Enclosure 6 in No. 18. Gentlemen,— 13 Victoria Street, S.W., 25th March, 1895. I have received instructions from my Government to bring under your notice the annual charge made by the bank in respect to the inscription and management of the New Zealand loans. My Government consider that, under the present circumstances, the amount which is thus charged is exceptionally heavy, and that the time has arrived when they are justified in asking that a substantial reduction should be made. I am also instructed to direct your attention to the charge of \ per cent made in respect to the issue of new loans, with a view to such charge being reduced as regards future loans. I have therefore the honour to request, on behalf of my Government, that you will give the matter your careful consideration, and state what reductions you will be willing to concede. I have, &c, The Governor and Company, Bank of England. W. B. Perceval.

Enclosure 7 in No. 18. Sib,— Bank of England, London, E. C, 26th March, 1895. I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday's date in reference to the bank's charges for the inscription and management, &c, of the New Zealand loans, to which I hope to reply fully in the course of a few days. I am, &c, H. G. Bowen, Sir W. B. Perceval, K.C.M.G., Westminster Chambers, London, S.W. Chief Cashier. Enclosure 8 in No. 18. Sib,— Bank of England, London, E.C., 27th March, 1895. In continuation of my letter of yesterday, I beg to say that yours of the 25th was to-day considered by the directors. I am instructed to say, in reply, that the bank are not prepared to vary the terms on which they have in the past issued and managed the New Zealand inscribed stocks. With regard to the inscription of stock created in connection with the conversion of outstanding bond issues, the bank are prepared not to press the claim for remuneration made some little time ago, and are further prepared to make any further inscriptions of a similar nature free of charge, out-of-pocket expenses excepted. You will remember, however, that the bank have been paid for such services more than once. I am, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand Government, H. G. Bowen, Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria Street, S.W. Chief Cashier.

Enclosure 9 in No 18. Sib,— Bank of England, London, E. 0., 11th April, 1895. I am directed to forward you herein a copy of a letter the bank have this day sent to the Agent-General of the New South Wales Government relative to the future charge for the management of Colonial inscribed stocks. I am, &c, The Agent-General for the New Zealand Government, H. G. Bowen, 13, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W. Chief Cashier.

11