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No. 39. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Manager, Union Steam Ship Company, Wellington. Sir,— . General Post Office, Wellington, 20th November, 1908. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 17th instant, and to inform you that the question of poundage-rates to be paid to the Huddart, Parker, and Co. Proprietary should, apparently, be on the usual mileage basis, according to the Postal Union regulations, and the payment would, in the ordinary course, be made through this Department. I have, &c, D. Robertson, Secretary. The Manager, Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited), Wellington. [P.O. 08/3861.]

No. 40. The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington, to the Secretary, Chamber of Commerce, Auckland. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, Ist December, 1908. I have the honour to refer to your letter of the 27th October, conveying a resolution of your Chamber protesting against the action of Government in specially subsidising the Union Steam Ship Company to perform a mail-service between Wellington and Tahiti. The representations of your Chamber have received full consideration, but I regret that I am unable to abandon the proposed contract, as the arrangements for the service have proceeded so far that it must now be given a trial. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, Postmaster-General. The Secretary, Auckland Chamber of Commerce, Auckland. [P.O. 08/3861(3).]

No. 41. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Washington. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, 4th December, 1908. As already notified, a mail-service is about to be established between Wellington, Rarotonga, and Tahiti, to connect with the United States mail-service between Papeete and San Francisco. In order that there may be no unavoidable delay in the transit of correspondence from America intended for the Cook Islands Group, I shall be obliged if you can see your way to instruct the San Francisco office to make up closed mails for Rarotonga. I have &c, D. Robertson, Secretary. The Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Division of Foreign Mails, Post Office Department, Washington, D.C. [Letter in similar terms on same date to the Secretary, General Post Office, London.] [P.O. 08/3861(4).]

No. 42. The Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Washington, to the Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Post Office Department, Office of the Second Assistant Postmaster-General, Sir, — Division of Foreign Mails, Washington, D.C, 4th December, 1908. Referring to your cablegram of the 10th ultimo, relative to the rates allowed by this Department for the conveyance from Papeete to New Zealand of the mails for New Zealand and Australia despatched from San Francisco by steamers of the Oceanic Steamship Company for connection with steamers of the Union Steam Ship Company sailing from Papeete, I have the honour, by direction of the Postmaster-General, to inform you that the rates named by this Department—4 francs per kilogramme for letters and post-cards, and 50 centimes per kilogramme for other articles—are the maximum rates allowable for the sea conveyance of United States mails despatched by steamers not of United States register. I have, &c, Joseph Stewart, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Second Assistant Postmaster-General. [P.O. 08/3861.]

No. 43. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Director or Posts, Papeete. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, 10th December, 1908. I have the honour to inform you that the Postmaster-General of this Dominion has entered into a contract with the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand for a mail-service from Wellington to Papeete ten times a year, connecting with the United States mail-service from Papeete to San Francisco. The service, which will consist of ten trips between Wellington, Rarotonga, and Tahiti, is to