F.—B

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No. 3. The Assistant Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Manager in the Pacific, Pacific Cable Board, Sydney. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, 13th January, 1914. In reference to the arrangement under which officers of this Department act as canvassers for your Board, I have the honour to inform you that, as you now have your office at Auckland and a permanent officer engaged in canvassing in the Dominion, it appears to me that the arrangement might be discontinued. I should be glad of an expression of your views on the question of cancelling it. I have, &c, P. V. Waters, Assistant Secretary. The Manager in the Pacific, Pacific Cable Board, 63 Pitt Street, Sydney.

No. 4. The Assistant Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Manager in Australasia, Eastern Extension Company, Adelaide. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, 13th January, 1914. In reference to your letter of the 20th November last on the subject of canvassing for cable traffic in New Zealand, I have the honour to inform you that the matter is being dealt with now, and that it is hoped that arrangements will be made which will put the Pacific Cable Board and your company on an equal footing as regards canvassing so far as this Department is concerned. I have, &c, F. V. Waters, Assistant Secretary. The Manager in Australasia, Eastern Extension, Australasia, and China Telegraph Company (Limited), Adelaide.

No. 5. The Acting-Manager in the Pacific, Pacific Cable Board, Sydney, to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Sir, — Pacific Cable Board, 77 Pitt Street, Sydney, 23rd January, 1914. I have the honour to acknowledge your letter of the 13th January, drawing attention to my Board having established an office in Auckland and employing a member of the staff for canvassingwork, and whether under these conditions the services of your officers in this duty might be discontinued. I shall be greatly obliged if it can be permitted (excepting Auckland) for the practice to be continued for a further two or three months. Mr. Milward is expected to return to Australia by way of Vancouver in April next, and at such time I anticipate he will be visiting Wellington and communicate to you my Board's views on can-Vassing-arrangements and other matters. I have, &c, T. Chapman Judd, The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Acting-Manager in the Pacific.

No. 6. The Manager in Australasia, Eastern Extension Company, Adelaide, to the Acting-Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. The Eastern Extension, Australasia, and China Telegraph Company (Limited), Sir,— Adelaide, 13th July, 1914. I beg to enclose you a copy of a letter [not printed] I have addressed to the Manager of the Pacific Cable Board in Sydney, for your information, and to inquire whether you have been kind enough to favourably consider our request that the practice of Government officials canvassing for the Pacific route should be abolished. The statement made by the Pacific canvasser in Auckland, that messages occupy an hour or more in transit between Auckland and Sydney via the Eastern route, is a direct reflection upon the working of the New Zealand lines, as I know that the delay between Wakapuaka and Sydney is very small indeed. The fact is, the average delay between the two cities mentioned via Wellington is only about twenty minutes, and non-competitive messages via Pacific handed to my company at Sydney show an average delay of nineteen minutes. It is therefore evident from the foregoing that the Pacific canvasser is well able to protect the interests of his Board without the assistance of the officers of your Department throughout New Zealand; and if you would kindly see your way to abolish tho existing practice I think it would materially assist in the maintenance of an impartial attitude towards the two cable services, which, I have been given to understand, it is the desire of the Minister should be adopted by the Department. I have, &c, L. Webster, The Acting-Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Manager in Australasia.