21

A.—2

Enclosure.

Nigeria.—No. 10 of 1920. Regulations made under the Post Office Ordinance, 1916. Under and by virtue of the provisions of section 16 of the Post Office Ordinance, 1916, the following regulations have been made by the Governor in Council : — 1. The Regulations (No. 1 of 1917) made under the Post Office Ordinance, 1916, are hereby amended as follows :— Regulation No. 2 is hereby deleted, and the following regulation is substituted therefor :— " Letter-post. " 2. Rates of Postage. —The prepaid rate of postage on letters posted in Nigeria is " (a.) If for delivery in Nigeria, or in the British sphere of the Cameroons—Not exceeding 1 oz., Id. ; for every additional ounce or part thereof, |d. " (&.) If for delivery in the United Kingdom, any British colony or protectorate other than Nigeria, or at a British Post Office agency in Morocco or Wei-Hai-Wei, or a British . snl P-of-war—Not exceeding I oz., 2d. ; for every additional ounce or part thereof, Id. ' (c.) If for delivery in any foreign country otherwise than as specified above—Not exceeding 1 oz., 2sd. ; for every additional ounce or part thereof, l£d. " Dimensions.—No letter may exceed 2 ft. in length, 1 ft. in width, or 1 ft. in depth. " Unpaid and insufficiently paid.—k letter unpaid or insufficiently paid will on delivery be charged double the deficient postage." 2. These regulations shall come into force on the Ist day of July, 1920. Made in Council, this 12th day of June, 1920. T. St. C. Harrison, TT „ Clerk of the Executive Council. Hugh Clifford, Governor.

No. 33. New Zealand, No. 168. SiR — Downing Street, 23rd August, 1920. I have the honour to request Your Excellency to inform your Ministers of my desire to make a very earnest appeal to them to co-operate with other Governments of the Empire in placing the Imperial Institute on a proper footing. 2. The Institute is doing very useful work for every part of the Empire. By disseminating knowledge as to the products of the different countries, by testing the commercial value of those products, and bringing the producer into touch with the manufacturer, it promotes industry and develops inter-Imperial trade, and I believe that its value is appreciated in the dominions as well as at home. Indeed, it is the oversea dominions which derive the greatest benefit from its activities. Those activities have been constantly increasing, and if it were not so crippled for want of funds they could be—as they ought to be—still further developed. But at present its position is extremely unsatisfactory. Its staff has never been adequately paid, and with the greatly increased cost of living it is absolutely necessary to make a considerable increase of salaries if good men are to be retained in its service. To allow an institution of Imperial importance to drag on a maimed existence with no margin for fresh experiments, with an underpaid and discontented staff, and in constant difficulties as to how to pay its way, is not only bad business, it is really discreditable to the Empire. His Majesty's Government have come to the conclusion that a serious effort must be made to place the Institute once for all on a better financial footing. If that effort fails—as I cannot believe it will be allowed to do-—steps must be taken to wind it up. 3. The income of the Institute has for some years past been insufficient to meet its expenditure, and the recurring deficit has been met from accumulated savings. These savings are now exhausted, and a considerable sum will be required for the remainder of the present year—i.e., to 31st March, 1921. His Majesty's Government have made arrangements by which sufficient money will be advanced to the Institute to enable it to carry on its activities up to that date, but unless by that time an adequate income can be provided to enable it to meet its expenditure in future without further borrowing the Institute will have then to be closed. 4. A very careful inquiry into the financial requirements of the Institute, conducted in consultation with the Executive Council, has led to the conclusion that, m order to do its work efficiently under present conditions, the Institute will require