B.—No. 3.

No. 68. THE SUPERINTENDENT, SOUTHLAND, TO THE SUB-TKEASURER, SOUTHLAND.. Superintendent's Office, Southland, 9th August, 1864. Sir,— I have the honor to acknowledge tlie receipt of your letter of this day's date, and, in reply, to inform you that t'>e return to which you refer appears to be asked for by the Assistant Treasurer from you, ami not from the Provincial Government. I have, &c, J. A. R. Menzies, Superintendent. Captain Eiles, Sub-Treasurer, Southland.

No. 69. THE SUB-TREASURER, SOUTHLAND, TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, SOUTHLAND. Sub-Treasury, Southland, 10th August, 1864. SlH,— I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of yesterday's d.ite, relative to the return asked for in my letter of the Ist instant. it must be obvious to your Honor that the return in question is of such a character that it can only be furnished from Provincial soutces. The Assistant Treasurer havit g, by direction rf the General Government, calied upon me to furnish said Return, I immediately plad d myself officially in communication with your Honor as Head of tlie Provincial Government, thereby adopting the usual and the only proper and legitimate course open to me under the circumstances, in order to obtain correct and reliable informition. Had 1 attempted to obtain t'-e information iequired through the medium of any of the officers, subordinate to your Honor, I should have been guilty of a breach of official etiquette, which your Hoior would not have been slow to resent. It would appear from your Honor's letters on the subject that yon are averse to n.y being furnished with the return referred to, and it is to be regretted that your Honor did not at once signify this aversion when I first addressed you, as thereby considerable delay and waste of time might have been avoided, and an opportunity of communicating with Auckland saved. I have, &c, A. J. Elles, Sub-Treasurer. His Honor the Superintendent, Southland.

No. 70. THE SUPERINTENDENT, SOUTHLAND, TO THE SUB-TREASURER, SOUTHLAND. Superintendent's Office, Southland, 10th August, 1864. Sib, In reply to your letter of this day's date, I have only to observe that the General Government can expect its officers to turnish it with such information only as comes within the scope of their observation. Any information it desires to obtain from the Provincial Government, it can and should obtain directly, and not through subordinate channels. I have, Bee, J. A. R. Menzies, Superintendent. Captain Elles, Sub-Treasurer, Southland It

67

PROVINCIAL LOANS.