D.—No. 1b

the Inter-Colonial Royal Mail Company (Limited) of the other part: witnesseth, that in consideration ofthe mutual Covenants hereinafter contained, the said parties hereto for themselves and their respective executors, administrators, and successors, do hereby respectively covenant and agree, to and with the other of them, and their respective executors, administrators, and successors, ill manner following, that is to say : 1. The Contract at present subsisting between the said parties hereto, for a Steam Postal Service along the East Coast of New Zealand, from Auckland to Otaga via Napier, Wellington, and Lyttelton, as at present performed by the' Lord Ashley' Steamer, is hereby cancelled and terminated. 2. From and after the date hereof and for Twelve Calendar Months then next ensuing, the said Inter-Colonial Royal Mail Company shall, with the said ' Lord Ashley' or other steamer authorised by the said Postmaster-General, perform a service monthly between Auckland and Otago via the East Coast of New Zealand, according to the Time Table hereunto annexed, No. 1, subject to variation of dates, as herinafter mentioned. 3. From and after the date hereof, and for Twelve Calendar Months then next ensuing, the said Inter-Colonial Royal Mail Company shall with the ' Airedale,' or other steamer authorised by the said Postmaster-General, perform a service monthly between Manukau and the Bluff, according to the Time hereunto annexed, No. 2, subject to variation of dates, as hereinafter mentioned. 4. By the aforesaid Steam Postal Services the said Company shall receive and safely carry Her Majesty's mails, and provide all necessary accommodation therefor to the satisfaction of the said Post-master-General, and shall deliver the same over the ship's side at the respective ports of call free of any charge, other than the payments hereinafter mentioned. 5. By each of the aforesaid steamers, the said company shall, if required, provide a free cabin passage, fare, and accommodation for one person in charge of the mails, in accordance with written instructions from the said Postmaster-General. 6. The aforesaid steamers shall (weather permitting) proceed on their respective voyages from Auckland and Otago at noon, or as near thereto as the tide will permit, on the respective dates mentioned in the said time-tables hereunto annexed, or on such other dates as may be fixed, as hereinafter mentioned ; and shall not on their respective voyages between the said ports exceed the time allowed by the said tables. Provided always that it shall be lawful for the said Postmaster-General, or his authorised agent, at cither of the said ports, to detain without charge either of the said boats for the period of Twenty-four hours, and to detain them for such further time as he shall think proper, on payment of a bonus of Fifty Pounds (£SO) per day, not exceeding three days, the said Company paying a liquate penalty of Fifty Pounds for each day, or part of a day, they do not (weather permitting, and accidents excepted) proceed from the aforesaid ports at the times aforesaid. 7. In consideration ofthe punctual performance of the aforesaid services the aforesaid PostmasterGeneral shall, out of moneys voted by the Parliament of New Zealand, pay to the aforesaid Company the sum of Four hundred and seventy-four pounds ten shilllings (£474 10s.) per month in respect of the aforesaid East Coast Service, and the sum of Five hundred and fifty-two (£552) pounds per month in respect of the aforesaid West Coast Service, on the certificate of the Secretary ofthe General Post Office that the said services respectively have been duly performed. 8 The said Postmaster-General shall be at liberty on reasonable notice to alter the dates of sailing mentioned in the said Time Tables hereunto annexed, provided such alteration does not interfere with the correspondence between the dates of tbe said West Coast Service and the dates of arrival and departure ofthe said Company's intercolonial steamer at Nelson, and that such alteration does not, without consent o: the Company, shorten the times of remaining at tho several intermediate ports of Now Zealand respect ively. 9. Should a steam service between Panama and New Zealand, under contract between the said parties hereto, be brought into operation before the expiry of the twelve months herein mentioned, this contract shall, upon the commencement of such Panama service, cease and determine ; but otherwise shall continue in force until terminated by two months' notice by either of the said parties hereto. Provided that it shall not be terminated by such notice sooner than the aforesaid period of twelve months, such notice to be delivered at tho offices in Auckland ofthe respective parties hereto. In witness whereof the said parties to these presents have hereunto set their hands the day, month, and year, first above written. Thomas B. Gillies. John Vine Hall. Signed by Thomas Bannatyne Gillies, Postmaster-General of New Zealand for the time being, in the presence of G. Eliott Eliott, Secretary General Post Office. Signed by John Vine Hall, General Manager of the Intercolonial Royal Mail Company for and on behalf of the said Company, in presence of Henry Lawson, Sub-Manager, Chief Accountant I.R.M.C. No. 37. Contract with N.Z.S.N. Company for Inter-provincial Steam Services. Memorandum of Agreement made this thirty-first day of March, eighteen hundred and sixty-four, between the Honorable the Postmaster-General of New Zealand, of the one part, and the New Zealand Steam Navigation Company (Limited) of the other part. Witnesseth that in consideration of the mutual covenants hereinafter contained, the said parties hereto for themselves and their respective ex-

26

PAPERS RELATING TO THE