CONVEYANCE OE MAILS VIA SUEZ.

7

E.—No. 3

Lordship by Mr. Stafford, the Colonial Secretary, during my absence from Wellington, I have now the honor to transmit a further Memorandum on the subject which Ministers have requested me to forward to your Lordship. I have, &c, The Eight Hon. the Earl of Carnarvon. G. Geey.

Enclosure in No. 3. Memorandum for His Excellency the Goveexoe by the Hon. John Hall. With further reference to Mr. Cardwell's Despatch of the loth June last, transmitting a statement of sums due from New Zealand on account of the Suez Mail Service, in reference to which Despatch a Memorandum was furnished to His Excellency on the sth December last, Ministers respectfully request His Excellency will inform the Secretary of State that instructions were, by the last mail via Panama, transmitted to the Crown Agents for the payment to Her Majesty's Postmaster-General of the sum of £20,G70 13s. 3d., being a sum less by £2647 10s. lOd. than that stated in the account above mentioned to be the balance due from this Colony to the Imperial Post Office, on the 31st December, 1865. This difference is attributable to the following circumstances: —ln the account in question New Zealand is charged with a proportion of the cost of the mail service between Melbourne and Svdney calculated according to the entire number of letters passing between the United Kingdom and the Colony, on the assumption, apparently, that the whole of this correspondence is sent through Sydney, and is forwarded and sent to that place from and to Now Zealand. This is an error. According to the annexed Beturn it will be seen that during the year 1865 only 263,035 letters were sent through Sydney, and the remainder were not conveyed further than Melbdurne by the Peninsular and Oriental steamers. The proportion of the charge made against the Colony for the services between Melbourne and Sydney, which is applicable to the correspondence dropped at Melbourne, is £2647 10s. 10d., which sum, Ministers do not doubt, will be readily acknowledged by the Imperial authorities to have been erroneously charged against New Zealand. Jo us Hall, General Post Office, Wellington, 10th January, 1567. Postmaster-General. Compaeatiye Return of the Number of Letters to and from the United Kingdom conveyed direct between New Zealand and Melbourne, and New Zealand and Sydney, during the Tear ended 31st December, 1865:—

As 756,197, the total number of letters between the United Kingdom and New Zealand in 1865, is to £3,477 Is. 2d., the amount charged for the service between Melbourne and Sydney that year: so is 263,065, the actual number of letters conveyed by that service, to £1,209 9s. Id. Showing a balance in favor of New Zealand of £2,267 12s. Id.

No. 4. Copy of a Despatch from the Eight Hon. the Earl of Caenaryou to Governor Sir GeOEGE GrEET, K.C.B. (New Zealand, Circular.) Sie, — Downing Street, 24th August, 186G. With reference to previous correspondence respecting the contracts which have been entered into with the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company for the performance of the Australian Mail Packet Service, I have the honor to transmit to you, for your own information and

Kame of Post Office. Conveyed direct between Ni Zealand and Melbourne. few 'onveyed direct between J> Zealand and Sydney. New Auckland ... S"ew Plymoutli ... Napier Wellington kelson Picton jhristehurch Dunedin ... ivercargill ... ... -... e,oo3 19,456 67,503 18,309 4,S00 153.486 189,010 34,595 223,765 14,929 22,893 1,448 Totals 493,162 263,035 Potal bci ween London and New Zealand \ inlSGS j 756,197