E.—No. 2,

44

FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO

to appoint agents or an agent for the performance of divers other acts, and the exercise of other powers in the said agreement mentioned: And whereas I, the said John Hall, as such PostmasterGeneral aforesaid, am desirous to appoint an agent in Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, in manner hereinafter appearing: And whereas Atkinson Alfred Patrick Tighe, Esq., Her Majesty's Postmaster-General for the Colony of New South Wales, has consented to be nominated as such agent: Now therefore I, the said John Hall, as such Postmaster-General as aforesaid, do hereby nominate, constitute, and appoint Atkinson Alfred Patrick Tigiie, Esquire, Her Majesty's PostmasterGeneral for the Colony of New South Wales, to be the Agent at the Port of Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, for the Postmaster-General of New Zealand, and to receive all mails at the Port of Sydney aforesaid, and to survey all or any of tho vessels employed in the performance of the said agreement, and the hulls thereof, and the machinery, furniture, tackle, apparel, boats, stores, equipments, and the officers, engineers, and crew of every such vessel, and to order and direct the mode, time, and place of landing, delivering, and receiving mails at the Port of Sydney aforesaid, and generally to do, execute, and perform all acts, deeds, matters, and things within the Colony of New South Wales, which by tho said Articles of Agreement are authorized to be done, executed, or performed by the Postmaster-General of New Zealand, or his duly appointed Agent. Witness my hand this tenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight. John Hall. Signed by the abovenamed John Hall, Her Majesty's PostmasterGeneral for New Zealand, in the presence of G. Eliott Eliott, Secretary, General Post Office, New Zealand.

No. 51. Copy of a Letter from Mr. W. Gray to the Hon. John Hall. General Post Office, Sir,— Wellington, 12th October, 1868. In continuation, of my report of this date, I have the honor to inform you that I returned to Wellington from Melbourne by way of Sydney, where, according to your instructions, I waited upon the Postal authorities, for the purpose of arranging with them the details of the account to be kept between that Colony and New Zealand in connection with the Panama Mail Service. The first subject which came under discussion was the amount of tho postage collected by either Colony on correspondence despatched by each respectively in mails via Panama, which, according to the minute of agreement, is divisible equally between the two Colonies. I submitted that you were of opinion, that as the Home Government claimed and received Id. per half-ounce on letters, and nearly 6d. per pound on books, as inland postage in the United Kingdom, each Colony on the same principle should retain a like portion of the postage accruing on correspondence originating within it, as inland postage, and thus leave a balance as sea postage of 4d. per half-ounce on letters, and 6d. per lb. on books, as divisible between the two Colonies : that this was your view of the meaning of that part of the minute of agreement which referred to the total postage as being equally divisible. To this view Mr. Docker objected, urging that, from personal conversations with the late Mr. Crosbie Ward, as well as from the terms of the minute itself, the whole postage collected, excepting Foreign rates, is meant as the postage divisible between the Colonies. Mr. Docker's views on the subject, as well as those of the Secretary and Accountant of his department, are as follows, viz.: — 1. Items to be Credited to the Service. The total collections (excepting those for Foreign rates) on correspondence from either Colony forwarded by the Panama route. All amounts credited by the United Kingdom on. correspondence to both Colonies. All sums recovered from nbn-contributing Colonies for transmission of mails, to and from them by this route. 2. Items to be Debited to the Service. All charges for Isthmus transit. All amounts due to London, on correspondence from either Colony for the United Kingdom, at the rate of 3 |d. per ounce on letters, and 5Jd. per lb. on books, with tho half of the registration fees. 3. That the total amount of Debit against the Service should be deducted from that on the Credit side, and the balance if any to be divided equally between the two Colonies. I found it was useless to attempt to induce the Sydney authorities to alter their opinions, especially as the terms of the minute of agreement appeared somewhat to support them. I therefore deemed it advisable, seeing no good result would follow from a protracted dispute on this subject, to draw up in conjunction with the Sydney Accountant a memorandum, two copies of which are attached setting forth in our opinion the most convenient manner in which the accounts in connection with this service may in future be kept, and for the reasons therein stated. This memorandum is of course subject to your approval. Should you be pleased to approve it, I would beg to suggest that one of the copies signed by you should be forwarded to tho Postmaster-General of New South Wales, who already has signified his approval thereon. Before concluding my report, I would beg to refer to the uniform courtesy and patience I experienced on the part of Mr. Docker and his officers, while discussing the matter under dispute, and also to the readiness with which they undertook to take charge of and to forward the Suez mails to and from Auckland. I have, &c, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. W. Gray.