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to thank you for the full information afforded. I may add that the regular receipt of these monthly reports is found to be of great service in the department. I have to express the satisfaction of the Government at the prompt action taken by you to carry out the instructions conveyed to you by telegram transmitted upon 26th January, by taking off the ships for Auckland and Hawke's Bay, and issuing directions to your Agents to accept only superior agricultural labourers and female servants. AVith the small amount of emigration ordered for the year, I am glad that you recognize the necessity for the very strictest selection, and I quite approve of the limitation mentioned, although, of course, in the case of nominations, persons suitable in other respects should not be rejected because they do not belong to those particular classes. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

No. 41. The Hon. H. A. Atkinson to the Agent-Geneeal. (No. 12G.) Sic, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 3rd May, 1876. I have the honor to transmit herewith report from the Immigration Officer at this port, forwarding original declaration sworn before and attested by the Consul for the German Empire by G H and E —— H——, immigrants by the " Gutenberg." I have no doubt that you will agree with me that the disgraceful proceedings set forth in these documents should not be allowed to pass without serious notice, and it may be desirable that steps should be taken to expose and punish, if possible, the person stated to be chiefly implicated—Mr. Herzog, of Aaran, Switzerland. You will observe that Mr. Eliott, in his memorandum to the Superintendent of Wellington, states that it has been reported to him that certain other immigrants by the " Gutenberg " were passiug themselves off as married people, they being neither civilly nor ecclesiastically married before leaving their homes, and that an immigrant, designated by name, was in an advanced state of syphilis. These cases all point to great neglect of duty, or even worse, on the part of your Agent in Italy; but as emigration from that country to this colony is now stopped, I need not now dwell any further upon the subject, but must again repeat what has already been conveyed to you with regard to the Italian immigration—viz., that it has been in every way unsatisfactory; the character, physical and moral, of the persons introduced has been such that they have proved utterly unfit for the work of colonization; and the expenditure entailed in the endeavour to locate, and in many instances to return them to Italy, has been a serious charge upon the funds available for immigration. In conclusion, I should be glad, for the satisfaction of the Government, if you will inform me under what circumstances it was thought desirable to organize emigration from Italy, as no record appears in this department of any ministerial instructions to that effect ; and, further, upon what recommendation Mr. Glynn, at Leghorn, and his several sub-agents were appointed. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. H. A. Atkinson.

Enclosure in No. 41. [Teanslation.] Sic,— Wellington, 27th March, 1876. I feel myself compelled to bring to your notice certain charges against Mr. Wirth Herzog, Immigration Agent in Aarau, Switzerland. Said charges are founded on the following facts:— On the 7th December, 1875, I called upon Mr. Wirth Herzog, the accredited agent in Aarau, with the object to obtain a free passage to New Zealand; but that gentleman gave me to understand that he had no vacancy for single men: should I feel disposed to give him 50 francs he might be able to manage the matter. On further inquiry, he explained to me that a single girl with baby, a Miss H . from Rohrbach, Canton Bern, Switzerland, had made a similar application, and that he could accommodate both of us, if I allowed him to enter our names on the ship's papers together. Miss H , who was to be sent away by her parish, had previously called on one of the subagents, a Mr. Ebner, teacher in Zofingen, Canton Aargau, who said that there was no objection in her making the passage by herself. In subsequently calling on Mr. Wirth Herzog, accompanied by my guardian, Mr. Jacob H , carpenter, in Sehoenewerd, Canton Solothurn, I repeated the statement made by Mr. Ebner to Miss H regarding her travelling alone ; but Mr. Wirth Herzog replied this could not be done, but that, if I agreed to sign as requested, it would be all right; that I had no cause for anxiety, as the whole was only a formality ; and that the moment on arrival in Wellington both of us were free, and any responsibility on my part was at an end. This statement was made in the presence of Mr. Urs Kuhn, President of the Orphan Institute, who further impressed upon us that we had better keep the particulars of this transaction from our fellow passengers. Miss H had made several attempts to emigrate, first with a family W , and afterwards with a Mr. M from Oftringen, a fellow-passenger by the " Guthenberg," also aided by Mr. Wirth Herzog. Placing full confidence in the statement of this unprincipled agent, I proceeded without him to Basel. I called upon Mr. Rudolph Werdenberg, the local agent. Miss H and her illegitimate child had already arrived, and I then discovered that Miss H was induced to leave home on the request