D.—l

22

the voyage by the " Hurunui," and were at the Agent-General's request brought out in what we call short ships, 1 shall remark only on tho items of expenditure for outfitting the surgeons of the " Loch Dee" and " Carnatic," necessitated entirely by our compliance with the Agent-General's request; and I trust you will without hesitation admit these claims, which amount in the aggregate to the sum of £1,635 19s. 4d. 3. Demurrages deducted : I beg your careful perusal and consideration of the whole correspondence between our London office and the Agent-General on this subject, about which the AgentGeneral, deciding to exact the demurrage apparently because he thought he had no power to waive it, has left the Company to appeal to you for a reversal of his decision, which I solicit on these grounds : That the delay was not in any case the fault of the Company, but rather the result of a previous recognized and allowed relaxation of one of the clauses of the contract. That the Company has already paid every cost of maintenance of emigrants during the detention, and it cannot be equitable to mulct us in both ways —if we pay the demurrage, the maintenance should be defrayed out of it, or vice versa. I cannot "but hope that under all the circumstances you will remit these demurrage charges, and authorize the payment of the sum of £550. 4. Re "Hurunui," first voyage: To the explanation in the account of this charge, I can add nothing but a request for the payment of the sum actually disbursed by the Company, £241 17s. 6d.; and with great deference I submit and urge that the early payment of the items due to the Company is equitable, without any reference back to England of the matters which have, in pursuance of the agreement, been referred to you by the Agent-General. There is in the aggregate a large amount to be paid to tho Company. 5. Re "Hurunui," expenses in port: Of course, when all these are ascertained and apportioned by the average staters, I shall bring them under your notice. I have, &c, H. Selwtn Smith, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration. General Manager.

Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure 1 in No. 38. The General Government of New Zealand in Account with the New Zealand Shipping Company (Limited). Re the Contract for Conveyance of Emigrants and Cargo, 16th November, 1876. For stores supplied to the order and request of the Agent-General in London to the following ships, and being in excess of the dietary scale prior to its revision at the date of signing contract, 10th November, 1876, but necessary to conform to the tickets issued by order of the Agent-General and to J.l_ _ Tl A _A

the rassenger Act: — Adults. Children. Extra Stores cost £ 8. d. Sept. 8. "Waitara" ... 146 ... 35 ... 49 16 3 „ 16. " Jessie Osborne" 176 ... 50 ... 59 15 6 „ 23. "Hurunui" ... 190 ... 66 ... 62 8 10 „ 30. "Cardigan Castle" 245 ... 69 ... 81 0 8 Oct. 22. "Leicester" ... 247 ... 77 ... 94 3 3 "Waipa" ... 221 ... 54 ... 73 10 6 Nov. 12 "Wiltshire" ... 226 ... 49 ... 84 13 10 „ 27. "Oxford" ... 180 ... 52 ... 61 15 9 Dec. 9. "Fernglen" ... 187 ... 57 ... 73 15 6 „ 17. "Northampton" ... 245 ... 75 ... 89 16 10 2,063 ... 584 ... £730 16 11

If the Government does not pay the cost of these stores, on the ground of the contract price being retrospective to Ist May, 1876, then, in lieu thereof, the Company seeks the then contract, or tender price of, for adults, £13 16s. ; for children, £7 15s. 3d. There has already been allowed on the above £ s. d. 2,063 adults, at the rate per head of ...£l3 11 3 ... 27,979 8 9 Ditto 584 children, at the rate per head of ... 711 Hi ... 4,436 11 6 Together ... £32,416 0 3 The Company then claims the difference £ s. d. £ s. d. between ... ... ... ... £13 11 3 and the first price ... ... ... 13 16 0 on 2,063 adults ... ... ... @ 0 4 9 = 489 19 3 and the difference between ... ... 7 11 11J and the first price ... ... ... 7 15 3 on 584 children ... ... ... @ 0 3 3| = 96 14 6 586 13 9 Carried forward ... ... ... ... ... 586 13 9