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A.—2

Enclosure 1 in No. 61. Prom the Secretary of Lloyd's to the Colonial Office. Sir,— Lloyd's, 10th October, 1877. I am directed by the Committee of Lloyd's to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Bth instant, and to beg that you will express to the Earl of Carnarvon the thanks of the Committee for his kindness in manifesting a desire to accede to their request. With regard to the information which you are good enough to suggest as likely to be of material assistance to the Colonial Office, I have the honor to inform you as follows : — 1. Under section 448 of "The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854," it is enacted that Receivers of Wreck shall forward to the secretary of Lloyd's a copy of any deposition made to them by the master of a vessel putting into a port in distress. I beg to enclose herewith a copy of the form of deposition which is supplied (marked A). 2. In some instances the Board of Trade has directed Receivers of Wreck, when damage is small, to substitute for the statutory deposition required by the Merchant Shipping Act a mere verbal account, from which the Receiver fills up a tabular statement or return which is not sworn to nor signed by the master ; and it has been ordered by the Board of Trade, carrying out the spirit of the Merchant Shipping Act, that in all cases where depositions are not taken, copies of such casualty returns for vessels of fifty tons and upwards are to be sent to Lloyd's upon the accompanying form (marked B). 3. As Lloyd's agents are always instructed to telegraph immediately to Lloyd's the report of any casualty which occurs in their district, for the information, not only of the marine insurance world, but also for the information of all the public press, Government offices, &c., in case agents should either be left ignorant of a casualty occurring which is known to the Receiver of Wreck in the district, it has been ordered by the Board of Trade that as soon as a wreck is known to the Receiver of Wreck he should immediately forward an announcement of this casualty to the Lloyd's agent of the district according to the enclosed form (marked C). 4. As usually Receivers of Wreck are Customhouse officers, the information at the disposal of the Customhouse is thus practically communicated to Lloyd's; but in special instances, such as at Gravesend, Liverpool, or large ports, special arrangements have been made by the Committee, with the sanction of the Government, for the officers in charge of the Customs to report both casualties to and the arrivals, sailings, and clearances of vessels direct to Lloyd's. 5. Since the year 1869, by the orders of the Admiralty, every casualty to shipping becoming known to the Coast Guard has been telegraphed direct to the secretary of Lloyd's from the Coast Guard station at which the accident is first discovered. The cost of the telegram is paid by the Committee of Lloyd's, and the Committee also pay any messenger who may be necessary to carry the intelligence from the Coast Guard station to the nearest telegraph station, on the system that the officer commanding the Coast Guard district in which the casualty occurs, when his telegram is despatched to Lloyd's announcing the casualty, or as soon after as convenient, makes a claim upon the secretary of Lloyd's for the cost of the telegram and the travelling expenses of the messenger. The amount is remitted to the officer in command without these sums being passed through the Government accounts in any manner. Should the Earl of Carnarvon so desire, I shall be happy to forward to you copies of the official documents under which these various instructions have been given. I have, &c., Henry M. Hozier, Robert Gr. W. Herbert, Esq., Under-Secretary of State, Secretary. Colonial Office, S.W.

Enclosure 2 in No. 64. The Secretary of Lloyd's to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. Sir,— Lloyd's, E.C., 25th July, 1879. I am directed by the Committee of Lloyd's to inform you that, in consequence of an application made to the Colonial Office on the 10th October, 1877, Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies was good enough to give instructions to the Collectors of Customs and other Customs officials in the South African Colonies, to inform Lloyd's agents of casualties, wrecks, aud salvages which might come within their knowledge. I am now directed to request that you will be good enough to move Sir Michael Hicks Beach to allow the Committee of Lloyd's to be informed whether he would have any objection, to extending these instructions to all the colonies. The Committee of Lloyd's have the less hesitation in making this request, since at this establishment are collected and compiled vast masses of shipping intelligence, which are not only of use to the whole of the world interested in commercial and shipping matters, but also are of great value for the probate of wills, tracing of next of kin, and other important affairs. Hence it is extremely desirable that the records preserved at this office should be as complete and satisfactory as possible, and it is with the view of making them completely accurate that the Com--7