23

D.—2.

The work involved in payment of pensions and annuities, the payment of moneys belonging to intestate estates to persons entitled to the proceeds of the same, the receipt of premiums on life policies of the New Zealand Government Insurance Office, increases year by year —the two last named, I may remark, requiring special care and vigilance. Amongst some of the special matters which have engaged the attention of this department during the past year, I may mention the conduct of the appeal case of Spence v. Pearson, the selection of a teacher of deaf-mutes, the collection of books, catalogues, and specimens of educational apparatus for the Educational Library and Museum at Wellington, and the obtaining for the colony from the Gilchrist Trustees a biennial scholarship of £100 a year for three sears. I .have also been in direct communication with the Chairman of the Governors of the Canterbury College respecting the obtaining and sending out of exhibits for the Museum of Technical Science which that Corporation are establishing at Christchurch. The collection and despatch of over a thousand birds for the Acclimatization Society of Canterbury was supervised and otherwise attended to by the officers of my department. During the great part of the year my attention and time have been exceptionally and anxiously occupied with important financial arrangements and the negotiation of the five-million loan, in both of which matters the department has contributed its assistance. I attended the session of the International Telegraph Conference as delegate for the colony, and in that capacity endeavoured to maintain such measures as I considered conducive to the interests of New Zealand. The report of the proceedings, which occupied a number of sittings, I have already forwarded to you. I have, &c, Julius Vogel, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. Agent-General. Return showing Total Amounts of Shipments made by the Agent-General's Department during the Year 1879. 13,298 tons rails and fastenings, 1,199 sets high-wagon ironwork, 801 sets low-wagon ironwork, 20 locomotive engines, 1 vertical engine, 1 locomotive traverser, 15 composite carriages, 950 sets switches and crossings, 151 packages machinery and tools for railway workshops, 212 packages duplicates for engines, wagons, &c, 1,314 tires, 54 cases drawbars, 120 fish-plates, 2,016 pairs wheels and axles, 29 axle-boxes, 993 packages ironwork for bridges, 3 stone-breaking machines, 1,226 cases, &c, telegraph material, 975 cases telegraph insulators, 287 tons telegraph wire, 7 cases telegraph stationery, 120 knots telegraph submarine cable, 63 cases printing type, 97 cases bookbinding material, 12 wall letter-boxes, 6 cases postage-stamp paper, 17,012 gallons paraffine oil, 260 kegs sulphate of copper, 429 packages ordnance stores, £3,000 bronze and silver coin, 25 cases Snider rifles, 1,000 cases cartridges, 119 cases fuses, 1,084 cases stationery, 10 bales blankets, 10 cases sheets, 20 bales shirts, 1 paper-cutting machine, 19 cases survey instruments, 80 packages miscellaneous goods, including tin plates, badges, lighthouse material, microscopes, enamelled plates, ink, buttons, colours, photographic material, charts, transfer sheets, coats, caps, serge, clocks, steam-gauges, swords, belts, cotton-waste, &c, &c. W. Kennaway, Ist January, 1880. Secretary. Statement showing Amount of Material and Goods under Contract on the 81st December, 1879. Thkee sets of scales for weighing engines, stationery for General Assembly Library, stationery for Legislative Council, bookbinding material, rail-fastenings (W.R. 6/79), spring balances for locomotives, brass tubes for locomotives, stationery for Railway Department, envelopes for Post Office, enamelled plates, notice-plates for Telegraph Department, postage-stamp paper, wrapping paper, Constabulary stores (C.S. 162/79), chemicals for Telegraph Department, 500 carbines, 3,000 gallons paraffine oil, 1 locomotive wheel, savings-bank forms, colours, &c. (C.S. 135/79), telegraph stationery, 24 india-rubber plates for Fairlie bogie centres, 250 Constabulary greatcoats and 1,000 jumpers and 1,000 trousers (C.S. 110/79), stationery (C.S. 92/79), 25 horseboxes and 50 cattle-trucks and wheels and axles (P.W. 42/79), 100 drawbars, 1,500 revolvers, 200,000 rounds ammunition for revolvers, 1,500 rifles, rolling-stock (P.W. 24/79), 10 locomotive engines, clock and chronograph, cable- and anchor-testing machine, bookbinding material (C.S. 195/78), rails, fastenings, tires, stationery (C.S. 170/78), 1,500 Snider carbines, 4 composite carriages (P.W. 63/78). W. Kennaway, Ist January, 1880. Secretary.

No. 35. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. SiKj— 7, Westminster Chambers, London, 26th January, 1880. Referring to your letter No. 20 1, of 29th September last, I have the honor to enclose extract from the Times paper of the Bth instant, containing a letter which I addressed to that paper, and in which, in accordance with your instructions, I drew attention to the preserved meat which had been procured from Mr. J. Gear, of Wellington, and which had successfully stood the test of twice passing through the tropics.