5

A.—2

Extract of a Letter from the Colonial Office to the Board of Trade, dated 12th June, 1880. " I am directed by the Earl of Kimberley to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant (M-10143), respecting the arrangement for the retention in the colonies for a certain period of certificates of masters and other officers of British ships which have been suspended by colonial Courts under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Acts. " In reply, I am to request that you will state to the Board of Trade that Lord Kimberley would suggest that the Falkland Islands, Labuan, and the Province of British Columbia (Dominion of Canada) should be added to the list of colonies in which the certificates should be retained for a period not exceeding six months; and, if Ceylon is to be included in that list, His Lordship thinks that Mauritius, and perhaps the Cape of Good Hope and Natal, should be added." The Board of Trade to the Colonial Office. Board of Trade (Marine Department), Whitehall Gardens, S W., 28th June, 1880. Sift, — Certificates. I am directed by the Board of Trade to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th instant suggesting that the Falkland Islands, Labuan, and the Province of British Columbia (Dominion of Canada), the Mauritius, and the Cape of Good Hope and Natal should be included in the list of colonies in which certificates which have been suspended by a Court of Inquiry should be retained for a period not exceeding six months. "In reply, lam to state, for Lord Kimberley's information, that the Board have no objection to the possessions referred to being included in the list, provided that Courts have been established in them which possess power to deal with certificates granted under " The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854," or "The Merchant Shipping (Colonial) Act, 1869." I have, &c, Tiios. Gray

No. 5. Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley to Governor Sir Hercules Robinson. (No. 17.) Sir, — Downing Street, 3rd July, 1880. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the copies of the census of New Zealand taken upon the 3rd of March, 1878, which were forwarded in your Despatch No. 17, of the 25th of March last. I should be glad to learn whether your Government contemplate taking a census in 1881 with the rest of the Empire, to which matter your attention has been directed by my predecessor's circular despatch of the 27th of April last. I have, &c, Governor Sir Hercules Robinson, G C.M.G., KIMBERLEY. &c, &c, &c.

No. 6. Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley to the Officer Administering the Government of New Zealand. (Circular) Sir, — Downing Street, sth July, 1880. I have the honor to acquaint you that frequent applications are made to this office and to the Patent Office for information respecting patents and trademarks in the colonies, and, in order to enable such inquiries to be answered, it is desirable that some office in this country should be in possession of complete information on the subject. 2. With the view of securing this object, I have been in communication with the Commissioners of Patents, and I have received an assurance from them that if they are supplied with the necessary information the Patent Office will gladly undertake the duty of answering all inquiries on the subject. 3. I have, therefore, the honor to request that I may be furnished, for the use of the Patent Office, with copies of any laws on the subject of patents and trade-marks which may be in force in the colony under your government, and also with copies of any notifications or regulations which may have been issued under such laws.