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No. 56.—" Rates of Commission on Money Orders from the Australasian Colonies to the United Kingdom, Cape Colony, &c." We recommend that the rates of commission charged on Money Orders for the United Kingdom, British Possessions, and Foreign Countries, in all the Colonies as in New South Wales and Queensland, be 6a\ for each pound or fraction of a pound. No. 57.—" Reduction in rate of commission to paying country on Money Orders exchanged between Australasian Colonies and Singapore." The rate of commission has now been reduced from one per cent, to half of one per cent, by all the Colonies. No. 58. —"Treatment of Money Order Advices missent to other Colonies." We advise that in the event of Money Order Advice being inadvertently sent to the wrong Colony, that Colony should forward the Advice without delay to the Head Office of the Colony on which the Money Order was drawn, so that the payee may at once receive payment; at the same time, the issuing Colony should be informed of the action taken and requested to deduct the amount of such Advice from the next Account. No. 59. —"Practice of forwarding Money Order Advices, with and without lists, between Colonies." We advise that Tasmania correspond by letter with the Colonies concerned. No. 60.—"Telegraph Money Orders to New Zealand and Tasmania." — "Omission of signature from Advices, and Cable Company's charges." At the 1896 (Sydney) Conference, the following recommendation by Permanent Heads of Departments was adopted, viz.:—"We recommend that the proposal of New Zealand to introduce the Telegraph Money Order system between that Colony and Australia and Tasmania be agreed to. Our experience of the system which is now in force between the Australian Colonies and Tasmania does not lead us to anticipate that any serious risk would be incurred by extending it to New Zealand. We advise that the usual Money Order Commissions be charged, plus the cost of a ten-word telegraph message to the paying office, and another to the payee." The system was brought into operation in July, 1897, and, in the Regulations adopted, it was provided that one message w T ould "be sufficient for any number of Orders from the same remitter to the same payee, provided the numbers are continuous." However, on the 21st December, 1897, Mr. Warren, of the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company, wrote, intimating that, from the Ist January, 1898, "only one Money Order will be accepted at the single rate, cve/y additional Order embodied in the same message to be charged as an extra message, " and also suggesting that a considerable reduction in the average number of words in a message would be made were the signatures to Telegraph Money Order Advices omitted. On the recommendation of the Controller, it teas decided by New South Wales to " agree to dispense with the transmission of the Postmaster s name and designation to all telegraphic advices to New Zealand, as it is of no use to the paying office." However, in the Regulations subsequently prepared on the subject, it was provided that "in advising the remittance of money by telegram to either New Zealand or Tasmania, the Postmaster or other official will not give his name or official designation, but simply the name of the office at which the order is issued." The Tasmanian Postal Authorities apparently were not consulted respecting the above-mentioned altered arrangement, and on receipt of an unsigned telegraph money order advice from the Postmaster, Oxford-street, made enquiry in the matter. A memorandum in reply seems to have been sent from the Money Order Office, to which the Hobart Office replied that " Telegraph Money Order advices unsigned ivill not be recognised by this Colony (Tasmania)." Hobart was thereupon informed that " signatures of Postmasters dispensed with in accordance with arrangement with Cable Company." A letter, dated the 16th February, 1898, has since come to hand from Tasmania, intimating that with regard to the signatures of telegraphic advices being abolished altogether, the question will be placed before the Honorable the Postmaster-General on his return to the Colony, and his decision made known to you. By letter, dated the 19th February, Mr. Warren intimated that "on and after the Ist March, 1898, the Neiv Zealand cable rate for official Telegraph Money Order Advices will be tico shillings and sixpence, instead of two shillings, as at present," also that " additional orders may be included in one telegram at the minimum rate of two shillings and sixpence." In reply to an enquiry from the Sydney Office, Mr. Warren stated that the above rates wall not apply to Tasmanian Money Order cable business. The points for consideration seem to be the adoption of a uniform practice on the part of the whole of the Australasian Colonies respecting the signing or otherwise of Telegraph Money Order Advices to Neiv Zealand and Tasmania respectively.