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No. 123. The Hon. the Premise, Wellington, to the Seceetaby of State, Ottawa. Sic, — Premier's Office, Wellington, Ist February, 1900. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 30th November last, and to thank you for the copy, which you were so good as to enclose, of recent correspondence on the subject of the Pacific-cable scheme. . I have, &c, The Secretary of State, Ottawa, Canada. R. J. Seddon.

No. 124. The Hon. Secretary, British Empire League in Canada, Toronto, to the Hon. the Premier, Wellington. British Empire League in Canada, Toronto Branch, 11, Equity Chambers, Sib,— Toronto, 6th February, 1900. I have the honour to forward to you, by direction of the Toronto Branch, British Empire League, a copy of resolutions adopted at a meeting of the League held in Toronto on the 30th January, 1900. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. H. F. Hoopeb, Hon. Secretary.

Enclosure in No. 124. The following resolutions were adopted at a meeting of the Toronto Branch, British Empire League, at St. George's Hall, on the 30th January, 1900: — Resolution No. I.—Moved by Lieut.-Colonel G. T. Denison, seconded by Rev. Dr. J. Potts : Whereas (1) the Pacific cable has been recognised by Parliament to be an undertaking of peculiar importance to Canada, to the Australasian Colonies, and to the Empire; (2) serious delays in its establishment have heretofore been caused manifestly by the hostile influence of the Eastern Extension Telegraph Company ; and (3) the Eastern Extension Company is now engaged in a supreme effort to defeat the project which, if successful, will subordinate the most important public interests to private gains : In consequence of these efforts, and in order to prevent the subjection of the interests of the colonies and the Empire to private purposes, an appeal should at once be made to our Government and to all the Governments concerned, urging in the strongest terms : First—That it is of vital importance to take prompt action in causing the Pacific cable to be proceeded with as a State undertaking, and completed with the least possible delay ; second—That the Home Government, the Government of New South Wales, and other Governments be earnestly asked not to assent to any agreement granting concessions to the Eastern Extension Company which does not contain a clause reserving power to cancel such agreement in the event of the exigencies of the public service demanding this; third—That the time has come when ultimate State proprietorship of all cables between British possessions should be kept prominently in view, and that therefore, in all agreements giving permission to lay new cables by private capital, a condition be attached, in explicit terms, empowering the Imperial Government to assume ownership.—Carried unanimously.

No. 125. The Hon. the Peemiee, Sydney, to the Hon. the Peemiee, Wellington. (Telegram.) Sydney, Bth February, 1900. I have received the following cable from the Premier of Canada: "Canada strongly objects to last proposals of Eastern Extension Telegraph Company, or any other that will remove control over telegraph business from local Governments and give Eastern Telegraph Company free hand if competing with Pacific submarine cable."

No. 126. The Hon. the Postmasteb - Genebal, Wellington, to the Hon. the Postmaster - General, - Brisbane. (Telegram.) Wellington, 12th February, 1900. Be Pacific Cable : I am glad to hear that your colony will co-operate with New Zealand and Canada. In this course I fully concur. We are anxious to have the Pacific cable whether the Cape cable is laid or not, and anything we can do to bring this about will be gladly attended to.

No. 127. The Hon. the Pbemieb to the Agent-Geneeal. Sir, — Premier's Office, Wellington, 16th February, 1900. Referring to your letter of the 15th December last, transmitting copy of the instrument received from the Colonial Office appointing the members of the Pacific Cable Committee, I have now the honour to inform you that a disturbing factor has been introduced into the Pacific-cable