F.—6

2

SAN FBANCISCO SERVICE.

ARRANGEMENT WITH OCEANIC COMPANY, ETC.

No. 1. The J. D. Spbbckels and Bros. Company, San Francisco, to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Sir, — Oceanic Steamship Company, San Francisco, 15th June, 1901. We are in receipt of your favour of the 29th April [No. 160, F.-6, 1901], and have to thank you very much for your prompt reply to our cablegram of 16th April, requesting that Mailagents might furnish us with weights of mail-matter on arrival at San Francisco. We are also in receipt of your statement of mail-poundage under date of 22nd April, showing amounts earned by this company from your Government for carriage o£ mails from Auckland to San Francisco. For the purpose of enabling us to file a claim with the Australian authorities for the carriage of mails from Sydney since the discontinuance of the contract under which we were operating with the Union Steam Ship Company, will you kindly inform us on what date or voyage the said contract terminated ? We presume that we are to deal directly with the Australian authorities, and not through you, with regard to payments due since that period. As regards the carriage of local mails, Auckland to Sydney and vice versd, we understand that this is being treated as heretofore by the payment of a monthly gratuity. Will you kindly send a copy of your reply to this to Messrs. Burns, Philp, and Co., Sydney. Meanwhile they will have received instructions from us as to the action they are to take upon the receipt of the information from you. Yours, &c, J. D. Spreckels and Bros. Company. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington.

No. 2. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the J. D. Spreckels and Bros. Company, San Francisco. Gentlemen,' — General Post Office, Wellington, 22nd July, 1901. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th ultimo, asking on what date the contract between this Department and the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand for the San Francisco mail-service terminated, and, in reply, to inform you that that service terminated at Sydney on the 28th October, 1900, with the arrival of the " Moana," and on the 26th November at San Francisco with the arrival of the " Mariposa," and the present service commenced with the departure of the " Alameda " from Sydney on the 2nd December last. With respect to payment for New South Wales, you should deal direct with the New South Wales Postal Department, as from the commencement of the service. The other Australian States have not been informed directly of the taking-over of the service by your firm, but they will now be advised to make payments to this Department up to the end of last month, and that hereafter you will make your own arrangements for collecting the amounts due. All mail-moneys received by this Department from the Australian States will be paid over to you in due course. The usual arrangement for conveyance of local mails between Auckland and Sydney will be altered, and the ordinary gratuity will be paid to your Auckland agents. Vouchers for payment of the undermentioned sums have this day been forwarded to Messrs Henderson and Macfarlane, the earlier payments having been made to the Union Steam Ship Company, as arranged by you: By the E.M.S. "Sonoma," 2nd March, £1,173 7s. 5d.; by the E.M.S. "Ventura," 24th March, £1,139 Bs. Id.; by the E.M.S. " Sierra," 13th April, £927 10s, 5d.; by the E.M.S. "Sonoma," 13th May, £1,245 16s. 9d. ; by the E.M.S. "Ventura," 25th May, £639 ss. lid. A copy of this letter has been forwarded to Messrs. Burns, Philp, and Co. at Sydney, as requested. I have, &c, W. Gray, Secretary. Messrs. the J. D. Spreckels and Bros. Company (Limited), San Francisco.

No. 3. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to Messrs. Burns, Philp, and Co., Sydney. Gentlemen,— General Post Office, Wellington, 22nd July, 1901. At the request of the J. D. Spreckels and Bros. Company, I beg to forward herewith copy of a letter from this office to-day to that firm with regard to payments on account of the San Francisco mail-service. I have, &c, Messrs. Burns, Philp, and Co., Sydney. W. GRAY,|Secretary.