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Reserve Fund, and Connection with Honolulu. The proposal of the Chairman of the Cable Board, conveyed in your letter of the 15th January last, to fix the annual amount payable to reserve at £25,000 has been agreed to, and I shall be obliged if you will be so good as to formally advise the Board. The question of connecting Fanning Island with Honolulu by cable, dealt with in the same letter, is favoured by Cabinet. Authority of Parliament is, however, necessary, and steps will be taken to obtain this next session, so soon as the views of the other Governments and the final decision of the Board are known. In the meantime I am of opinion that steps should be taken to determine more decisively than has been done up to the present the effect the connection may have on the traffic and revenue of the Pacific cable, and on the cost of working. The third alternative of the Board—that the cable should be the joint property of the American Pacific Cable Company and the Pacific Cable Board —is probably what should be followed; but this would, of course, largely depend upon the constitution of the American company, or its proposals for working the cable and dealing with the traffic. Landing of the Cable at Doubtless Bay. Immediately after his visit to Wellington Mr. Beynolds proceeded to Doubtless Bay. It had been arranged to place the " Tutanekai" at his disposal to enable him to visit Norfolk Island on completion of the landing of the cable at Doubtless Bay ; but, as the services of the vessel were urgently required for other purposes, owing to the " Hinemoa " being laid up for repairs, I regret that the original intention could not be carried out. In the meanwhile Mr. Beynolds found it necessary to return to Melbourne for the reasons already stated, and he had therefore to abandon his intention to visit Norfolk Island for the present. If, however, it should be convenient for him to do so after his business in Australia is completed, the "Tutanekai" will, I hope, be again placed at Mr. Beynolds's disposal. You have already been advised that the shore end of the Norfolk Island-New Zealand section of the cable was landed at Doubtless Bay on the 24th ultimo, and the final splice made on the 26th. The Postmaster-General, Mr. Beynolds, the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, the Superintendent of Electric Lines, one of the Auckland members of the House of Bepresentatives, as well as representatives of the Press, were present at Doubtless Bay on the landing of the cable, and the important event was celebrated on the " Anglia " in a very hearty manner, and with some ceremony. I forward a copy of the New Zealand Herald of the 25th ultimo, containing a report of the proceedings, including the speeches made. The landing and completion of this section of the cable has been the subject of hearty congratulations by the principal Chambers of Commerce and public bodies throughout the colony. That the cable is likely to be opened for through traffic by the end of the year has given marked satisfaction, as well as relief to the public, recognising as they now do that this great scheme is'so near complete realisation. Already they are impatient to have the Australian section opened for traffic. The Fiji section of the cable, I may mention, was completed on the afternoon of the 10th instant, and congratulatory messages were exchanged between Lord Banfurly, the PostmasterGeneral, and the Administrator of the Government of Fiji. I earnestly hope that the FijiFanning Island-Vancouver sections may be as successfully laid as those just finished, and that the cable may be opened for through traffic by the end of the year. I have, &c, J. G. Ward, for the Premier. The Hon. W. P. Beeves, Agent-General for New Zealand, London.

No. 90. The Secretary, Pacific Cable Board, London, to the Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Sir, — Pacific Cable Board, 24, Queen Anne's Gate, London, S.W., 15th April, 1902. I am instructed by the Pacific Cable Board to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Bose's letter of the 4th February, informing them that the contract for the station buildings at Doubtless Bay, amounting to £4,779, had been accepted on the 10th December, 1901, and to inform you that the Board note with satisfaction that the work is being pushed on with all possible speed. I am, &c, The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Hugh Latham, Secretary.

No. 91. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Secretary, Marine Department, Wellington. (Memorandum.) General Post Office, Wellington, 17th April, 1902. Light and Harbour Dues on Pacific Cable Vessels. I have to acknowledge the receipt of your memorandum of the 14th instant [not printed], forwarding copy of letter, dated Bth idem [No. 81], from the Commissioner of Customs to the Electric Telegraph Commissioner, stating that the law does not provide for the remission of dues on the Pacific cable steamers; that in the case of light dues the Act only provides for the exemption of vessels belonging to His Majesty or to the Government of the colony; and that, as regards