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Enclosure. At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 20th day of March, 1905. Present, the King's Most Excellent Majesty, Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord President, Lord Suffield, Sir William Walrond. Whekeas by an Act passed in the session held in the fifteenth and sixteenth years of Her late Majesty's reign, entitled " An Act to grant a Representative Constitution to the Colony of New Zealand," it is, amongst other things, declared that no Bill which shall be reserved for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure thereon shall have any force or authority within the Colony of New Zealand until the Governor of the said colony shall signify, either by speech or message to the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the said colony, or by Proclamation, that such Bill has been laid before His Majesty in Council, and that His Majesty has been pleased to assent to the same : And whereas a certain Bill passed by the Legislative Council and House of Representatives of the said colony, entitled "An Act to consolidate and amend the Acts relating to Shipping and Seamen," was presented to the Governor of the said colony for His Majesty's assent: And whereas the said Bill was reserved by the said Governor for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure thereon : And whereas the said Bill so reserved as aforesaid has been laid before His Majesty in Council, and it is expedient that the said Bill should be assented to by His Majesty : Now, therefore, His Majesty, in pursuance of the said Act, and in exercise of the power thereby reserved to His Majesty as aforesaid, doth by this present Order, by and with the advice of His Majesty's Privy Council, declare His assent to the said Bill. A. W. Fitzroy.

(No. 22.) My Lord, — Downing Street, 15th March, 1905. With reference to my despatch No. 21 of the Bth instant, I have the honour to transmit to you, to be laid before your Ministers, copy of a note from the French Ambassador at this Court, on the subject of the New. Zealand reserved Bill shortly entitled " The Shipping and Seamen Act, 1903." 2. The desire of the colonial Government that the Anglo-French Declaration of the 23rd October, 1889, relative to the disposal of the proceeds of wrecks, should be made applicable to New Zealand, was intimated in Lord Onslow's despatch No. 26 of the 24th May, 1890. 3. If and when a Conference meets to consider the general subject of merchant shipping legislation the questions raised by the French Government will naturally come up for discussion then. Meanwhile, however, I shall be glad to receive any observations which your Ministers may wish to offer on M. Cambon's note. I have, &c, ALFBBD LYTTBLTON. Governor the Bight Hon. Lord Plunket, K.C.V.0., &c.

[Translation.] My Lord, — London, 29th December, 1904. The French Consul at Auckland has called the attention of the Government of the Republic to the provisions of a law concerning navigation passed last year by the Parliament of New Zealand, intituled " An Act to consolidate and amend the Acts relating to Shipping and Seamen," and which would be now submitted for the Royal assent. It seems in effect, and particularly in Part IX. of the Act in question, that the International Conventions which bear on these questions are not taken into account. However, the provisions of this new law should not be any hindrance to the application of the stipulations inserted in the International Conventions, and particularly in the declaration signed between France and England on the 23rd October, 1889, on the subject of salvage of ships wrecked on the coasts of both States, and which has been made applicable to New Zealand by a notification made by His Majesty's Ambassador at Paris on the Bth July, 1890. This declaration provides specifically that consuls are to have charge of all operations relative to the salvages of the ships of their nationality. But nowhere in Part IX. of the Shipping Act of 1903 is mention made of the rights of consuls. The same remark would also apply to the provisions contained in sections 21, 185, 213, 229 to 245, 246, 253, &c.; lastly, section 261 only recognises consuls as representing the owner or agents in that which concerns the keeping of articles saved from the cargo. My Government requests me to bring these matters under your Lordship's notice, to call attention to the consequences which could result from the various clauses of the above-mentioned Act, on account of the differences which they present with regard to the agreements which exist between our two countries, and which are of a nature to necessitate representations similar to those made by this Embassy with regard to the Australian Shipping Bill. I have, &c, His Lordship the Marquis of Lansdowne. Geoffray,

Authority : John Maokay, Government Printer. Wellington.—l9os.

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