7

F.—6a.

No. 26. The Acting-Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company, Dunedin. (Telegram.) Wellington, 24th April, 1906. Kindly arrange with your agent at Vancouver to grant passages to Lindsay, Mail Agent, and his assistant; also to provide suitable sorting accommodation if possible; also to put Mail Agent in funds, if required, up to, say, £100; also to grant passage for second assistant, who will be picked up at Honolulu. Please send me voucher for amount of passages and advances, also cost of cables.

No. 27. The General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company, Dunedin, to the Acting-Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. (Telegram.) Dunedin, 24th April, 1906. Have cabled Vancouver grant passages Mail Agents, also to advance necessary funds, and arrange sorting accommodation.

No. 28. The Acting-Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Secretary, Postmaster-General's Department, Melbourne. (Telegram.) Wellington, 24th April, 1906. Our Mail Agent advises " Sonoma " remains three weeks San Francisco. He is taking mails north, and will connect with " Moana," leaving Vancouver twenty-seventh. Presume your mails also coming that way.

No. 29. The Acting-Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to New Zealand Mail Agent, Vancouver (Telegram.) Wellington, 24th April, 1906. All thankful hear your safety. Bring mails by " Moana." Requesting Union Company cable their agents grant passages and provide sorting accommodation. Will endeavour arrange connection Fiji. Pick up Willett at Honolulu as second assistant. Is Smith safe?

No. 30. The New Zealand Mail Agent, Vancouver, 8.C., to the Acting-Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. (Telegiam.) Vancouver, 8.C., 24th April, 1906. Arrangements " Moana " satisfactory. Believe Smith safe.

No. 31. Messrs. Henderson anb Macfarlane, Auckland, to the Acting-Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Oceanic Steamship Company, American and Australian Line, Sir,-— Auckland, 24th April, 1906. We have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your telegrams of the 23rd and 24th instant, relating to the interruption of the San Francisco service sailings. We have cabled Messrs. J. D. Spreckels and Brothers Company, asking for definite information of the next sailing from their port, and will pass on the news immediately we are in receipt. We are glad to hear that the " Sonoma " Mail Agents are safe, also that you are in receipt of a cable from Mr. Lindsay stating that it is proposed to drop one trip from San Francisco only. That is our own feeling in the matter, and we should say that the words "temporarily suspended" used by our San Francisco principals were not meant to convey that the suspension would cover any great length of time. The word " interrupted " would, no doubt, have been more suitable, but we merely passed on the message to you as it reached us. We have, &c, Henderson and Macfarlane. The Acting-Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington.