A.—2

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No. 11---(New Zealand—No. 107.) My Lord, — Downing Street, 21st November, 1906. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch (No. 74) of 21st September, transmitting a copy of a minute from your Premier expressing the appreciation of the New Zealand Government of the services rendered by Colonel (local Major-General) J. M. Babington, C.M.G., as Commandant of the Defence Forces of the colony. 2. I have to enclose, for the information of your Ministers, a copy of a letter from the War Office stating that the Army Council have perused the report with satisfaction, and have caused it to be duly recorded. I have, &c., ELGIN. Governor the Right Hon. Lord Plunket, K.C.M.G., X.C.V.0., &c.

Enclosure. Sir,— . War Office, London, S.W., 13th November, 1906. I am commanded by the Army Council to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th instant, witli enclosure from the Governor of New Zealand, forwarding a copy of a minute from his Premier, expressing appreciation of the services rendered by Colonel (local Major-General) J. M. Babington as Commandant of the Defence Forces of the colony. In reply, I am to acquaint you that the Council have perused this report with satisfaction, and have caused the same to be duly recorded. I have, 4 0., The linler-Secretary of State, Colonial Office, S.W. E. W. D. Ward. No. 12. (Circular.) Sir,— Downing Street, 23rd November, 1906. I have the honour to transmit to you," for the information of your Government, a summary prepared by the General Post Office, London, of the principal results of the deliberations of the Congress of the Universal Postal I Dion held at Rome in April last. It will be seen that, while the initial postage rate for letters remains 25 centimes, or the rate for each successive unit or fraction thereof is to be 15 centimes, or and that the unit of weight itself has been raised from 15 to 20 grammes, 1 oz. being regarded as the avoirdupois equivalent of 20 grammes. His Majesty's Government are prepared to raise the unit of weight for outgoing letters from -J oz. to 1 oz. on the Ist October, 1907, when the new Postal Union Convention and the changes introduced by it are to come into operation; and I shall be glad to learn that your Government are prepared to adopt the increased unit of weight as from that date. This increase of weight has an important bearing on postal relations within the British Empire, and I share with the Postmaster-General the hope that under the Imperial penny-postage scheme your Government will agree to the penny rate of postage being applied to all letters not exceeding 1 oz. in weight posted to or from places within the Empire. I have agreed to the adoption of this increased minimum weight both for foreign and Imperial letter postage on behalf of the following colonies : Asbanti, Ceylon, Falkland Islands, The Gambia, Gibraltar, Gold Coast, HongKong, Labuan, Leeward Islands, Fiji, Malta, St. Helena, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Southern Nigeria, Straits Settlements, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks Islands, Windward Islands;, and on behalf of the following protectorates: British Central Africa, East Africa Protectorate, Gambia Protectorate, Northern Nigeria, Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone Protectorate, Somaliland, Southern Nigeria Protectorate, Uganda. I have also agreed on behalf of the Federated Malay States and Cyprus.

No. 12. (Circular.) Sir, — Downing Street, 23rd November, 1906. I have the honour to transmit to you," for the information of your Government, a summary prepared by the General Post Office, London, of the principal results of the deliberations of the Congress of the Universal Postal Union held at Rome in April last. It will be seen that, while the initial postage rate for letters remains 25 centimes, or the rate for each successive unit or fraction thereof is to be 15 centimes, or i.'.d.. and that the unit of weight itself has been raised from 15 to 20 grammes, 1 oz. being regarded as the avoirdupois equivalent of 20 grammes. His Majesty's Government are prepared to raise the unit of weight for outgoing letters from I oz. to 1 oz. on the Ist October, 1907, when the new Postal Union Convention and the changes introduced by it are to come into operation; and I shall be glad to learn that your Government are prepared to adopt the increased unit of weight as from that date. This increase of weight has an important bearing on postal relations within the British Empire, and I share with the Postmaster-General the hope that under the Imperial penny-postage scheme your Government will agree to the penny rate of postage being applied to all letters not exceeding 1 oz. in weight posted to or from places within the Empire. I have agreed to the adoption of this increased minimum weight both for foreign and Imperial letter postage on behalf of the following colonies : Ashanti, Ceylon, Falkland Islands, The Gambia, Gibraltar, Gold Coast, HongKong, Labuan, Leeward Islands, Fiji, Malta, St. Helena, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Southern Nigeria, Straits Settlements, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks Islands, Windward Islands;, and on behalf of the following protectorates: British Central Africa, East Africa Protectorate, Gambia Protectorate, Northern Nigeria, Northern Territories of the Gold Coast, Sierra Leone Protectorate, Somaliland, Southern Nigeria Protectorate, Uganda. I have also agreed on behalf of the Federated Malay States and Cyprus.

A.-1, 1907, No. 13.