D.—No. 1

CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE

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note by the Contractors ; and also one other joint and several promissory note of the Contractors for one other fourth part of the amount so paid to the Contractors as aforesaid, payable at , to Isaac Earl Eeatherston, Agent-General for New Zealand, or his order, at five years after the date of such payment to the Contractors as aforesaid, together with interest on the said fourth part of the said sum at the rate of £6 per centum per annum from the date of such payment to the Contractor.-; as aforesaid, until payment of the said promissory note by the Contractors. 6. That the Contractors consent and agree that all moneys from time to time due and payable from them under or in respect of the said promissory notes, may be set off against any moneys for the time being due to the Contractors by Her Majesty the Queen, or the Governor of New Zealand, or the Government of New Zealand, under or in respect of any contract entered into, in the name of the Queen or the Governor of New Zealand, by the authority of tho local Government of New Zealand. 7. That the Contractors will convey the said immigrants to and land them at such ports in NewZealand as the Agent-General shall approve of; that is to say, the Agent-General shall have power to fix how many of such immigrants shall from time to time be conveyed to each of the several ports of Auckland, Wellington, Marlborough, Otago, and ; and the Contractors will conform to the decision of the Agent-General in the matter. 8. The Contractors will, so far as they are able, promote the settlement of the said immigrants in New Zealand, and to that end will purchase from the Crown such of the w raste lands of the Crown in New Zealand as may be agreed between the Contractors and the Minister for Public Works in New Zealand for the time being, not exceeding acres for every of such immigrants, and will, so far as they are able, provide for the settlement of such immigrants on. the lands so purchased.

No. 9. Memorandum for the Agent-General, London. (No. 58, 1871.) Public Works Office, Wellington, 12th December, 1871. With reference to my predecessor's memorandum No. 54, in which you were informed that further consideration would be given to the practicability of uniform immigration regulations for the whole Colony, or to the modification of those which had already been sent home to you, I have now the honor to inform you — 1. That, as regards assisted immigration, it has been decided, in the absence of information as to what the prospects are of readily obtaining the labour required, not to fetter you with conditions which might possibly have the effect of nullifying the arrangements you have adopted under the wide discretion conveyed in the memorandum above nientioned. The views of the Government having been already fully detailed, I need only now inform you that the regulations issued by His Excellency, on the recommendation of the Superintendents of the several Provinces, have been revoked, and the Government await information from you before any new regulations in reference to assisted immigration are issued in their stead. 2. With regard to nominated immigration, the Government have decided to substitute one uniform system of regulations for those now in force in the several Provinces, viz., that adults shall pay £5 each on application, children half price, and single women free. I have, &c, J. D. Ormond.

No. 10. Memorandum for the Agent-General, London. (No. 59, 1871.) Public Works Office, Wellington, 21st December, 1871. I have to call your special attention to the importance of forwarding as early as possible the iron work ordered in various memoranda to be shipped to the Colony. Tou are aware that this iron work is required for works either now in progress or to be commenced immediately, and delay in its arrival will not only cause much serious inconvenience, but in many cases add materially to the cost of construction. I enclose a list of the orders that have been sent for execution, and I wish to impress on you the necessity of the material being shipped so as to arrive in the Colony not later than the dates respectively mentioned therein. The vessels now to be employed in the immigration service will probably furnish sufficient opportunity to enable you to comply with this instruction ; but should they not do so, you will be good enough to take such other steps as may be requisite for that purpose. If absolutely necessary, you can ship plant to some other port in the Colony than the one for which the plant is ordered. W. Gisboene. p.S.—Since the above was written, I have received a letter from the Hon. the Resident Minister for the Middle Island on this subject, an extract from which I enclose. W. G.