D.—No. 1

30

CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE

No. 18. Memorandum for the Agent-General, London. (No. 10, 1872.) Public Works Office, Wellington, New Zealand, 20th January, 1872. Adverting to that part of my memorandum No. 54, of the 25th November last, relating to the advantages which would accrue to the commercial interests of the Colony if you were able to make such arrangements, in regard to immigration, as would prevent any single firm from obtaining a monopoly of the shipping trade, I now forward to you extracts from a correspondence between the Provincial Government of Canterbury and Mr. Ottywell on this subject. You will probably have already seen that correspondence, but in case you have not, I enclose these extracts for your information, at the instance of the Resident Minister for the Middle Island. The great advantage which it has hitherto been, to put on board only such a number of emigrants as the circumstances of the limited immigration to Canterbury enabled the Agent to collect at any given date, will not, under the entirely altered circumstances, continue in force. Still, I can only repeat that the Government " are convinced that, by leaving you the fullest discretion, you will be able to make arrangements in every way more beneficial than would be the case were they to hamper you with directions and conditions wliich you might find incompatible with the circumstances within which you have to act." W. Gisborne.

Enclosure in No. 18. Extract from a Letter of the Canterbury Emigration Agent to His Honor the Superintendent of Canterbury, dated 24th February, 1870. " By last mail I forwarded to your Honor a copy of the emigration contract for the ensuing season ; also copy of the notice inviting tenders for the service. The latter was very widely advertised, and the following, all well-known city firms, sent for copies of the agreement and particulars of the proposed service, namely : —Messrs. Lachlau and Co., ship-brokers, Cornhill; F. Powell and Co., provision merchants, Mincing Lane ; Finnis and Fisher, provision merchants, Great Tower Street, Baltic Wharf; F. M. Mackay and Co. (Black Ball Line), Leadenhall Street; Stringer, Pembroke, and Co., owners of the line of ships from the Clyde to Dunedin, Austin Friars; Jno. Morrison and Co., ship-owners, Fenchurch Street; Anderson, Anderson, and Co., ship-owners (Orient Australian Line), Billiter Street; J. and W. Smith, ship-owners, Crosby Square; Tyser and Co., ship-owners, Crosby Square; Jno. Prowse and Co., Bishopsgate Street; Shaw, Saville, and Co. " Several of the above firms, after examining the conditions of the contract, stated that, unless the Government were prepared to guarantee full complements of emigrants, ordinary ship-owners would be unable to compete on equal terms with the shipping firm at present conducting the whole of the New Zealand trade from London, and would not be likely to tender for the service. The Government will understand that by ' a full complement' is signified the statuteable number of emigrants which a ship can carry on her ordinary passenger deck. This would, in the ships usually employed in the Canterbury trade, be from 300 to 400 statute adults. There is, no doubt, great force in this objection. A firm of ship-owners newly engaging in the New Zealand trade could not reckon upon obtaining any considerable quantity of cargo, and it is probable they would not be allowed to get any except at very low and unremunerative rates. They would, therefore, require a guarantee of a full complement of passengers for each ship, to protect them from positive loss in carrying out the contract. " It will not be necessary to explain to your Honor why, under our present instructions, we could not safely guarantee 300 or 400 emigrants by each vessel, nor, if no difficulties of this nature existed, is it likely that the Provincial Council would be prepared to pay, or the Government to receive and provide for, so large a number of emigrants. " The day appointed for receiving tenders was the 22nd instant, and, notwithstanding the difficulties of which we were aware, and to which I have referred, we were not prepared to find that there was literally no competition for the service, for, with the exception of one from Messrs. Shaw and Saville, no tenders of any kind were sent in. " Messrs. Shaw and Saville offered (as your Honor will observe from the copies of their letters enclosed herewith) —■ " First, to perform the service by the following vessels, namely, 'Merope,' ' Hydaspes,' 'Zealandia,' and ' Crusader,' at the rate of £14 10s. per adult; or, " Secondly, to put a smaller vessel at £13 10s. per adult. " As we were informed that, if the latter offer were accepted, the vessels engaged would be chartered ships of an inferior class, we thought it right to accept the first-named offer, and I have accordingly communicated to Messrs. Shaw and Saville our decision to that effect. " Under all the circumstances, considering that the rate of £14 10s. is 10s. per adult less than we are at present paying, and that we secure full-size first-class vessels for the whole of the ensuing season, the Government will, I trust, consider the result, on the whole, satisfactorjr."

Sub-Enclosure 1 to Enclosure in No. 18. Sir,— 34, Leadenhall Street, E.C., 22nd February, 1870. We hereby tender for the conveyance of emigrants to Canterbury, New Zealand, by the undermentioned traders, at the rate of £14 10s. per adult for each vessel: —■ " Merope," Al, 16 years, 1,050 tons register, a new ship, to be commanded by Captain White, late of the " Blue Jacket." " Hydaspes," Al., 18 years, 2,096 tons register, Captain Babot. " Zealandia," AAL, 20 years, 1,115 tons register, Captain Rose. " Crusader," AAL, 20 years, 1,058 tons register, Captain Kerr.