d.— m. i.

he will find Mr. Larkworthy quite prepared to forward the interests of the Government to the best of his ability. I have, &o, D. L. Murdoch, The Hon. the Minister for Public Works, Wellington. Managing Director.

No. 30. Memorandum for the Agent-General, London. (No. 59, 1872.) Public Works Office, Wellington, sth June, 1872. I have to acknowledge the receipt by the Suez and Californian Mails, on the 20th and 27th instant respectively, of your letters relating to this department, as per schedule enclosed. Such of these letters as require notice will form Ihe subject of separate memoranda; but the Government avail themselves of this 'opportunity to express the pleasure with which they have received the details of the arrangements you have completed for the furtherance of emigration, and generally for the efficient performance of those duties which have devolved upon you in connection with the public works now in progress. The Government recognize the many difficulties you have had to contend with in organizing your plans, and the anxious attention you have given to render the execution of those plans advantageous to the Colony. W. Reeves.

No. 31. Memorandum for the Agent-General, London. (No. 60, 1872.) Public Works Office, Wellington, sth June, 1872. Referring to your letter of the 22nd March, No. 188, in which you point out the difficulties preventing the employment of Mr. Eriberg as an Immigration Agent in Scandinavia, the Government express their regret that those difficulties exist, and will not in future send home agents to carry on immigration from foreign countries. W. Reeves. P.S.—The appointment of Mr. Thyrstrupp, as Agent for Germany, has been cancelled.

No. 32. Memorandum for the Agent-General, London. (No. 65, 1872.) Public Works Office, Wellington, sth June, 1872. Your letter of Bth February, No. 148, and 7th March, Nos. 170 and 174, covering copies of the documents explanatory of your shipping and immigration arrangements, have been read with much interest; but as you state in the last-mentioned letter that they are to some extent only tentative, and that you may probably revise them so as to render emigration in a great measure self-supporting, the Government express the hope that, however desirable this object may be, you will not make any change in the direction of requiring an increased payment towards the cost of passage without first communicating with the Colony. The Government are glad to notice the reduction you have effected in the price per adult to be paid the Contractors for passage, and that the conditions of the new contract are so much more full and satisfactory than those hitherto in existence. There are, however, some clauses of the contract entered into with Messrs. Shaw, Saville, and Co., in which experience suggests that I should point out improvements. Clause 4. —The hospital requirements of the Passenger Act are suitable in nearly all cases where the sickness is merely that which is ordinarily incidental to a few hundred people; but in the event of contagious diseases breaking out, they are "decidedly inadequate. When the hospitals are between decks, it is difficult to procure that amount of ventilation and isolation which is requisite, and, as a rule, they should always be fixed, whenever practicable, on the main deck. Where this is not practicable, provision must be made to secure isolation, should occasion for it arise. Instead of two hospitals, as is usually the case, it is desired that there may be three —one for men, one for married women, and one for single women. Although it is not customary to have a separate hospital for single women, yet it must be obvious that it is desirable to do so ; and I would say generally, that in the space devoted to hospitals and dispensary, it will be wise to err on the side of liberality, rather than confine yourself to the bare requirements of the Act. Clause 6.—As circumstances will, without doubt, sometimes prevent ships being ready on the day appointed to receive the emigrants, it will be necessary to provide accommodation for them; but as it is very undesirable, both on physical and moral grounds, that some 300 emigrants, many of whom will be single women from the country, should be left without check in the immediate neighbourhood of any of the Docks, the Government are of opinion that it would be better in all cases to make Plymouth the port of embarkation. In the memorandum No. 64, relating to the ship " England," I have given you instructions to ' endeavour to make arrangements with the Imperial Commissioners for the use of their depot at that port, and have pointed out the steps necessary to prevent infected persons being taken on board; but if neither of these arrangements can be made, then the Government direct you to hire suitable premises for the reception, of the emigrants arriving in London, and place them under proper supervision, so as to reduce the chances of contagion and irregularity to a minimum. 11

G. No. 3, p. 43.

41

AGENT-GENERAL, LONDON.