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Francisco within six hundred and ninety-five hours, as the case may be, one thousand five hundred and eighty-six pounds ten shillings and eightpence. If conveyed from San Francisco to Auckland within five hundred and forty-six hours, and from San Francisco to Port Chalmers within six hundred and seventy-one hours, or from Port Chalmers to San Francisco within six hundred and seventy-one hours, as the case may be, one thousand seven hundred and thirty pounds fifteen shillings and fourpence. (1.5.) Saul Samuel, as Postmaster-General of New South Wales. (1.5.) Julius Vogel, as Postmaster-General of New Zealand, (by T. Eussell his Attorney). (1.5.) H. H. Hall, (1.5.) Paul S. Foebes. Signed, sealed, and delivered by the above-named Hon. Saul Samuel, Hayden Hezekiah Hall, and Paul Siemen Forbes, in the presence of Jno. Mackeell, Solicitor, 21, Cannon Street, London. John Widdecombe, 92, Gresham House, London. Signed, sealed, and delivered by the above-named Hon. Julius Vogel, by Thomas Eussell, his Attorney, in the presence of Jno. Mackeell.

No. 9. BOND. Know all men by these presents that we, Hayden Hezekiah Hall, of the city of Sydney, in the Colony of New South "Wales, Agent there for the United States of America; Paul Siemen Forbes, of No. 8, Bishopsgate Street Within, in the City of London, shipowner; Edwaed Munstee de BusscHE, of Ry de, in the Isle of "Wight, in the county of Southampton, shipowner; and Edwaed Cunningham, of No. 8, Bishopsgate Street "Within, aforesaid, merchant and shipowner; are jointly and severally held and firmly bound to the Hon. Saul Samuel, the Postmaster-General of the said Colony of New South Wales, as such Postmaster-General, and acting for and on behalf of the Government of such colony, and to the Hon. Julius Vogel, the Postmaster-General of the Colony of New Zealand, as such Postmaster-General, and acting for and on behalf of the Government of such colony, in the sum of £25,000 of lawful money of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to be paid to the said Saul Samuel and Julius Yogel, and their successors in their respective offices of PostmasterGeneral of the said Colony of New South Wales and Postmaster-General of the said Colony of New Zealand, for which payment to be well and truly made, we and each of us bind ourselves and himself, our and his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, and every of them, firmly by these presents. Sealed with our seals. Dated this 27th day of November, 1873. Wheeeas by certain Articles of Agreement made and entered into on the 27th day of November, 1873, between the said Saul Samuel, as Postmaster-General of and acting for and on behalf of the Government of the said Colony of New South Wales, of the first part; the said Julius Vogel, as PostmasterGeneral of and acting for and on behalf of the Government of the said Colony of New Zealand, of the second part; and the above-bounden Hayden Hezekiah Hall and Paul Siemen Forbes, who in the said Articles of Agreement are designated " the Contractors," of the third part: after reciting that, by Articles of Agreement bearing even date therewith, and made between the parties to the said Articles of Agreement now in recital, the Contractors had entered into a Contract with the PostmastersGeneral for the conveyance of mails from the 27th day of November, 1874, for a period of six years to be computed from that day, between San Francisco and Sydney, and New Zealand, in the said firstmentioned Articles of Agreement now in recital referred to as " the permanent Contract," and that the parties to the first-mentioned Articles of Agreement now in recital were desirous of making provision for the conveyance of mails over the said route, until the permanent Contract should come into operation: it is witnessed that they, the Contractors, did, for themselves, their heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns, and each of them did, for himself, his heirs, executors, administrators, and assigns (so far as the covenants and agreements thereinafter contained were to be observed and performed by the Contractors), covenant with the Postmaster-General of the Colony of New South Wales and his successors, and with the Postmaster-General of the Colony of New Zealand and his successors, and also as a separate covenant with each of the Postmasters-General and his successors, amongst other things (Article 2), that the Contractors should, on and from the 20th day of December, 1873, and until the permanent Contract should come into operation, convey all Her Majesty's mails which, and all other mails, as in the Contract now in recital defined, which the Postmasters-General, or either of them, should at any time or from time to time require the Contractors to convey between Sydney and San Francisco and between San Francisco and Sydney, and between New Zealand and San Francisco and between San Francisco and New Zealand, and from and to all and every or any of those ports, and to and from the ports of Honolulu in the Sandwich Islands and Kandavau in the Fiji Islands, and' according to the routes, within the respective times, and in manner thereinafter provided; and, so long as the whole or any part of the services thereby agreed to be performed ought to be performed in pursuance of that Contract, should and would