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No. 83. The Hon. J. Vogel to the Agent-General. (No. 165.) Sir, — Immigration Office, Wellington, 15th June, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 1198, of 4th April, 1874, having reference to the suggestion in my letter No. 289-73, that you endeavour to arrange with Messrs. Patrick Henderson and Co. that their contract should be taken up by yourself, so that the payments could be properly and directly authorized by you, and thus avoid any possible difficulty with the Commissioners of Audit. I have read your remarks upon the subject with great care, and, upon due consideration, I think it better to leave the question of the adoption or not of Mr. Auld's contract to your own discretion, with the distinct understanding that the accounts are forwarded to the Department in a manner which will satisfy the Commissioners of Audit, and that the necessary information respecting the ships and the emigrants is supplied in detail, as you state it will be in future. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Julius Vogel.

No. 84. The Hon. J. Vogel to the Agent-General. (No. 167.) Sir,- — Immigration Office, "Wellington, 15th June, 1874. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 1202, of 17th April, 1874, in which, referring to my telegram of 22nd October, 1873, you state that there is every prospect of my wishes with regard to the number of emigrants despatched being complied with, provided the necessary tonnage can be obtained, and remarking upon the difficulties connected therewith. 2. I am very glad to observe the facility with which it appears that emigrants can now be obtained, in consequence of the action of Agricultural Unions, and also to receive your assurance that these bodies are working heartily with you. I have in previous communications urgently impressed upon you, that under a system of free passages there is an urgent necessity for stringent caution in selection and approval, as well as, naturally, an undoubted right to exercise the same. 3. I am much gratified to learn that the reports sent home by emigrants to their friends continue so favourable and encouraging as to have a very perceptible influence upon directing a stream of emigrants to the Colony, notwithstanding the opposition of, and the difficulties thrown in the way of emigration, by the employers of labour, who, you state, constantly refuse to sign- the certificates of character for intending emigrants. 4. I do not think it necessary to comment upon the latter part of your letter, which refers to the scarcity of tonnage, and the combination of the three shipping companies to raise the rate of passage-money from £14 10s. to £16, as I have since the date of this letter received your telegram dated 4th May, stating that after chartering five ships on your own account, you had arranged with the three firms at £14 10s. until the end of December. It appears, therefore, that I have been, right in assuming that vessels could be obtained for charter if exertions were made in the proper quarters; and lam very glad that you have succeeded in doing this, and so effectually breaking down the monopoly under which we were suffering, and reducing the passage-money to be paid to.the shipping companies from £16 to £14 10s., thus saving a very large expense to the Government. 5. You inform me that you might probably have chartered the "Great Britain/ and two other steamers of above 4,000 tons register, but that it was in each case a sine qua non that they should be permitted to call at Melbourne. With such a condition, I entirely approve of your withdrawing from the negotiation, in accordance with my instructions conveyed to you in my telegram of 11th October, 1873. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Julius Vogel. By Authority : Ghorgb Didsbtjby, Gorernment Printer, Wellington.—lB74. Price Is. 9<£]