5

D.—3

Enclosure 5 in No. 2. The Agent-General to Mr. H. W. Farnall. Sir,— 25th July, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 10th instant, requesting to be informed whether it is my intention to hand over to you the amount which you allege to be due to you for salary and expenses during the month of June, so as to enable you to close your account with this office. I beg to refer you to my letter of 16th June, in which I stated that the terms of the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke's Memorandum of 14th of April (copy of which I forwarded to you), placed it out of my power to allow you more than 18s. per diem, as originally fixed, from the Ist June. It is quite clear, from the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke's Memorandum, that in agreeing to pay you £700 a year for your services as Emigration Agent, I incurred an expenditure which the Government had never anticipated; and after the warning that " Salaries of £700 per annum will not be passed," I had no alternative but to revert to the original terms from the date of the last payment. Mr. Birch, who was engaged on the same terms as yourself, was paid according to the reduced scale for his services subsequent to the Ist June, and under no circumstances can I consent to pay you any more. As to your complaint that you cannot get your accounts with this department brought to a close, I can only say that no hindrance of any kind either has been or will be offered to you. There are several points, however, which appear to call for explanation before I can certify to your accounts, or entertain your application for the cost of a return passage to New Zealand. In the first place, I shall be glad to receive from you an explanation of an account sent in by Mr. J. "Walker, who is, I am informed, a clerk in your office, for £14 commission on thirtyfour emigrants forwarded to New Zealand between the 25th February and 14th July. If it is true that the claimant is or was, at the time in question, a clerk in your office, I can scarcely believe that you could have been aware of any such claim without at once prohibiting it. The account fortunately has not been passed, and certainly will not be paid, unless some satisfactory evidence is forthcoming. My attention has likewise been called to an account of a similar kind for £16, presented by Mr. Thomas Andrews in November last, certified to by Mr. Morrison in my absence, and paid without my knowledge of the alleged circumstances of the case. I shall feel obliged by your informing me whether, at the time in question, Mr. Andrews was employed in your office, and (if so) whether yon were cognizant of his making a claim on the Government for commission. With regard to your claim for rent and cleaning, poor rates, water rates, gas, and other expenses in connection with your office in Belfast, I beg to remind you that the allowance of £350 per annum paid to you up to the 31st May, must be held to cover all expenses of whatever kind, and that no additional claim can be allowed. I shall be glad, however, to receive from you a statement of such incidental expenses as you may have incurred between the Ist of June, and the date on which your engagement terminated, in order that payment thereof may be authorized. I am quite as anxious as you appear to be to get your accounts with this office closed, and I trust, therefore, that there will be no delay in complying with the above request. I have, &c., I. E. Featherston, H. W. Farnall, Esq., 24, Corporation Street, Belfast. Agent-General.

Enclosure 6 in No. 2. The Agent-General to Mr. H. W. Farnall. Sir,— 30th July, 1873. As your official connection with the Government has come to an end, I have the honor to request that you will hand over to this office all records in your possession, and especially your correspondence with various parties on the subject of the projected special settlement at Auckland. I shall feel obliged by your giving me the names and addresses of the promoters of the scheme, with any other information that you may consider it desirable to offer. I shall be glad to receive from you also a nominal list of all emigrants forwarded to the Colony through your office, since your arrival in this country. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, Henry W. Farnall, Esq., 24, Corporation Street, Belfast. Agent-General.

Enclosure 7 in No. 2. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. Landed Estates Agency, and Fire and Life Assurance Offices, Sir, — Lisbeg, Ballygawley, 25th July, 1873. I beg to acknowledge receipt of your communication, dated 10th instant, which reached me during my absence from home.