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No. 38. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 876.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 26th December, 1873. I have the honor to report the further steps I have taken to promote emigration from Germany and other countries on the Continent. You are aware that during the last few years a very considerable stream of emigration from Germany has been flowing to Queensland. The agent of the Queensland Government, Mr. Kirchner, informs me that during the last four years he has despatched from Hamburg 4,000 adults, who have turned out very valuable settlers, though the climate is scarcely suited to them. Early in the present year the AgentGeneral entered into a fresh contract with Messrs. L. Knorr and Co. for 3,000, which the Government instructed him to determine provided the contractors would consent to cancel it. Mr. Kirchner also some time since intimated his intention to resign his appointment, and expressed his readiness to enter into the service of the New Zealand Government. You have already been informed that Messrs. L. Knorr and Co. intimated to me that they were unable to carry out their agreement with me, owing to the opposition of the Imperial Government of Germany, and that Mr. Sloman, who had guaranteed its execution, also declined to carry it out on the same plea. If you will look at the conditions of my memorandum of agreement, you will, I think, come to the conclusion that I could not have taken legal proceedings to enforce it with any prospect of success. Mr. August Behrens, with whom I entered (as already reported) into a new agreement, does not hold an emigration license, and it has every day become more apparent that he would not be able to procure any considerable number of emigrants. Under these circumstances, I determined to secure the services of Mr. Kirchner, who holds a license, is a German by birth, and was for many years resident in New South Wales and Queensland. After some correspondence I met him by appointment, on the 7th instant, at Geneva, and found him quite ready to enter into an agreement to procure, during the next two years, a number of emigrants, equal to 4,000 statute adults, for an agency fee of £1 per adult, — this agency fee to cover salaries or fees of sub-agents, travelling allowances, the cost of printing and advertising, &c.; but he stipulated that he should be allowed to charter Mr. Sloman's ships in case he should be unable to engage the requisite tonnage elsewhere. He had already ascertained that Mr. Sloman would place most of his vessels, hitherto employed in emigration to Queensland, at his disposal. Being naturally unwilling to enter into further relations with Mr. Sloman, I desired him to inform Mr. Sloman that I could only agree to this condition on his undertaking to complete Messrs. L. Knorr and Co.'s contract. To this communication I have within the last few days received a reply from Mr. Sloman, expressing his readiness to do so, stating that the non-require-ment of promissory notes from the emigrants had removed one of the objections of the German Government, and the chief difficulties in the way of fulfilling Messrs. Knorr's contract. Finding that the Queensland Government is still anxious to be released from their recent contract, I have informed Mr. Daintree that I am prepared to take it over if he and Mr. Sloman can come to terms; and in the event of their doing so, I have agreed to meet him and Mr. Kirchner, in the course of a few days, to settle the details of the proposed arrangement, at Bournemouth, where Mr. Daintree is at present residing on account of his health. Should I succeed in completing all these arrangements, the total number of emigrants contracted for will be, in round numbers, some 7,000 adults, to be sent out during the next two years, viz., 1,500 under my agreement with Messrs. L. Knorr and Co., 1,500 under the Queensland contract, and 4,000 under my arrangement with Mr. Kirchner. During my few days' stay at Geneva, I made arrangements for the appointment of several local agents in Piedmont and SAvitzerland, all to be under Mr. Kirchner. Mr. Kirchner has already in his employment a large staff of sub-agents in Germany, but he proposes largely to increase the staff in the Southern States, where there does not exist the same opposition to emigration as in the States constituting the new German Empire. I trust I may be able to report by the February, if not by the January, mail, that these negotiations have been brought to a successful issue. I have, &c., I. E. Featherston, The Hon. Julius Vogel, C.M.G., Wellington, N.Z. Agent-General.

No. 39. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 880.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 26th December, 1873. Referring again to the Hon. Mr. O'Rorke's Memorandum of sth July (No. 144,1873), authorizing me to provide passages to and from the Colony to the representatives of Agricultural