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Negotiations.

No. 17. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Premier. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 29th March, 1877. In continuation of my previous letters on the subject of the telegraph cable, I have the honor to say that, before proceeding to ascertain from the India Office information as to the conditions the Government of India impose on the two Companies who transmit through India Australian messages, I thought it desirable to make myself acquainted with the way in which the present tariff is divided between the various Companies and Governments. 2. As I found some difficulty in obtaining the information single-handed, I moved the other Agents-General, and they willingly joined me in the letter, copy of which, with the rest of the correspondence, I enclose. The reply received from Colonel Glover contains interesting information. Since its receipt I have been prevented by ill-health from visiting the India Office, but I propose doing so in a few days. I have, &c, The Hon. the Premier, Wellington. Julius Vogel, Agent-General.

Enclosure 1 in No. 17. Sir J. Vogel to Colonel Glover. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir— Ist March, 1877. I have the honor to enclose you a letter signed by the Agents-General for the Colonies of Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, the Acting Agent-General for South Australia, and myself, requesting certain information from you in continuation of that contained in your letter of the 15th May, 1874, to Mr. Boothby, Under Secretary of the South Australian Government. I have, &c, Colonel Glover, 66, Old Broad Street, E.C. Julius Vogel, Agent-General.

Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure 1 in No. 17. Agents-General to Colonel Glover. Sir,— 27th February, 1877. A statement has lately appeared in the papers to the effect that the Eastern Extension Company is receiving a very large rate for the transmission of Australian messages, and that a great profit accrues to the Company from the alteration in the tariff made about fifteen months since. In a letter to Mr. Boothby, the Under Secretary, South Australia, bearing date 15th May, 1874, very interesting information was given by your Company, showing in a tabular form the proportions in which the then tariff" charges to various places were divided. This letter was largely circulated. We shall be glad if you will furnish us with like information concerning the present tariff. We make no excuse for seeking the information. Not only does it seem natural you should give the same information respecting the present as the former tariff, but the negotiations which have been opened by your Company with our Governments for a subsidy appear to us to be only consistent with a willingness on your part to afford full information on any point likely to affect those negotiations. We should also be glad to know, if you can furnish the information without much trouble, what effect on the average length of the messages the alteration to a word charge has had. We are, &c, Archd. Michie. William Forster. A. MacAlister. Julius Vogel. Colonel Glover, Managing Director, Saml. Deering. Eastern Extension Australasia and China Telegraph Company.

Enclosure 2 in No. 17. Colonel Glover to Sir Julius Vogel. The Eastern Extension Australia and China Telegraph Company (Limited), Sir,— 66, Old Broad Street, London, E.C., 9th March, 1877. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a letter dated February 27th, signed by yourself as also by the Agents-General of the several other Australasian Colonies, and in reply have the pleasure to enclose the information requested. The information formerly given to Mr. Boothby, to which you allude, had reference to the then existing twenty-word rate ; I have, therefore, for purpose of comparison, divided it into its proportion per word, and included it in the annexed table, which also exhibits the information you require. With regard to the statement to which you allude as having appeared in the papers, that " a great profit accrues to the Company from the alteration of tariff made about fifteen months since," I would beg to refer you to the table, which shows that the addition received by this Company is only 2d. per word. Applying which to the traffic, as stated by the Postmaster-General of South Australia in the papers printed for submission to the Parliament of that colony, dated 20th August last, which shows a total of 235,000 words as the number passing over the cable, and which also agrees very closely with my own statistics, it will be seen that the increase of income only amounts to £1,950 per annum on a revenue of £45,000.

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