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Enclosure 1 in No. 12. The General Manager, New Zealand Shipping Company, Christchurch, to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. The New Zealand Shipping Company (Limited), Christchurch, Sir,— 24th June, 1876. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of, and to thank you for, Mr. Haughton's telegram intimating the instructions you have sent to the Agent-General to guide him in despatching emigrants from the United Kingdom to this colony under the contract we have entered into with the Government. My advices from our London office, dated the 4th May, five days subsequent to the receipt of Dr. Featherston's instructions from you, inter alia, say, "The Agent-General is disposed to send all the Otago emigrants from the Clyde till further advised." In reference to this, I take the liberty of drawing your attention as well to the terms of our tender as to clause 13 of the Articles of Agreement evolving from it, and deferentially to submit that if the Agent-General does as he is or was disposed, the spirit and terms of the contract will be infringed. Clause 3 provides that " all emigrants and cargo shall be sent by this Company's ships," &c. The exception in clause 13 is limited thus : the Queen may contract with the Albion Company for the conveyance, &c, of " emigrants and cargo from any port on the Eiver Clyde to the Province of Otago." It was not intended by either party to the contract that emigrants from England or Ireland for Otago should be drafted off to the Clyde for shipment thence; but it was meant in fact that the Scotch emigration from the Clyde to Otago alone was excepted from our contract. lam well aware that, owing to the unfortunate interruption of the cable, the Agent-General has probably not received your detailed instructions until within the last day or two ; but I presume thus early to ask you to give the necessary instructions by the outgoing mail to prevent any misunderstanding or occurrence under this contract of what occurred under the last, when emigrants were actually sent from Ireland to the ship " Jessie Osborne " at the Clyde, when our ship " Conflict," ordered to Ireland by Dr. Featherston, was despatched thence with about thirty less emigrants than she could carry and was fitted for ; and I observe also, from the public papers, an extract from which I enclose, that emigrants have been sent from England to the Clyde, and are coming to this port by the " City of Dunedin," which emigrants we would have gladly brought by our new ship " Wairoa," sailing to this port direct about the same time as the first-named vessel, which, like the " Jessie Osborne," was despatched by the Albion Company. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, H. Selwyn Smith, Wellington. General Manager.

Extract from " European Mail." The ship " City of Dunedin," 1,084 tons, owned by Messrs. Patrick Henderson and Co., left the Clyde on March 25th for New Zealand, with 276 passengers and a general cargo. The emigrants were of a superior class, and a considerable number of them were young women from Durham and the northern counties of England.

Enclosure 2 in No. 12. The General Manager, New Zealand Shipping Company, Christchurch, to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. The New Zealand Shipping Company (Limited), Christchurch, Sir— 28th July, 1876. In deference to the suggestion of Mr. Haughton, I write again regarding that portion of my letter of the 24th ultimo which remarked on the fact of the Agent-General sending emigrants from Belfast to the Clyde for shipment to the colony. lam quite aware that this course was pursued under the old contract, or rather, as we respectfully submit, in contravention of it j and it is in the hope of preventing a repetition of it under our present agreement that I have the honor now to address you, and to recall to your mind that in our preliminary negotiations we discussed the question, and in limiting the ports of embarkation decided that the expense of bringing intending passengers from Belfast to Plymouth would be less than the extra amount per head we should require if called upon to send a ship to Belfast to embark them. It was never contemplated by us, and Ido not think it was by you, that Irish emigrants were to be included in those " from the Clyde;" and I beg that you will be good enough by the outgoing mail to issue such instructions as will prevent the possibility of such a course being pursued. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, H. Selwyn Smith, Wellington. General Manager.

Enclosure 3 in No. 12. The General Manager, New Zealand Shipping Company, Christchurch, to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. The New Zealand Shipping Company (Limited), Christchurch, Sir,— 23rd August, 1876. I have the honor to inform you that owing to the wording of your telegram to the AgentGeneral of the 21st April, the ships " Waitangi" (carrying 240 adults, 81 children, and 75 infants) and the "Waimea" (carrying about 225 adults) were victualled on the full scale instead of the