5

D.—2

demand was soon more than covered, and then there existed a great surplus of labourers for whom no proper employment could be found, particularly as the want of knowledge of the language caused the greatest difficulties. The New Zealand Government telegraphed early in 1876 to their Agent-General to discontinue to give emigrants from the Continent free passages; this caused lately a diminution of emigration in that direction, but a considerable number of emigrants have notwithstanding arrived in the colony from Hamburg who had been engaged before counter orders arrived from the Colonial Government: these have been bitterly disappointed in their expectations. The provinces in the South of New Zealand refused to receive non-English immigrants ; the new arrivals were therefore sent to Wellington, and from there divided among the neighbouring settlements, but there were too many, and no employment. Ignorant of the English language, the people found themselves in the greatest embarrassment; they were not offered the same rate of wages as English labourers: many were in great distress. The Government, it is true, willingly took charge of them but they demanded to be sent back home to Europe. Should the reports of the circumstances of former immigrants be ever so favourable, New Zealand is certainly at present no field for German immigration.

Enclosure 2 in No. 4. The Agent-Geneeal to the Under Seceetaby of State for the Colonies. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic— 19th July, 1877. I havo the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Branston's letter of the 13th instant, transmitting, by direction of the Earl of Carnarvon, a copy of a despatch from the British Vice-Consul at Dantzig calling attention to a paragraph from a German official paper in reference to the condition of certain German emigrants in New Zealand. In 1874, when it was decided to reduce the number of immigrants to whom assistance was to be given, it was thought desirable to discontinue German emigration. I append, at foot, the passage from my letter in which I, as a member of the Government, gave instructions to the then AgentGeneral to endeavour to end the outstanding contracts for German shipping. At the time, it was contemplated to take promissory notes from the emigrants. This intention was afterwards abandoned, but it was still deemed desirable to discontinue German emigration to New Zealand, and the AgentGeneral received instructions to that effect. The principal reasons for its discontinuance were that sufficient British emigrants could be obtained, that the cost of German emigrants was larger on the whole, and the arrangements more complicated, and that, owing to their want of knowledge of the language, German emigrants were less able to rely on themselves. I believe the German immigrants, in which designation were included the Germans, Scandinavians, and Italians who sailed for New Zealand from Hamburg, have been uniformly successful. With the exception of a few Italian tradespeople who were unsuited to the colony, I have not heard of any desire of the foreign immigrants to return. The Italians who desired to return were, I think, aided to do so. I have, Sec, The Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Julius Vogel, Colonial Office. Agent-General for New Zealand.

Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure 2 in No. 4. ExTEACT. The introduction of the system of promissory notes points to the necessity of making some change in your arrangements for shipping Germans and Scandinavians. Apart from this necessity, while I do not deny the special excellence, in some respects, of those immigrants, I do not see why we should be unable to obtain from the United Kingdom the number of immigrants we require. The expenses of dealing with Germans and Scandinavians on their arrival in the colony, and the disadvantages arising in many cases from the foreign shipping arrangements, make me think that it would be better on the whole to end these contracts It would be intolerable that our own countrymen should have to pay for reaching New Zealand, while we were conveying foreigners thither entirely at our own expense.

No. 5. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Ministee for Immigeation. (No. 706.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sic,— 27th July, 1877. • I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 93, of 19th May, respecting the engagement of surgeon-superintendents through Mr. Moore's agency, and I am glad to observe that you concur with me in thinking that there is no reason to suppose that any officer of this department has been improperly influenced in the matter. In pursuance of your request that I should inform the gentlemen concerned of your opinion in the matter, I have adopted the course of furnishing them with your letter for perusal. I have, Sec, The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Julius Vogel, Wellington. Agent-General.