8.—17

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Enclosure 2 in No. 12. It is hereby declared that, by " The New Zealand Consolidated Stock Act, 1877," being Act 41 Viet., No. 33, of the Legislature of the Colony of New Zealand, provision is made in the terms following, that is to say,— Section 2. Whenever in any Act heretofore passed by the General Assembly, or that may be passed in the present or any future session of the General Assembly, authority is given to the Governor, or to the Governor in Council, to raise by way of loan any sum of money for the public service of the colony, then, unless there be some provision to the contrary in the Act by which such authority is given, such sum may be raised in the manner hereinafter provided. Section 3. For the purpose of raising such sum or sums of money under the authority of any such Act as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the Governor in Council to create capital stock, to be called " The New Zealand Consolidated Stock " (hereinafter referred to as " stock "), subject to the provisions of this Act, to be issued in such amounts and manner, at such price and times, on such terms, and subject to such conditions, with such dividends, and redeemable at par at such times and on such conditions, as the Governor in Council may, before the creation thereof, from time to time determine. Section 4. The Governor in Council shall have and may exorcise the following powers and authorities or any of them :— (1.) He may from time to time declare all or any of the New Zealand loans, whether existing in the form of stock or not, to be convertible into stock, of such denominations, with such conditions, and with sucli dividends, and redeemable at par at such times and on such conditions, as ho may, before the creation thereof, from time to time determine. (2.) He may authorize the creation and issue of such an amount of such stock in exchange for the securities held for such loans as may be necessary. (3.) He may authorize the creation and sale of any such stock for the purpose of raising money for redeeming any outstanding stock or securities, and of paying any expenses in the creation of stock, and otherwise carrying out the provisions of this Act, on such conditions as he may determine. Section 7. The Governor in Council may from time to time enter into any such agreement with the Bank of England as to the Governor in Council seems fit, providing for all or any of the following things (inter alia) :— (1.) For inscribing in the books of the bank any stock ; (2.) For managing the creation, inscription, and issue of stock ; (3.) For effecting the conversion of loans into stock and managing transfers of stock; (5.) For issuing stock certificates to bearer, and, as often as occasion shall require, reissuing or reinscribing stock and reissuing stock certificates ; (10.) Generally conducting all business connected with stock or loans ; For the purpose of this Act the expression " Bank of England " means the Governor and Company of the Bank of England, and includes their successors. Section 8. Every agreement made with the Bank of England in pursuance of this Act shall be as valid and effectual as if tile terms thereof had been sot forth in and enacted by this Act. Section 9. The Governor in Council shall have the powers and duties, and may do the following things (inter alia), for the purposes of this Act: — (1.) He may from time to time appoint three or more persons in England to be Agents for the purposes of this Act (which Agents for the time being are in this Act referred to as " the Agents "), and may empower such Agents or any three or more of them to exercise all or any of the powers by this Act exercisable by the Governor in Council. Section 14. This Act shall not come into operation nor be of any force or effect whatever until it shall bo declared to be so in operation by a Proclamation issued by the Governor in Council and published in the New Zealand Government Gazette. And it is hereby further declared that, by a Proclamation made and issued by the Governor in Council on the 9th day of February, 1878, and published in a Supplement to the New Zealand Government Gazette of the samo date, it wasideclared that the said Act should be and come into operation on and after the said 9th day of February, 1878. And it is hereby further declared that, under and by virtue of the said Act, Now Zealand Consolidated Stock was created and issued to the amount of £5,371,200, which was duly inscribed in the books of the Bank of England, in the names of the several persons respectively entitled thereto, on the terms and conditions mentioned in a certain deedpoll bearing date the Ist day of December, 1879, under the hands and seals of Sir Penrose Goodchild Julyan. K.C.M.G., C.8., Sir Julius Vogel, K.C.M.G., and Montagu Frederic Ommanney, Esq., who had been duly appointed Agents in England for the purposes of the said Act, and had been duly empowered to exercise all the powers by the said Act exercisable by the Governor in Council, such stock bearing interest at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum, payable half-yearly, at the Bank of England, on tho Ist day of May and the Ist day of November in each year until the Ist day of November, 1929, on which day the capital is to be repaid at par at the same place. And it is hereby further declared that, by " The New Zealand Consolidated Stock Act 1877 Amendment Act, 1881," being Act 45 Viet., No. 44, of the said Legislature, it was enacted that, notwithstanding anything in "The New Zealand Consolidated Stock Act, 1877," contained, the Governor in Council might appoint only two persons to be the Agents for the purposes of such Act, who should have, exercise, and perform all the powers, authorities, or duties by such Act given to, vested in, or imposed upon the Agents appointed under the ninth section of such Act; and that throughout such Act the words " the Agents " should be deemed to refer to and include the two persons authorized by tho Act now in recital to be appointed to bo tho Agents for the purpose of " The New Zealand Consolidated Stock Act, 1877." And it is hereby further declared that, in pursuance of the power and authority vested in him by the said Acts (all previous appointments of Agents having been revoked), the Governor of Now Zealand did, by an Order in Council bearing date the sth day of November, 1881, appoint Sir Francis Dillon Bell, of No. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, K.C.M.G., the Agent-General for the Colony of New Zealand, and the said Sir Penrose Goodchild Julyan, to be Agents in England for the purposes of the said Acts of 1877 and 1881, with full power and authority to them as such Agents to exorcise all the powers by such Acts excrcisablo by the Governor in Council. And it is hereby further declared that the Governor of New Zealand did, by another Order in Council also bearing date the sth day of November, 1881, and issued under the seal of the said colony, empower the said Sir Francis Dillon Bell and Sir Penrose Goodchild Julyan as and to be the Agents to make the declaration required by the provisions of " The Colonial Stock Act, 1877," and in and about such declaration, and the leaving and record thereof with tho Commissioners of Inland Revenue, to do all such necessary acts as might or could have been done by or on behalf of the Government of the said colony to give effect to the provisions of tho last-mentioned Act. And it is hereby further declared that various further amounts of New Zealand Consolidated Stock have from time to time been duly created by the said Sir Francis Dillon Bell and Sir Penrose Goodchild Julyan, acting as such Agents, and duly empowered as aforesaid, upon the terms and conditions respectively mentioned in certain deedspoll under their hands and seals, and bearing date respectively the Ist day of January, 1883, the 30th day of October, 1883, the Ist day of January, 1884, the 30th day of December, 1884, and tho Ist day of January, 1885, such amounts of stock being in addition to, and ranking pari passu with, the said amount of £5,371,200 of New Zealand Consolidated Stock so created and issued as aforesaid, and bearing interest at the rate and payable half-yearly at the Bank of England as aforesaid until the Ist day of November, 1929, on which day the capital is to be repaid at par at the same place, but the whole amount of New Zealand Consolidated Stock thus created by them has not yet been issued. And it is hereby further declared that, under the authority of " The New Zealand Consolidated Stock Act, 1877,'( aforesaid, and of another Act of the said Legislature, the Short Title of which is " The New Zealand Consolidated Stock Act, 1884," arrangements were made for tho conversion, in the year 1892, into New Zealand Consolidated Stock of certain of the outstanding debentures issued under the authority of another Act of tho said Legislature, the Short Title