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No. 63. Mr. J. D. Spreckels to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Sir, San Francisco, 28th December, 1888. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your favour of the Ist December, referring to the division of the contributions from the United States Post Office up to December last. Mr. Buckland informs me that in your last letter, addressed to Mr. Creighton, you referred to the division of the sum of $36,000 out of the amount now paid by the United States Post Office Department between the two contracting colonies and the Oceanic Company. Mr. Creighton must, I think, have made a mistake in quoting $36,000, instead of $26,000, the latter being the amount which in his opinion was to be divided. I have, &c, John D. Spreckels. W. Gray, Esq., Secretary, the Post and Telegraph Department, Wellington.

No. 64. Mr. D. Mills to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Union Steamship Company of New Zealand (Limited), Sir, — Dunedin, 30th January, 1889. I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your favour of the 25th instant, advising that, at the request of the Postmaster-General of the United States, you have authorised him to detain the steamers at San Francisco for twelve hours if required, and I also note that you have taken steps to communicate this to Messrs. J. D. Spreckels and Brothers. Yours faithfully, D. Mills, The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. (For the Managing Director).

No. 65. Mr. J. Mills to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Union Steamship Company of New Zealand (Limited), Sir,— Dunedin, 30th January, 1889. I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your favour of the 26th instant, enclosing copy of letter from Mr. J. D. Spreckels containing proposal to share $26,000 of the United States mailmoney with the contracting colonies during the present year's extension of the contractr I have much pleasure in formally approving the allocation. I have, &c, James Mills, Managing Director. W. Gray, Esq., Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington.

No. 66. Mr. Gray to the Secretary, General Post Office, Sydney. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, Bth February, 1889. With reference to my letter to you of the 26th ultimo, I have now the honour to inform you that the contractors have formally approved of the $26,000 being divided as proposed by Messrs. Spreckels Brothers. I have, &c, The Secretary, General Post Office, Sydney. W. Gray, Secretary.

No. 67. Mr. C. E. Buckland to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Sir, — San Francisco, 15th January, 1889. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your favour of the Ist ultimo, addressed to Mr. E. J. Creighton, who (as you will have already learned from my former letter) left for the colonies by the last steamer. I note that, as the Postmaster-General has not yet had any definite communication either from the Agent-General or from the New South Wales Post Office, he is not prepared to discuss the question of the San Francisco service by the present mail; but. lam glad to learn that the Sydney office gives in its concurrence to the proviso attached to the payment of the $46,000 —■ namely, that the Postmaster-General of the United States may detain the mail-steamer at San Francisco for twelve hours. I have the honour to hand you herewith reply which I have received from the ActingSuperintendent of Foreign Mails at Washington, in reference to the delay to your mails in crossing the continent last month. The present steamer has had to be detained here until this (Tuesday) afternoon, owing to the late arrival of your mails at New York. On the 9th inntant, having received no news of the arrival of the mails at New York, and not being able to get any information concerning them from the Post-office hero, I telegraphed to the Postmaster at New York, "Have British-Australian mails arrived New York? Answer quick, giving particulars." On the 10th instant I received his reply, reading " British- Australian mails ex ' Bothnia ' received yesterday at 2 p.m. Forwarded by 9 p.m. New York Central train." On the same day I received a notification from the Postmaster