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N. M. Brooks, Superintendent of Foreign Mails, bearing date Ist February, all relating to the proposed establishment of a transfer station at Honolulu. Yours, &c, H. Stephenson Smith, Esq., D. S. Bichaedson, General Superintendent. Besident Agent, New Zealand Government, 428, California Street, San Francisco.

Sub-enclosure 1 to Enclosure in No. 119. The Supebintendent of Mails, San Francisco, to the Postmasteb, San Francisco. Sic, — Post Office, San Francisco, Cal., 19th January, 1899. Beferring to our recent conversations regarding the trans-Pacific mail-service at this port, and with a view towards the improvement of the said service, I beg to submit for your consideration the following propositions which have occurred to me :— 1. Make Honolulu a Transfer Point for Australian and Neiv Zealand Mails. Our present service with New Zealand and the Australian Colonies is conducted by two lines of steamers, from San Francisco, Cal., and Vancouver, 8.C., alternating with each other every fourteen days. The steamers of both lines touch at Honolulu on outward and inward trips. After the departure of the steamer from this city the mail is sent to Vancouver up to within four days of the departure of the steamer from the latter port. For instance, if a steamer should leave Vancouver on the sth, the mail, to connect, would have to leave this office on the night of the Ist. The time in transit from San Francisco to Honolulu is seven days, while from Vancouver to the same place it is eight. From this you will see that a steamer could leave San Francisco on the same day as one leaving Vancouver and reach Honolulu in time to insure the connection of Australian mails with the Vancouver steamer, thus giving San Francisco and adjacent points a fourdays later closing on the mails mentioned than at present. An advantage would also be gained on return trips. We will take, for exajnple, a through Australian steamer for Vancouver arriving at Honolulu and finding in the harbour a vessel that would sail for San Francisco on the same day. By making a transfer of the mail at that point it would arrive at San Francisco at least one day earlier than it could reach Vancouver if left on the steamer. This would be a clear gain of four days in the San Francisco city mail, and a gain of one day for eastern points in the United States; and the mail might reach New York City in time to catch a steamer for European ports that it otherwise would have missed. If Honolulu was made a transfer point the interested steamship companies would no doubt arrange their schedules so that connections could be made regularly. 2. Postal Clerks on Steamers plying betiveen San Francisco and Honolulu. The system now in vogue of running postal clerks on steamers between New York City and European ports might be worked to advantage on the steamers between San Francisco and Honolulu. On outward trips the postal clerks could receive mail from the public up to a few minutes before the departure of the steamer, thereby giving a much later closing than now. The clerk could do much of the work while in transit that is now being done in the overcrowded foreign department of this office. Mails could be made up to foreign countries by him, and, in addition, a separation could be made for Hawaiian points, and a distribution also for Honolulu carrierdelivery. On the return trip all the foreign mail could be taken in charge by the postal clerk and opened, short-paid matter rated up, registers checked and entered, a general distribution made of the mails for the principal railway post-office lines in this country, and the San Francisco city portion made up to carriers and stations. By this arrangement close connections could be made with important outgoing trains, and the San Francisco city mail would be ready for immediate delivery. We have now thirteen steamers plying between this city and Honolulu—one to Honolulu direct, three on the Australian line, and nine on the China route. I believe that this entire service could be covered by six postal clerks, and that the additional expense would be insignificant as compared with the benefits that would accrue. In a letter to Mr. H. P. Thrall, Superintendent of the railway mail-service on this division, under date of the 23rd November, 1898 [not printed], I suggested the plan of transferring the mail at Honolulu, and at the same time spoke to him with reference to placing postal clerks on the steamers. Mr. Thrall looked with great favour on both propositions, and I believe has since taken the matter up with the department. Very respectfully, &c, T. J. Foed, Superintendent of Mails. The Hon. W. W. Montague, Postmaster.

Sub-enclosure 2 to Enclosure in No. 119. The Supebintendent of Fobeign Mails, Washington, to the Postmasteb, San Francisco. Post Office Department, Office of Foreign Mails, Washington, D.C., , Sic,— Ist February, 1899. Beferring to your letter of the 23rd ultimo [not printed], enclosing a copy of a communication addressed to you by the Superintendent of Mails of your office, outlining a plan for making Honolulu a transfer station for trans-Pacific mails, I have to inform you that the proposed plan will receive very careful consideration.

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