¥.— B.

[Translation.] Refeering to the letter which you were good enough to address me on the 22nd May last, I have the honour to inform you that, in view of the statements made in my letter of the 23rd March, it is not possible to consider as regularly prepaid letters originating in New Zealand and posted at the penny rate.

No. 164. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Directob-Genebal of Posts and Telegraphs, Tokio. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, 31st August, 1901. I have the honour, by direction, to ask that you will kindly favour the PostmasterGeneral with a reply to his letter of the 23rd November last, suggesting that a restricted union might be formed between our Administrations for the establishing of penny postage, or that, at least, letters from New Zealand might be accepted at the reduced rate. I may add that since the letter above quoted was written the Administrations of Chili, Costa Rica, Egypt, Italy, Liberia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal and Portuguese Colonies, Servia, Siam, and Switzerland have agreed to admit letters from this colony prepaid Id. per half-ounce. In one case, that of Servia, letters in the opposite direction will be charged at the reduced rate. I have, &c, W. Gbay, Secretary. The Director-General of Posts and Telegraphs, Tokio, Japan.

No. 165. The Postmaster, Apia, to the General Post Office, Wellington. Kaiserlich Deutsches Postamt, Apia (Samoa), 12 September, 1901. Schon langere Zeit gehen hier Briefsendungen aus Neu Seeland em, welche unzureichend frankirt sind—meistens nur mit Id.—jedoch in den weitans meisten Fallen mit dem "T" Stempel nicht bedruckt sind (Art. VIII., 5, der Vollzugsordnung zum Weltpostvertrag). Indem das Kaiserlich Deutsche Postamt sich beehrt, das General Post Office yon der unrichtigen bezw. ungeniigenden Frankirung der Briefe in Kenntniss zu setzen, kniiptt es daran das ganz ergebene Ersuchen, gefalligst dafiir Sorge tragen zu wollen, dass in Zukunft in Fallen ahnlicher Art das Bedrueken der Briefe mit dem " T " Stempel nicht unterbleibt. General Post Office, Wellington. Teaulb.

[Translation.] Foe some time past letters from New Zealand have been received here which are insufficiently prepaid, mostly Id. only, yet in almost all cases such letters are not stamped "T" (Article 8, clause 5, of Detailed Regulations of Postal Union Convention). The Imperial German Post Office has the honour to notify the General Post Office in respect to the insufficient prepayment of the letters in question, and would add a request that in future cases the omission of the stamp " T " on letters be not continued.

No. 166. The Seceetaey, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Resident Agent for New Zealand, San Francisco. Sib,— General Post Office, Wellington, 26th September, 1901. I have the honour to forward under separate cover 100 copies of the Postmaster-General's report for last year, which I shall be glad if you will distribute to Chambers of Commerce, the editors of newspapers, magazines, &c, with a request that they will take particular notice of the result so far of the efforts of New Zealand to establish a universal penny post. The paragraph will be found on page iv. I have, &c, W. Gray, Secretary. H. Stephenson Smith, Esq., Resident Agent for New Zealand, San Francisco.

No. 167. The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington, to the Director-General of Posts, Berlin. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, 18th October, 1901. Referring to my letter of the 23rd November last, and subsequent correspondence, on the subject of the penny post, I find that I omitted to bring under notice that, prior to the introduction of the penny post, letters for Samoa had for many years been subject to the same rates of postage as those subsisting in this colony for inland matter. When the Reichs Postamt took over the Post Office at Apia, letters continued to be sent at the inland rate, and apparently this has not been questioned until the present time. lam now, however, in receipt of a letter from the Postmaster,

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