P.—6

12

No. 39. The Sbcretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company, Dunedin. Siß,— General Post Office, Wellington, 21st November, 191 U. I have the honour to request that you will instruct the commanders of the " Maitai " and " Aorangi " to furnish ms with a report on each voyage of their respective steamers. Forms showing what particulars are required have been printed, and copies have been sent to the commanders through the Chief Postmaster, Auckland, in order to save time. T have, iVc . D. Robertson, Secretary. The General Manager. Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited), Dunedin |Wn.-S.F. 10/240.]

No. 40. The Gbnerai Manager, Union Steam .Ship Company, Dunedin, to the Secretary, General I»< .si Office, Wellington. Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited), Sir, — Dunedin, 23rd November, miO. 1 am in receipt of your favour of 16th instant enclosing San Francisco mail-servic. agreement signed in duplicate by the Postmaster-General. We have to thank you for inserting the clause agreeing that the rales of freight on skins, wool, and phormium-fibre refer to this class of cargo when dumped. This clause has been initialled by the directors who signed the agreement. and the blank referring to tha affixing of the seal has been filled in. I now return one copy of tlie agreement herewith. The second copy we are retaining as instructed. It would be a great convenience to us if you could oblige us with a few spare copies of the agreement for record purposes * Thanking you in anticipation, I have, dec, T. W. Whitson, The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. For General Manager. iWn.-K.K. 10/242-1

No. 41. Contract for Conveyance of Ocean Mails. Agreement between the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited) and the Postmaster - General of New Zealand. Memorandum of agreement made and entered into this eleventh day of November, one thousand nine hundred and ten, between the Right Honourable Sir Joseph George Ward, the Postmaster General of the Dominion of New Zealand, acting for and on behalf of His Majesty the King, of the one part, and the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited), (hereinafter desig nated "the Company"), of the other part: Witnesseth that the Company doth, for itself, its successors and assigns (so far as the conditions, stipulations, and agreements hereinafter contained are to be observed and performed by the Company), hereby agree with the PostmasterGeneral of the Dominion of New Zealand and his successors in office, acting on behalf of Hi.* Majesty as aforesaid; and the said Postmaster-General doth, for and on behalf of himself as such Postmaster-General and his successors in office respectively, and His Majesty the King (so far a* the conditions, stipulations, and agreements hereinafter contained are to be observed and performed by him or them), hereby agree with the Company and its successors in manner following, that is to say,— 1. In the construction of these presents the following words and expressions shall mean and include (unless such meaning shall be inconsistent with the context), as follows :— " Postmaster-General " means the Postmaster-General for the time being of New Zea land: " Company " includes the successors and assigns of the Company : 'Mails" includes all boxes, bags, or packets of letters, newspapers, books, or printed papers, patterns, parcels, and all other articles transmissible by post; also all empty bags, empty boxes, and other stores and articles used or to be used in carrying on the Post Office service: " Mail " means the aggregate of mails to be transmitted at any one time by any of the vessels for the time being employed in the mail-service under this contract : and " Hours " means hours calculated according to Greenwich time. 2. The Company shall from time to time, and at all times hereafter, during a period of one year computed from the nineteenth day of October, one thousand nine hundred and ten (unless this contract is previously terminated in pursuance of any provision in that behalf hereinafter contained), convey all His Majesty's mails which, and all other mails of whatever country or phut which, the Postmaster-General shall at any time and from time to time require the Company to convey from Wellington to the ports of Auckland, Rarotonga, Papeete, and San Francisco respectively, within the respective times and in manner hereinafter provided for; and, so long as the services hereby agreed to be performed ought to be performed in pursuance of this contract, shall and will provide and keep seaworthy and in complete repair and readiness for such

*OopjpB duly forwarded.