F.—6

22

23. The Postmaster-General shall pay to the Company, subject to its faithful performance of all covenants, agreements, and stipulations to be performed on its part pursuant to this agreement, a subsidy of twenty-five thousand pounds (£25,000) per annum in proportionate instalments for each and every round trip performed by each of the said vessels in accordance with the intention of this agreement: Provided, however, that no amount of instalments of subsidy shall be payable at any time unless it appears to the satisfaction of the Postmaster-General that up to the time of such payment there has been no breach on the part of the Company of any of the covenants, provisions, or stipulations of this agreement: Provided also that the Company shall be entitled to receive such subsidy as the Governments of Australia and Tahiti may pay towards the service : Provided, further, that the Company shall as additional remuneration receive the payments provided for under the preceding clause. 24. The sums stipulated to be payable to the Company under this contract shall be in full satisfaction for all services rendered thereunder, and the amount payable in respect of each round voyage shall be payable to the Company at the Treasury in Wellington, or at the Company's office at Dunedin, immediately after the completion of the round voyage. 25. All vessels carrying mails under this contract shall be exempt from all harbour dues, dock dues, and other rates and charges which might otherwise be leviable or chargeable upon or in respect of such vessels by the Wellington Harbour Board or any other authority having jurisdiction in respect of the Port of Wellington under or under the powers conferred by the Harbours Act, 1908, or any special Act. 26. The Company shall at its own cost provide, to the satisfaction of the Postmaster-General, on board all vessels employed in the services under this contract, proper, safe, and convenient places of deposit for the mails, with locks, keys, and secure fastenings; and every such place of deposit shall be rendered and kept vermin-proof. 27. The Company shall also at its own cost provide, to the satisfaction of the PostmasterGeneral, all necessary and suitable accommodation, including lights, for the purpose of sorting and making up the mails on board the several vessels employed in the services under this contract, and, on being required to do so by the Postmaster-General, shall at its own cost erect or set apart in each of the said vessels on the main deck a, separate and convenient room for such purposes; and all such furniture, lamps, fittings, and other conveniences shall be from time to time cleansed and kept in repair, and the oil or electricity for the lamps supplied by the servants of and at the cost of the Company. The master or commander of each of the said vessels shall also, if required, provide assistance for conveying the mails between the mail-room and the sorting-room, and also render such other assistance as may from time to time be needed, without charge. 28. If the Postmaster-General shall think fit to entrust the charge and custody of the mails to the master or commander of any vessel to be employed in the services under this contract, and in all cases where the officer or other person appointed to have charge of the mails shall be absent to the knowledge of the master or commander of such vessel, such master or commander shall, without any charge, take due care of, and the Company shall be responsible for the receipt, safe custody, and delivery of, the said mails at the several appointed places in the respective ports as part of the services hereby contracted to be rendered. The master or commander shall also make the usual Post Office declaration, and furnish such journal, returns, and other information, and perform such other services in relation to the care and delivery of such mails, as the Post-master-General or his officers shall from time to time reasonably require. 29. The Company and all commanding and other officers in charge of the vessels employed under this contract shall at all times punctually attend to the orders and directions of the Post-master-General or his officers or agents as to the mode, time, and place of landing, transhipping, delivering, and receiving the mails, subject to the special provisions herein contained, and so far as such orders and directions are reasonable and consistent with the safety of the vessels. 30. The Company shall at its own cost provide suitable first-class accommodation, including a cabin or state-room, for the exclusive use of a mail officer or agent for the Postmaster-General and for one assistant, or, if need be, two assistants, for such Postmaster-General on board each of the vessels employed under this contract, who shall be at liberty to use such accommodation as may be required for the performance of their duties : and all such officers, agents, and assistants shall be victualled by the Company as chief-cabin passengers without charge either for their passages or victualling; and whilst the vessel stays at any port, excepting the Ports of Wellington and San Francisco, to or from which the mails are conveyed, every such officer, agent, and assistant shall be allowed to remain on board, and shall be victualled as aforesaid. 31. Every such mail officer, agent, and assistant shall be recognized and treated by the Company, its officers and agents, as the agent of the Postmaster-General, and as having full authority in all cases to require a due and Strict performance of this contract: Provided that no such agent, officer, or assistant shall have power to control or interfere with any master, commander, or officer in the performance of his duty; and every such agent, officer, and assistant shall be subject to all general orders issued by the master or commander for the good order, health, and comfort of the passengers and crew, and the safety of the vessel. 32. All and every the sums of money hereby stipulated to be paid by the Company shall be considered as liquidated or ascertained damages, whether any damage or loss shall have or shall have not been sustained, and may be set off by the Postmaster-General against any moneys payable to the Company under or by virtue of these presents, or may be enforced by the PostmasterGeneral as a debt due, with full costs of suit at his discretion : Provided always that the payment by the Company of any sums of money for any neglect or default in the observance or performance of the covenants or agreements herein contained shall not in any manner prejudice the rights of the Postmaster-General to treat such defaults as a nori-observance or non-performance of this contract on the part of the Company.