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No. 75. The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the Deputy Postmaster-General, Ottawa. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, 10th November, 1913. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your cable message of the 7th instani in reply to mine of the 6th idem, as follows : [See No. 73.] My letter of the 6th instant fully explains the position. There should in future be no failure of the vessels to keep to the time-table except under abnormal conditions. The company has been informed of your concurrence in the arrangement conditionally on its keeping strictly to the undertaking that vessels will not arrive late at Vancouver. I have, &c., The Deputy Postmaster-General, Ottawa. W. K. Morris, Secretary.

No. 76. The Deputy Postmaster-General, Ottawa, to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Sir, — Post Office Department, Ottawa, 13th November, 1913. With reference to your letter of the 23rd September last, stating that the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited) requested that the schedule time for the despatch of the Vancouver mail-steamer from Auckland be altered from 3 p.m. on Friday to 10 a.m. on Saturday up to March, 1914, to meet the convenience of shippers and others, and that assuming the approval of the Minister of Trade and Commerce of Canada, your Department has approved of the alteration of the starting-time on the condition that the company gives a guarantee that, the connection with the eastward-bound mail-trains from Vancouver will not be missed, I beg to confirm telegrams, leading [see Nos. 67 and 73], and lo enclose time-table of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company [not printed], giving, on page 59, schedule of the Union Steam Ship Company's steamers arriving at Vancouver, and on page 13, schedule of trains leaving Vancouver for the East. I have, &c, R. M. Coulter, The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Deputy Postmaster-General.

No. 77. The Assistant Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company, Dunedin. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, Bth December, 1913. In reference to your letter of the 22nd October last, on the subject of the time of despatch from Auckland of the R.M.S. " Marama " on the 30th August, I have the honour to inform you that this Department required the vessel to be detained for half an hour, as a large amount of correspondence received by the Main Trunk express train at 7 a.m. was not disposed of in time to enable the mail for the " Marama " to be placed on board by 10 a.m. The Chief Postmaster, Auckland, has been instructed that only in the case of the most pressing necessity is the Department to call for the detention of the vessel after 10 a.m. I have, &c. F. V. Waters, Assistant Secretary. The General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited), Dunedin. [P. & T. 36/B.]

No. 78. The Assistant Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company, Dunedin. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, 16th January, 1914. In reference to the arrival of the R.M.S. " Makura " at Vancouver on the 13th instant, I beg to inquire whether your company has any information accounting for the delay of three days between Auckland and Vancouver. 1 h-ive, &c, F. V. Waters, Assistant Secretary. The General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited), Dunedin.

No. 79. The Assistant Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington, to the General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company, Dunedin. Sir, — General Post Office, Wellington, 28th January, 1914. I have the honour to refer to the voyage of the R.M.S. " Marama " from Vancouver to Auckland ended on the 15th instant, which occupied forty-two hours in excess of the contracttime, and shall be glad of any reason your company may have to offer why the penalty of £30, due under clause 23 of the contract, for the delay should not be imposed. I have, &c, F. V. W r ATJSRS, Assistant 'Secretary. The General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited), Dunedin.