59

F.—6

No. 167. The Secretary, General Post Office, London, to the Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. Sir, — General Tost Office, London, 18th October, 1913. With reference to your letter of the 13th August last, inquiring whether this office could arrange to obtain telegraphic advice of the arrival at Vancouver and San Francisco of mails from New Zealand for this country and of their despatch from an Atlantic port, in order that the information may be furnished to Lloyd's, I am directed by the Postmaster-General to acquaint you that, by arrangement with the Post Offices of Canada and the United States of America, this office now receives telegraphic notification of the name of the steamer by which such mails are despatched from Atlantic ports, except in the case of those conveyed to San Francisco by the steamers of the Oceanic Steamship Company; and public notices containing this information, together with the probable date of arrival of the mails in this country, are exhibited at the more important post-offices in the City of London as soon as possible after the receipt of the telegrams. A copy of each notice is also sent to the offices of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand at Fen Court, London E.C. No telegraphic notification is received as to the arrival of the mails at Vancouver and San Francisco. Such information would not be of any practical value to this office, and there does not appear to the Postmaster-General to be sufficient ground for obtaining it specially for communication to Lloyd's. I am to add that, although telegraphic advice is received by this office from abroad regarding the whereabouts of mails from other countries than New Zealand, it has not hitherto been the practice to communicate any such information to Lloyd's, which, so far as this office is aware, is concerned only with the movements of ships. I have, &c, Ihe Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington. E. W. Farnall. [P. & T. 36/11.] t mmmmmmm mrr i in "im» I " MMHiMM " M <

No. 168. The General Manager, Union Steam Ship Company, Dunedin, to the Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand (Limited), Sir, — Dunedin, 22nd October, 1913. With reference to your letter [No. 165], I have the honour to say that we have sent written instructions to our Vancouver, San Francisco, and London offices, and have no doubt that your proposal will be carried out. I hope to have the pleasure of confirming this iiv due course. I have, &c, R. McK. McLennan, The Secretary, General Post Office, Wellington. For General Manager.

No. 169. The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington, to the Hon. John Duthie, M.L.C., Wellington. Sir,— Postmaster-General's Office, Wellington, 29th October, 1913. In continuation of my letter of the 21st August last, in the matter of your request that arrangements be made for the arrival of New Zealand - United Kingdom mails at Vancouver and at San Francisco and their despatch from an Atlantic port, to bo reported by cable to and published in London, T have the honour to inform you that the Union Steam Ship Company has given instructions for the despatch and publication of advices as desired. I have, &c, R. Heaton Rhodes, Postmaster-General The Hon. John Duthie, M.L.C., Parliament Buildings, Wellington.

No. 170. The Hon. the Postmaster-General, Wellington, to. the Hon. John Duthie, M.L.C., Wellington. Sir, Postmaster-General's Office, Wellington, 4th December, 1913. I have the honour to refer to my letter of the 29th October last, and to previous correspondence in the matter of your request that arrangements be made for the arrival of New Zealand - United Kingdom mails at Vancouver and at San Francisco and their despatch from an Atlantic port to be reported by cable to and published in London. The London Post Office informs this Department that by arrangement with the Post Offices of Canada and the United States of America it now receives telegraphic notification of the name of the steamer by which the mails in question are despatched from Atlantic ports, excepl in the case of the mails conveyed to San Francisco by the steamers of the Oceanic Steamship Company. Public notices containing the information, together with the probable date of the arrival of the mails in the United Kingdom, are exhibited at the more important post-offices in the City of London as soon as possible after the receipt of the telegrams; and a copy of each notice is sent to the offices of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, at Fen Court, London E.C. The London office does not receive telegraphic notification of the arrival of the mails at Vancouver and San Francisco. Such information would not be of any practical value to it, and there does not appear to the Imperial Postmaster-General to be sufficient ground for obtaining the information specially for communication to Lloyd's.

9—F. 6,