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the High Commissioner's Office and the branches under its control, mention rnust • necessarily be made of the outstanding work done during the year by the representatives in the United Kingdom of the Departments of Industries and Commerce, Customs, Tourist and Health Resorts, Marketing, Agriculture, and the Public Trust Office. Through their agency the business of the High Commissioner's Office has in many respects been greatly expedited and the ability of the Office to give a higher-degree of service to the public and to the United Kingdom Government—as well as to New Zealand Government Departments—has been considerably increased by the efficient manner in which their duties have been carried out. The High, Commissioner was associated with the Prime Minister during Mr Fraser's attendance at the Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers held in London in October, 1948, and he accompanied Mr Fraser on visits to Germany early in November and to Ireland in December. Apart from a brief period of illness in February and March of this year, the High Commissioner, in addition to fulfilling the numerous engagements which his official position demands, has continued his attendance at the periodic meetings of Commonwealth High Commissioners, in London and at various other official meetings arranged from time to time. Once again heavy calls have been made upon New Zealand House to provide delegates and staff to represent .New Zealand at conferences in the United Kingdom and on the Continent. These have included the United Nations Conference on Freedom of Information at Geneva in April, the International Administrative Aeronautical Radio Conference at Geneva from May to September, the Assembly of the International Union of Official Travel Organizations at Oslo in June, the Eighth World Poultry Conference held at Copenhagen during August, the second session of the contracting parties to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the second session of the Interim Commission of the International Trade Organization (both of which took place in Geneva in August and September), the third session of the United Nations General Assembly held in Paris from September to December, the fourth meeting of the Study Group for a European Customs Union at Brussels in December, and the third session of the Permanent Migration Committee of the International Labour Organization at Geneva in January. To other conferences in Europe attended by delegates from New Zealand, secretarial and cipher staff were sent from London as and when the necessity arose.