13

of the Government in this matter, it is unnecessary to do more than request that you will put yourself in communication with Mr. Sewell on your arrival at Sydney and receive from him the papers connected with this subject, should he leave Australia before the required contracts have been entered into. The Government of Victoria have been informed, that in the absence of Mr. Sewell you are authorised to act on behalf of this Government. In the event of your acting under this authority, you are requested to give the Government the earliest intimation of the steps taken by you in respect of it, with a view to enabling them to determine as soon as possible the subsisting contract with the Zingari.

I have, &c.,
(Signed) E. W. STAFFORD.
J. Logan Campbell, Esq.,
&c. &c.

Sydney, Dec. 2, 1856.

SIR,—I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th Nov. on the subject of the steam postal service to New Zealand.

Since I last wrote, I have been in communication with the Sydney Government.

That Government does not feel itself at liberty to enter into a special arrangement for the New Zealand service. It has written to the Government of Victoria, agreeing to the proposal for issuing advertisements for tenders for performance of the service both from Melbourne and Sydney. The object is to test the cheapest route.

A communication to the above effect will go to Melbourne by the next mail.

After discussion with Dr. Campbell, we agree in opinion that it will be for the interest of New Zealand to wait the result of the tenders, and then to negotiate for the additional service required.

Should it devolve on me to undertake the negotiation, I will not fail to observe the instructions contained in the letter.

Should both Dr. Campbell and myself be under the necessity of leaving before the arrangement is made, we will take on ourselves to depute some fit person to act on behalf of the New Zealand Government, according to your instructions. Meantime, I suggest the expediency, if practicable, of making a temporary arrangement with the Wm. Denny for continuance of the present service. As regards the Zingari, that has been already done.

I propose to leave this for Melbourne on Saturday next.

Nothing further has been heard from England on the subject of the mail contract, except that an Agent has arrived here, who has made the necessary coaling arrangements for the steamers the first of which is expected to arrive towards the latter end of December.

I have, &c.,
(Signed) HENRY SEWELL.
The Hon. Colonial Secretary,
New Zealand

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Auckland, Dec. 18th, 1856.

SIR,—His Excellency's Government have had before them your letter of the 2nd instant, informing them of your renewed communication with the Government of New South Wales on the subject of the steam mail service to this Colony and stating that Dr. Campbell and yourself were agreed in waiting the result of the tenders proposed to be invited for the performance of that service from Melbourne as well as Sydney, before concluding any negotiation.

2. The Government concurs with you in the propriety of this decision, especially in the absence of that information which will be afforded by receipt of copies of the Imperial Contract, and which may either facilitate the arrangements you have been authorised to make, or may, on the other hand, by specially naming some agent for constituting the branch service, prevent this Government from deciding wholly upon the conditions of the service.

3. Should, however, the contract, when received, permit the Government of New Zealand to decide in this matter, it is desirable, from the difficulty which has been experienced in getting the Governments of the Australian Colonies to take action, that all the necessary arrangements for establishing the service should at once be made by yourself and Dr. Campbell on the general basis detailed in my letter of the 20th ultimo, especially bearing in mind that the service must be productive of as equal an amount of benefit to all the Provinces as can be derived from the services of two steamers only, that being the maximum number which we believe can be subsidized for the sum voted by the General Assembly for a steam service.

4. Pending the existence of a permanent arrangement, of this nature, the Government considering that it would be most disadvantageous that steam communication between New Zealand and Australia should, just when it has been established to the latter place from London, absolutely cease, owing to the termination of the contract