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by two steamers instead of one,—the one visiting Auckland, from whence the mails might be conveyed to New Plymouth, and perhaps, to Nelson; and the other visiting Otago, Lyttelton, and Wellington, calling at Otago first, and taking her final departure from Wellington,—unless it should be found practicable to include Nelson.

Your Memorialists further venture to submit that by treating the branch service as one—although performed by two vessels,—an equitable adjustment of the proportion payable by the Lords of Her Majesty's Treasury might be made, so as not to burden the English Government unduly, and at the same time, to give the Southern Provinces of New Zealand their fair share of the advantages intended to be conferred by the new postal arrangements.

And your Memorialists, as in duty bound, will ever pray, &c.

(Signed) JAMES KELHAM, Chairman;

(Signed) JOHN JOHNSTON,

Deputy-Chairman.

Superintendent's Office, Wellington,

24th November, 1856.

SIR,—I have been requested by the Chamber of Commerce of this place to support the Memorial which they forward by the present mail against the proposed arrangement for the conveyance of the English mail from Australia to New Zealand.

The inadequacy of the arrangements in question, the grave inconvenience and injustice which will be inflicted by them, not only on this, but on all the southern Provinces, are so clearly explained by the memorialists, that it is needless for me to do more than to express my entire concurrence in their protest.

If His Excellency's Government persists in making the steamers run to Auckland, simply because, as the Superintendent of Canterbury remarks in a postscript to his recent pamphlet, "it has chosen to set itself down in a remote corner of the Islands," I earnestly trust it will not so unnecessarily sacrifice the interests of this Province, as to insist upon its mails being conveyed to Auckland, but that, on the contrary, His Excellency's Government will give instructions that the Wellington mails shall be forwarded direct, as at present, by the sailing vessels, which ensure almost a weekly communication between Wellington and Australia. I have, &c.,

I. E. FEATHERSTON, Superintendent.

The Hon. the Colonial

Secretary, Auckland.

Colonial Secretary's Office,

Auckland, Dec. 4, 1856.

SIR,—I am directed by the Colonial Secretary to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 24th ult., covering two memorials to the Governor relative to the contemplated postal arrangements, and to inform you that the same has been laid before His Excellency.

I have at the same time to express the regret of His Excellency's Government, that owing to the early departure of the Zingari it has been impossible, from the variety of subjects requiring consideration, to afford by this mail such explanations as would, it is believed, remove some misconception on the part of the memorialists on the subject, with respect to which a further communication will be made by the first opportunity.

I have, &c.,

W. GISBORNE,

Under Secretary.

J. Kelham, Esq., J.P.,

Wellington.

Wellington Chamber of Commerce,

Dec. 16, 1856.

SIR,—I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th inst., acknowledging receipt of Memorials from this Chamber, and from merchants and others in this port, on the subject of the proposed change in the Postal arrangements. Waiting with considerable anxiety the explanations promised, I beg most respectfully to impress upon His Excellency's Government, that no arrangements which would permit the English mail to be first conveyed to Auckland, and from thence distributed to the Southern Provinces, would be satisfactory or fair towards them, and I am persuaded that they will look for this as a sine qua non in any arrangements or explanations that His Excellency's Government may make.

I may further take the liberty to observe, that in a matter of so much importance—affecting the whole community of the south, the Memorialists had reasonably expected that some more definite answer would have been given to them, and that no delay would have occurred in giving prompt consideration to the subject.

I have, &c.,

JAMES KELHAM,

Chairman of the Wellington

Chamber of Commerce,

To the Hon. the Colonial

Secretary, Auckland.