942

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

[No. 47

SOUTH-WEST PACIFIC OCEAN.—NEW BRITAIN, NORTH COAST.

Shoal Northward of Cape Lambert.

THE German Government has published the following in-
formation, on the authority of the Commander of the German
vessel of war “Elizabeth,” of the existence of a shoal, lying
with Cape Lambert, New Britain, bearing S. by E. ½ E.,
distant about nineteen miles:—

This shoal, seen from the “Elizabeth” at 2 p.m., 24th
November, 1884, consists of several rocks above water, and
shoal patches, extending apparently over an area of about
two miles. The position, by observations, of the north
extreme of this danger is given in lat. 3° 50′ S., long.
151° 33½′ E.

NOTE.—It is considered that this shoal is identical with
Legelis Shoals, previously reported in lat. 3° 55′ S., long.
151° 40′ E., or about seven miles S.E. by E. of the position
now given.

The bearings are magnetic. Variation 6° easterly in 1885.
By command of their Lordships.
W. J. L. WHARTON,
Hydrographer.
Hydrographic Office,
Admiralty, London, 9th June, 1885.

Authority to frank.

General Post Office,
Wellington, 4th August, 1885.

HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
authorize

The Rev. W. COLENSO, Napier,
to receive as well as frank, free from the prepayment of
postage, letters and parcels in connection with the compila-
tion of a Maori Lexicon.

JULIUS VOGEL,
Postmaster-General.

Tenders.

MAIL STEAM SERVICE BETWEEN AUCKLAND AND
SAN FRANCISCO VIA HONOLULU, WITH A
BRANCH SERVICE BETWEEN AUCKLAND AND
AN AUSTRALIAN PORT.

SEALED tenders will be received at the General Post
Office, Wellington, New Zealand, until Monday, the
7th September proximo, for the conveyance of mails once
every four weeks each way between San Francisco and Auck-
land, via Honolulu, with a branch service, by other than the
main boats, to and from an Australian port, for a term of
three years, in accordance with the printed particulars and
conditions of contract.

The service to commence from San Francisco on or about
the 18th of November next, and from Auckland on or about
the 15th of December following, and from an Australian
port on such a date as may be fixed by the Postmaster-
General.

The service between San Francisco and Auckland may be
performed by not less than two steamers. The time from
San Francisco to Auckland, and from Auckland to San
Francisco, respectively, not to exceed 18 days or 432 hours.

Separate tenders for a service in 19 days or 456 hours may
also be sent in.

Premiums for the early delivery of the mails to be at the
rate of £5 an hour, and penalties for late arrival £4 an
hour.

All receipts and payments from the Imperial Post Office,
the Australian Colonies, Fiji, Samoa, and any other of the
Polynesian Islands, except the Hawaiian Islands, to be
retained by the Postmaster-General of New Zealand. All
contributions from the United States and the Hawaiian
Islands to belong to the contractors.

The names of the steamships to be employed in the service
between Auckland and San Francisco, and in the branch
service, to be given in the tender. The steamers to be
employed between San Francisco and Auckland must be
not less than 2,500 tons register, and be equal to Class
100, A1, Lloyd’s register. The steamers will be subject to
the approval of the Postmaster-General.

The particulars and conditions of contract, together with
the form of tender, may be obtained on application to the
General Post Office, Wellington, the Chief Post Offices,
Auckland, Napier, Nelson, Christchurch, Dunedin, and
Invercargill, and at the General Post Offices, Sydney and
Melbourne.

Tenders to be addressed to the Hon. the Postmaster-
General of New Zealand, Wellington, New Zealand, and
marked on the outside “Tender for San Francisco Mail
Service.”

W. GRAY,
Secretary.
General Post Office,
Wellington, 3rd August, 1885.

PARTICULARS AND CONDITIONS.

The Postmaster-General of New Zealand is prepared to
receive tenders for the conveyance of mails between San
Francisco and New Zealand, with the Port of Auckland as
the terminus, once each way in every four weeks, with a
branch service between Auckland and such port in Australia
as may hereafter be agreed upon, for a period not exceeding
three years from the commencement of the service.

The mails to be carried will be all such mails as the Post-
master-General may from time to time require the con-
tractors to carry to and from such Australian port, Auckland,
and San Francisco, the intermediate port of Honolulu, in
the Sandwich Islands, and any other place.

The service between Auckland and San Francisco may be
performed by not less than two vessels, each being a good,
substantial, and efficient screw steam-vessel of the first class,
and fully equal to Class 100, A1, Lloyd’s Register, and of not
less than 2,500 gross registered tonnage, propelled by first-
rate engines of adequate power, and having spar-decks, and
large capacity for passengers and cargo, and ample ventila-
tion for passing through tropical latitudes; and each vessel
will be required to be under the command of a competent
captain, having ample experience in the command of screw
steam-vessels.

The service between San Francisco and Auckland to be
performed in eighteen days, or four hundred and thirty-two
hours each way. The branch service between Auckland and
Australia to be performed in five days, or such lesser time as
the Postmaster-General may appoint, and by such vessels,
other than the vessels employed between San Francisco and
Auckland, as may from time to time be approved by the
Postmaster-General.

Separate tenders for a nineteen days’ (four hundred and
fifty-six hours’) service between San Francisco and Auckland
may also be sent in.

The vessels to be employed between Auckland and San
Francisco and in the branch service are to be furnished with
all necessary machinery, tackle, &c., and to be subject to
the approval of the Postmaster-General before being em-
ployed.

The Postmaster-General is to have full power to inspect
the vessels employed between San Francisco and Auckland,
and in the branch service, their officers and crew, and to
suspend the use of any vessel which may not be considered
satisfactory, or to prevent the employment of any officer,
engineer, or crew appearing to him to be ineligible.

The one twenty-sixth part of the subsidy will be paid by the
Postmaster-General on the completion of the conveyance of
each mail in accordance with the contract, and will be paid
at Wellington.

If any vessel shall not be at the port of departure from time
to time in due time, and ready to perform the service, a sum of
£250, and a further sum of £50 per day, is to be paid by the con-
tractors to, or may be deducted by, the Postmaster-General
as liquidated and ascertained damages; but he may remit or
reduce these sums if satisfied that the default shall have arisen
from causes over which the contractors had no control.

A bonus of £5 will be paid by the Postmaster-General for
the delivery of the mails at Auckland or San Francisco, as
the case may be, for every hour before the contract time, and
a penalty of £4 an hour will be deducted for late delivery.

All subsidies obtained from other countries than Great
Britain and her colonies, or any of the Polynesian Islands,
except the Hawaiian Islands, for the conveyance of mails are
to belong to the contractors, if made under arrangements
approved by the Postmaster-General.

The vessels must be provided with safe and convenient
places of deposit for the mails, rendered vermin-proof, with
locks, keys, and secure fastenings.

The contractors will have to provide the necessary lights
and accommodation for sorting and making up the mails on
board, with a separate and convenient room on the spar-deck
for the purpose, rendering any assistance required for con-
veying the mails between the mail-room and the sorting-
room.

The Postmaster-General is to be at liberty to intrust the
custody of the mails to the master or commander of the
vessel; and, in case of the officer in charge of the mails being
absent, the master or commander is to take them in charge;
and the contractors are to be responsible for the receipt, safe
custody, and delivery of the mails.

All directions of the officers in charge of the mails are to be
attended to so far as the same are reasonable and consistent
with the safety of the vessel. The contractors are to have no
claim for postage. A suitable first-class accommodation for
a Mail Officer or Agent, and one assistant for the Postmaster-
General, with a properly-fitted state-room for their exclusive
use, is to be provided on board the vessels, and such officers
or agents and assistants are to be victualled by the con-
tractors as chief-cabin passengers without charge; and,
during the time a vessel may stay at any port except Auck-
land or San Francisco, such officers, agents, and assistants
are to be allowed to remain on board, and are to be victualled
by the contractors.