The mail steamer Janet Nicoll, under contract with the Government of New Zealand, carries mails to and from this colony and the Islands of Tonga, Samoa, Rarotonga, and Tahiti, making the round trip every two months. The contractors are Messrs. Donald and Edenborough, of Auckland, and the Government pay a subsidy of £700 for each trip from and to Dunedin and the Islands. In the probable event of the Tonga Government paying a portion of the subsidy, the port of Nukualofa will be made the first port of arrival and last port of departure from the Islands. The time-table of the steamer is not yet definitely arranged. The rates of postage between New Zealand and the Islands are as followa:—

Letter Postage.

From New Zealand.
To Tonga—
For each ½ oz.	2d.
To Samoa—
For each ½ oz.	2d.
To Rarotonga—
For each ½ oz.	2d.
To Tahiti—
For each ½ oz.	2d.