MANGAPAI.

The weather here for the last six weeks has been very dry. Rain is anxiously wished for, and if it is much longer withheld serious consequences will be the result, as grass and all crops very much need a good soaking. I never remember seeing the ground so parched with the same length of dry weather ; potatoes, maize, &c., suffer, and will be a short crop if rain keeps off any length of time. — The cutter 'Whangarei,' Captain Anderson, is now running regularly to Whan^arei, and sending goods and passengers from Limestone Island for our settlement, landing them on the Government wharf or wherever else required. Great inconvenience was felt by settlers before the starting of the ' Whangarei, ' as their goods ordered from town by the • Goahead' were landed in an inconvenient place for the bulk of the settlera to get at. It has occurred to my knowledge that a settler, who ordered goods from Auckland by ths ' Go-ahpad.' did ' not receive the last of Ms order for five weeks after the first part was landed ; no person could tell where the remainder of the order had got to, until at last, after patiently waiting, all was delivered at the end of five weeks. It is a great pity that such cases as this should occur, or rather be the rule, as no doubt the steamer, if properly managed, would serve the settlement much better than a cutter; and, if regular communication could be relied on, settlers' produce, although now small, would soon become a considerable item in supporting a steamer. — I have to record the death of Mr. Meredith Rountree, which occurred on the 6th instant. He has been a resident here since the early days of the settlement. He was a most inoffensive yet cheerful and agreeable neighbour, beloved by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. He was a local preacher in connection with the Wesley an Church, and a very able and popular preacher. — [Correspondent.]