Ohineuha Febry. 25th 1858 My dear McLean As I leave home to-morrow, I leave these few lines in case of your coming here during my absence - to ask you to make use of anything you may want as if it were your own - Redward the man I leave in charge will get you anything I have. If you are going to stop at Porongahau be sure and take down some ''Old Forms'' (?) of which you will find a supply here - I shd. have much liked to have been here when you came, but if I do not get to Town now, I shall be unable to go at all, and business must be attended to - The Hunter's will speak to you about the Bush Reserves here - and as the part of the Bush at present set off for the White people, is perfectly useless, being unapproachable I trust you may be able to make some alteration in it - If the natives wd. consent to give up the Eastern side including the Ohineuha bush, or the bush that creek runs through, the purchase wd. be everything we could wish - a stream called ''Te Hua Tuki-Tuki'' wd. be a good natural boundary and be also a fair division of the Bush - I think you will find that the natives are anxious to complete the sale and that you will be able to make your own terms - In any case, a little more money wd. be well laid out in acquiring some bush, as it wd. be an investment the Govt. wd. be certain to profit by, and without it we shd. all be deterred from making any extensive purchases of open land - which, I think most of us wd. do, if we saw our way clear to improve it - Trusting you will forgive the freedom I am taking - believe me always Yours very truly J.D. Ormond