10 August 1869 Glenorchy My dear Donald I see by the paper that you are getting things pretty favourable with you and just as I expected as I had no dreams like last year at all, no old wives in the way. You certainly have a very hard and arduous task to perform but I hope God will gave you health and strength to carry it out with pleasure to yourself, and benefit to New Zealand as to that there is not the faintest doubt off it is old Mrs M'Lean's dream coming true at last that you may yet get the credit of setteling the war. I was pleased to see that your measure passed the House. It is the only wise measure they have passed for some time. I can only tell you that the people here feel quite satisfied and full of confidence now. May God grant that they may not be disapointed. Those wretches that tried to injure your reputation I am thankful to say look small now. That old wife Lambert will not say again who is McLean, what has he to do with me & as for Whitmore he is beneath my notice, and as for his Lordship the double distilled designer I hope cannot do much more harm. I can tell you it was a glorious feeling for me when they got their des[s]erts. Now about things in general. One of the sheepheards on Ormond's run, 3½ miles from my house, got some stuff very much resembling gold which I saw. The store keeper at Hamden took it to Napier yesterday and I hear today that Brewer the watch maker says it is gold. It certainly looked like it but a fear the news is two good to be true. Still I always had an idaia that gold was out that way. Off course I will keep a sharp look out. I do not let much pass that can be put to any a/c. When I was coming home from Napier when there last I called at the boiling down and found that Chambers had sent a number of sheep to be cured and smocked there for the Auckland market where he expects to get a return of 15/ clear I hear. Well then I got into conversation with the manager and he shewed me the process and I took two hams with me as a sample for which he charged at the boiling down six pence the pound, and he said it would bring nine pence in Auckland. Well I have killed two sheep up here and they are now curing and I believe will be equally as good as the boiling down and safe the tallow and skin and offal. If you are going to remain in Wellington I will send you a sample so that if a market can be got as I am certain of success in the curing, it would be well for me to cure thirty or forty and try the experiment. I told Condie about it but I fear there is two much want of energy about people nowadays altogether. I was down at the station the other day and was vexed to find a good part of the end knocked out of the stable for the want of slabing it when that lad Twigg is doing little ealse. Between them they might have done that. As to the distruction among the trees it is shameful the bullocks are allowed in among the blue gums and the fine pines you sent from Auckland and it greaves me to see it. I will put you on a plan when I see you that you will find will do good about that place. I expect some sheep will be sold to the contractor for the Force as he told me if he got the contract he was certain to come here to buy. Always yours Archibald John McLean