3/10/62. My dear McLean, I have to thank you for your two friendly letters of 1st. and 5th. September. They make me long to shake you by the hand and tell you how thoroughly I appreciate your friendship. My last letter will have told you that I have long determined to remain silent and never to open my lips about N.Z. affairs unless Grey forces me to do so in defence of my honour. This I believe he will not do though he insinuates as much as he thinks safe without committing himself to any distinct assertion. Fox's unsavoury discourses will never move me though I think some one might have told him that it was not Govr. B. who made false statements about the Waitera. However all this is a matter of no moment. While, however, I am thus convinced that my strength is to sit still and remain silent I feel that it is quite necessary that I should be prepared for whatever may happen and was for this reason that I asked you for the official mem. about the fulfilment of promises which you have sent me and which so fully and distinctly answers my question. Very many thanks for it - I trust never to have cause to use it. I think I mentioned in my last letter that I have ceased to correspond with the Colonial Office since I left Sydney on matters in any way connected with N.Z. and I have avoided all reference to N.Z. affairs as much as possible in ordinary communications. Very many thanks for the official papers which are very useful to me though Munro also sent me a set but I am very glad to have duplicates. We take the N. Zealander, the Southern Cross, the Nelson Examiner and the Taranaki News but aur mails are so very irregular or rather I should say the N.Z. mails are so irregular that we often lose our papers and get late news before those of an earlier date. I have seen an extract of Swainson's book and expect to have it from England by one of the next mails. What I saw about Hadfield and Martin was worthy of Swainson himself - no one else could have made such an untrue statement without telling a lie. Do not trouble yourself about Hapuka's pension but I am quite sure it was promised before I reached N.Z. and I had a difficulty in inducing Richmond to assent to it. I send you a note of where some of my suggestions about Crown grants for natives may be found should you ever want to refer to them. Pray thank McCabe for me. He and the Nelson Examiner have defended me like true men while Williamson who wrote and spoke his sense of obligation to me a few days before I left has taken so very opposite a course. I watch the course of events in N.Z. with very great interest and wonder to myself whether all these conceptions will succeed in producing submission. I cannot help fearing that they will not for it is the nature of man to be arrogant and overbearing with those who yield only from fear. The Fawn made her appearance here three days ago after a passage of 19 days from Sydney. Cator is as jolly and as pleasant as ever. A night or two ago the most disgraceful scene ever witnessed occurred in our House of Assembly; it is bad enough as it appears in the paper but I am afraid that not half of what passed is reported. Here, however, it matters only to the gentlemen themselves who fight it out and unfortunately bring disgrace on the Colony. I lay all the blame on the Speaker and often long for a speaker from N.Z. either of whom would-have stopped such abominations at once and before-the disputants had become ungovernable. The more I see of other places the higher I think of N.Z. This is a far pleasanter climate and a pleasanter country to live in but we want the class of settlers which N.Z. has. Even Fitzgerald: flash in the pan is better than the want of common desire which is too often betrayed by our legislators. I am going to an agricultural meeting in the north next week but shall only be away a few days and on the 4 Novem. I shall go to the North again for another meeting and to visit some outsettlements. I mention this in case of your coming here but even if I should be absent the Mrs. will be at home and she will be more than delighted to take care of you till I come back. Farewell my dear McLean and believe me always Yours most sincerely, T.G.B. Hobart Town Oct. 3rd. 1862 I need not say how gratifying it is to me to find that neither Grey or his Ministers can get on without Donald McLean.