Letter from William Fox, to the Honble, the Colonial Secretary, dated 7th. June 1850 relative to mode of payment of Second Instalment of Rangitikei purchase. New Zealand Company's Office Wellington 7th. June 1850. Sir, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday's date, in continuation of previous correspondence relative to the payment of the Rangitikei purchase money. I regret that His Excellency, the Lieut. Governor should not be able to see the transaction in the same light in which I view it; and respecting my inability to provide the money on any other terms than those suggested by the Bank, I have no other course than to bow to His Excellency's decision, referring the matter to the consideration of the Governor-in-Chief. I cannot, however, conclude this correspondence without protesting most respectfully, but most firmly, against the censure to which His Excellency, in the latter part of your letter, would intimate that the course pursued by me is open. It was impossible that I could 'communicate to the Local Government some time before the payments became due' my inability to make them on other terms than those now rejected; because it was only at the very date of the first of these payments that I learned the intention of the Bank, to require the endorsement of the Treasurer of the Local Government. Nor should I, under any circumstances, have communicated with the Governor-in-Chief on a subject which appears to me solely within the scope of the Provincial Government. That I had not the opportunity of communicating with His Excellency, the Lieut. Governor, when the emergency arose, in reference to the first payment, was owing entirely to his own prolonged absence of several months from the Province. You are aware that I at once communicated with yourself, and that the Executive Council had no hesitation in adopting the suggestion of the Bank. That His Excellency would see difficulties which the Executive Council did not, I never for a moment supposed; nor did I, till my return from Nelson (where I had been on Official business), conceive that any new difficulty would occur. On learning that such had occurred during my absence, I lost not a moment in communicating with you. I must therefore still decline to admit that any responsibility in this matter rests with me. His Excellency's assumption that I could have communicated with the Government earlier than I did, being entirely without foundation. I have the honor to be, etc., (Signed) William Fox Principal Agent N.Z. Co. To:- The Honble, The Colonial Secretary.