Auckland March 3rd. 1857. My dear Sir, As probably I may not have the pleasure of a personal interview with you ere I leave town, I take the liberty of sending you my views on the subject of settling the late Nova Scotian immigrants on the Maunga Karama, altho' I admit your motives in proposing their settlement on that Block (if the Govt. were disposed to give it to them) to be for their own future benefit --- yet there are so many insuperable barriers in the way that it is an impossibility. People who require every exertion and study to maintain their families otherwise would be ill prepared to remove into the interior where they would have nothing to subsit on but air after getting there. But not so Parua Bay which is far more adapted for their present circumscribed circumstances as/then they could set their hands to many things such as firewood or sawing kauri for market and fishing to help maintain their families untill they got a crop out of the ground. As regards myself personally altho' I believe Muanga Karama if covered with industrious settlers in a few years hence it will to speak comparatively be a Garden of Eden, but being always from my youth brought up and lived close to the sea nothing would induce me to bring my family to that out-of-the-way place but that the passengers would get the means of removal and something to subsist on untill they got a crop out of the ground --- and that Block of 75,000 acres would be exclusively reserved for Nova Scotians and the Government would enable me to devote part of my time to the purpose of getting emigrants out to settle thereon and I am certain I could not render better services to the country of my adoption than to spend my time in getting out a class of most industrious and useful people. I beg to refer you to the rapid improvements of the Waipu in such a short space of time and my fellow passengers are not a jot behind them. Would it not be a boon to the country to have large districts settled with such people even altho' with some inconvenience to the country at first sight. They would indirectly soon retrieve the damage to the country or if the country is in debt would it not be a wise policy to get as many industrious people as possible to participate in that debt. I am afraid if the Government of New Zealand do not look about them in this matter, the Govt. of the Cape of Good Hope will soon turn the attention of the Nova Scotians to that quarter as Sir George Gray is determined to spare no money for that purpose. But am I dreaming or talking nonsence I might as well try to raise the dead or awaken the man already awake, as there seems a derterrmined predjudice towards the Nova Scotians sharing the privileges of other emigrants coming to New Zealand. There is about £460 Halifax currency due me still from the passengers which I was sure to get on arrival --- but not a penny to my present inconvenience and their future annoyance and distraction. And would you not think it would be a just and popular move of the Government to encourage the present as well as to promote future emigration from Nova Scotia to say Now Jonny! altho' your passengers are now ours as they cannot leave or help themselves we will give you Jonny, in lieu of what is owing you of their passage money --- knowing you appreciate our policy in economising the reserves to the general benefit while we are not a penny wise and a pound foolish --- we will give you an old scoria hill or an ancient Moari pa where you can rear a monument for yourself and call it Folly to warn others not to depend on us as you have done, I think to myself the country would approve of relieving the poor people by giving me the balance in land even land that perhaps would be otherwise useless to the Govt. and thereby relieve the poor people and at the same time perform a very popular duty and I do not believe if the case were properly represented to the Governor and the Superintendent but they would both be favourable to the case. Hoping you will speedily finish the purchase of Parua Bay with the Natives in order to set the Nova Scotians to work as soon as possible. Yours truly, John Munro. Dond. McLean Esqr.