Wellington, April 17th. 1871. My dear McLean, I have duly received yours of the 11th. and am looking up the papers that will have to be printed. I shall keep them as low as possible, as the results of printing so much last session was that hardly anybody read them. Branigan never turned up in the Ashley and I feel a little uneasy about it, as your letter was written she had sailed and you were evidently under the impression that he was in her. I hope he has not given the Auckland People the slip, and got into a difficulty. I am glad to hear the military spirit is so good up there. I suppose it was owing to the prize firing being held at Auckland, so the money has been well spent. I am always reading that the thing will get too cumbersome and expensive and so break down by its own weight. I wish Harington was back in his office. Fairchild telegraphs today from Greymouth where he arrived this morning. He could not communicate with Martin's Bay on acct. of S.W. gales, though he lay off the place for 3 days. Now he remains at Greymouth till Thursday, and will be here on Saturday the 22nd., so I suppose you may expect him at Auckland somewhere about 28th. or 29th. as he will stay here at least two days. I am very much amused at Gillies, of all men in the world, complaining of tart letters. If there is a man in N.Z. who regularly and habitually writes impudent, and frequent-ly insulting letters to Cent. Govt., Mr. Gillies is the man. I should like to sit humbly at his feet and receive a few lessons in flowery epistolary style. If he will kindly quote the number and date of any particularly offensive letter and will favour me with a copy in the flowery and mellifluous language etc. he would have used on the occasion, I shall take it as a very great kindness and endeavour to remodel my style accdgly., though it must be remembered that the Minister, not I, is responsible for the tone of the letters (though it is true I draft them) - indeed those to him are generally couched in the terms of an opinion from the Attorney Genl. I am sorry the poor man's feelings have been hurt, but really a complaint from him about acrimonious letters is something beyond a joke. Gisborne is writing you a long epistle about things in general, and will no doubt explain how they got the Govr. to stop the Virago wh. was under orders to sail immediately for England. H.E. behaved like a trump and unhesitatingly took all the responsibility on his own shoulders. I see by the papers you send down that your work is no joke. Your visit to Napier will be a relaxation for you, and then you will have your turn again when you get down here. I wish you would put somebody in charge of the AC. I have at last shaken off the Pub. Works Dept. to which Mr. John Knowles has been appointed - that nearly killed me, and now I have the A.C. correspondence. It is a fact that I write till 1 or 2 a.m. every night, and if I do happen to go out anywhere I have double the work next night. I don't think I have any further news to give you. Gorten has just returned from his inspection tour of Canterbury & Otago. Believe me Very sincerely yours, G.S. Cooper.