Wallingford Jany. 4/65 Write to have W. Hunter put into the J. P.'s it is wanted down here. My dear McLean, I was glad to hear from you by the mail that you were getting better as I had heard what must have been an exaggerated account of your illness. You seem however to have had a very sharp attack. I am glad you have put things squape with Rhodes he is touchy and you will need to pay him attention of course you understood the sense in which I told you of his grievance it was to give you the opportunity to secure an adherent who might have been alienated. About Weber I do hope you will try and arrange with him to continue his Offices. Somehow or other the the cause of his retirement has come out and it will be a very unpopular thing if he is actually lost to the Province. I must now reply to the various matters noticed in your letter. 1st. About Karaitiana and the Waipukerau plains I should say close at once for the place at the rental you name for 21 years and if possible get Pakowai as well before it is snapped up by someone else. £40 or £500 a year would not be out of the way for the Pakowai plains. I note what you say about the Wairoa and purchasing operations up there. I should advise you to be careful not to expend too much of the Provincial funds on reugh country - what I mean is that until we have money appropriated to the purpose (the loan of course but the loan is not available) it will never do to have to shut up all Provincial works for the purpose of prosecuting land purchasing operations. As you know I am anxious to do as much as yourself in land purchasing but we must do it under some such an arrangement with the Banks as we spoke of when together. We have no right to appropriate Provincial funds which the P. Council have voted for other objects. As far as the Wairoa is concerned there is no doubt there is not the least chance but that it will almost immediately be a sufficiently reproductive investment to recoup to the Province the advance expended and other funds for its purchase But from what I can gather from various sources there would be difficulty in re-couping money expended for the purchase of the rough country on the Coast. No doubt it is a great Provincial advantage to secure that country as Provincial Estate but we must be careful to do it legitimately. In connection with this subject I shd. notice what you tell me of Simpson's reply to the demand for accommodation. I shd. say that legal advice shd. be at once taken as to the liability of our position to the Bank. I mean as regards keeping our account etc. with the Union. If we can do so I wd. advise that no time shd. be lost in endeavouring to make arrangements with the New Zealand Bank if they are inclined to be more accommodating and I imagine we should find them more likely to meet our wishes if we can put our account and business into their hands. More especially is it necessary now that Simpson has refused to advance money for land purchasing I say that in my opinion it is indispensable for Provincial interests that we shd. have money at command for that purpose whenever it may be wanted. But I am as firmly of opinion on the other side that it unconstitutional and wrong in the extreme to take for that purpose Provincial funds which are already disposed of for other objects by the Provincial Council. I see what you say about Bennett's application, even in the event of Carter's retiring, which is in my opinion very unlikely. I do not think Kennedy wd. do at all for the place. He is a very good fellow but he is very weak and his domestic relations are against putting him into such a position. The course taken in the Stuart case is all right. Murray is I fear getting more and more unfit for his place. I think that closes all the subjects named in yours. There is one subject which occurs to me as one in which action should be taken. I refer to the imposition of the Wharfage dues on rates or rather the urging the case to with the Gen. Govt. and getting the authority/to do so We have been very remiss in not moving in this matter before every months delay is a great pecuniary loss to the Province and we shall be open to a just charge of neglect if we allow the matter to rest. Do have the case got up and ask for the necessary authority to levy the dues - propose that it shall be done thro' the Customs - the Province paying as we arranged with Catchpool the expense. It is very late and I must wind up my epistle. I dont expect you will agree with my views as to using Pro: funds for land purchasing but depend upon it if you consider the matter well you will see it in the same light. I am a great stickler for acting constitutionally always. Hoping you are thoroughly recovered from your late attack. I am my dear Mclean always, very sincerely yrs. J. D. Ormond. The Pound Keepers under the Impounding Act (publicans) have recd, no Instructions as to their proceedings. The charges they are to make etc. - what they are to get for their trouble - they have only been asked to keep pounds and require explicit instructions.