Wallingford April 24th./67 My dear McLean, Yours of the 15th. that ought to have come last week made its appearance today and tells me something of your doings at Wairoa for which thank you. Poor Roper is a great loss in every sense. The Mem. of yours and Richmonds re the Mahia is I think a reasonable proposition on both sides and there will be no trouble I fancy in getting it carried out by the Prov. Council I see you managed to screw 1200 out of the Genl. Govt. for Native Surveys. I suppose you mean Native Land Court surveys. About Cobb and Co. I shld. very much like to see them started in this Province and think £3 or £4 a year wd. be well laid out. They would take the Mails also and get something to help in that way - these kind of things advance a district immensely. I see the Govt. do propose to consolidate the Prov. Loans and I shld. think armed with the draft of the proposed Bill, you ought to get the needful from the Banks. At any rate I am glad you are going to try, for whatever you may think I dont fancy meeting the new Council with our present Bank Book. When will the Council meet by the bye. When it does we ought to have only a formal meeting of a day or two to elect Super. etc. and then adjourn for a fortnight or month to prepare for the sitting. It wd. not be decent to be ready directly you were elected. Richardson writes me the Ban business you were to settle about this week - that is allright. How very dull things are all over the Colony everyone seems more or less hard up. We shall meet soon and I shall hear from you as soon as you have anything to tell me on Finance matters. Yours always, J. D. Ormond.