Napier July 12th. 1866. My dear McLean, I have received your note of the 2nd. inst. and was glad to find that you had reached Wellington in safety. I shall endeavour whilst you are away to keep you cognisant on all Provinical Matters, Finance especially. I am very sorry to have already to communicate to you on a subject which cannot give you more annoyance that it does me, as it has always been my endeavour to prevent blunders in monetary matters, which would in any way mislead you. I have as I am sure you must well know the interest of the Province at heart, and that it is my earnest wish to do my duty by the Government to the best of my ability. I discovered on the 30th. that the amount of Revenue I led you to expect we should receive from land was erroneous thro' some accidental and unforseen circumstances. They have arisen thro some misunderstanding by Mr. Webb of my requirement, when requesting him on the 14th. ult. (to enable me to know what money we might reckon on as coming in by the end of the month) to give me a memo of the from the Sales Book he had charge of, on the sales of Land at Wairoa and Turiroa; when he gave me the amount of the Balances due without having first deducted the amount of the Receipts passed on to Curling by him to those parties who had paid their Balances between the 30th. May and the above date, he having imagined that the whole amount of the Balances 9/10 intact of the sale of the 29th. May was all I required. Cetainly I must say in justice to him that my request might apply to both purposes, for I did not at the time inform him of the objects for which I desired the information. The consequence has been that from the figures he gave me £5231-9-6 I included £5230 (as Land Revenue coming in) in the Memorandum I gave you on the day 21st. June. I furnished you with the statement of our account with the Bankers for the Council. No money was paid into the Treasury by Curling between the 11th. and the 21st. I discovered on the 30th. that instead of £5231-9-6 being receivable on this account it was only £38145-11-7. £90 however