2nd. Sept. 1862. Whangarei. My dear McLean, I thank you most sincerely for all your kind wishes and I do trust that they may be realised, the event is to come off on Thursday next so that I have not now much time to repent of all my iniquities, I should very much have liked to have had a crack with you on the present extraordinary stat of affairs. Fox has soon come to grief as I always anticipated but his Govt. and his views are still I fear in the ascendant. I am I confess quite nonplussed by the present new views of His Grace the D. of N. I am going steadily on, having finished the survey of Beasley's claim at Ngunguru and am now engaged plotting it. I will at a more leisure time again write you and in the meantime am as ever very sincerely yours Will N. Searancke. D. McLean Esq., Auckland.