WEST COAST EXPLORATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 672, 12 February 1864, Page 5

WEST COAST EXPLORATION.

(To the Editor of the Daily Times. X'

Sib—Although I hoped that I would not feel called upon to interfere in the discussion which has arisen between yourself and the Chief Surveyor, Mr Thomson, respecting the recent exploration of the West Coast, yet, as in his communication of yesterday's date, he has left it to me " to make explanation of my own acts in the matter," I can no longer hesitate to do so.

I therefore beg to furnish you with the whole of the official correspondence which has passed on the subject, for the publication of which I have obtained the requisite sanction, and from it you will perceive that the question at issue between myself and Mr Thomson has nothing to do with the merits of Mr Caples or Mr. Alabaster's exploration, regarding which it will be seen by reference to my report, that 1 speak in terms of warmest praire. I remain, Sir,

Yours most obediently, James Hector Dunedin, 11th February, 1864.

Geological Survey Office, L)unedin, Bth Jan., 1864. The Provincial Secretary.

g lß —x have the honor to request that the Chief Surveyor be directed to furnish me with a tracing of the official map referred to in the foot notes* which have been appended to the second page of my report as printed in the " Provincial Gazette," No. 274, Vol. 6, page 436. Likewise with three copies of the latest published map of the Province, for the use of my department.. I beg respectfully to take this opportunity of pointing out the inexpediency of allowing foot notes to be affixed to my official communications, whilst they are passing through the press, without the initials of the responsible author, or other • wise they are necessarily assumed to emanate from myself. Moreover, as I perceive that an important paragraph! has been omitted from the same report at page 465 of the " Gazette" referred to (the indication of which by asterisks or by a foot-note, as is usual in such cases, has unfortunately been overlooked), in which I give the latitude and longitude of the Kaduku River according to my own observations, and likewise add a clause pointing out that it causes aslight alteration in the form of the Province as laid down in previous maps. I will be glad to learn his Honor's views respecting reference being made to my exact geographical determinations in the continuance of" that report which I am at present preparing. However, I should mention that these determinations, in which I have perfect, confidence, will shortly be published, I trust, by the Royal Geographical Society of London, without of course any direct reference to their effect on the inter-pro-vincial boundary line. On the same footing it might perhaps be deemed expedient to permit their appearance in my reports, as their abseuce deprives it to some extent of exact scientific value.

I have the honor to be, Sir,

Your obedient servant, • (Signed) James Hector.

* The footnotes referred to are Kakapo Lake, "Lake M'Kerrow on the official maps." Kakapo River—" Holyford River." Wawaihwuk Lake—"Lake Alabaster on official maps."

f The passage which was struck out along -with the context is as follows, the former beiag in italics. ■ " This river is called by the Maoris the Wakatipu Kaduku, or the river that leads up to the Wakatipu Lake; by which they mean nottne Wakatipu Lake of the east side of the mountains, but the lake I had just disco rered, and which in order to avoid confusion, I propose to name the Kakapo Lake,, in order to preserve the name of that rare and interesting bird which will, in all probability soon become extinct; and preserving part of the Maori name, I would name the river Kaduku.

The mouth of this river, situated at the north end of Martins Bay, is in lot. iideg., I9min., 25sec, S; long, lti&deg., Imin-., ISsecs., W. The latter, as my chronometers were irregular, having been obtained by the bearing of Pembroke' Peak. the exact position of tohich I ascertained triyonometrically from Fresh Water Basin, at tlw Haad of Milford Sound, the longitude of which is given in the New Zealand Pilot. This ivill place the stream which falls into the Awarua Bay afeio niles to the north and eastward of the position given to it on the chart, and thus throw the boundary line of the Province more to the northward. 'Phe Maoris describe this stream as of very small size; and further, thnt it is impossibJ^to land with a boat at its mouth, or indeed, in any_ other part of the bay, which I may mention is known to the whalers as Big Bay. t Note. It will be obseived that m addition to the omission of important matter from my report, the striking out of the above paragraph has unfortunately caused my remarks on the Awarua River, to refer apparently to the Kaduku River, and thereby stultified my favorable report as to the navigability of the latter stream. J.H. (Copy.) Provincial Secretary's Office, Dunedin, 28th Jan., 1864.

My Dear Sir—l enclose a copy of Mr Thomson's memo., recommending publication of your map without the latitude, &c, which Mr Dick informs me you wished for.

Yours truly,

(Signed) James Hector, Esq.

Alex. Willis

Survey Office, Dunedin, 22nd Oct., 1864. MEMO. TOR PROVINCIAL SECRETARY. I would recommend that this map be published without latitudes and longitudes, as any error in them might involve disputes with Canterbury. They differ con, siderably from the information in this office.

(Signed)

J. T. Thomson, Chief Surveyor.

Geological Survey Office, Dunedin, 29th January, 1864.

(memo, for provincial secretary.)

Referring to the copy memo, from the Chief Surveyor forwarded for the purpose of explaining the grounds upon which the meridian lines were left out upon the map attached to my recent report upon the West Coast, I have only to remark, that I would recognise the explanation as satisfactory, did I not observe that in a map published from the Survey Department since the date of that memo., the very determination of latitude therein objectedito ha 3 been adopted, whereby I am deprived of my undoubted right of priority of publication.

In all the previous maps published by the Survey Department, the mouth of the Awarua River or western extremity of the filter provincial boundary line is laid down as in Lit. 44deg. 24sec. S., while in the most recent map, dated January, 1864, it is laid down as in 44deg. 17min. S.; or in other words, an encroachment of 7min. (i.e. nautical miles) upon the coast Hue of the Canterbury province, which is in exact accordance with my observations. The grounds for the mutilation of my report, by the omission of the paragraph referred to in my letter No. 3, 64,8 th January, and also for the appending of the footnotes to page 2 of the report, are however not explained by the memo, referred to as above. (Signed) James Hector, Provincial Geologist.