A.—No. 4.

No. 68. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. My dear Sir George,-— Camp on the Waingongoro, 9th April, 1865. As the " Wanganui " goes direct from this to Auckland, where I presume you are at this time, I send by her a duplicate of a letter I wrote to you the day before yesterday* about our operations here, and which, as it went via Wanganui and Wellington, may not reach you for some days to come. I have sent a copy of this letter to Lord de Grey, and also copies of the correspondence which lately took place between us on the subject of the Wereroa Pa, and our movements along the coast, as it is essential he should know everything that is going on here. I also send you a copy of a private letter I wrote you on the eternal subject of blockhouses. Since it was written I have been informed by Colonel Mould that 8 per cent, must be added to the quantities in his estimate to allow for accidents. We have reconnoitred this part of the country between Kututamie and Ketemetea, and as I have mentioned in my despatch, these and the other native settlements between them are either in the bush or so close to it as to afford the inhabitants an immediate retreat. Indeed, they have already abandoned them, and keep only a few scouts in them. We might have destroyed both the villages above mentioned, and some officers under my command are disappointed that I did not order them to be burned down ; but as we should gain very little ourselves, and do very little harm to the natives bydestroying a few wharres, whilst we might entail very unpleasant consequences on the outsettlers of Wanganui if the natives thought proper to pay us back in our own coin, as they did at Taranaki, I thought it better to leave the villages undisturbed. We merely cut down the Pai Mairire flagstaff at Kututamie. The other villages we did not enter. I have, Ac. D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 69. Lieutenant General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Camp, Patea, 14th April, 1865. With reference to my letter to your Excellency of the 7th instant, I have the honor to report that the only surf boat in the service of the Commissariat, which remained fit for xvork, was upset near the mouth of the Waingongoro on its return from communicating with a steamer on the 10th instant, and I regret to say that three of the crew were drowned, and the boat seriously damaged. Thus in the space of a few days nine lives have been lost in this manner, and three surf boats either destroyed or rendered unserviceable. Since the 13th of last month the weather has not admitted of more than three cargoes being landed on the coast beyond the Patea, viz., two at the Manawapou, and one at the Waingongoro, and to accomplish this, three steamers were continually employed at great expense. Under these circumstances I consider it would be useless to attempt to supply the posts at Manawapou, and on the Waingongoro, any more by sea, and they will in future be supplied by land from the depot on the Patea. It would be very inconvenient to supply a third post by land from the Patea, from which it would probably be distant about 35 miles. The only point on the coast between the Patea and New Plymouth, at which there is any probability of our being able to land supplies, is Te Namu which has been always represented as very favorable for that purpose. This might be ascertained, and if Te Namu should be found a good landing place, and should your Excellency desire any more posts established along the coast, that point might be taken possession of and occupied, and from it, as a base, the chain of posts might afterwards be completed, when possible, towards New Plymouth on one side, and the Waingongoro on the other. By reducing the garrisons of some of the posts which have already been established, a sufficient number of men might be collected to occupy Te Namu, without reducing the moveable column below 800 men, and a portion of this column might be temporarily detached to New Plymouth to enable Colonel Warre to march to Te Namu. In making this statement Ido not wish it to be supposed that I recommend the occupation of any more posts by the troops, but in case your Excellency and the Ministers should still desire the occupation of the coast between Taranaki and Wanganui, I think it right to show- how far it can be carried out with the force at my disposal. I have withdrawn the column under Brigadier-General Waddy from the Waingongoro to Manawapou. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 70. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron to His Excellency the Governor. Sir, — Head Quarters, Camp Patea, 20th April, 1865. With reference to my letter of the 16th ultimo, No. 80-65, to which no reply has been received. I have the honor to inform your Excellency that the custody of the rebel prisoners at Tauranga and of Minirapa and others at Taranaki, is attended with considerable inconvenience to the Military authorities at those stations, and as there does not appear to be any immediate prospect of their being brought to trial, I have to request that they may be transferred to the civil power. Two prisoners were taken after the skirmish at Kakaramea, and I have also to request your Excellency's instructions relative to their disposal. I have, Ac, D. A. Cameron, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. . * See No. 66. G

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GOVERNOR AND LIEUT-GENERAL CAMERON.