D.—No. 8.

No. 1. Copy of a Letter from Mr. F. A. CAnnixoTON to Mr. Gisborxe. Sue, — New Plymouth, Taranaki, 17th July, 1866. I beg leave to state that I hear " the Government are going to make inquiry into the Iron Sand question of Taranaki." I therefore do myself the honor to enclose herewith the copy of a letter which I addressed to Mr. Beckham, in reference to the Iron Sand of New Plymouth, on the 23rd November, 1864 As no notice whatever has been taken of my letter to Mr. Beckham, or the documents it contained, I think it right to ask the favour of your calling the attention of the Hon. the Colonial Secretary to the fact I have stated ; and, at the same time, I wish to make known that, by reference to my evidence before a Select Committee of the House of Commons in June, 1844, and that which I subsequently did up to the year 1856, as shown in the documents sent to Mr. Beckham, it will be clear that I was the first person who, after expenditure of money, time, and labour, brought to light, ascertained, and made known the real worth of Taranaki Sand. Under the Stannary Law of England that which I have done in this matter is not allowed to go unrewarded. I trust that the New Zealand Government will render me like protection. I have, &c, Vm. Gisborne, Esq., Under Secretary, &c. Peed. A. CARRHf&TON. Enclosure in No. 1. Copy of a Letter from Mr. P. A. Caehingtok to Mr. Thomas Beckiiam. Sir, — New Plymouth, Taranaki, 23rd November, 1864. Seeing that you are making inquiry respecting certain rights and merits in connection with the Iron Sand question of this Province, I beg leave to submit for your information, and for the information and consideration of the Government, the facts contained in the accompanying letter which I had the honor of addressing to the Eight Hon. the Earl Grey in February, 1850; and I will now merely observe that this letter was followed up by action and correspondence, and finally by a memorial, a copy of which is herewith enclosed, which resulted in my being told at the Colonial Office, that if I desired it a letter would be written to the Governor that would ensure my obtaining " the Grant" on arrival in this Colony, provided the beach had not been previously granted. As this necessarily involved the locking up of the capital required for the enterprise until I could report from New Zealand the result of my mission, which at that time would have occupied eight or nine months, the smelting of the Iron Sand was consequently not carried out. In 1856, I resolved on leaving England and returning to New Zealand, having arranged with a gentleman, a connection of my own, who had successfully carried out some of the largest railway contracts in England and "Wales, and who had smelted the New Plymouth Sand at his own works and knew its value, to erect smelting works and foundry at New Plymouth, provided I could obtain from the local authorities a license to collect and use the sand. On my arrival in the Colony in July, 1857, I found to my dismay, that so far from being in a position to ask or obtain the said license from the local authorities, I was obliged to spend my time and money, and to use all my efforts to obtain some little consideration and redress for the unmerited and unjust wrongs which had been done me by the passing of certain clauses in the Land Orders and Scrip Act of 1856. I will now only add that the Iron Sand of New Plymouth is perhaps infinitely more valuable than the Government are aware of. I most satisfactorily and conclusively ascertained its market value, and officially and publicly made known its worth. Iron made from the New Plymouth Sand is worth from £37 to £42 per ton. In New Zealand there are other large deposits of Iron Sand beyond Taranaki, and I have reason to believe of equal value. What, therefore, will be the effect produced in this Colony if this mineral be rightly worked ? Thomas Beckham, Esq., I have, &c, Commissioner of Taranaki Claims, &c, New Plymouth. Fred. A. Caeringtojt. Note.—ln returning to New Zealand, in 1857, I had two grand objects in view—one, as I have already stated, was the smelting of the Iron Sand, the other was the constructing of a harbour at New Plymouth, and in this last matter I had the promise of co-operation and aid in all that was needful, on most favourable terms to this Government, from Sir John Bennie, the eminent harbour engineer, to whom lam well known. The unhappy differences which arose through the passing of certain clauses in the Land Orders and Scrip Act of 1856 frustrated these two great and important works. 23rd November, 1864. Fred. A. Caeringtos. Remark, July, 1866. —Mr. Beckham has not favoured me with any reply to this letter, neither has he notified to me any remarks on the documents it contained. Ido not know whether he has or has not submitted it to the Government. Last session, Mr. F. N. Gledhill, of this town, was one of the Taranaki representative Members. On his leaving this place for the House of Representatives I gave him duplicate copies of all the documents relating to the Iron Sand question (which I had given to Mr. Beckham for the Government

3

CORRESPONDENCE RELATIVE TO THE TARANAKI IRON SAND.