D.—No. S.

either take steps to get the whole establishment at Manukau placed on a more satisfactory footing, and that without delay, or else they should advertise the state of the port, and proclaim it (practically) closed. If this were done, the mail arrangements would require to be altered, and all Auckland mails sent up by the East Coast, as it w r ould not be proper to make contract mail boats run to a closed port. I am the more desirous of early instructions in this matter as the small harbour-light, which was ordered for Manukau Heads has arrived per " Memento," and could be erected very shortly, but I hesitate to take any steps to do so, so long as the harbour arrangements are so faulty and deficient. I have, &c., J. M. Balfour, The Hon. the Postmaster-General. Colonial Marine Engineer.

No. 12. The Hon. E. W. Stafford to His Honor J. Williamson. (No. 147.) Colonial Secretary's Office, Sir, — Wellington, 22nd June, 1869. On the 21st of October last your Honor represented to the General Government the necessity of an immediate resurvey of the Manukau Bar, and offered the services of Captain Wing, Pilot and Harbourmaster at the Manukau, to assist in that survey, and on the 23fd of that month I had the honor of requesting that, in the absence of any available vessel at the disposal of the General Government, Captain Wing might bo directed to take the necessary steps at once to ascertain the position of the bar and to fix the buoys and beacons accordingly. I also stated that the Marine Department would be instructed to communicate wdth Captain Wing on the subject, who, however, should not on that account delay the necessary work. I added that the General Government would advance the requisite funds, and that the expenses would be charged against the Province of Auckland under " The Marine Act, 1867." The Colonial Marine Engineer forthwith placed himself in communication with Captain Wing on the subject of this survey, and on the 20th of January last I wrote to your Honor a letter, to which I have received no reply, transmitting, for the expression of your views thereon, a communication from Mr. Balfour on the subject of the estimated cost of the survey in question. Mr. Balfour also proceeded to Auckland, and in February last, after personal examination, made at your request, a special report on the whole question of the.Manukau Harbour and the pilot and harbour establishment there. No notice of that report seems to have been taken by the Auckland Provincial Government, except, it is believed, in the acceptance of a tender for the repair of certain buoys. Mr. Balfour now states that, in consequence of this delay, the Tranmere Buoy, which cost about £150 pounds, has entirely disappeared, as he predicted in his report to your Honor, and that it will cost not less than £200 more to put the harbour in proper order now than it would have done in February last. He reports that the harbour is not safe, and that the working staff is too small and generally ill-managed. He adds that the small harbour-light which was ordered for Manukau Heads has arrived and could be erected very shortly, but that he hesitates to take any steps in the matter so long as the harbour arrangements are so faulty and deficient. The maintenance of an effective harbour establishment at Manukau and of proper buoys there devolve on the Provincial authorities at Auckland ; but the General Government, though not responsible for this neglected and dangerous state of the Manukau Harbour, which might at any moment cause a lamentable loss of life and property, is bound to take every step in its power to obviate that fearful risk. If, therefore, the buoys and beacons at the Manukau Bar and in the harbour are not placed in proper repair and at the requisite spots within a month from this date, the Government will cause the work to be done, and the cost charged to the Province of Auckland, under the 27th and 28th sections of " The Marine Act, 1867," and in the meantime a notice will be published in the New Zealand Gazette warning the public that the beacons and buoys at the entrance of the harbour of Manukau are not at present to be trusted to. Should your Honor prefer that the General Government should at once have this work executed, the Government will, on receiving intimation from you to that effect, take the necessary stops for that purpose. I have, &c. His Honor the Superintendent, Auckland. E. W. Stafford.

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PAPERS RELATIVE TO RESURVEY OE THE MANUKAU BAR.