A.—No. 1b

last fifteen months. Colonel St. John has commanded a Division of the Colonial forces, and has thus had peculiar opportunities of observing these mountainous and little known districts, extending —as a glance at the map of New Zealand will show —from the Bay of Plenty on the East Coast of the North Island to the central lake of Taupo. • 2. It will be seen that the best approach to this part of the interior is from Tauranga, the only safe harbour in the Bay of Plenty, and which must become a township and settlement of much importance when peace and tranquillity shall have been established. I have, &c, The Right Hon. Earl Granville, K.G. G. E. BOWEN.

Enclosure in No. 26. Colonel J. H. 11. St. John's Description of the Hrewera and Taupo Country. Sic, — In accordance with your instructions to report upon the physical features of the country lying at the back of the Bay of Plenty, and the best means of communication from the coast line to Taupo, I have the honor to submit the following. The report I will divide into two heads, namely :— 1. The nature and resources of the interior country in the Bay of Plenty, as far as I have seen it. : 2. The different lines of road leading from the Bay of Plenty to Taupo. Opotiki. 1. From Opotiki to Te Kaha the mountains run down to the water's edge, leaving on their flanks a few valleys cultivated by the Natives near the coast. The interior of the country, over which roam the remains of the rebel Whakatoheas, is to the friendlios almost a terra incognita. Allured by the frequent appearance of quartz in the Torere stream, I once took up it a prospecting party, and found, according to tho diggers who were with me, every indication of gold but the gold itself. Mr. Gwynneth, C.E., and Mr. Way subsequently went further than me, and hurriedly prospected a good lot of country. They brought back stone containing pyrites and copper. Each party found the country fearfully rough and broken; the path, as usual, leading up the bed of a mountain torrent abounding in waterfalls. . The two Opotiki rivers, the Waioeka and the Otara, each flow through narrow gorges, affording nowhere room for cultivation, except in small patches, until the enclosing ranges open out, forming the Opotiki Valley and the Waiotahi swamp. Wilson's land, on the western bank of the Waioweka, is a fine fertile plateau. Whilst at Opotoki I endeavoured to introduce flax-dressing, in order to give employment to the settlers' families, but, after several meetings, and many rides in search of a supply of flax, I was forced to abandon my views. The swamps about are all raupo ; the only flax to be found, and that in small quantities, being on Native land, about Whakatane, which the owners were disinclined to lease. Waimana. Tho head of the Ohiwha is separated by a low chain of hills from a rich valley, taking its name from the River Waimana, which, issuing into it at Nukutahuahua, waters the upper portion, and again entering a narrow gorge, joins the Whakatane at Puketi. Upwards from Nukutahuahua the ravine through which it flows opens out into glades and flats of rich soil, which will eventually form desirable sites for small farms. Erom the summit of tho Te Ponga Hill, my furthest point, I could descry a fairsized valley, leading, as my guide informed me, to Maungapoatu. Beyond the confiscated boundary oh the Waimana, lies a flat of a few thousand acres, which, together with some land similarly situated on the Whakatane, was leased from Rakuraku, of the Urewera, by Messrs Gwynneth, Simpson, and Pitcairn. The latter was murdered on Rakuraku kainga. Whakatane. Up to Ruatoki the Whakatane flows through a fertile valley, which, on the western side, sinks into the Teko swamp. Beyond Ruatoki it is nothing but a large mountain torrent. After leaving it at' Tuanui, we had to take to hills, a series of ups and downs leading by small confined valleys to the foot of the Wharau. On surmounting this wo found ourselves, after a deep descent (the ascent occupied five hours), on the Omaru Teangi flat; and this, small in itself,' was magnified in extent by the contrast it afforded with the chaos of mountains seen from the peak. The Whakatane here in winter must be a fearful torrent; its strength being evinced by the deeD gorge it has cut for itself, and by the accumulation of huge logs at a great height. This plain ceases at the Hukanui Hill (where Lieutenant White was killed), on the other side of which lies Ruatahuna; tho first stronghold met in it being the Tahora Pa. It used to be currently reported that somewhere up the Urewera country there existed a large plain. I cannot credit this, as Ruatahuna, formerly described to me as a fine flat, is merely a small open valley, bounded by high bushy hills, and closed at each extremity by lofty wooded ranges. All these small valleys appear fertile from the height of the, fern and tutu they grow, and from the quality and quantity of the potatoes we found in the Native cultivations. I have ascended all these rivers, and can only describe the upper country through which they flow as utterly impracticable. Tho only possible roads lie up the beds of the streams ; often these have to be left to avoid deep pools or rapids, and steep hills ascended merely to go down again. Erom these summits, far and wide, nothing can be seen but a vast jumble of mountains tossed into all

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DESPATCHES EROM THE SECRETARY OE STATE