DESPATCHES EEOM THE GOVERNOR OF

A—No. 1.

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to welcome me at the mouth of the Eiver Waitangi,* on the spot where, twenty-eight years previously, the, great meeting of the sth Eebruary, 1840, so momentous in its results, had been held. I then wrote as follows : —"lt will be " remembered that the chiefs who first addressed the meeting at Waitangi, in 1840, " strongly dissuaded their countrymen from the cession of their national inde- " pendence, and that the majority yielded at length to the authority and eloquence " of Tamati Waka Nene, who urged that the sovereignty of the Queen would bring " with it the blessings of Christianity and of civilization. It has been often stated, " and it is generally believed here, that, without the support of this celebrated " chief, the British Government could not have been established in New Zealand "in 1840, nor maintained during the war of 1845-48. It was with deep interest " that I and the other Englishmen present at the recent meeting,t saw this loyal " subject of our Queen, this constant friend and brave ally of our race, —now in " extreme old age, —arise, and striking his staff on the ground, proceed to remind " his Maori countrymen that, standing on that very spot, he had counselled the " fathers of the present generation to place themselves ' under the shadow of " ' the Queen and the law'; that he knew he had counselled them well; and now " exhorted the sons of his former hearers to dwell in peace and brotherhood with " each other and with the colonists." I have, &c, The Eight Hon. the Earl of Kimberley. G. E. BOWEN.

No. 2. Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor Sir G. E. Bowen, G.C.M.G., to the Eight Hon. the Earl of Kimbekley. (No. 76.) Government House, Wellington, My Lord,— New Zealand, 30th August, 1871. I have the honor to transmit herewith a Parliamentary Paper just presented to the Colonial Legislature, viz. :—"Abstracts of certain Principal Eesults " of the Census of New Zealand, taken for the night of the 27th Eebruary, 1871." 2. At the same time, I forward copies of " Statistical Tables, in anticipation " of the Annual Volume of Statistics of New Zealand for 1870." 3. I shall transmit the full report of the Census, and also the annual Statistical Register, or " Blue Book," for 1870, so soon as they are published. 4. Meanwhile, it will be perceived that the population of European origin, and exclusive of the Maoris, which amounted to only ninety-nine thousand and twenty-one (99,021) when the Census for 1861 was taken, amounted to two hundred and fifty-six thousand three hundred and ninety-three (256,393) in Eebruary, 1871. It will be farther seen, from the Statistical Tables, that the revenue, the trade, and the other chief elements of material .prosperity, have advanced during the same period in nearly equal proportion. The total revenue of the Colony, ordinary and territorial, was six hundred and ninety-one thousand four hundred and sixty-four pounds (£691,464) in 1861; and one million three hundred and eighty-four thousand six Imndred and thirty-nine pounds (£1,384,639) in 1870. The imports were valued at two million four hundred and ninety-three thousand eight hundred and eleven pounds (£2,493,811) in 1861; and at four million six hundred and thirty-nine thousand and fifteen pounds (£4,639,015) in 1870. The exports were valued at one million three_ hundred and seventy thousand two hundred and forty-seven pounds (£1,370,247) in 1861; and at four million eight hundred and twenty-two thousand seven hundred and fifty-six pounds (£4,822,756) in 1870. 5. When it is considered that the years between 1861 and 1870 were yearsof almost constant war and disturbance, this result cannot be described as otherwise than satisfactory. Had New Zealand enjoyed the tranquillity of the Australian Colonies, the progress achieved here would have been far more rapid. However, it is now confidently believed that for the future there will be little impediment, * Waitangi means " weeping water," and the river is so named from the beautiful cascade near its mouth. t i.e., on 17th April, 1868.