NEW ZEALAND TO THE SECRETARY OE STATE.

31

A.—No. 1

travel beyond the immediate questions referred to in it, he has scrupulously abstained from doing so to an extent greater than he has considered necessary for the purpose of representing to Lord Kimberley that, although the New Zealand Government still adhere to the desire they have expressed, they do so for reasons which are not calculated to create unfriendly feelings between the Imperial country and the Colonies. Such Lord Kimberley deems to be the tendency of the present question, although his Lordship very considerately does the Government the justice to believe' that it is their desire to preserve the friendly feeling now existing on each side: and it is with a view to prove that such is the desire, that the Colonial Treasurer, whilst expressing the adherence of the Government to their former opinions, has endeavoured to show that those opinions have not the unfriendly tendency suggested, but that, on the contrary, their fall and free discussion may lead to a determination to make yet more intimate, and more subservient to mutual welfare, the ties which bind together the Imperial country and the Colonies. Wellington, Bth December, 1871. Julius Vogel.

No. 33. Copt of a DESPATCH from Governor Sir G. F. Bowen, G.C.M.G., to the Eight Hon. the Earl of Kimberley. (No. 119.) Government House, Wellington, My Lord, —: New Zealand, 12th December, 1871. I have the honor to report that I proceeded by sea to Wanganui on the 27th November ultimo, and returned thence to Wellington overland on the sth instant. 2. The immediate cause of this expedition was the invitation of the Provincial and Municipal authorities, and also of the Maori chiefs of the district, that I should open the iron bridge which has now been completed over the river Wanganui. This is an important public work, being only about one hundred and twenty (120) feet shorter than London Bridge. It was designed by the eminent Civil Engineer, Mr. George Robert Stephenson, and the materials were chiefly constructed in England, but they were put together and erected on the spot by a Colonial contractor. 3. It will be recollected that Wanganui is one of the earliest European settlements in New Zealand, dating from 1842. Situated near the mouth of the principal river, and in the centre of the most fertile districts in the western portion of the Province of Wellington, it would have made rapid progress had it not been for the almost constant Maori wars and disturbances which have frequently threatened its very existence. However, the town, situated on the right bank of the navigable river Wanganui, and about four miles from the sea, already contains nearly four thousand European inhabitants; and, now that permanent tranquillity appears to have been established, it has every prospect of a successful future. On the left bank, nearly opposite the town, is Putiki, the principal hainga of the great Maori clan of the Wanganuis, of which the gallant Te Kepa (Major Kemp) is the leading chief. 4. The local newspapers forwarded by this mail, contain full accounts of the ceremonies at the formal opening of the bridge, and of the week's rejoicings which took place in honor of the occasion. I enclose herewith copies of the addresses presented to me by the Town Council on behalf of the inhabitants generally; by the Bridge Committee; and by the Maoris; and of my replies. 5. It will be seen that the first of these addresses drew attention to the marked and most gratifying contrast between the state of Wanganui in November, 1871, and in November, 1868, at the time of my first visit, of which a full report will be found in my Despatch No. 116, of the 17th November, 1868.* In my reply,t I spoke as follows : —" This, gentlemen, is my third visit to Wanganui. I " have not forgotten that, in the address presented to me on the occasion of my " first visit, in November, 1868, you expressed your regret that ' I should have " ' arrived among you at a time when a Native insurrection was raging within a " ' few miles of this town, and when your hearts were saddened by the loss of no " ' inconsiderable number of your fellow-settlers, who had gallantly shed their " ' blood in the defence of the Throne and of their adopted country.' Permit me " now to congratulate you on the very striking improvement which has taken " place in the condition and prospects of your town and district during the brief * Published at pages 283-295 of the New Zealand Papers presented to the Imperial Parliament on Bth July, 1869. t See Enclosure 2.

Enclosures 1 to 6. Addresses.