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Enclosure 2 in No. 3. The Provincial Secretary, Auckland, to Mr. Morpeth. Sir, — Superintendent's Office, Auckland, 30th March, 1876. I am directed by his Honor the Superintendent to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated the 27th instant, requesting the withdrawal of your report upon the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, and to inform you, in reply, that, a copy having been already forwarded to the Colonial Secretary for presentation to Parliament, in accordance with section 60 of the Lunatics Act, the report cannot be withdrawn. I have, &c, Reader Wood, H. D. Morpeth, Esq., J.P., Ponsonby, Auckland. Provincial Secretary.

TARANAKI. No. 4. Mr. Crompton to His Honor the Superintendent, Taranaki. Sir,— New Plymouth, 22nd March, 1876. I have the honor to state, for the information of the Hon. the Colonial Secretary, that I have occasionally visited tho Lunatic Asylum during the half-year ended 31st December, 1875. Dennis Clifford, Stephen Coad, and William Jordan still remain with their friends, as stated in my report dated 2nd July last, and conduct themselves in a satisfactory manner. Mary Brewer, a married woman and mother of four children, was admitted a lunatic on the 7th of July last. An attempt was made by her husband to take charge of her on the 10th of August last. A return of dangerous symptoms appearing, she was again admitted into the Asylum on the 15th of September, where t she has remained ever since, and is become, I fear, a hopeless case of lunacy, notwithstanding every attention has been paid to her personal comfort, cleanliness, and food. I have, &c, Wm. M. Crompton, His Honor the Superintendent, New Plymouth. Inspector in Lunacy. Mary Brewer, referred to above, was sent from this place to Mount View Asylum, Wellington, by the " Taupo," the last steamer which left here for the South. Fred. A. Carrington, New Plymouth, 3rd March, 1876. Superintendent.

HAWKE'S BAT. No. 5. Mr. Sealey to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. Sir,— Napier, 26th April, 1876. In compliance with section No. 60 of " The Lunatics Act, 1868," I have the honor to report on the Napier Lunatic Asylum (the only one in this province) for the year 1875. Since my last annual report, the new Asylum (which I then referred to as being in course of construction) has been completed, and the patients have been transferred to it. The building is on the ground adjacent to the gaol, and is under the general control of the gaoler, Mr. William Miller, as before. There is, however, a resident warder, who with his wife attend entirely to the Asylum. The building consists of a centre and two wings. The right wing contains the dormitories of the male patients, and the left wing those of the females. There is an exercise court between the wings, and there are others on each side of the building. These courts are inconveniently small; but in consequence of the formation of the ground, which had to be made by cutting and filling from the hill, the space can only be extended by a heavy expenditure, and then only to a limited extent. The formation of the ground was the work of the hard-labour gang from the gaol, and whilst it lasted it enabled these men to be advantageously employed on the Gaol Reserve. In consequence of their limited extent, and the necessary high fence which encloses them, and their position bounded on three sides by the hill, these courts will be found, I fear, oppressively hot in summer, in ordinary seasons; but in winter they will, from their sheltered position and efficient drainage, be dry and comparatively warm. In the adjacent building, lately used as an Asylum, but now vacated, Mr. Miller contrived to modify the effect of the heat by the growth of vines over a portion of the yards (at a height beyond the reach of the patients), and these afforded them an agreeable shade. Probably the same expedient will be resorted to in the yards of the new Asylum, where the warmth of the position and the great depth of made soil are highly favourable to the growth of the vine, which in such circumstances produces crops of surprising luxuriance. With regard to the internal accommodation, this is equal to present requirements ; but so far as the male patients are concerned there is little to spare. I am glad, however, to be able to say that the portion devoted to female lunatics is comparatively untenanted. At my last visit, a few days since, there were thirteen male and four female lunatics in the Asylum. Nine of the males and four of the females were confined at the date of my last annual report, and, with perhaps two exceptions, may, I think, be regarded as incurable. Ten male and three female patients were admitted during the year 1875; and six males and two females were discharged. One male patient died after a gradual decline. Eour of the male patients admitted were suffering from temporary insanity induced by drink, and were discharged after a short interval. The