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No. 17. New Zealand, No. 111. Sir, — Government House, Wellington, 4th May, 1929. With reference to your despatch, Dominions No. 41, of the 22nd January last, relative to a request made by the French Ambassador to be furnished with copies of laws and regulations concerning the protection of national parks in the various parts of the British Empire, I have the honour to transmit, at the instance of my Ministers, the following information in respect of national parks in New Zealand :— 2. National parks of the Dominion are at the present time seven in number, and comprise areas as under : —- Name of Park. Approximate Area in Acres. 1. Tongariro .. .. .. 149,470 2. Egmont . . . . . . 79,000 3. Hooker Glacier . . . . 38,000 4. Tasman Park . . . . 97,800 5. Arthur's Pass . . . , 150,000 6. Otiro Gorge .. .. 17,000 7. Sounds (Fiorclland) . . . . 2,266,000 In addition, there is the Peel Forest Park, of approximately 1,200 acres. This reserve is one for the preservation of natural scenery, but for practical purposes it may be regarded as a national park. 3. The Tongariro, Egmont, and Peel Forest Parks are controlled by special Boards appointed under the provisions of the Tongariro National Park Act, 1922, the Egmont National Park Act, 1924, and the Peel Forest Act, 1926, respectively. Copies of these enactments are enclosed, together with copies of by-laws issued by the Tongariro and Peel Forest Boards. 4. The other parks mentioned in the list are public reserves subject to the provisions of Part I of the Public Reserves, Domains, and National Parks Act, 1928. This enactment, a copy of which is enclosed, is a consolidation of the Public Reserves and Domains Act, 1908, and its amendments, together with a new Part dealing with national parks. Hitherto, with the exception of the enactments relating to Tongariro, Egmont, and Peel Forest, there have been no statutory provisions dealing specifically with national parks ; and those parks in respect of which a special Act has not been passed have accordingly been subject to the general law contained in the Public Reserves and Domains Act. However, Part 111 of the 1928 Act contains special provisions for the creation and protection of national parks, and the appointment of Boards of Control, and these provisions will be made use of in the future. 5. At the time of writing, steps are being taken to bring under the provisions of the said Part 111 the whole of the Otira Gorge Park, together with some 56,000 acres of the Arthur's Pass Park and various areas of forest reserves and Crown land in the locality. The combined area will be known as the Arthur Pass National Park, and a special Board, will be appointed, to have the control and management. 6. Ministers desire me to add that should further information be desired on any particular point they will be glad to arrange for it to be furnished on request. I have, &c., CHARLES FERGUSSON, Govern or- General. The. Right Hon. L. C. M. S. Amery, M.P., Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs.

No, 18. New Zealand, No. 118. Sir, — Government House, Wellington, I.4th May, 1929. With reference to your despatch, Dominions No. 120, of the 14th March, regarding the Third Imperial Entomological Conference, which is to be held in London in 1930, I have the honour to inform you, on the advice of my Ministers,