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Wakefield. His nepliew, Edward Catc-hpole, became Collector of Customs, and there is a fair quantity of his records in manuscript of great interest to the student of prices and imports in the early years. One notebook contains minutes of the formation of a very early newspaper —the New Zealand Colonist. A long run of a now-defunct newspaper was handed over by the Havelock Town Board in which town the Pelorus Guardian was published for over thirty years. It records the failing years of a oncethriving gold-mining and timber-milling centre. From Mr. P. Marks, of Sydney, a constant friend of the library, came, among many other items, two convict pardons, interesting in themselves, but additionally so for the signature of Sir John Franklin which each bears. A particularly important work in the realm of Polynesian studies came from Major Penlingtom of Hastings, who presented two volumes of Samoan proverbial sayings compiled by the profound German scholar, Dr. Erich Schultz. A bequest from the same town was the papers of the late R. H. Fitzherbert, who had interesting records of naval history and English literature ; of especial note were letters from Joseph Conrad and E. V. Lucas. Finally, the library takes especial pride in the gift of the magnificent catalogue of the " Wrenn Library," of Austin, Texas, United States of America. It is a classic among book catalogues, and was edited by the famous collector, the late Dr. T. J. Wise, of the Ashley Library. It is with the greatest appreciation that acknowledgment is accorded to the Library of the University of Texas, through whose courtesy this fine work has come here. It will prove as useful among the rare books as it is esteemed. McLean Manuscript. The library in particular, and future research workers as a whole, are greatly indebted to Lady McLean, of Napier, for making available for copying the entire collection of papers of her father-in-law, Sir Donald McLean. Native Minister from 1869 to 1876, McLean was closely associated with Native administration from the early " forties " until his death in 1877. Besides holding administrative posts at New Plymouth, he undertook the purchase of large tracts of land in Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa, and Rangitikei, and was for a time Superintendent of the Hawke's Bay Province. When it is remembered that he was most careful in preserving every draft and communication, the wealth of material forming a background to the first thirty years of New Zealand's history as a British colony can be imagined. The material falls roughly into four classes —McLean's diaries, letters received by him, his own draft communications, and various official communications including telegrams. The diaries cover intermittently the years 1844-55, but, as is inevitable with a busy man, are not continuous. It was, presumably, the same pressure of public duties which prevented their continuance beyond that date, except in the form of brief entries or memoranda. However, the records kept include the period of his life at New Plymouth, and describe in detail the many journeys made as Land-purchase Commissioner over the North Island. The letters received form a particularly valuable section of the collection. Several hundred from J. D. Ormond, prominent in the history of Hawke's Bay, covering the many years of his family's association, afford a remarkable insight into the political undercurrents of the day. Over critical periods one has almost a day-to-day commentary on events by the participants themselves. In the same category are smaller batches of letters from Fox, Pollen, Bell, Gisborne, Sewell, Richmond, and others. The unofficial letters of the various officers dealing with the Maoris constitute an illuminating background to the selected official reports published in the Appendices to the Journals of the House of Representatives. Here we have the periodic reports of Land-purchase Commissioners and Magistrates from the troubled years of the first Taranaki War to the final pacification after 1871. Kemp, Rogan, Searancke, Harris, Deighton, and Biggs (killed in the Poverty Bay massacre) are but a few of the men who discussed intimately with Te Makarini their difficulties and successes. The available material on the Maori wars is already rich, but it seems probable that the letters of Whitmore, St. George, Preece, and others will throw light on contentious points. McLean's relations with his Governors were informatively frank, and the known opinions of Bowen, Ferguson, and Gore Browne are here privately supported and elaborated. New Plymouth history is elaborated by Charles Brown, Henry and William Halse, Dr. and Mrs. Wilson, Captain King, and others. Fitzgerald, Cooper, Purvis Russell, and Featherston reflect the feelings of the growing province of Hawke's Bay, while such general figures as Domett, Colenso, and F. E. Maning are well represented. McLean's draft communications range from the transcription of official letter-books to tentative jottings of headings to be later amplified. Naturally there is much variation in the completeness with which his opinions are recorded over a course of years, but it is possible to obtain a fairly continuous picture of interests and activities. The official drafts and communications lack the general interest of the other sections, but, supported by archive research, they will be found by the student invaluable both as a guide to the development of certain Native and defence legislation of the period and as an aid in assessing historical responsibility. The telegrams (of which there are about two thousand) are a class to themselves, and are practically a daily record of problems and decisions by Ministers and officials over the North Island for the period of McLean's office as Native Minister. It is certain that when the donor's conditions under which the material at present being sorted and copied by the library staff will permit of its being made generally available, no historian of the period can safely disregard the McLean papers.

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