B.—No. 5

Enclosure to No. 5. MEMORANDUM foe his honor the superintendent. Approximate Estimate of the Area of Land lying upon or opened by the proposed Road to the Karamea and the Buller Eivers by way of the Wangapeka Valley. Between the Motueka and Waimea . . 96,000 Acres Wangapeka (unsurveyed) . . . 3,000 „ Karamea (unexplored) probably . . . 5,000 „ Karamea on the Coast .... 20,000 „ Oweka, a tributary of the Buller . . - 3,800 „ Inangahua, do. ... 21,000 „ Mokihinui ..... 6,000 „ Heaphy ..... 12,000 „ Mouth of the BuUer, North . . . 24,000 „ do. do. South . . . 25,000 „ Total Northwards of, and adjacent to, the Buller . 215,800 Grey Plain ... . 185,000 Mawhera-iti, tributary of the Grey . . . 25,000 Maruia, tributary of the Buller . . . 25,000 More remote and indirectly affected by the proposed Roads . 235,000 Land Office, Nelson. The minimum price of land in the Province of Nelson is Six Shillings per acre. A large part of the Land in the above Estimate is of superior quality, and would sell at Fifteen to Twenty Shillings per Acre. There would be several Suburban Blocks at the mouth of the Buller, on the Grey Plain, and at the Wangapeka; and some valuable Village Sites at the confluence of the tributaries with the Buller and Grey, &c. At present rates the average value of the Land in the above Estimate may be taken at Ten Shillings per Acre. J. C. Richmond, Commissioner.

No. 6. THE HONORABLE THE COLONIAL SECEETART TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, NELSON. Colonial Secretary's Office, Auckland, 3rd July, 1863. Sir,— In reference to your Honor's letter of the 17th April last, I have the honor to state that Government has every desire to sanction any measures for the development of the mineral resources of the Province of Nelson, especially of its Coal-fields, which, from all the information that has been obtained, appear to be by far the most valuable in New Zealand. I am not, however, at present able to promise your Honor that Government will recommend for His Excellency's assent a Bill to raise a Loan for the construction of a Railway to Wangapeka Coalfield, for the following reasons :— From the very clear and sensible Reports of Mr. Burnett and Mr. Blackett, lately published in the Nelson Examiner, the following facts appear to be established : — 1. That if a Railway were made from this part of the Country to Nelson, the principal Return for the outlay upon it would have to be looked for from the transport of Coal to Nelson, and that this must be considerable to give such Returns as to make the Railway a profitable undertaking. 2. That if a considerable Coal Trade spring up, then the Coal could and would be imported into Nelson from either the Grey or Buller River, at a much less cost than to Nelson by Railway from Wangapeka District. Consequently, that the chief source of return for outlay on the Railway would be cut of£ The well known experience and good sense of the gentlemen who drew up these Reports, entitle their opinion, I think, to great weight. It is true they do not, as they were not required, enter into the question how far the opening up of new Country for Settlement, and the amount of ordinary traffic between the Agricultural Districts and the Town of Nelson, would justify the very large outlay required for the Railway to Wangapeka, which is estimated at £231,000, besides heavy expenses for working ; but I scarcely think there is sufficient evidence of the value and quantity of the Lands to be made accessible, and the amount of traffic in question at present before Government to warrant the assumption that such an outlay would be a profitable investment of Provincial Funds, if the returns in money or other material advantages were derivable from these sources alone.

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