NEW ZEALAND TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE

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telegraph, with the Seat of Government at Wellington, and with the rest of the Colony. 2. Eor several years past, Wellington has been united in this way to Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson, and all the other chief towns of the South, a submarine cable having been stretched across Cook's Strait. But Auckland remained unconnected, because the hostile and disaffected Natives in the interior of this Island refused to allow the posts to be erected on their territory. But they have now withdrawn their opposition, and the telegraph was extended to Auckland last month almost simultaneously with my arrival there at the close of the overland journey, of which a report is contained in my Despatch No. 47, forwarded by this mail. 3. The completion of this important public work has been a subject of general congratulation, for the comparative isolation of Auckland from the rest of the Colony has been the source of much inconvenience and even danger, especially during the Native troubles, now happily past. The transaction of public and commercial business will henceforward be greatly facilitated, and (what is still more important) the feeling of Colonial unity and identity of interests throughout this community will acquire increased strength. I have, &c, The Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley. G. E. BOWEN.

No. 68. Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor Sir G. F. Bowen, G.C.M.G., to the Right Hon. the Earl of Kimbeexey. (No. 50.) Ngaruawahia, Waikato, My Lord, — New Zealand, 10th June, 1872. In continuation of my Despatches respecting my recent journey overland across the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, I have now the honor to report that I left Auckland on the 31st ultimo, on my third visit to the Waikato district. 2. Full accounts of this important part of the Colony, which was the principal field of the operations of the Imperial and Colonial forces, under General Sir Duncan Cameron, in the campaigns of 1863 and 1864, will be found in my Despatches, No. 49, of June 30, 1868, and No. 31, of March 7, 1870, written immediately after my two former visits; and in the maps and other documents accompanying those Despatches. To the above-mentioned papers, several of which have been laid before the Imperial Parliament, I would request your Lordship's attention. 3. I now address your Lordship from Ngaruawahia,* the township at the confluence of the Rivers Waikato f and Waipa, and commonly called " the old Maori capital," because (as I have explained on a previous occasion) it was the residence of Potatau Te Whero Whero, who was elected, in 1857, to be the first (so called) Maori King. This celebrated chieftain and warrior, who had been a firm friend and ally of the English in the early days of the Colony, and who never took part in any hostilities against the Queen's troops, died in 1861, and was buried at Ngaruawahia. On my first visit to the Waikato, in 1868, I caused his tomb, which had fallen into decay, to be repaired; and this act is said to have produced a very favourable impression on his son and successor, Tawhiao, and on their family and clansmen. 4. On my journey hither from Auckland, I have proceeded by short stages, visiting all the English settlements and Native haingas, or villages. I have been everywhere received with the most cordial respect and welcome. 5. Nothing can be more satisfactory than the general progress made in the Waikato since the date of my first visit in 1868, and especially during the last two years. The Colonists and the Natives alike appear to feel that permanent tranquillity and confidence have now been finally established. * This name signifies " the meeting of the waters." t The Waikato, before its union with the Waipa, is sometimes called the Horotiu. 24