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sterling, and no equivalent advantage would be gained by either the General or the Provincial Government. A steady home and export trade would be annihilated. The forests would be either destroyed by miners and kauri gum diggers, who light fires in a most reckless manner when not checked by the proprietors of the timber, or be frittered away by the Provincial Government granting timber licenses to bushmen, who would cut whatever they pleased on the payment of a small license fee to the Commissioner of Crown Lands. I know of large blocks of land, formerly covered with kauri, having been denuded of all the valuable timber by this process, and the total receipts by the Crown bore no proportion to the area of the land. The revenue of the colony actually derived more benefit from the direct sales from the Natives to the millowners than it did from the transactions between the Provincial Government and the cutters of timber. It may be said the law limits the area over which a timber license shall be exercised; it does so in the document, but not in practice. Sir George Grey appears to strongly object to the purchasers of timber obtaining a legal title to it. I, however, differ in opinion from him on that point, and think it would have been a highly culpable proceeding on my part if I had taken absolute conveyances in fee simple of the land from the Natives to the Crown, and ignored the rights of those who had long previously acquired the timber. The Government would not have purchased the land on such easy terms but for the timber, in many instances, having been previously sold to private persons or associations. The leases and arrangements respecting kauri do not prevent the occupation of the laud for settlement or mining purposes. It has been urged that some of the leases or deeds of grant held by purchasers of timber are of such a nature as to prevent miners and others from cutting ordinary timber for domestic and mining purposes on the blocks to which they refer, but I cannot recollect any instance in which the European owner of timber has in any way objected to the exercise of the privileges claimed by the mining population. All that the millowners and proprietors of timber desire is to be able to utilize the kauri they have purchased, and have confirmed to them the rights and easements enabling them to do so. They have not offered the slightest opposition to the Government in any of the purchases, and have no desire to be obstructive, provided their vested rights and interests are not infringed or interfered with. The land in the Hauraki District on which kauri timber grows is of broken character, and not generally suitable for agricultural purposes; it is, however, known to contain great mineral wealth, and as such is a valuable public estate which, in the opinion of many persons, should be retained by the Crown, and not lightly disposed of for the sake of raising a land revenue for the province or colony. Sir George Grey appears to be highly impressed with its importance, for he recently stated to a deputation at Grahamstown, " that, from what he saw, he believed that for centuries mining would be carried on there." I must say that I coincide with this view, and think the Government are right in acquiring the freehold of the land in order to facilitate the development of the great mineral resources of the district; but in doing this, another interest, almost as important as that of the miner, should not be lost sight of. I see no reason why the two great natural sources of wealth of the Hauraki District should not be utilized simultaneously and without antagonism. It should be the policy of the Government to foster mining operations, and also to encourage the timber trade. There is no difficulty in accomplishing both objects, but it surely is to be lamented if, owing to political differences, one important branch of industry is injured or superseded by another, when the two are distinct and not nccesssarily conflicting. No difficulty has as yet arisen between the owners of timber and the mining population. It is, doubtless, desirable that steps should be taken to define the relative position and rights of each of these important industries, but there is no occasion to raise up strife and antagonism between them where none has heretofore obtained. The majority of the purchases of timber in the Hauraki District took place previous to the year 1865. It has been said recently that the amount paid for kauri timber is small when compared with the price given by the Government for the freehold of the land on which it is growing. It must, however, be borne in mind that neither the land nor timber had become valuable when these transactions took place, as the mineral wealth of the district was not appreciated until after the Ist August, 1867 (the date of opening of the Thames Gold Field). It may also be as well to state that the bond fides of the agreements made between the Natives and the millowners for the alienation of kauri timber is not questioned by the Maoris, nor are they the subject of dispute between the persons most immediately concerned, which is the best proof, if any were required, of the fair nature of the dealings referred to. The rights conferred by these old agreements are very great indeed, but they are clearly set forth in the documents held by the millowners, on the strength of which large capital has been invested, and a valuable productive industry has been established in the Province of Auckland. In all the cases heretofore brought under my notice there is no stipulation or limitation made on either side as to the term for which the purchaser of forests shall have the right to enter on the land to cut and remove the timber. Since the passing of the Native Lands Act, no efforts have been spared by the owners of timber to procure legal titles in place of the old agreements before alluded to. In some instances leases for ninety-nine years have been given, but the holders, when the land has been sold to the Crown, have agreed to waive their rights over such a lengthened period, and to reduce the term to twenty-one years, or other reasonable limit.