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The peroration indulged in by Sir George Grey about arrangements made in private rooms, the solicitation of friends, and the wrongs done to human nature, is clearly uncalled for, as nothing has been done respecting timber rights which is not supported by long-standing agreements, and the practical effect of the Government land-purchase operations has been to define and limit the period for the enjoyment of these rights which were previously held for unlimited terms. It is perhaps unnecessary for me to enter further into the question of the acquisition, by private persons or associations, of kauri timber from the Natives. I have endeavoured, as far as possible, to show that they have certain equitable rights, which were admitted by the Hon. Mr. Ormond in a liberal and fair-dealing spirit, that the industry which they have so perseveringly striven to promote is one of importance to the colony, and which, in this province alone, employs in various ways at least 2,000 men, and gives an export from places north of Auckland where there is no other marketable production but kauri gum. Having considered the subject from these points of view, it may, perhaps, be deemed desirable to look at its legal aspect. I submit with all deference, and subject to correction from law authorities, that, although iti the early days of the colony, legislation was of a restrictive nature, and laws were carefully framed to prevent dealings between Natives and Europeans for lands or natural productions growing on them, there was, from 1865 to 1871, a revulsion of feeling on the subject, and the Legislature of the colony gave facilities for the acquisition of lands by private persons, notwithstanding that the Treaty of Waitangi vested the preemptive right of purchase in the Crown. When the colony committed itself to the great scheme of public works and immigration, it was deemed necessary to revert partially to the original system, and an additional reason was given that it was not desirable that lauds of auriferous, or supposed auriferous, character should pass into the hands of private persons to the exclusion of the public. In "The Immigration and Public Works Act Amendment Act, 1871," a clause was inserted giving the Governor the power, " whenever he shall have determined to enter into negotiations for the purchase of land, to insert a notice in the New Zealand Gazette that it is his intention to enter into such negotiations : and after such notice it shall not be lawful for any one to purchase or acquire from the Native owners any right, title, or interest, or contract for the purchase or acquisition from the Native owners of any right, title, or interest, in the lands specified in such notice, unless the notice be cancelled by the Governor : Provided that no such notice shall have longer operation than for the period of two years." His Excellency Sir George Bowen, on the 9th October, 1872, by Proclamation published in the New Zealand Government Gazette of the 10th October, 1872, which was renewed and extended by His Excellency Sir James Fergusson on the 15th October, 1874, and published in the New Zealand Government Gazette of 22nd October, 1874, declared the intention to purchase certain lands in the district of Hauraki, which included all those subject to agreements previously made by millowners for the purchase of kauri timber. As my letter to the Hon. Mr. Ormond, describing the status of the various blocks of land within the territory thus proclaimed, was written on the 24th January, 1872, and printed in the Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives in 1873 [vide G. 8), I believe I am right in assuming that the Governor, for the time being, and His Executive Council, were acquainted with the fact that there were in existence certain previously acquired rights to kauri timber, as set forth in that report, and which I had been instructed to conserve. The Government either desired to purchase the lauds in question, or must have acted wrongfully in leading the public and the Natives to believe they did. I however maintain that great pressure was put on the General Government by the provincial authorities, and persons interested in gold mining in the Province of Auckland, to induce them to assent to purchase from the Native owners the whole of the lands within the Coromandel Peninsula and Hauraki District, as there was a strong popular feeling against the arrangements which had been made for giving the Native owners the fees derived from miners' rights as a rental for the occupation of their lands for gold-mining purposes. In despite of this action on the part of the Government, which may, at the first place, appear to be hostile to the acquisition of lands or interests in lands by private persons, it is advisable at the same time to review the legislation of the period. By referring to "The Native Lands Act, 1873," and "The Timber Floating Act, 1873," it will be found that although such extensive powers were given to restrain private land purchasers, yet two highly important productive industries were protected by Parliament. Section 108 of the Native Lands Act provided machinery for legalizing agreements heretofore entered into by Europeans and Natives for the purchase or sale of timber, flax, and other natural productions growing upon Native lands, and gives the Court power to reserve or confirm such rights for any period not exceeding twenty-five years from the date of the order of the Court, notwithstanding such agreement for the purchase or sale of such natural productions may have been illegally made during the time when the " carefully framed " restrictive laws alluded to by Sir George Grey were in force. " The Timber Floating Act, 1873," was passed with the express intention of affording facilities to millowners to convey timber to their mills, and was brought before Parliament at the instigation of persons holding timber rights at Whangapoua, which were originally illegally acquired from the Natives. These rights, whether legal or otherwise, were not ignored by the Supreme Court of the