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Province, whilst in fact no such words are found in the Proclamation in the place in which they are quoted as coming from the notice I refer to, is dated 17th June, 1857. Your Honor sent me a copy on the 28th June, but my notice has only recently been called to this point. The words of the proclamation are

"The Province of Otago shall be
"bounded on the North by the Southern
"boundary of the Province of Canterbury
"as already described in this Proclamation."

The words of the Public Notice to which I refer are as follows :—

"The boundary referred to in the foregoing notice being the Northern boundary of the Province of Otago is described in His Excellency Sir George Grey's Proclamation of date 28th February, 1853, fixing the boundaries and limits of the respective Provinces as follows :—

"By the river Waitangi to its source,
"thence by a right line running to
"the source of the river Awarua,
"thence by the river Awarua to its
"mouth."

The words thus quoted by Mr. Proudfoot as being the North boundary of the Province of Otago are in the Proclamation used to indicate the South boundary of the Province of Canterbury. There would be no great inaccuracy in this were it not that the change in these words from one place to the other makes the whole difference in the point at issue, according to your Honor's own interpretation. I am quite sure that this misquotation of a public document in an official notification, with the view of establishing the right of the largest Province in New Zealand to additional territory at the expense of a neighbour must have escaped your Honor's notice at the time it was issued.

I beg to thank your Honor for the intimation which you give me that the surveyor will be at the Waitangi on the first of November, and I will instruct Mr. Hewlings to meet him there on that day, or as soon thereafter as possible. I do not anticipate that any settlement of this question can be come to, and therefore Mr. Hewlings will be instructed to confine himself to making a sketch map of the various branches of the Waitangi. The General Government has requested me to furnish information on this subject, and as the matter will be finally disposed of in the next Session of the General Assembly, it is desirable that all the information possible may be at once afforded, I would therefore suggest to your Honor to instruct your surveyor to aid Mr. Hewlings in making such a rough sketch map of all the country included in the branches of the Waitangi as perfect as the time at their disposal may admit of, so that the map may be the joint work of the surveyors of the two Provinces. This, I believe, will aid more in the settlement of the question than any other course.

In the mean time I have only to call your Honor's attention to a public notification issued by my orders, and to state that the Government of this Province is quite prepared to defend its settlers in the possession of the country which is claimed by an appeal to the Supreme Court if necessary.

I have been brought to this conclusion by perceiving, from the grounds of the claim set up by your Honor's Government, that the matter in dispute is one which admits, so far as I can see, of no compromise.

I have the honor, &c.

J. E. FITZ GERALD, Superintendent.
To his Honor the Superintendent
Otago.

PRINTED BY J. WILLIS, AT THE "STANDARD" OFFICE, CHRISTCHURCH.