52

I devoted yet another day to the Clarence valley.
Its N.E. branch rises, as I have described, by the
S.E. branch of the Wairau.

A N.W. branch shows the appearance of a possible
pass to the westward among high and snowy moun-
tains. A centre branch flows out of a lake which lies
at the foot of the main barrier of mountains. These
branches meet, as it were, at the head of the Clarence
valley, which opens to receive them.

The lake, Mr. Knight and I had discovered two
years ago, from a mountain down the Clarence, and
had named it "Lake Tennyson," and a mountain
above it, the "Princess," it lies about a mile and a
half out of the route, and is not readily perceptible
from the plain.

It now first burst upon my view from the point of
the hill west of the confluence of the branches.
Though small, being only about half a mile wide, by
a mile and a half in length, Lake Tennyson, in beauty,
far surpasses any thing I have ever seen in New Zea-
land.

None of the lakes in the Northern Island can, in
my opinion, compare to it. It lies in an amphi-
theatre of lofty peaks, bold in outline, dark in colour,
except where brightened by sunlight and relieved by
patches of snow scattered in clefts of the rock.

On its banks, clumps of birch trees, here and there,
hang over the water, or stand grouped over a smooth
down, towards a wood, on the left; whilst in front
the Clarence, leaving the lake by a pebbly bay, flows
away down the level grass plain.

Nothing now remained to induce me to spend fur-
ther time in this part of the country. We conse-
quently turned our horses' heads to the southward,
set fire to the country behind us, and, passing over
Jollie's Pass, reached Stonyhurst Station, on the
Hurunui, on the 11th of April, just before bad weather
set in, which covered the mountains with snow.

I have little to add to the foregoing epitome of my
journal of the two routes from Tarndale.

That by the Clarence is the shorter by about five
miles, and the river is the easier to ford; whilst the
route by the Acheron is the more perfectly level, less
stony, and at present has the advantage of having
been, for the greater part, cleared by successive
fires.

As a pastoral country, I am inclined to prefer the
Tarndale and Acheron country to that of the Clarence.
There is, however, abundance of excellent grass in
either; the soil is every where light, and presents
most frequently the appearance of pulverized rock,
with a remarkably small admixture of vegetable
matter.

The mountains throughout the country I traversed
seem to be composed of sandstone, clayey slate, or shale,
more or less hardened and altered in character by vol-
canic action. Here and there I saw rocks of a basaltic
appearance, but I am inclined to believe that the
purely volcanic formation rarely exists except in the
Kaikora block.

In general, mountains rising to a height of about
2,000 or 3,000 feet above the valleys, are rounded,
bare topped, and covered with beds of broken shingle,
through which those of greater altitude rear their
peaks of rock, the whole presenting the appearance of
a country undergoing physical changes.

As a general rule, the sides of the mountains, the
lower hills, and the valleys, are covered with grass;
the black birch is found on the Clarence and Wairau
to a level of about 3,000 feet (as nearly as I can esti-
mate) above the sea; the manuka at a somewhat lesser
elevation.

I observed no new plants or shrubs which I had
not previously noticed, and the season of the year was
unfavourable for such research.

No rare or remarkable birds fell under my observa-
tion.

The blue whistling duck that delights in rocky
mountain-streams, with the Paradise goose, and an
occasional teal or widgeon, formed part of our daily
fare; whilst the unsophisticated wood-hen often
amused us by pecking and prying, with quaint atti-
tude and curious eye, around our encampments.

Wild dogs appear to abound, especially on the
Clarence.

Before I conclude, it may not be amiss to mention,
that I saw no traces of the earthquakes which have
lately been so severely felt in some parts of these
islands—another proof of their local nature.

In bringing this report to an end, I may be per-
mitted to express a confident hope, that the easy and
direct line of communication now established between
Nelson and Canterbury may prove to the advantage
of either province.

I have, &c.,
FRED. A. WELD.

Stonyhurst, Hurunui, April 15, 1855.

Provincial Secretary's Office, Nelson,
May 25, 1855.

TENDERS will be received at this Office
until the 11th of June next, from persons de-
sirous of contracting to execute any of the following
WORKS:—

To supply Sawn Timber, to be delivered at the
House on Acre No. 662—Red Pine or Totara, at
per hundred feet, White Pine, at per hundred
feet.

To make certain alterations in the House on Acre
662, to adapt it to the purposes of a Lunatic
Asylum.

To gravel part of Waimea Road, near Ching's and
Captain Nicholson's.

To gravel about 15 chains of the Suburban North
Road, near Bungate's.

Specifications of the above works may be seen on
application at the Public Works Office.

By his Honor's command,
S. L. MULLER,
Provincial Secretary.

Provincial Secretary's Office,
Nelson, May 25, 1855.

TENDERS will be received at this office
until the 30th of June, from persons desirous
of contracting to execute any of the following
WORKS:—

To supply sawn timber, for additions to the Nelson
Gaol, to be delivered on the premises—red pine
and totara, at per hundred feet; white pine, do.

To build a new wooden house for the gaoler, also a
large common room for prisoners, and to make
various alterations in the present gaol.

Plans and specifications of the above works may be
seen on application at the Public Works Office, on or
after the 4th June.

By his Honor's command,
S. L. MULLER,
Provincial Secretary.