74

Mokihinui, and the course of these rivers, is
sketched from a few bearings. The rivers,
as shown by dotted lines, are also sketched,
partly from my own and partly from Mr. Roch-
fort's observations. The long section, and the
cross sections on the margin, are on the same
scale as the plan, both horizontal and vertical.
Scale, 80 chains, or one mile to one inch.
No. 2.—(Sheets L, II, and III.) Is a Plan of my
traverse, &c., with a section of the part passed
through by the proposed railway.
Horizontal scale of plan and section, 20
chains to one inch. Vertical scale of section,
300 feet to one inch.
No. 3.—Is an enlarged Plan of the part colored
pink on Nos. 1 and 2, to show more details.
Scale, six chains to one inch.
The parts colored green on all these plans
shows the bush; and what is left uncolored,
the open land.
The red lines, figures, and letters show the
norrower lines and stations. The blue figures
indicate the height above the sea, or rather
the plain, in feet. These heights are only
taken by noting the vertical angle at every
station, in the course of the traverse; but
many of them are the result of two or more
observations from different points, and may be
relied on as moderately correct, and quite suf-
ficient for the purposes of this report.

I now beg to lay before your Honor the result of
the work I have just described. And in doing so I
shall divide the report into three parts, viz:—

1. Some account of that part of the Coal
   field north of the River Buller.
2. Observations on the actual working of part of
   this Coal-field.
3. Remarks on the roads, &c., necessary to make
   the Coal-field available; on the understanding
   that the Buller is to be the shipping port.

Should the Mokihinui prove to be a harbor at all
likely to rival the Buller, the whole question of roads
would be very much changed; and my views as to
the best place for working coal, probably entirely
altered.

PART I.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THAT PART OF THE COAL-
FIELD NORTH OF THE RIVER BULLER.

On looking at No. 1 Plan it will be seen that the
country north of the Buller, consists of a considerable
breadth of flat land, partly wooded and partly open,
extending from the coast to the base of the mountains,
and varying in breadth from 4 miles, at the Buller, to
nothing at Ngakuwaho, where the base of the moun-
tain forms the coast line. At the base of the mountains
there are extensive terraces rising from 150 to 300
feet high, formed of soft sandstone and marl, evidently
of very recent formation. These terraces are exten-
sive in places, particularly at the south-west base of
Mount Rochfort, and cover several square
miles. They are remarkably regular, and almost
perfectly flat on the top; resembling the artificial
mounds on which the ancient Assyrian cities were
built, as described by Layard, Loftus, and others.
This recent formation is colored yellow on the cross
sections on the margin of No. 1 Plan.

The mountain chains marked Mount Rochfort,
Mount William, and Mount Frederic, are composed
almost entirely of coal-bearing strata, as is also the
elevated plateau lying between them marked "gentle
sloping table land, consisting of grit, sandstone and
shale." It is of the slopes of these mountains, and
this elevated plateau, of which I wish to speak more
particularly; though it is only a small part of the
whole field, which extends much further towards the
east, certainly to the Orikaka River; and towards the
north beyond the Mokihinui. But of the actual ex-
tent of the field, I am not prepared to speak, having
only explored a small part of it; so I shall confine my
remarks to that part which is immediately available,
and which I know is sufficient to supply the Southern
Hemisphere for the next century.

The sections on No. 1 Plan, and the
Diagrams, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 are intended to illustrate
the general conclusions to which I have come, with
respect to the geological formation, of that part of the
field; and also to give an idea of its physical features.
I think that the whole coal formation has been thrown
up by granite, and that granite will be found imme-
diately below it at various and irregular depths.
Some of my reasons for supposing this, are as fol-
lows:—

1. At F. on the River Buller and for some miles
   above it, the base of the mountains is composed
   of granite. In the gorges of the Orawiti and
   Waimangaroa, and also at the base of the
   mountains at Ngakuwaho, granite is found in
   situ, though in all these cases the upper part
   of the mountain is coal formation.
2. In many of the streams flowing from the
   mountains, granite boulders are found mixed
   with rocks of the coal measures.
3. The extensive fractures, as seen on the south
   and south-east side of Mount Rochfort, and
   the south-west side of Mount William, must
   have been caused by a great upheaval, after
   the strata was in a solid state. This will also
   account for the irregular and broken nature of
   the strata in places.
   The long section is from (A.) Mokihinui,
   through the lowest part of the plateau, over
   the top of Mount Rochfort and along the ridge
   of the southern spur, to the River Buller at F.
   The cross sections are drawn opposite the
   true positions on the Plan and long section.
   I have mentioned the data on which these
   sections and diagrams are made, so that the
   geological part may be taken for what the
   worth, as my knowledge of that science is
   very limited. But the surface may be relied
   on as giving an idea of the physical features of
   the plateau. For some account of the geology
   of the district I may refer you to Mr. Haast's
   Report, pages 111 to 116.

I will now describe the general features of the
mountain side from the Buller to the Wariatea, as far
as my observations go. No. 5 Diagram will show the
difficulty of exploring this part of the field. It will
be seen from this that the whole formation for a con-
siderable distance up the mountain side is covered
with debris, consisting of vast accumulations of the
rocks forming the higher part of the mountain, in
masses varying in size from fine sand to huge blocks
so large that it is often difficult to know whether they
are detached or in situ. It is only on the tops of some
of the spurs, and in the gullies where this accumula-
tion has been cut through by streams, that the solid
rock can be seen, and even in these places very occa-
sionally. I have often followed these streams for
more than 1,000 feet, without finding a single rock
which I could be certain was in its natural position.
Up the gorge of Orawiti for a considerable distance
the banks are composed entirely of the recent sand-
stones and marles, which form the low table land
before spoken of; these often rise in perpendicular
precipices 60 or 100 feet, and yet are so soft