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ground discovered that, in accordance with instructions received from me, he had been able to let the whole of the road between the Buller and the completed road seventeen miles from the Grey in single mile contracts, upon very advantageous terms, and to be completed, and consequently paid for, by the middle of next month. The presence of thousands of men who were at one time wandering unemployed and dissatisfied in the neighborhood of Brighton, offered a most favorable opportunity for the execution of this much-needed road through an exceedingly rough country, whilst the employment of so many of them was a most important auxiliary to the maintenance of peace, although it did not altogether obviate the necessity of a very considerable nightly escort between Brighton and the Buller, consisting of five mounted constables.

The necessary appointment of another Resident Magistrate and Warden, the appointment of Surveyors, Harbor Masters, and Signalmen, the erection of Court-houses, Gaols, Custom-houses, and Signal-stations, have all added to the demands on the vote for "South-West gold-fields;" and although the increased gold-fields revenue has been more than sufficient to meet such additional demands, the inelastic provisions of the new Audit Act have left me no alternative but to put you to the inconvenience of meeting at the present time to give legal sanction to an expenditure so obviously necessary, as well as consistent with your often and clearly expressed wishes.

2. A Supplementary Appropriation Bill has been prepared, which proposes to add fifty per cent. to the amounts you last year voted for the West Coast Roads and South West Gold-fields. Your sanction will also be asked to other sums, several of which have been already expended. I have considered it prudent, under existing and anticipated circumstances, to intend to extend the operation of both Appropriation Acts to the end of May.

3. Two other short Bills will be submitted to you. The "Auctioneers' Licensing Amendment Bill," which is intended to withdraw the 3rd clause of the "Auctioneer's Licensing Amendment Act 1862" from operation in the Gold-fields, where it has been found to work badly.

4. The "Publicans Licensing Bill" has been rendered necessary by the General Assembly having failed to make any provision for the issue of publicans' licenses on the Gold-fields in the "Gold-fields Act of 1866."

5. By Clause 40 of that Act, it has been provided (that the seven immediately preceding clauses "relating to Agricultural Leases shall have no force or effect upon any Gold-field until after the Governor shall by Proclamation in the New Zealand Gazette have proclaimed and extended the operation of the said Sections to the Province wherein such Gold-field shall be situate; and such Proclamation shall only be made upon the application of the Superintendent and Provincial Council of a Province." As these clauses, taken in connection with Clauses 52 and 109 of the same Act, practically confer a most important power upon the Superintendent, being nothing less than a limited application of the power so often asked for by the Nelson Provincial Council of selling land to actual cultivators, and improvers upon deferred payment, I shall ask you to lose no time in joining me in the necessary application to the Governor for the force of bringing them into operation on the Gold-fields of this Province.

6. My Estimates of the Revenue for the current Financial year will, I trust, be realized on almost every item, and the whole, considerably exceeded. Presuming, that the three last months will correspond with the nine that have been completed, the Customs revenue estimated at £22,000, would realize £22,580; the Pilotage estimated at £2000, would be £2187; whilst the Land revenue, instead of £10,000, would realize £16,017 14s. 10d. With regard to the receipts from the Gold-fields, my information for the nine months is not complete; but so far as it goes, whilst the Land revenue, that the sum which I estimated for gold duty will be barely realized, the amount for Gold-fields revenue will be exceeded by nearly five thousand pounds.

7. In October last, I have never yet been able to agree appointed Commissioners Sale and Kynnersley to readjust the apportionment of the Customs duties into the Grey, but I regret to say that these gentlemen have never yet been able to agree upon any report, and there appears to be little to hope for in that direction, except that the opening of the new ports of entry at Westport and Brighton, and the Grey has hitherto deprived this Province of its own share of the Customs duties. The large quantity of duty paid goods which have been poured into Brighton and Charleston both from Hokitika and the Grey has hitherto deprived this Province of the duty on most of the articles consumed in those Districts.

8. As I did not anticipate any meeting of this Council until the seasonal season of the year, I considered that I should best consult the Brighton when procure the real representation of the rapidly increasing population of the new districts, constituted under the Gold-fields Act and passed last session, by delaying to issue writs until the result was certain, that would give ample time for the election of new members before they could be called upon to take their seats. I trust that the operation of the leasing clauses of the New Gold-Fields Act will give to the settlers, and to new settlers a permanent interest on the West Coast, as will justify a large addition to the number of its Representatives in your Council.

9. The rapid formation of the new town called Brighton, has been remarkable even in the annals of Gold-Fields. In less than a fortnight a street longer than Bridge-street, Nelson, had been formed with houses on both sides, and seven vessels were lying in a river not so large as the Maitai. In recent private letters to me Mr. Kynnersley, says—"At Brighton, for a fortnight, there was a large crowd of men outside my tent from daylight to dark. I used to give them three minutes each, but even then persons used to come in and declare that they had been waiting for eight hours to see me."

We have been very successful so far in keeping the peace, although, at one time, at Brighton when there were some 5000 men idle and discontented about the place, there appeared to be a likelihood of a repetition of the Bruce Bay riots, and had for a few days seventeen constables at Brighton, and had a very strong Lock-up and an eight and a half days.

"The excitement of these rushes has now subsided, and Brighton and Charleston are both in a tolerably orderly and satisfactory state—the latter is quite a considerable township, containing as many houses as were in Greymouth this time last year. I do not think it will last long, as there is nothing but one good terrace to support it; but it is very centrally situated between the Grey and Buller, and has in Woodpecker Bay a port which possesses one great advantage over either the Grey or Hokitika, viz., that a steamer can anchor in the Bay, and communicate with the shore nine days out of ten, without