THE NEW ZEALANDGAZETTE. 125

"Debentures Ordinance, 1863, Amend-
ment Ordinance 1864,"
"The Electric Telegraph Ordinance, 1863."
which Bills were reserved for the signification
of the Governor's pleasure thereon, having
been laid before the Governor, His Excellency
has been pleased to assent to the same.
THOS. B. GILLIES,
In the absence of the Colonial Secretary.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Auckland, 24th March, 1864.

HIS Excellency the Governor has been
pleased to appoint
HENRY WIDOWSON TURNELL,
to be Registration and Returning Officer for
the Election of Members of the House of
Representatives for the Electoral District of
Collingwood.
T. B. GILLIES,
In the absence of the Colonial Secretary.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Auckland, 22nd Feb., 1864.

THE following Report by the Chief
Surveyor of the Province of Southland,
of his recent visit to Stewart's Island, is
published for general information
FREDK. WHITAKER,
In the absence of Mr. Fox.

CHIEF SURVEYOR'S REPORT OF STEWART'S
ISLAND.

February 15, 1864.
SIR,-I proceeded on the 26th ult. to explore
Stewart's Island with a view to obtain some
general knowledge of the character of the
land on it, and to ascertain what steps it
would be necessary to take for the survey of
the whole or portions of it.

For these purposes I went round the Island
in a boat, landing at a great many points
and striking inland, and ascending the hills
wherever the extremely difficult character
of the country permitted. The broken and
irregular outline of the shore, and the many
islands which fringe it, afford boat harbours
on almost every part of the Coast, which
greatly facilitate such an excursion, though
the great strength of the tides, and the
prevalence of westerly gales, cause such a
heavy sea off the salient points, especially off
the Southern Capes, as to make it hazardous,
except in a very good boat, and with skilful
management.

The whole island consists of primary
rocks, felspar being by far the predominant
material. Some of the hills of the interior
I found to consist of granite (in one case a
singularly beautiful red syenitic granite),
and the hills generally have the conical form
and boldly rounded outlines common to the
granite hills of Europe; but near the coast
large dykes occur, of almost pure felspar,
intersected by veins of quartz, and with a
few small crystals only of mica and horn-
blende thinly scattered through it. In some
parts, especially in the south, mica and tale
abound so much that it might be called
talcose rock.

Rocks of this character are by no means
unlikely to yield gold. Everywhere I
found embedded in the felspar minute
crystals of zircon, and the sands contained
titanate of iron and a number of small green
gems, which, from their form, and from their
having a specific gravity much greater than
that of quartz, I take to be euclase.

As might be expected, the decomposition
of these rocks gives rise to a very fertile soil,
and everywhere the surface is covered with
a dense and luxuriant scrub, which, having
never been burnt off, or broken down by
cattle, and being composed of quick-growing
shrubs of no great strength, subject to be
blown down and replaced by new growths,
the dead and the living forming an impene-
trable jungle, so as to make walking to any
distance altogether impossible. On the west
coast, the land is so much exposed to the
prevalent winds, and the hills are so steep
and broken that, for the present at all events,
it may be set down as absolutely unavailable,
except a few hundred acres at Mason's Bay;
but on the east side, and north of Port
Pegasus, and especially in the vicinity of
Lord's River and Port Adventure, the ridges
become longer and rather lower; the size of
the timber increases; the Rimu, Totara, and
Kahikatea appear, and the whole country
becomes rather more practicable, though
still steep and broken, and everywhere
covered with dense scrub to the water's edge.

At Port Adventure there is a small settle-
ment, now chiefly peopled by half-castes.
Portions of the hills have been more or less
cleared, and the extreme luxuriance of the
grass which has spontaneously grown up,
attests the productivenes of the soil and
climate. Proceeding on towards Patterson's
Inlet, the land again becomes rather higher
and steeper, but still carrying forest trees,
though of no great size. A little land in
the south arm of Patterson's Inlet seems
capable of cultivation, and a few small spots,
all along the extensive shores of the harbour,
might hereafter invite settlement, -aided, as
these spots will be, by the convenience of
comunication by water-but the area of
available land is very small.

The principal arm of Patterson's Inlet
receives a considerable river, the Ohekia,
which flows through the only plain in the
island. This valley is full ten miles long,
with an average breadth of about three miles,
and contains 12,000 or 15,000 acres of flat
land and about half as much more of the
easy slopes of the hills on each side; a great
portion, perhaps one half of the flat, is void
of scrub, apparently having been burnt off
at no very remote period; the remainder
of the scrub would no doubt easily be de-
stroyed by fire, and by feeding cattle, but
the character of the land in the flat is very
inferior-it is, in fact, a mere sand-drift,
covered with a thin peaty soil. The summits
of the long low parallel ridges are dry but