142
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
week, which is all they are able to take down the
river with the single boat they have for this purpose.
They have penetrated into the seam about one
hundred and eleven feet, and at that distance in it
has been measured, and found to be sixteen feet two
inches in thickness. The coal has to be conveyed
down the river in flat-bottomed punts, on account of
some shallows there are about halfway up to the
mine. There is at present a demand for more coal
than can be supplied for the use of the small steamers
trading on the coast. The mine is distant from the
entrance of the river about six and a half miles.

The several particulars furnished above will supply
information on most of the points to which my
attention was directed; and I will now briefly reply
to the questions which still remain unanswered, in the
order in which they stand in my letter of instructions.

The West Coast district, I think, is not "yet ripe
for being formed into a separate Province;" but as
the opportunities for communication between it and
the Seat of Government are at present less frequent
than those enjoyed by most other settled parts of the
Colony, I am of opinion that it would be found ad-
visable to allow some officer on the spot to act as a
kind of agent for the General Government, as, in
addition to carrying out their instructions, he would
always be prepared to advise them whenever it might
be found necessary to adopt any fresh arrangements
to meet the varying necessities of the district.

In the event of being formed into a separate Pro-
vince, its natural and proper limits, I think, would
be the portion of the Province of Canterbury west of
the great dividing range of mountains.

Communication overland from Nelson, I am told,
is even more difficult than from Christchurch, as the
only really practicable pass yet discovered is the one
at the head of the Teremakau; anyone travelling
from Nelson overland must therefore go almost to
the southern boundary of the Province before a prac-
ticable track to the westward can be reached.

The only present practicable means of intercom-
munication overland between the different ports of
the district is by the sea-beach.

For the reasons stated in a previous part of this
letter, I think that the proper capital of the district
would be at the town at Port Hokitika.

It is impossible yet to give any estimate of the
revenue which may be expected from the district, as
the Customs duties on most of the goods consumed
there are at present paid at the ports from whence
they are shipped. The Hokitika will however, no
doubt, soon be declared a warehousing port, when all
the articles liable to the higher rates of duty will be
shipped under bond, and pay duty there. As soon
as that is the case, and the number of people is ascer-
tained more accurately, a tolerably correct estimate
of the revenue can be furnished.

Most of the officers required just now for the West
Coast, who hold their offices under the Provincial
Government, have already been appointed. A gentle-
man enjoying the confidence of the Canterbury
Government has been sent there as Resident Magis-
trate, with ample discretionary powers in all Provin-
cial matters; a Warden for the Goldfield is also
stationed there, as well as a body of Police. Pilots
for the Hokitika and the Grey have also been nomi-
nated. A Custom House has been established at the
first-named port, as I have already reported in a
letter addressed to the Hon. the Commissioner of
Customs, referring to matters especially connected
with his Department. In that letter I recommended
that an experienced officer should be appointed Sub-
Collector for the West Coast; and he might also, I
think, act as Sub-Treasurer and Registrar of Births
Deaths and Marriages; the Coroner's duties, for the
present, might be undertaken by the Magistrate or
the Warden of the Goldfield.

A Postmaster is urgently required; but this I have
already pointed out in a separate communication to
the Hon. the Postmaster-General, who at once, I be-
lieve, gave directions for an officer to be sent from
Nelson without delay.

I have, &c.,
WILLIAM SEED, Collector.

Conveyancing Counsel appointed under "Land Registry
Act, 1860," Regulation No. 41.

Attorney-General's Office,
Wellington, 1st May, 1865.

HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
appoint
SAMUEL JACKSON, and
HENRY HILL,
of Auckland in the Province of Auckland, and
CHARLES JAMES FOSTER,
of Christchurch in the Province of Canterbury,
Esquires, to be Conveyancing Counsel to examine
Titles under the "Land Registry Act, 1860," Regula-
tion, No. 41.
HENRY SEWELL.

D. B. McConnel, Esq., appointed Registrar of Deeds
at Invercargill.

Attorney General's Office,
Wellington, 22nd April, 1865.

HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
appoint
DAVID BENNET MCCONNEL, Esq.,
to be Registrar of Deeds at Invercargill in the Pro-
vince of Southland.
HENRY SEWELL.

D. B. McConnel, Esq., appointed Registrar of the
Supreme Court at Invercargill.

Attorney-General's Office,
Wellington, 22nd April, 1865.

HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
appoint
DAVID BENNET MCCONNEL, Esq.,
to be Registrar of the Supreme Court at Invercargill
in the Province of Southland.
HENRY SEWELL.

Appointment of J. S. Johnston, Esq., as Registrar of
the Supreme Court at Invercargill, cancelled.

Attorney-General's Office,
Wellington, 22nd April, 1865.

HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
cancel the appointment of
JOHN SMITH JOHNSTON, Esq.,
of Invercargill in the Province of Southland, as Regis-
trar of the Supreme Court.
HENRY SEWELL.

Appointment of J. S. Johnston, Esq., as Registrar of
Deeds at Invercargill, cancelled.

Attorney General's Office,
Wellington, 22nd April, 1865.

HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
cancel the appointment of
JOHN SMITH JOHNSTON, ESQ.,
as Registrar of Deeds at Invercargill in the Province
of Southland.
HENRY SEWELL.

Native Secretary's Department,
Wellington, 4th May, 1865.

HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
license
WILLIAM GREGORY CLARKE, Esq.,
WILLIAM JOHN PALMER, Esq.,
WILLIAM NICHOLAS SEARANCKE, Esq.,
to be Surveyors under "The Native Lands Act, 1862."
WALTER MANTELL.