42

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

Walter Hippolyte Pilliett—Akaroa.
Edward James Lee—Selwyn, Coleridge.
Belfield Woollcombe---Timaru, Gladstone.
Joseph Giles-Buller.
William Horton Revell-Grey Valley.
Gerard George FitzGerald-Hokitika, Totara.
Richmond Beetham-Wakatipu.
Thomas Windle Parker-Waitaki.
Vincent Pyke--Dunstan, Mount Ida.
John Wallace Murdoch--Waikouaiti.
William Reid-Port Chalmers.
John Burnside-Roslyn, City of Dunedin, Caver-
sham.
James Fulton-Taieri.
John Dewe-Bruce (or Tokomairiro), Tuapeka.
Charles Rous Marten-Wakaia, Wallace.
James Pillans Maitland-Clutha.
Harvey Thomson-Mataura, Invercargill.
Peter Grant-Riverton.
W. GISBORNE.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Wellington, 20th January, 1871.
HIS Excellency the Governor has been pleased to
appoint

DANIEL FERGUSON, Esq.,
to be Deputy of the Registrar of Marriages, and of
Births, Deaths, and Marriages, for the District of
Geraldine, as the same is defined in Proclamation
of 13th July, 1868, and published in the New Zealand
Gazette, No. 43, of 16th July, 1868.

W. GISBORNE.

NOTE.—This notice is published in substitution of notice in
Gazette, No. 4, of 16th instant, page 30, in which W. C.
Andrews, Esq., the Registrar, was erroneously stated to have
been appointed Deputy of the Registrar of Marriages, &c., for
Geraldine.

Colonial Secretary's Office,
Wellington, 20th January, 1871.
THE following extract from the Regulations under
the provisions of "The Civil Service Act, 1866,"
published in the New Zealand Gazette, of the 31st
December, 1867," is republished for general informa-
tion, and the attention of all persons in the employ-
ment of the Government is particularly directed to
its provisions.

W. GISBORNE.

"Sec. 23. In order that officers of all ranks may be
enabled to render loyal and efficient service to Go-
vernment, it is necessary, and they are hereby ex-
pressly required and enjoined, not to take any part
in political affairs otherwise than by recording their
votes at elections; and every violation of this regula-
tion will be forthwith visited with such penalty as
the circumstances of the case shall appear to
demand."

Public Works Office,
Wellington, 20th January, 1871.
THE following Report of an Exploration by Mr.
John Rochfort, with a view to finding a pra-
cable Railway Line to Wairarapa via Wai-nui-omata,
is published for general information.

W. GISBORNE.

Wellington, 17th January, 1871.
SIR,—I have the honor to inform you that, agreeably
with your instructions, I called on Mr. Hugh Sinclair,
for the purpose of examining a route to the Wairarapa
discovered by his sons. Mr. John Sinclair at once
offered to guide me through, and I have to thank
them both for the way in which they furthered my
object.
Commencing my description from the Hutt, this
route crosses the dividing range at an elevation of

567 feet, and falls 314 feet to Mr. Sinclair's house in
the Wai-nui-omata. It then follows up the river
about six miles and a half, rising 491 feet more.
Here it ascends the range dividing the last-named
river from the Orongorongo, an additional 751 feet.
This is the lowest part of the range, and is 1,495
feet above the sea, or 1,242 feet above Mr. Sinclair's
house, and is the highest point of the route. To
gain this elevation with a gradient of 1 in 40 would
require nine miles and a half of distance, whereas
there are only six miles and a half: a line would
therefore have to begin to ascend three miles below
Mr. Sinclair's house.

I omitted to say that we ascended a hill about
2,200 feet high, from whence we could see all over
the line, and ascertained that there was no lower
place.

Mr. Sinclair's route now follows down a branch of
the Orongorongo in a southerly direction for about
three miles, to its confluence with another stream
which leads to the saddle dividing this river from the
Wairongomai (N. 30° E., and two miles distant).
This pass is 365 feet below the other, or 1,130 feet
above the sea, and might be easily reached from the
Wai-nui-omata range by heading the first branch,
and following the hills round gradually to the lower
elevation.

At this point an unexpected difficulty occurs: the
saddle of the Orongorongo, which rises very gently
on its own side, terminates abruptly on the east side
of the range; and instead of meeting the source of the
Wairongomai River it overlaps it, making a sudden
drop of 900 feet, which there is no possible way of
avoiding, as the side ranges are nearly perpendicular
slips.

Mr. Sinclair said he had never seen this part of the
range before, or he would not have put the Govern-
ment to the expense of this exploration, and expressed
himself quite satisfied that this route was impracti-
cable.

The sides of the Wairongomai are very rough and
full of slips, and the distance down to the Lake from
the saddle is about seven miles, and bears about N.
43° E. About two miles from the saddle, a branch
comes in on the North side, up which the range is
visible which separates the Pakuratahi; its bearing is
about North.

We returned round by the coast from the Waira-
rapa, and I have no hesitation in saying that in
addition to the distance by the coast road being nearly
double that of the Hutt line, a railway could not be
made at any reasonable cost, because of the many
slips which it would be impossible to avoid, and the
small streams which push forward immense shingle
fans into the surf.

These two questions may now fairly be considered
as being set at rest; and I feel assured that the line I
have chosen over the Rimutaka is the best that will
be found.

I have, &c.,
JOHN ROCHFORT.

I append a few altitudes of Mr. Sinclair's line:—
Altitudes taken by Aneroid along Mr. Sinclair's route.

To the Hon. Mr. Gisborne,
Minister of Public Works.