47

81. The Board shall keep a record of their proceedings, in which shall be entered in writing a full and particular account of all business transacted by them, and a minute of the opinion of the members of the Board in cases where they differ: which record shall be open to the inspection of any person, at all reasonable times, on payment of a fee of 2s. 6d. for each inspection.

82. There shall also be kept in the office of the Board, in a convenient form for reference, every letter, report, and communication received, and a copy of every letter written and order made by the said Board, and by the Chief Commissioner thereof; and a convenient index shall be made thereto, all of which shall be open to inspection by any person, at all reasonable times, on payment of a fee of 2s. 6d. for each inspection.

XVII.

DEFINITION OF WASTE LANDS OF THE CROWN.

83. The terms “Waste Lands of the Crown” and “Waste Lands,” in the 1st and 2nd sections of these regulations shall be deemed to include all such land as are declared by the 72nd section of the Constitution Act to be Waste Lands of the Crown within the meaning thereof.

84. The terms “Waste Lands of the Crown” and “Waste Lands” throughout these Regulations (excepting in the 1st and 2nd sections thereof) shall be taken to comprise only land whereof the Native Title shall have been extinguished.

XVIII.

COMMENCEMENT OF REGULATIONS.

85. These regulations shall come into force on the first day of June, 1855.

The rules and regulations referred to in section No. 62 of the above regulations as thereto annexed and thereby confirmed, are the “rules and regulations for the issue of pasture and timber licenses for the occupation of waste lands of the Crown outside Hundreds,” except sections Nos. 11 and 12 thereof) as the same were published in the New Zealand Government Gazette, and are now in force.

In pursuance of the 3rd section of an Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand, intituled the “Waste Lands Act, 1854,” the above laid regulations are published in the Government Gazette of the Province of Otago, and their adoption by the Provincial Council of the said Province will be proposed by me the undersigned, one of the members thereof, in conformity with the provisions of the said Acts.

John Hyde Harris, M.P.C.

Dunedin, 3rd March, 1855.

HIS HONOR THE SUPERINTENDENT directs the publication of the following letter for general information:—

Dunedin, 2nd March, 1855.

To His Honor the Superintendent and Council of the Province of Otago.

Honourable Sir and Gentlemen,—

I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter with inclosures, value £100, ready to hand, through my agents, Messrs. Macandrew and Co., and at the same time to tender my best thanks for your kindness and liberality. You may rest assured that I will use every exertion in my power in exploring your Province for the benefit of Her Majesty’s Government, and the general welfare of the settlers. Indeed I have every reason to believe that my investigations will open a wide field for the extension of sheep and cattle runs in your Province, and with this object I will take care to furnish you with a full description of the whole country, its rivers, lakes, and mountains. It will also be my particular study to discover a good and easy route directly across your Province to the Western Coast. When my examination of Stewart’s Island is completed, I purpose sending extracts from my journal up to that time to His Honor the Superintendent, and such extracts as refer to mineral discoveries I have to request you will consider strictly confidential, as I wish them not in any way to be made public.

I expect to be absent about 6 months, and hope to return to Dunedin the latter end of July or August; but in the event of delays either from unfavourable weather or other causes, I shall look out for winter quarters in the south, and will send a special messenger to His Honor the Superintendent, acquainting him with my locality, and, if needs be, requesting assistance.

On leaving Stewart’s Island my route will be from Jacob’s River to Chalky Bay; thence to Paterson’s Island, where, close on Pendulum Bay, I may remain a short time, and plant some potatoes, which I take with me for that purpose; thence direct along the coast to Milford Haven or Mistaken Bay, where I will have a second depot for provisions, and plant potatoes also; thence up to Looking-Glass or Narrow Bay, going inland along the mountain range, and down again on the west side. Thus by crossing the mountain range from west to east and east to west, in a range of 120 miles wide, I shall be able to take correct observations of the land, as well as of the courses of rivers and lakes. Thence I shall come over by Mount Riekards to Mount Peel, and down to Port Otago, or from Waitangi River by boat. By such a route I hope to obtain a perfect knowledge of the terra incognita, whereon no European has ever set foot before; and in the course of my travels, my geological researches in such a wonderfully curious country will be particularly interesting, for instance as to the discovery of active or extinct craters, which I confidently expect will confirm my opinions already publicly expressed, that the volcanic action must take its course along the mountain ranges on the western coast, proving thereby that New Zealand was once in connection with South America. Flora and Fauna will also furnish an additional proof of that connection having existed. With regard to collections, my present plan is to leave them at two separate places, as I may find most convenient, until they can be brought up by boat to Dunedin. This I will provide for myself, and will presently arrange with His Honor the Superintendent in private as to the localities chosen for their temporary reception. You shall receive collections for your own museum, one specimen of every species of which I possess a duplicate; and here let me earnestly beg your careful attention to these collections. They will be very valuable, and grieved indeed should I find hereafter that my specimens were collected with much trouble only to share...