18 miles; opposite the confluence of the Nevis a mile or two would be saved on the length of road line, but generally it would have to keep close on the river. An amount of side cutting, bridging, &c., will have to be done before a substantial road is made, that plainly will make the cost per mile something great.

The known resources of the Wakatipu Districts are forest, pastoral and agricultural lands, and auriferous deposits. The first three resources are so limited in quantity as to create little or no traffic to and from the district; it would, therefore, devolve almost entirely on the mineral resources of the district to support the road. Gold had been found up to the date of survey over 600 square miles of country; the extent of country found to be payable, and from which escort returns have come, extends over 360 square miles. The boundary line of this country describes a parallelogram; the north boundary is a line drawn from the head of the Wakatipu Lake east to the source of the Arrow on Mount Hyde; the eastern boundary is a line from the source of the Arrow to its junction with the Kawarau; then for the remaining boundary lines follow up the Kawarau to the lake, and then up the east side of the lake to its head: every creek within this extent, with only one or two exceptions, has been proved to be highly auriferous. The nearness of the Wakatipu Gold-fields to the West Coast suggests the mention of a route to it. The distance between the head of the Wakatipu Lake and the head of Milford Sound is only 27 miles; the mountain ridges lie diagonally across the direct line between these two points; the height and abruptness of the ridges preclude the possibility of taking a direct course over them; the only way of traversing this, and, indeed, all the country bordering on the West Coast, is to follow up the rivers to one or other of their sources, where generally there is a lower and more accessible part in the ridge over which a Pass may be sought. The rivers are a greater hindrance in crossing this country than the mountains. In following them up, their channels are, as a rule, the only place available as a track; this of course necessitates the frequent fording of the river. Supposing, in the case of the West Coast, there was really a good Pass through the mountains, I believe that the rivers alone would so often interrupt traffic by their floods, that practically'édisordered, a route to the West Coast is a thing not to be expected. At the very best, a bridle track is all that may be hoped for. From these statements it follows as a sort of corollary, that the traffic of the country must follow the run of the rivers, and that therefore the eastern coast of the Province is where the ports will ever be situated that command the interior districts.

I will conclude this Report by stating my belief that the extent of the Pastoral and Agricultural portion of the Province have now been determined. The distance between the most westerly points of this survey and the coast line is only a few miles; the great altitude of these points—the altitudes by Captain Stokes near the coast line—the lie of the country and its appearance as actually seen, leave little doubt in my mind as to the utter barrenness of the region extending between the forests of the Wainai, Wakatipu, Te Anau, and Manipori Lakes on the one side, and the forests of the West Coast on the other. To the south of this there is a considerable breadth of country to the west of the Princess Mountains as yet unexplored. What I saw of this country over the Knobloch Inlet consisted of undulating ridges covered with forest. Its exploration would have to be conducted from Preservation Inlet, or some of the other neighbouring inlets of the West Coast.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your very obedt. servant,

JAMES MCKERROW,

District Surveyor.

Appended are Tables of Areas, Altitudes, and the Register of the Thermometer during survey.

TABLE A.