if not of their lives, at any rate of their properties;
--when you bear in mind such admissions as
these, I am surely justified in congratulating you
upon this Island having, as scarcely ever threatened anyone of England's numerous
dependencies.

Nor am I less justified in congratulating you
upon the prospect there now is that the hopes you
breathed in the Address to which I am referring,
will be most completely realized.

The dismissal of the late Ministry, and the
substitution in its place of one holding entirely
different views and advocating a wholly different
policy--the recall of Colonel Gore Browne, and
the re-appointment of Sir George Grey--the man
of all others in whom the Natives ever have had,
and still have the greatest confidence,--at once
changed the whole aspect of affairs. No sooner
did these events occur, than a firm conviction
seized the minds both of Europeans and Natives
that there was an end to the internecine war contemplated by the late Administration.

How far this conviction has been borne out by
subsequent events--the present position of the
Colony contrasted with what it was a few months
since--the restoration of public confidence--the
revival of every branch of industry--the employment of the Military, not in war but in making
roads--the changed attitude of the Natives, their
eager adoption of the institutions of self-government offered to them--the withdrawal of some of
the most influential chiefs from the king confederacy--the confirmed loyalty of many of the most
powerful tribes--the unmistakable wavering displayed in the ranks of the king’s adherents,--
these and other facts, patent to all, sufficiently
testify and declare.

My own belief, however, in the establishment
of a permanent peace, rests not so much on the
change of Ministry, or the re-appointment of Sir
G. Grey, or the offer to the Natives of the institutions for which they have long been craving and
striving after, as upon the simple fact, that his
Excellency and his Ministers by their offer to refer the question of the Waitara purchase to arbitration, have had the moral courage to proclaim
to the Natives that the same principles of justice
which guide men in their private transactions, shall
be observed between her Majesty’s Government and
her Majesty’s subjects--that if wrong has been done
even by her Majesty’s Representative, that wrong
shall not be persisted in, but as far as possible repaired. Had this avowal not been made, a deep
and keen sense of injustice, rankling and festering
in the minds of the whole Native population,
must have rendered a solution of the Native difficulties well nigh, if not altogether hopeless.
Without that offer of arbitration, Peace was
barely possible; that offer made, to my mind, War
is barely possible.

The discovery of Gold Fields in the Province
of Otago, which have up to this time proved as remunerative, if not more so, than any in Australia,
has already had an influence on this province
second only to that produced by the general impression that peace would be established. That--
such a discovery--by drawing off a considerable
number of our male adult population, and by unseating temporary stagnation to trade and commerce, ought not to have excited the slightest surprise, for such ever has been the first effect of the discovery of a paying gold field upon the countries more immediately adjoining them. But when it is stated
that since the discovery of gold in Otago, from
the returns furnished to me by two Banks--

the Union and the New South Wales--that nearly
£70,000 had been remitted from Otago to this
Province--that the Custom House Returns show
that during the year ending the 31st December
last, the value of the Exports from this province
to Dunedin was £35,169, and for the quarter ended the 31st March last £18,485, and further
that the value of stock, timber, and other articles,
the produce of the Province, was for the same
quarter £15,343, it can scarcely be doubted that
this Province has probably reaped greater advantages from the gold fields of Otago than any other
Province.

The discovery of gold in different districts of
this Province has very naturally caused a belief
that paying gold fields may yet be discovered,
and consequently a desire that no time should be
lost in ascertaining how far the impression is well
founded. You will, therefore, not be surprised that
the Government have not hesitated to anticipate
your wishes by intimating to Sir R. Murchison
that they accepted his offer, conveyed through
Mr. Mantell, to select and send out a Geologist
thoroughly competent to explore the mineral resources of this Province. But in order to avoid
any charge of apathy in regard to a matter in
which the whole Province manifested so deep an
interest, the Government gladly availed themselves of the services in the meantime of Mr. J.
Coutts Crawford. The Reports furnished by that
gentleman will show that in the short space of
three months he explored a great portion of the
West Coast territory; and the information contained in them, both in regard to the geology and
the agricultural and pastoral capabilities of the
country he traversed, will bear ample testimony
to his competency for the work he undertook, and
to the valuable services he has rendered. Though
no discovery of available mineral wealth rewarded
his explorations, still he has paved the way for the
researches of future geologists, and has already indicated the localities in which minerals may most
probably be found.

You will be gratified to learn that this Province
has at last been relieved, both of the heavy expense, and of the mischievous obstructiveness of
the Land Purchase Department--His Excellency
the Governor having been pleased to devolve upon
myself, as Superintendent, the duty of purchasing
such lands as the Natives may from time to time
be disposed to alienate. Though fully alive to the
responsibilities attached to the appointment, I have
not hesitated to accept it, as I conceive that very
great advantages may accrue, especially in the present state of the Native mind, from the Superintendent being placed in such close and intimate
relations, both towards the General Government
and the Natives, as the office of Land Purchase
Commissioner implies. There will no longer be
that antagonism between the General and Provincial Governments, in regard to land purchases, so
calculated to impair and destroy the influence of
both. The subordinate officers of the Land Purchase Department will no longer be political
agents employed, for party purposes, to engender
distrust of the authorities, and so to foment rather
than to adjust disputes with the Natives about
Land. The Superintendent, from the constant and
intimate intercourse which will thus be established
between him and the Natives in every part of the
Province, and from the influence which his office
as Land Purchase Commissioner will undoubtedly
give him, cannot fail to acquire an accurate knowledge of the feelings, wishes, and requirements of
the Natives, and thus be enabled to second far
more effectually than he otherwise could do, his
Excellency’s Government in their endeavours to