26/3/1863 Dear McLean The dodge is to say that Colenso is the man to treat with the Natives for land. You will not again be able to unship this asp from his office till next year but I'm not quite sure you'd be wise to threaten him now. However you will better judge of this. The other dodge is to oppose the Police partly on the ground of its insufficiency. You might use this argument as one against this. We part of the North Island must pay the £30,000 a year will it be wise to throw away a chance of keeping our own money here and if insufficient therefore cannot do less than nothing while if proved to be insufficient they might be increased. I have told you all I can hear. The council stands thus McLean Fitzgerald P. Russell Ormond S. Curling J. A. Smith Rhodes? Kennedy? Wilkinson Colenso Tiffen Tuke Dolbel Carter Hitchings I distrust both Rhodes and Kennedy and before making a "peer" of the former I'd get a specific promise of support on all material points. You can judge better than me but it seems so. I broke up Tiffens cabal last night by going there myself and hoped to have got Carter away today. I fear he won't go. I derided the scab bill of T's and promised to put all the sense in it into half a page; at his request I have taken a copy for the purposes he says he sees the mistake himself Truly yours G. S. Whitmore 26 March