Waimarama 3rd Oct. 1866 My dear Sir, Finding it is proposed to execute the mail service from Clive to Porere once a fortnight instead of once a week as heretofore I send you a few lines to beg you will use your influence with the Genl. Govt. to induce them to continue the service as formerly for very little public money has been laid out on this line and I believe the alternative contemplated is through an erroneous return published some time since by which it shewed the cost of each letter on the Povrerere line to be higher than on any other line in the province. The weigh-bill (or whatever the document is called that accompanies each mail) contains the number of letters despatched from Napier for that line but not the number received in Napier by that line as Nairn is appointed post master and lives on the farthest point of the lines so that he fills up the document with the number of letters which leaves his station and it being an open bag the quantity great increasing as it goes along. I have repeatedly found when the said weigh bill has been filled up at Poorerere at 6 or 7 letters by the time it has reached me it has contained from 25 to 30 and as there are as manyplaces of call between me and Clive as between me and Porerere it is only reasonable to suppose that by this time it reaches Napier it will contain 50 to 60 letters instead of 6 or 7 as stated on the Bill from which document I believe the before mentioned returns were compiled thereby greatly increasing the rate per letter on this line. Add to which I have not the least doubt there will not be effected a saving of more than £10 a year on the fortnightly service over the weekly and I think it is hardly fair of the Govt. to so seriously inconvenience 10 or 11 stations who are employing a large amount of labour and thereby adding to customs revenue besides the number of Maories on the lines for the sake of such a paltry saving. Trusting I may claim your sympathies and exertions to have the proposition altered which when the above facts are stated in the proper quarter I cannot doubt will take place and apologising for troubling you remain my dear Sir Yours very truly, W. Fred Hargrave Donald McLean Esqre. etc. etc. etc. P. S. The numbers stated above were not on English mail days but simply for colonial posts.