Decr. 30th 1864 Auckland Donald McLean Esq. My Dear Sir I have been now in town a few days, since I wrote to you I have been looking about me and am perfectly disgusted at the aspect of affairs political. You will remember I told you I had taken the first steps to oust our Carleton, and to enter the G. A. since "beinghere however I see such apathy existing and such a want of any defined plan amongst our so called politicians such a want of also that taking into consideration also that some of our cleverest men are resigning or talking of doing so I am getting clean out of heart and giving up the idea of turning public man myself. I hear it proposed generally to sulk and refuse to go to the parliament to be held at Wellington, and the only grievance which seems to trouble the people here is the removal of the seat of Government to that place a measure which may be objected to but which is in fact a very small trouble in my estimation in comparison to other matters the Colonists and Government have to deal with the fact is I am afraid the Aucklanders think more of the than they do the (I would not however tell Mr FitzGerald this) and I fear I would feel like a fish out of water amongst them, the worst of it is I have gone so far with the Bay of Islanders that I fear I shall have a horrid row with them unless I stand unless I can make some good excuse for leaving them in the lurch after having got them to anathemise Carleton "on the rialto" we shall see I am dreadfully sorry I missed you or we should have held high converse together as to what to do. for my part I see no great encouragement to go into parliament to do battle single handed with all and sundry without any back - I sometimes dream that even now at the last hour good may yet be done in the Great Native Muddle. but then, why and wherefore when everyone else seems to have lost all interest in everything but the removal of the seat of Govt. should I make myself a martyr to these dreams I think I shall after all retire to the shade of my willow trees and lollop about and smoke pipes and catch fish, and from a quiet and safe distance comment on the girations and mad capers of the two different samples ofhuman nature or inhuman nature inhabiting this Island of New Zealand I am wavering you see, hardly half acress the Rubicon, only up to my knees and looking back over my shoulder to the pleasant spot called Onoke. perhaps after all I may muster courage or what is the same be driven to take harness. I shall write to you again if anything worth telling occurs. The state of the North is this the moment we endeavour to enforce British Law rebellion follows . No one however expects we shall attempt it. Yours very sincerely F. E. Maning