Wallingford March 20th, 1867 My dear McLean, I write you a few lines about the Rams before the Napier mail arives so do not know whether you are still at the Wairoa - Mr. Eskdale took delivery on Saturday last the 16th of (80) Eighty Rams for your Akitio Station - he picked them out of about 120 Sheep which were all of them really good and as he chose well the lot he took away were really a first-rate lot of sheep, large and well woolled. He expressed himself to me as both pleased and satisfied with them and I can assure you if they do you as much good as the same blood has done me you will be satisfied with the result. I told Mr. Eskdale to write you himself what he thought of them - Now about the utu. Our arrangement was you were to give me Wethers to the value of the Rams - i.e. £160 worth of Wethers and Rhodes was to value them. Now to do this he must know about them - and if you still prefer giving me sheep to paying for them - will you let Richardson know whether you will give me fat sheep or store Wethers - so that Rhodes may put a value on them - At the very low rates Wethers are fetching just now I shd. think it wd. be a gain to you rather to pay for the Rams than to give me Sheep at present rates and it wd. suit me better also, and to make it easier still, I will take your three months bill for the amt. £160 dated from the delivery of the Rams Oct. 16th. If you prefer however to give me sheep, give me some that will be saleable and Richardson will arrange to have them down at once to Ruramu. I have written to Richardson to see you about this and get it settled - Since I wrote the foregoing I have yours by the Post and see you have deferred the trip to the Wairoa in the meantime. Also I have read Mr. Murdoch's reply to yours re advances. It is not very cheering - still I do not understand why our loan is in a state to make it unavailable. I see nothing for it but for you to take a run to Auckland and see if you can squeeze anything out of them. As to the Council meeting in the interim, that cant be, the writs are made returnable to the Governor - so I conclude they will all have to be sent to Wellington and then be returned with an instruction to the Returning officer to report the elections to the Council - the meeting of which will be fixed by the Govt. by proclamation in the Gazette. I have not time to look up the law of the case to-night - but I fancy I am right - ask Wilson. W. Hunter at Porangahau Returning Office, has sent the Porangahau writ on today to Wellington by the overland mail, endorsed that I have been returned. He shewed me the writ which was clearly returnable to the Govt. There was no one present at my election save the 2 Hunters and myself. What a gale we have had, it seems as though we were going back to the old times again. I am very glad you managed to settle the sheep case with Inglis and I think considering all things you have got out of it better than you might. I havent time to write you more tonight having a tremendous bill of letters to reply to. Yours always, J.D. Ormond