Wallingford Dec. 22nd. 1868. My dear McLean, I hearreports to day and yesterday of prisoners having been taken at Poverty Bay but as I have no word of anything of the kind to-night by the orderly I conclude there is nothing in it. I write you about Militia business. You remember my writing to you and making certain recommendations and pointing out how hard the Militia work fell upon the people living long distances from the parade ground. You replied to me by Telegram saying that Major Carlyon would instruct Captains of Companies that men engaged in shearing and harvesting should get leave. I sent your Telegram to W. Huntley who expected to get an order to that effect but no such order has reached him. Today he came to me with a list of between 20 and 30 names of Militiamen who he desired to summons for non attendance. I went over the list and seeing that nearly all the people he was going to summons were hard at work at their shearing on harvesting I got him to post pone summoning the men until after next parade day - Monday next. I put it to him that he had the power to exempt the men who were engaged in shearing and harvesting but he said that if he gave leave on these grounds that he would have to give leave to the whole Company as they were all engaged in/those pursuits. He wishes the parade to be stopt until this busy season is over but says that if the parades go on he shall summons the men who do not attend unless he gets orders to give leave to men engaged shearing and Harvesting - in which case he will have to give leave to such an extent that no men will be on parade. What I write to you for is to ask you to see Major Carlyon and get such orders given