.E—No. 3. SECTION I.

Enclosure 1 to No. 17. THE COLONIAL SECBETARY TO THE STTPEBINTEXDENT OF TAEANAKI. Sib,— New Plymouth, 16th April, 1863. It is considered by the Government as essential to any scheme for the satisfactory reinstatement of the settlement of Taranaki, that the Tataraimaka Block should be occupied in future by a body of settlers able to maintain their position, and thus to give great additional security to the inhabitants of the rest of the Province. , The present owners of land in that block do not, as your Honor is aware, number more than twenty, several of whom it is probable would not in any case reside there. It is obvious that so small a body of men, separated from the other districts belonging to Europeans, by a tract of land owned by disaffected Natives, would require for their protection a Military Force disproportioned to the results being obtained, and which, in the event of any considerable reduction of the Troops kept in the Colony, would either have to be maintained there at the expense of more settled portions of the country equally requiring protection, or being proportionately reduced, would cease to afford the security the settlers require. If, on the other hand, a strong Military Settlement were placed on the Block, these difficulties would be avoided; while a powerful Advance Guard would be provided for the protection of the Southern Boundary of the settled districts, which it is hoped would furnish, in connection with other measures of a similar kind, a material guarantee for the future peace and security of the whole settlement of Taranaki. To enable such a measure to be carried into effect, the Government must obtain possession of the Block in question. For this purpose an Act of the Provincial Council would be necessary, similar in its provisions to the other Acts which have lately been passed for obtaining lands for public purposes. I have, therefore, to invite your Honor to lay a Bill before Council, with as little delay as possible, to authorise the General Government to take the whole of the land in the Tataraimaka Block, or any portion it might deem sufficient for the objects it has in view, at a fair price per acre. Should this be done, a settlement will at once be established there, to consist of a body of soldiers, accustomed to the country, and particularly acquainted with this Province, who are now entitled and waiting their discharge, and who would obtain the lands upon a kind of Military tenure, and on other conditions hereafter to be specified. It must of course be understood that the Government does not pledge itself to effect this purchase, if the sum ultimately found requisite should exceed the amount Government may think proper to devote thereto. I have, &c, His Honor the Superintendent, Taranaki. Alfred Domett.

Enclosure 2 to No. 17. SUPERINTENDENT OF TARANAKI TO THE COLONIAL SECRETARY. Superintendent's Office, New Plymouth, Sib,— 21st April, 1863. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 16th instant, acquainting me ■with the views of the Government in regard to the future occupation of the Tataraimaka District, and inviting me to lay a Bill before the Provincial Council to authorise the General Government to take the whole of the land, or any portion they may deem sufficient for the object of forming a settlement of discharged soldiers there. I shall, upon your request, lose no time in submitting a Bill of the nature referred to for the consideration of the Council, at the same time I must state that I am unable to give the measure my support. First, as the position of Tataraimaka is by no means more isolated than that of other settled districts of this island, it appears to me evident that the special proposition of dispossessing the land owners of Tataraimaka, merges itself in the more general one, whether it is necessary or desirable to withdraw the ordinary settlers from all lands similarly situated ; and being thus but one instance of the application of a principle most important to the whole colony, I think that it would be much wiser in the Provincial Council to decline to legislate upon the subject, even if that body should be disposed to assent to the principle involved. Again, if it be desirable to remove the Tataraimaka land owners, I cannot but feel that they are fully entitled to receive from the Government the market value in times of peace of the land in the possession of which the Government are unable, it seems, tD protect them ; and I, therefore, do not feel myself justified in assisting in any attempt at coercion, until it is shown that they either refuse to sell by arbitration, or ask a price for their land greater than it would be worth if it could be occupied in security. In conclusion, I would state that if it is the opinion of the Government that the settlement can only be protected at this date by a chain of military posts of the magnitude proposed, then the question, affecting as it does every settlement in the North Island, seems to me one for the immediate consideration of the Colonial Parliament. I have, &c, Chables Bbown, The Honorable the Colonial Secretary, New Plymouth, Superintendent.

No. 47,

No. 18. COPY OF DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR GEORGE GREY, K.C.B., TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE, K.G. Taranaki, May 10th, 1863. My Lord Duke, — I have the honor herewith to transmit to Your Grace the proceedings of the Coroner's inquest held upon the bodies of the Officers and men who were so barbarously murdered on the 4th. instant, as I reported shortly to Your Grace in my despatch No. 42, of the 8th instant. I have, &c, His Grace the Duke of Newcastle, K.G. G. Grey.

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DESPATCHES FROM GOVERNOR SIR G. GREY