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you kindly furnished. Mr. Marshall advises me that it is 3 feet, and cleaner than the outcrop, but not clean enough to work ; they are now in the hard ground again, and, as you are aware, it will be some months before they come to the next seam; the present contract is 375. per foot. There are six men employed, and tho work is carried on night and day. I have security for £50, and the contractors leave the amount of the first 25 feet in my hands until the contract is finished. The entire distance driven up to Tuesday last is 169 feet, that is made up thus : first contractors, 102 feet; second, 17 feet (tor which I refuse to pay at present) ; and 50 feet by the present contractors. It is contemplated to make a new road to the Ruatanawa, consequently the old road is not to be repaired. Tho Ruatanawa has from 12 to 14 feet at low water inside, so that vessels would not have to lie aground at low water ; and it is not disturbed with floods, &c. I have, &c, M. Webster, Dr. Hector, Wellington. Legal Manager. Mr. AVebster to Dr. Hector. Collingwood Coal Mining Company, Registered, Sir,— Nelson, 14th April, 1873. I beg to advise you that Mr. Marshall reports having found ironstone both above and below the first coal scam cut in thonncr drive ; he states that the bands vary from 6 to 12 inches ; .and as it appears to me better than anything got out before, I take tho liberty of sending a sample herewith, trusting that, when opportunity offers, you may be able to analyze it, and let me know the result. Tho contractors are still pushing forward with the drive, but the water increases every foot they proceed, so much so that they cannot work more than six-hour shifts. Up to the Bth instant, they had driven 101 feet, and under that date they addressed a letter to me, asking for an advance of 3s. per foot on account of the difficulties they had to contend with; but the Directors decline to entertain such an advance, as it is quite possible they may get into easier ground at any time. I may add that the water blast is acting admirably, carrying abundance of air for the safe and proper working of tho drive. I have, &c, M. AVebster, Dr. Hector, Wellington. Legal Manager. Report by Dr. Hector relative to the Collingwood Coal Mine. 10th May, 1873. In continuation of my former communication of 3rd December, I have the honor to report that I again inspected the Collingwood Coal Mine on 16th April, and found that the tunnel was excavated for a distance of 230 feet from the entrance, the new contractors having driven 113 feet in ton weeks. The rock continues to be very hard and tough, and only a few shale partings have been met with to favour the work. Tho lowest of the seven seams of coal was cut at 105 feet, and affords indications of a favourable change in the formation as it dips into the hill. At the outcrop, on the face of tho waterfall, this seam only showed 6 inches of clean coal, distributed in thin layers through about 4 feet of sandy shale ; but in the drive it showed 14 inches of clean coal, with a roof of sandy shale, and resting on a sandstone band 2 feet thick, beneath which is a second seam of coal 6 inches thick. In the shale roof there is a band of ironstone 10 inches thick. At 200 feet several small cross-joints were encountered, from which water gushed with considerable force, greatly impeding the work and adding to the cost, by frequently causing the charges to miss fire. To overcome the difficulty, I recommended the use of dynamite instead of gunpowder, as its explosive properties are not affected by water. The drive continues to be straight and at right angles across the strata, which show a tendency to flatten, the dip having decreased from 20° to 17° as the drive advanced. Ventilation is effected by a very ingenious contrivance erected by the manager, Mr. Marshall. Water is led from stream above the mine, with a pressure of 120 feet fall, in a small tin pipe, and delivered through an open pipe into a cask at the mouth of the mine. Air is carried into the cask by the force of the jet of water, and by a simple arrangement is forced into a 7-inch square trunk or wooden pipe, that leads it to the working face, where it escapes with a blast sufficient to blow out a candle at 6 feet distance. The drive is thus thoroughly cleared of the powder-smoke and foul air without the usual expense of an extra hand to work a fan. I may state that this ingenious plan was suggested by Mr. Moutre, in Nelson, who in this manner employs the high-pressure water supplied to him in Nelson to blow a forge. A new coal seam has been found cropping out in the gully about 30 feet above tho first seam, so that it will be cut at about 260 feet. It is about 6 inches thick, and on it rests a foot of very superior ironstone. So large is the amount of carbonaceous matter distributed throughout the ferruginous sandstones excavated in the drive, that the spoil-heap in the gully caught fire, and burned wdtli such vehemence that it was only extinguished after some difficulty, by turning the creek into the flaming mass._ It is therefore very probable that many of the carbonaceous layers that would not be worth working for the clean coal they contain, might yet be profitably worked along with the bands of ironstone for the supply of a blast furnace. The elevated position of the mine, with its coal and ironstone scams, and the close proximity of fine crystalline limestone, which is cut through by tho tramway between the top of the incline and the mine, are all favourable circumstances for the establishment of iron works at this place, as the furnaces could be charged with the raw material, and manufactured iron delivered by gravitation at a favourable place for shipment. Having mentioned this to Mr. AVebster, the legal manager of the Company, he applied for information respecting the cost of erection of suitable furnaces, and in reply received the appended estimate from a correspondent in England. (Enclosure A.)