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Enclosure in No. 3. Messrs. Bailie, Humphrey, and others, to tho Hon. the Minister for Public Works. Sib,— We, the undersigned, residents in AVestport, have the honor to call your attention to the under-mentioned facts :— 1. That the Joint Committee on Colonial Industries have reported on the Mount Eochfort and Ngakawau Coal Mines as follows: —" Your Committee have satisfactory evidence that the coal in this district is fully equal in quality to that of the Brunner. They recommend that in this case also further explorations be made before any considerable expenditure is incurred in improving means of shipment, as it appears at present doubtful whether it would bo expedient to adopt AVestport or the Ngakawau as the place of export." 2. That surveyors recently engaged in cutting lines have reported the discovery on the south branch of Mine Creek (a tributary of the Ngakawau) of a horizontal seam of coal 5 feet thick; thirty chains further up tho same creek they discovered another of similar thickness ; half a mile beyond this seam, on the main south branch of the creek, they found a seam 20 feet thick; this seam also extends a considerable distance, and thousands of tons may be got by stripping off about nine inches of soil from the surface, in many places the coal lying bare. On the south branch of the Ngakawau, under Mount Frederick, seven distinct faces of coal were counted, each from 15 to 20 feet in thickness. Two miles south of the Ngakawau, on an unnamed creek 60 chains from the coast, another seam was found dipping seaward, from 10 to 15 feet thick. All the coal thus found is the true black coal, as existing in the Mount Eochfort measures. 3. That recently, on two occasions, the s.s. "AVaipara" came up from Hokitika for the purpose of taking coal from the Ngakawau Mine, but owing to the shallow state of the bar of that river she could not enter, and therefore returned without cargo. 4. That daily experience proves the Ngakawau Eiver unsuited as a port of export for the coal, there neither being sufficient water on the bar nor available accommodation for vessels when inside. 5. That a sum of money has been placed on the Estimates for the purpose of constructing a railway from AVestport to these coal fields. We therefore respectfully request you to use your best endeavours in having a line of railway surveyed and constructed as early as possible, in order that this district and the Colony at large may reap those great and lasting advantages which offer themselves in connection with the carrying out of such a reproductive undertaking. We have, &c, Bailie and Humphrey, and 167 others. The Hon. the Minister for Public AVorks, AVellington.

No. 4. Mr. Thomas Field to the Hon. the Minister for Public Works. Sir, — Westport, 28th January, 1873. A petition having been got up by the inhabitants of Westport and forwarded to you by this day's post, requesting that you will take early steps with the money voted in past sessions of the General Assembly to make a railway from Mount Eochfort to this port, the petitioners request that the money so voted be used to make a railway from the Ngakawau Biver to Westport (some eighteen miles distance, over a level country), the recent discoveries there (Ngakawau) being without doubt a continuation of the Mount Eochfort Coal Field, only much more easily available, the pit mouth of the mine now working being only some 40 feet above the Ngakawau Biver, and the coal wharf and shoot under a chain distant from it. The gentleman who drafted your petition, and seven-eighths of those who signed it, never saw the Ngakawau or tho present working, on which about £1,000 has been expended by us in developing the mine, a seam of about 20 feet thick and of excellent quality (see Dr. Hector's analysis and report thereon) ; yet those persons do not hesitate to make statements which are not founded on fact, by saying that there is no shelter in the river during freshets, which on the contrary affords good shelter in floods for a number of vessels, in a large deep basin, several chains in length by 140 feet wide, with a general depth of 10 feet at low water all over it; there are two other places where shelter from floods could be obtained. They also speak of the inability of the s.s. " Waipara "to enter tho river, owing to the shallowness of the bar. The " Waipara " has been once up to the mine, last May (when prospecting first commenced), and latterly on the occasions spoken of by the petitioners; in one of these instances the sea was too rough to enter safely, and in the other there were 7 feet shown by the signalman (being neap tides) ; and although tho " AVaipara " only drew 5 feet, yet tho master declined to enter the river, as he feared getting bar-bound, the barometer being low, and having the mail-steamer to tender at Hokitika. The steamer " Eesult" went in and loaded, coming out same tide with over 7 feet water (an hour after high water). We, the original prospectors, and now the lessees of the Ngakawau Mine, do not wish you to infer from the foregoing that the entrance to tho Ngakawau Biver is excellent, but it has sometimes 10 feet and over at high water (spring tides) and perfectly straight also, particularly after floods ; and it is the opinion of the Provincial Engineer and of Dr. Hector, as well as several other persons, that with a comparatively small expenditure the Ngakawau Biver could be made safe for vessels to enter or leave at high water drawing 10 to 11 feet water. There is but little doubt that an extensive coal field exists in this district; the seams already known number twenty-two, from sto 24 feet in thickness, and of the finest quality. No doubt the Government may find it necessary to make the railway to AVestport, as well as the harbour at Ngakawau for a smaller class of vessels. Before closing, we may state that our only reason for troubling you is that we have at a great expense opened up and proved this mine and