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are fully alive to, as also have been their predecessors in office. This importance and responsibility is no new doctrine with those members who from the first have belonged to the Board, or with its Engineer. It is not with them a new zeal born of removal to the seat of the central Government, but has been a guiding principle throughout, in proof of which, one of the very first works undertaken by the Board was one which the late Provincial Government neglected, although strongly advised thereto as far back as 1864 by the late Mr. Balfour, Marine Engineer —namely, a complete and reliable survey of both Upper and Lower Harbour, a work which will be completed within a few weeks, and is intended by the Board as an index to govern the reclamation now going on at the head of the Upper Harbour or elsewhere. The Board has been steadily keeping before it the general principles laid down by Mr. Balfour, and virtually indorsed in reports from time to time by Messrs. Thomson, Swyer, Simpson, McGregor, Barr, and Blair, all engineers of more or less eminence; and the Board's plans have already been sanctioned after being examined, discussed, and approved by Mr. Carruthers and Mr. Blackett, the Government Engineer-in-Chief and Marine Engineer, respectively. Special attention has been, and is being, given to Mr. Balfour's advice " to go on cautiously," so that, as he pointed out, if it be found necessary, much that is now shown on the plan and authorized as land reclaimed can be converted into increased dock accommodation instead. But while having all this fully in view, and recognizing the necessity of never forgetting that the maintenance of the entrance of the harbour is of the very first importance, the Board cannot admit the right of the Government, even guided by its own officers, to assume an interpretation of Sir John Coode's opinion so contradictory in itself as to prove that it is an unreliable one, and one which, as it appears to the Board, must have had its origin or inspiration in "preconceived notions," foregone conclusions, or strong desires. The Board would further add that its Engineer and Chief Harbourmaster have special instructions to make frequent soundings, and carefully to note any appearance of the slightest injury to the Heads arising from reclamation or other works; and being always on the spot, and in the habit of making observations for a number of years, the Board feels justified in placing a large amount of confidence in the judgment of its own Engineer, formed from actual study of the subject, after careful survey, and under the full responsibility of his position as permanent professional adviser, and all the more so when, at the recent interview with Sir J. Coode, it not only found that his (the Engineer's) opinions were not antagonistic to but very fully confirmed by those of Sir J. Coode with, as you properly express it, his " world-wide experience," and " study of a subject which has been the speciality of a lifetime." I have, &c, John L. Gillies, The Hon. the Minister for Public Works. Secretary.

No. 64. The Mayor, Roslyn, to tho Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. (Telegram.) Dunedin, 10th August, 1878. At the usual meeting of the Roslyn Borough Council the following resolution was unanimously carried: —■" That this Council is of opinion that the Harbour Board plan for passenger and goods station is well adapted to all the requirements of the trade of Dunedin and suburbs, making it a sine qua non that Cumberland Street be preserved as a through street to Anderson's Bay Road for city traffic and sewage purposes." Jas. Kilgour, Tho Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Mayor.

No. 65. The Town Clerk, Roslyn Borough, to the Hon. the Minister for Public Works. Sir,— Town Clerk's Office, Roslyn, 14th August, 1878. I have the honor, by direction, to forward the following copy of a resolution passed at a meeting of the Roslyn Borough Council held on the Bth instant, and to ask you to support the views expressed therein: — " That this Council is of opinion that the Harbour Board's plan for passenger and goods station is well adapted to meet all the requirements of the trade of Dunedin and suburbs, making it a sine qua. non that Cumberland Street be preserved as a through street to Anderson's Bay Road for city traffic and sewage purposes." I have, &c, Jas. Cunningham, The Hon. the Minister for Public Works, Wellington. Town Clerk.

No. 66. The Under Secretary for Public Works to the Chairman, Otago Harbour Board. Sir, — Public Works Office, Wellington, 15th August, 1878. I am directed by the Hon. the Minister for Public Works to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Ist instant in reference to the reclamation suggested to be undertaken for the improvement of the Port Chalmers line. I have, &c, John Knowles, The Chairman, Otago Harbour Board, Dunedin, Under Secretary, Public Works.