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of Her Majesty the Queen, of all the lands lying in the County of Cheviot aforesaid, called or known as " The Cheviot Hills Estate," at or for the price or sum of £260,220, being the value of such lands as specified in the return furnished by the said trustees as aforesaid. Alex. Willis, Clerk to the Executive Council.

No. 19. To Joseph Palmer, of Christchurch, in the Colony of New Zealand, Gentleman; Francis Henry Dillon Bell, of Wellington, in the said colony, Barrister; Elizabeth Eliza Eobinson, of Christchurch, in the said colony, Spinster; Emily Campbell, wife of Patrick Campbell, of Canterbury, in the said colony, Gentleman; Charles Ralph Campbell, of Cheviot Hills, in the said colony, Gentleman ; Eleanor Lance, of Riccarton, in the said colony; being Trustees of the Estate of the late Honourable William Robinson, of Christchurch aforesaid, deceased. In the matter of " The Land and Income Assessment Act, 1891," and its amendment, and in the matter of the Cheviot Hills Estate. Whereas under the provisions of " The Land and Income Assessment Act, 1891," you, the abovenamed Trustees, as owners of the lands lying within the County of Cheviot, in New Zealand, called or known as " The Cheviot Hills Estate," gave notice in writing to me, the undersigned, as Commissioner of Taxes, on or about the 10th day of October last, to the effect that you were dissatisfied with the amount at which the said lands were assessed by me, and you thereby called upon me as such Commissioner as aforesaid to reduce such assessment to the sum at which the said lands had been valued by you in the return furnished by you under the said Act, or else to purchase such lands at the said sum : And whereas it has been determined not to make the reduction aforesaid, but to purchase the said lands at the value thereof as stated in the return so furnished by you as aforesaid, and His Excellency the Governor in Council has approved of such purchase : Now, therefore, I, the said Commissioner, do hereby give you and each of you notice that I am prepared to purchase or acquire for Her Majesty the Queen all the said lands lying in the County of Cheviot aforesaid, and called or known as " The Chievot Hills Estate," and of which you are the owners within the meaning of the said Acts, and which were mentioned or included in the return so furnished by y6u or some of you as aforesaid : And you are hereby required, in accordance with the provisions of the said Acts, to convey or otherwise assure the said lands to Her Majesty the Queen at or for the sum of £260,220, being the value of the said lands as specified in the return so furnished by you as aforesaid, and which sum I shall be prepared to pay you in accordance with the provisions of the said Acts : And I request you within a reasonable time after the service hereof to furnish me with such information and particulars as to the title to the said lands as will enable the conveyance or other assurance to Her Majesty to be prepared. Dated at Wellington aforesaid, this thirtieth day of December, 1892. C. M. Crombie, Commissioner of Taxes.

No. 20. H. D. Bell, Esq., to the Commissioner of Taxes. Sir,— Panama Street, Wellington, N.Z., 10th February, 1893. Referring to the interview I had the honour to hold by appointment with the Hon. the Minister of Lands, the Solicitor-General, and yourself yesterday, I beg to state that I understand that the following matters were arranged : — 1. The date for delivery by the Cheviot trustees to the Government of the Cheviot Estate shall be some day after the 31st March and before the 30th April, such date to be notified to you a week before your sale. lam now able to name the 18th April definitely. 2. On the day of delivery the money to be paid over by the Government, unless in the meantime the trustees agree to some other method of payment with the Government. 3. The trustees agree to insert in their conditions of sale a provision that all purchasers at the sale may keep their stock free of charge on the estate until the delivery by the trustees to the Government. 4. The Government propose to put up the whole grazing right of Cheviot for either eleven months or one year, but except from such grazing right the house, plantations, garden, and house, stable, and will permit Mrs. Campbell to continue to occupy the house for a reasonable time after the property passes to the Government. 5. The Government agree to purchase the engines and boat at the port at a valuation, one valuer to be appointed by the Government and one by the trustees. 6. The Government agree to pay the contract price of the repairs to the road effected since the offer to the Government of the property, provided the Government is satisfied that the work was honestly undertaken as a permanent improvement. 7. The grazing rights will be submitted before the first March, I having specially requested that a week should elapse between the sale of the grazing rights and the date of the sale of the stock, which request the Government consider reasonable. 8. Surveyors are to be allowed to go all over the estate as the Government think necessary, provided that no dogs are taken. The surveyors to be instructed to take precautions about lighting fires. 9. With reference to Mr. Darrock, I assured the Minister that there was no binding arrangement between ourselves and Mr. Darrock that he should have any cropping right on the estate if we sold the property, but only an understanding between himself and us that if we kept the property we should give him the first opportunity of cropping if further cropping were to be done.