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School Committee, who said that the tribes of the district were desirous of having the education extended to the Sixth Standard. At present a child could not advance beyond the Fourth Standard at the school, and the parents would not send them away to Te Aute or St. Stephen's on account of the dangers of sickness and death. Mr. Seddon said he entirely approved of this plan, and would discuss the matter with the Minister of Education. The episode had afforded him much pleasure, even more than had the meeting at Waima. Mr. Seddon concluded his remarks amidst loud applause and cordial smiles. At the Premier's request, the children were marshalled, and rendered several songs very prettily. Two of the female scholars also read passages in capital style, showing how careful and efficient had been the tuition of the head teacher, Mr. Winkelmann. The children were very healthy and intelligent, and appeared to take a great interest in their studies. Some really excellent specimens of drawing were inspected by Mr. Seddon, the maps being especially good. The honourable gentleman again expressed his pleasure at being present, and finished by exhorting the children to resolutely pursue their studies, and attend regularly. " In the saddle once more, a sharp canter brought the meandering valley-road to an end, and soon a sullen and continuous roar announced the surf-beaten shore to be rapidly drawing near. The outlet of the valley closely resembled an American canon, the hills being high and precipitous, and almost adjacent. Through this the thunder of the waves reverberated and rolled, making a deafening noise. On. emerging, a glorious scene presented itself to our enraptured gaze. Away to the left, and unbroken as far as the eye could discern, lay a magnificent stretch of sand, bounded on the landward side by diminutive cliffs, and receding at an even grade into the wild, surging waters. CJp this beach great solid walls of living liquid came charging, curling, and leaping in their potency and strength, and threatening to overwhelm everything within reach, only to be transformed into a white seething cauldron, and repeat the process ad infmiium. The moon had ascended over the ranges, and far at sea the cloud-banked horizon was distinctly visible. It was a truly wonderful picture, holding one spellbound and enchanted. Along this sand, accompanied by the angry music of the waves, the travellers rode for a couple of miles, and then, making a detour over a kind.of sand-dune, pulled up at Messrs. Jarvie Brothers' Kawerua Hotel, in full view of the vast heaving waters of the Southern Pacific. Here the night's rest was nxuch appreciated, as on the previous evenings business had absorbed the greater portion of the hours usually devoted to slumber. A dip in the ' briny' and a rough-and-tumble in the surf, was extremely exhilarating in the morning, and vastly revived our languishing energies. Several gumdiggers arrived at the stores to transact business before our departure, and a chat with one revealed the fact that men in that locality were in comfortable circumstances. The majority were making between £1 10s. and £2 per week, although many were holding back their gum for an improvement in the market. If a man could not make a living he was, to use the expression of the informant, a ' thorough loafer.' Many of the Austrians, whose influx caused such a stir recently, are camped in this part of the colony, being located about six miles beyond Kawerua. Some little time ago nearly eighty of these aliens were in the district, but now the number has lessened considerably. They live very frugally, work from daylight to dark, and return to the land of their birth as soon as a sum of money is amassed. None are cultivating the soil, but merely extracting the gum-wealth. They always fraternise and partake of one common meal. Several of the men in this district are climbers—they scale the giants of the forest and gather the gum that has exuded from the trunk and branches. A tree that has been untouched will yield a couple of hundredweight of the valuable commodity, and handsomely remunerate the searcher for his day's labour. Such trees are very rare now-a-days. " To horse yet again, and the first six miles of the journey was over the unrivalled West Coast beach. The sand was perfectly level, and around the horses' legs surged and roared a confused mass of breakers. It was hard to leave this wild solitary grandeur, but the track struck inland and it had to be followed. Through winding scrubby country and along the mountain-path, we at length plunged into a heavily-timbered bush. Just before leaving the open land a Maori funeral cortege was passed pursuing its painful way down the steep mountain-side. The remains, which were those of a little boy, were carried on a litter by four stalwart fellows, and the relatives followed behind on horseback. This mournful procession was en route from Opunake to Waimamaku —a weary tramp of thirty miles. It showed the tender respect the Maoris have for their dead. The boy belonged to Waimamaku, and he was to be interred there, the trouble and exertion being no consideration. Things were now made somewhat uncomfortable by rain, which started to fall in thick showers. On either side of the track lay dense masses of native vegetation of every description, with here and there great kauris and ratas towering above their lesser brethren. Perns, with their delicate filagree-work, fringed the path, the whole forming a picture beautiful beyond conception or description. This virgin forest stretched on either side, and it was patent to the most inexperienced eye that the soil was of exceptional quality. The growth was very prolific, and it was an easy task to imagine this country soon thick with happy, prosperous homesteads. Nature has been bountiful indeed, and the soil is wreathed in smiles without the customary tickling by human hands. It only needs a substitution of the vegetable matter to complete the transformation. A strong contrast met the vision on emerging from the region of bush. Pern and scrub once more reigned supreme, although the land was still of a dark, rich nature. A stop was made at a half-way store until the rain ceased, and here an impromptu deputation of diggers, who had also sought shelter, met the Premier. They were very anxious to know if something could not be done to prevent the ' ring ' from depressing the gum trade, and also to stop the influx of Austrians. They said it was very hard to make a living at present. Mr. Seddon spoke of the proposal to settle the gumdigger on the land, so that he might become a useful settler. Mr. Seddon remarked that the gumdiggers had been very reckless in the past, and were now commencing to feel the effects of their improvidence. One hardy old man replied that a person working up to his waist in a swamp needed something to keep the cold out. There were very few parts of the world he was not acquainted with, and he had tasted some very decent liquors at Home and in foreign lands. He had never tasted whiskey in New