I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 11th instant.

With regard to the proposed location of Special Settlers at Auckland I shall be glad to have as early as possible a full statement from you of what you have already done in the matter, of what you are doing, and what prospect there is of your succeeding in the project. In the meantime I may state that I am most anxious to give effect to the wishes of his Honor the Superintendent of Auckland and to receive and consider any suggestions or recommendations you may have to make on the subject.

I am anxious to have the fullest information as the Government have cast on me the responsibility of deciding whether it is desirable to retain your services for the purpose of giving effect to these instructions.

I beg to call your attention to the enclosed copy of a memorandum received by the last mail on the subject of my having increased the salaries of yourself and Messrs Birch and Seaton. As you will at once admit it is out of my power to pay you more than Eighteen shillings per diem from the 1st of the present month, and I ought to add that to judge from the terms of the Honorable Mr. O'Rorke's memorandum it is quite possible that the Government may call upon you to refund the amount paid to you in excess of that which it was the intention of the Government that you should receive.