No. 7.
The Chief Commissioner to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Wellington.

In acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the 4th February last, enclosing an approximate return of the gross receipts for land sold within the blocks subject to the 5-per-cents at Wairarapa, I have the honour to state that I quite agree with you that it would be desirable to have some fixed datum as to the deductions to be made for survey; and that proposed by you, under Sir George Grey's regulations of March, 1853—namely, of an allowance of five acres for every hundred acres surveyed—appears quite reasonable. Beyond survey expenses, I do not consider that any further deductions should be made, nor do I perceive that it is contemplated by you that such should be the case. The Natives disposed of their land at a much cheaper rate in consequence of their being promised so much of the proceeds, the sums accruing have not been paid to them annually, and, as they expect a considerable amount in the shape of 5-per-cents, any further deductions from the amount they are to receive would occasion disappointment, and they could not understand why any deductions beyond the actual expenses of survey should be made. The Whareama Block, to which you refer in your letter, is Block No. I., on which Mr. Meredith's homestead is situated. The estimated extent of the block is about four thousand acres.