It may he well to state briefly the cause of the delay in the publication of the present report.

At the request of the Hon. the Minister of Mines the writer visited the scene of the eruption shortly after its occurrence, and remained in the district for some three weeks. Owing to the wintry weather, and the difficulty of travelling over the wide area of ashes converted by rain into soft deep mud, the remoteness of the scene from European settlements, and the distance of the mountain from any practicable camping-ground, it was not found possible to ascend I the mountain or investigate in necessary detail the characters of the disturbance. Many points essential for the correct interpretation of the eruption had to be left undecided, and the report was therefore postponed till the summer, when explorations could be more readily carried on.