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4. New Slaughter-House.

5. House and Offices for Superintendent, Botanical and Affores-

tation Department.

6. New District School.

7. Public Latrines.

8. I now propose to notice seriatim the various points in the Despatch which refer to the Public Works Estimates, but before doing so I feel that unless some explanation is given of the special conditions under which these Estimates for the current year were prepared, any explanation I can give would not be regarded as satisfactory.

9. From the period of my arrival I repeatedly conferred with the Colonial Secretary (the late Dr. STEWART, from whom I invariably received the greatest kindness and assistance) respecting the preparation of the Public Works Estimates. I had in the meanwhile, as my second Report on the re-organization of the Public Works Department (21st August, 1889, C.SO. 17) clearly proves, become aware of what I then considered and still consider the unsatisfactory manner in which the Public Works accounts have been kept. I pointed out, and Dr. STEWART agreed with me, that it was misleading to insert year after year in the Estimates amounts for works which the Surveyor General and the Government must have known could not all be carried out within the year. I attempted to prepare a satisfactory Estimate for the new year but failed, for the simple reason that for some of the works included in the Estimates for 1889 which had to be carried on to the present year, no detailed designs or Estimates, so far as I can ascertain, had ever been prepared, and it was hopeless without assistance in the very limited time available before the date fixed for sending in the Estimates, to attempt to prepare all these Estimates and designs. At Dr. STEWART's request I left the rough drafts with him. He placed them with other papers relating to the Estimates of 1899, and told me that as soon as he could find time he would go into the question with me as to the principle on which the Estimates should be prepared. Very shortly afterwards Dr. STEWART'S last illness occurred. Subsequently at my request the Chief Clerk, Mr. SETH, made repeated searches for these draft Estimates which had been mislaid. In this way much time was lost, until it became absolutely necessary that the Estimates should be sent in, and I conferred with His Excellency the Governor on the subject. It was agreed to omit altogether from the Estimates any works that it was obviously impossible to carry out during the year, and only to include such works as might possibly be put in hand and executed wholly or in part within the year. It was on this principle that the Public Works Estimates were on short notice prepared by me.

10. I beg to submit the following detailed explanations of the various points raised in the Despatch:-

Par. 4. The amount for repairs to Government Buildings was increased from $21,000 to $25,000 because it was evident from the condition of several important Buildings that the amount expended in past years had not proved sufficient to maintain them in an efficient state of repair.

Par. 6. Increased cost of staff. I have in my letter of 15th February last C.S.O. 447 and subsequent correspondence given all the explanations in my power to the points raised in the Colonial Office Despatch, No. 243, of 28th December last, and have called special attention to the urgent necessity that exists for the appointment of a trained accountant to take charge of the Public Works accounts (including Stores). As regards other appointments, the Engineering Staff has now been reinforced, and the conditions of the Department have naturally changed since I submitted my proposals for re-organiza-