Whitechurch Canonm
Charmouth Dorset
27th October

Dear Mr Chesson,

My strength tho it is returning does not allow me yet to do more than a little each day, so excuse … only 2 notes of introduction for yr young friend, but Mrs … is a Norweigan, a clever capital woman, was companion years ago to the ship … friends of mine and went (1861) out with me when I visited N Zealand. She was engaged then to Mr …, a Scotch … a truly kind good man, he has poor health, they have a family of sons and daughters and know and are known to very many, and have kindly hospitable disposition and know well all the difficults as well as the joys of colonial life, so I hope they will be both willing and able to befriend Mr …. As you mention Dunedin! Shd he visit the town Roslyn is a pleasant suburb and Mr Kerkham who is a cornishman has a gift for getting on capitally with young men. Thank you for asking me to introduce Mr T. Tolputt, I wish I cd supply him with others but my other friends live so far from towns, so that it wd be useless to write to them.

I improve slowly, tho the weather here has been and is like summer, so soft and warm and bright and lovely, but such … of pain keep me fm further strength, it is desirable I shd go to Torquay, but as yet I am not well enough to bear any drive, and the nearest station is 7 miles off. But I have enjoyed having a very dear friend with me for some weeks and now that I can turn over the leaves of a book etc for myself I can enjoy feeling less lazy. Happily, I don’t make a case of things, but yet it has been a long weary illness. Thank you very much for the printed letter, very capital I call it and shd much care for 3 more copies if you can spare them.

The maories I hear are wrathful over the new bill proposed and the attempt of the Colonial Governt to hinder the natives from getting together to consult. Perhaps you have seen more papers than I have. I had letters from 3 maories but abt the deaths of relatives etc etc and with nothing abt the long talked of expedition to England and I have not heard from Sidney Taiwhanga or William or Jackson, but in one letter fm an English friend in Auckland, he writes ‘I met your friends Sidney Taiwhanga in the street the other day with several of his friends, poor fellow he talked eagerly of his wife with whom he is some trouble again.’ A very great trouble and most depressing for poor Sidney. I feel very sorry for him. ‘Very angry abt the bad new laws’ is all the comment I have received fm maories. Certainly the drifts of legislation over there is to suppress all the power of maories over their own lands. Mr Rusden’s book I hear is vehemently declared against, because he has told the unvarnished facts. If you hear further from any maories please inform me because I can write little, my heart is as full of solicitude for them and the welfare present and future of all the N.Z. tribes as ever, only my strength is small.

I am glad you enjoyed getting again to Folkestone. Kind regards please to Mrs Chesson and love to yr daughters and with renewed thanks for your very friendly note.

Yrs sincerely obliged
C.J. Doratia Weale