Official papers 1858-59, including letters from Sir Henry Barkly, Sir George Bowen, Sir William Denison, Lord Derby, William Howitt and Charles Sturt. They deal with: political and economic position in the colonies; appointments; emigration; exploration; the separation of Moreton Bay from New South Wales; the appointment of Bowen as first Governor of Queensland; the controversy surrounding the visit to Britain of the Mayor of Melbourne; the proposed annexation of Fiji; and activities of Sir James Brooke in Sarawak.