the Maori King recognized or not and although I am one of those who would go to extreme lenghs in favour of letting Waikato have a separate Government, I hope you none of you will ever be seduced into that recognition which the Colonial Office wants. We had a very interesting discussion on this point with Ld Granville, Rogers and Monsell being present. We told him we were having a case prepared to lay before Sir Roundell Palmer. He said that was all right, and he would give us the assistance of the Law officers of the Crown, if we desired it. But when we told him that our object was to determine whether the advice he gave in October was one which could be lawfully followed, he seemed very uneasy We said that it was clear one of two things would come out. Either we had the power to abrogate the Queen's sovereignty, or we hadn't: we could not suppose such a point had escaped him; but we would prefer enquiring for ourselves; meanwhile would he say what he thought about it? He replied that if would profound a scheme of recognition, the Imperial Government would do everything to give it effect; for instance, if Parliamentary action or an Imperial Act were requisite, one would be got. But then Rogers interposed that it had never been intended for a moment to surrender the Queen's sovereign rights: and then we said that within the scope of our authority under the Constitution we had over and over again offered to give the King reasonable status, but without success, as he wanted his independence to be substantially recognised, and would not be put off with shams. Then if the despatch did not mean such a recognition what did it mean?. We fixed him with Sandford's reply to Sir George Grey, and asked him to read it "affirmatively" instead of negatively as it was put; and then ho wd see that Sandford had really said the " among such tribes as