A.—No. 4,

No. 147. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Government House, Auckland, 9th June, 1865. In a private letter to me dated the 28th January last, you write to me as follows : —" Since I have been in this part of the world, I have made enquiries about the purchase of the Waitotara Block, and have reason to believe that it was a more iniquitous job than that of the Waitara Block. lam not surprised that the natives have opposed our road-making. The Government at home ought to be made acquainted with the true history of the business." Upon the receipt of your letter, I felt that I ought not to rest under the imputation of holding back any information from Her Majesty's Government. I therefore immediately requested my Responsible Advisers to appoint a commission to enquire into any facts which rendered it probable that the purchase of the Waitotara block of land was an iniquitous job. They inform me that they have made all the enquiries they can, and find no grounds whatever for thinking that the purchase of the Waitotara Block was a job —that they are most anxious to appoint a perfectly independent commission to examine into any complaints in regard to the purchase of this block of land; but that they have no such complaints before them, and do not know what points they should direct the commission to enquire into. As I am very anxious to do justice in the matter, to do my duty to the Home Government, and to keep nothing back from them of which they should be informed, I should feel very much obliged to you if you would inform me of the nature of the enquiries you made about the purchase of the Waitotara Block—what are your reasons for believing that it is an iniquitous job, and upon whose information your opinions are founded ? Immediately I am in possession of this information, a full enquiry shall be instituted, and ample justice done, as the state of the country will now, I believe, shortly permit of such proceedings being carried out. I have, Ac, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Geey. No. 148. Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sib, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 12th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 9th instant, relative to a remark in a private letter I addressed to you on the 28th January last. It is no part of my duty to collect information for your Excellency on such a subject as the purchase of the Waitotara Block, regarding which you have ample means of obtaining all the information you require, and I therefore decline entering into any correspondence with your Excellency on the subject. I will now, however, make Her Majesty's Government fully acquainted with the information on which the opinion expressed in my private letter of the 28th January was founded. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon. His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General. No. 149. His Excellency the Goveenoe to Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameeon. Sic, — Government House, Auckland, 10th June, 1865. In reply to your letter of this day's date, refusing to comply with my request to furnish me with copies of your Despatches to the Secretary of State for War, which led to the remarks made by the Secretary of State for the Colonies in his Despatch No. 20, of the 27th March, I have the honor to state that it is of course quite clear that they could have contained no information of which I was not in possession, but I am now required to furnish explanations regarding the statements made by you in these Despatches, which I am now unable to do. I can only leave it to Her Majesty's Government to determine as to whether you were justified in secretly writing to them that which has evidently created a wrong impression in their minds, and in now shrinking from giving me an opportunity of giving explanations regarding my proceedings (which I have been called on to furnish), by refusing to acquaint me with the statements you did not hesitate to make, but dare not produce. I have, &c, Lieut.-General Sir D. A. Cameron, K.C.B. G. Grey. No. 150. Lieut.-General Sir. D. A. Camebon to His Excellency the Goveenoe. Sic, — Head Quarters, Auckland, 12th June, 1865. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 10th instant, relative to my refusal to furnish you with copies of my Despatches to the Secretary of State for War of January last. Looking at the spirit which has actuated your Excellency's proceedings towards me during the last three months, it is a matter of no surprise or concern to me what construction your Excellency is pleased to put upon my actions, but I have little doubt that the Secretary of State for War will approve of the reasons for which I have refused to comply with your request. I have, &c, D. A. Cameeon, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B. Lieut.-General.

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