A.—No. 8.

PAPERS RELATIVE TO

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therefore, to the usefulness of any additional Imperial troops would be, that they should be stationed at such places as the Colonial Government might indicate as proper for the safety of the rural districts ; and their full value would only be experienced if they were available for actively repelling and punishing hostile attacks. For His Excellency the Governor. E. W. Stafford.

No. 3. Memorandum by Mr. Stafford. Wellington, 26th November, IS6B. Refertcixg to that portion of His Excellency's Memorandum of the 20th instant which relates to the stationing of at least two of Her Majesty's ships in New Zealand waters, Ministers respectfully recommend His Excellency to make an application to that effect to the Commodore on the Australian Station. For His Excellency the Governor. E. W. Stafford.

No. 4. MIMOBANDTTM by the GoVERXOIt. The Governor refers to Ministers the accompanying Resolutions adopted by the Magistrates at Auckland, and which have been submitted to him by Dr. Pollen, the Resident Minister in that Province. Ministers have long been aware that the Governor agrees, generally, with the views expressed in these resolutions, and believes that the most effectual and by far the cheapest -way to secure permanent peace and safety is to apply for an Imperial force at least as large as that stationed in Now Zealand during the interval of about twelve years between the first and second Maori wars ; i.e., two regiments. The Governor has also long been of opinion that strong military detachments should be placed at Tauranga and Ngaruawahia, or some other central position in the Waikato. Bat Ministers already know that this cannot be done with the single regiment now in the Colon3 r. In the first place, there are not men enough; especially as the military authorities would decline to leave unprotected by Imperial troops the Imperial Fort, Barracks, and Stores at Auckland. In the next place, Dr. Pollen clearly showed, in a recent speech in the Legislative Council, that as Ministers had repeatedly, during the two years preceding last October, refused to agree to the conditions on which the Imperial Government offered to maintain one battalion in New Zealand, the 2-18th Regiment is simply awaiting embarkation in certain seaports where there is barrack accommodation, and is really, in the terms of the Despatch of the Secretary of State, of Ist December, 18G6, at the disposal of the General Commanding, and not of the Governor. It will be seen, moreover, that if the Governor were to issue orders inconsistent with his instructions respecting the 2-lSth Regiment, the officer in command would " not " be at liberty to consent " to carry out such orders. Referring to his Memorandum of the 20th November, the Governor recommends Ministers to concur with him in applying to the Imperial Government by the outgoing mail (after which it would probably be too late) — 1. That immediate instructions should be sent to General Chute (if they have not already been sent) to the effect that the 2-lSth Regiment is to remain in this Colony, in compliance with the Resolutions of the Legislature during the late Session, virtually agreeing to the conditions offered by the Imperial Government, and as an equivalent for the large Colonial expenditure for Native Purposes, Defence, and the interest of the War Loan. 2. That further instructions should be sent to General Chute directing him to detain and send to New Zealand the regiment which is shortly to be removed from Australia (or such other of the troops under his command as can best be spared), in the event of the Governor of New Zealand, with the concurrence of Ministers, making a requisition to that effect. It cannot, of course, be expected that the Imperial Government or Parliament would consent to send a second regiment here, except on the understanding that New Zealand will pay for it on the same scale as that paid bv the Australian Colonies, i.e., £40 for every officer and man, which is estimated to be about one-half of the cust to the Imperial Treasury, including arms, ammunition, pensions, &c., &c. It should also be made clear that the Colonial Government expects that any troops thus paid for (in part) by this Colony, would be subject here, as in all other Provinces of the Empire, to the rules laid dawn in the Queen's Colonial Regulations ; and that, in particular, strong military detachments would be placed (in addition to the present garrisons at Auckland, Napier, Tarauaki, and Wanganui) at Tauranga and Ngaruawahia. The Governor is glad that Ministers concur with the proposal made in his previous Memorandum of 20th November, viz., that he should request Commodore Lambert to leave at least two of Her Majesty's ships in the waters of New Zealand during the continuance of the present rebellion. The Governor has accordingly invited Commodore Lambert to comply with this request; and he has also invited both the Commodore and the General to come to New Zealand, to consult with him and the Colonial Government as to the best means which can be adopted at the existing crisis for the protection of life and property and the restoration of peace. Government House, Wellington, sth December, 1868. G. F. Bowes.