A.—No. 1.

ZEALAND TO THE SECRETARY OE STATE.

77

"or Artillery, in excess of the one regiment; and that regiment also, unless he is informed by the " Governor that fifty thousand pounds per annum is devoted to Native purposes. #*##♦#### " I have, &c, " The Under Secretary of State for War." " F. Kogees. The offer of Lord Carnarvon was merely the repetition of the offer of Mr. Card well, so far as the single regiment was concerned. It cannot reasonably be contended that his Lordship meant to require the twofold condition that the Colony should pay a capitation charge at the rate of £40 a man, and should also contribute £50,000 per annum for Native purposes. This Native grant was originally required by the Imperial Government (see Duke of Newcastle's Despatch, No. 53—26th May, 1862,) in substitution for military contribution, and was so regarded by Mr. Card well. If Lord Carnarvon had intended to overthrow the arrangement made in respect of the one regiment by his predecessor, and to exact additional payment, such intention would have been explicitly stated while referring to a Despatch which, as just shown, was expressly stated by the writer of it to mean that one regiment was still to be detained in New Zealand at the Imperial cost, provided that the Colony made a certain specified contribution of money to Native purposes. Moreover such a requirement would, on the face of it, have been anomalous, inasmuch as in Australia, where the services of troops are not wanted, the capitation rate alone is charged ; still less therefore in New Zealand, where there was, as there still is, civil war, and where but a few months before Mr. Cardwell considered the Native money grant equivalent to the charge for one regiment, could Lord Carnarvon be considered to have required from that Colony conditions twice as onerous as those in the case of Australia. Having thus arrived at the only natural and fair construction of the offer made by Lord Carnarvon, it remains to be shown whether or not the Colonial Government and Legislature signified their acceptance of it. When the offer was first received, the Responsible Advisers of the Crown in this Colony did not feel themselves justified in advising its acceptance, not because they for a moment imagined that a capitation charge was required in addition to the Native money grant, but because they believed the restrictions attached to the active employment of the troops would frustrate the object of their retention. A Memorandum to that effect by Mr. Stafford, dated 15th March, 1867, was transmitted to the Secretary of State by Governor Sir George Grey, in his Despatch No. 30, 4th April, 1567. Neither the Governor nor the Legislature expressed an opinion on the subject of the offer. The regiment was temporarily detained in the Colony by the Imperial Government, and was still in it when, after a brief intermission, the Colonial forces were again engaged in active warfare with the Native rebels on the East and West Coasts. In August, 1868, the Legislative Council passed a Resolution praying for delay in the departure of that regiment (the only one left in the Colony) ; and in the following October the House of Representatives, at the instance of the Government, passed a Eesolution as follows :— " That the removal of the 18th Regiment, in the present condition of the Northern Settlements, " would tend to increase the excitement and confidence of the rebellious Maoris, and to discourage " those friendly to Her Majesty's Government; that the Colony has for many years past constantly " fulfilled and is virtually fulfilling the condition on which the retention of an Imperial regiment in " New Zealand was sanctioned in the Despatch of Lord Carnarvon of the Ist of December, 1866; " that this House therefore respectfully prays His Excellency the Governor to take steps for delaying " the departure of the ISth Regiment until the subject shall be referred to the Imperial " Government." This Resolution was, together with a Memorandum from Mr. Stafford explaining the fulfilment, by the Colony of the condition —namely, the Native money grant —attached to the offer of Lord Carnarvon, transmitted in the Despatch No. 100, Bth October, IS6B, of the Governor, who begged "to recommend it earnestly once more to the favourable consideration of Her Majesty's " Government." Under these circumstances, it is evident that the Colonial Government and Legislature accepted Lord Carnarvon's conditions in the sense in which they were, and could only fairly be, construed. The Governor earnestly entreated the Home Government to give effect to the offer. The Colonial Ministers proposed the Resolution, which the people of New Zealand, through their Representatives in Parliament assembled, adopted, signifying their fulfilment and acceptance of the conditions. The Legislative Council, though not formally asked to assent to that Resolution, which involved a money vote, had previously signified their anxiety for the retention of the regiment. The Governor was therefore correct in the statement to which exception has been taken, that such acceptance had been signified; and in making that statement, he informed Her Majesty's Government of the exact facts of the case. For His Excellency the Governor. E. W. Staffoed.

No. 34. Copy of a DESPATCH from Governor Sir G. E. Bowen, G.C.M.G., to the Right lion. Earl Granville, K.G. (No. 69.) Government House, Wellington, My Loud,— New Zealand, 19th June, 1869. I have the honor to transmit herewith the Reports and other documents, furnished to me by my Constitutional Advisers concerning those points in their management of Native Affairs and of the Colonial Eorces which were commented upon in your Lordship's Despatch No. 30, of the 26th February ultimo. 20