TO THE GOVERNOR OF NEW ZEALAND.

A.—No. la.

39

be assumed that the framers of the Colonial Act of 1862 did not intend to abolish or restrict the right of appeal, which had been fully recognized in the Colonial Act of 1846. But it appears to their Lordships that it would be desirable to remove all doubt upon the subject by express legislation; that is, either by a further Colonial enactment restoring the provisions of 1846 on the subject of appeals to England (sections 8, 9, 10,11, 12, 13, and 14 of that Act), or by an Order in Council adapted to the existing circumstances of the Colony. Their Lordships are of opinion that it should be referred to the Law Officers of the Crown to advise which of those two courses is to be preferred ; and that, in the event of their recommending that an Order in Council should bo passed, they should be instructed to prepare the draft of that order, having regard to the Acts now in force in New Zealand, and to the peculiar jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal there. I have, &c, He>ky Eeete, Reg. P.C.

No. 68. Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Earl of Kimberley to Governor Sir G. P. Bowen, G.C.M.G. (No. 39.) Sir, — Downing Street, 10th April, 1871. I have to acknowledge your Despatch No. 13, of 2nd February, reporting your return to Wellington from Auckland, after visiting some of the Native settlements on the East Coast, and your intention to proceed to the Provinces in the Southern Island. I have, &c, Governor Sir G. F. Bowen, G.C.M.G. KIMBERLEY.

No. 69. Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Earl of Kimberley to Governor Sir G. F. Bowen, G.C.M.G. (No. 47.) Sir, — Downing Street, 19th May, 1871. I have to acknowledge your Despatch No. 20, of 18th February, furnishing an account of your visit, in Her Majesty's ship " Clio," to the West Coast of the Middle Island of New Zealand, and of the accident which occurred to the " Clio " in Bligh Sound. I have also received your further Despatch No. 21, of 10th March, reporting your visit to the Province of Otago, with the postscript stating that the " Clio" would proceed to Sydney to be docked. I have read these Despatches with much interest. I have, &c, Governor Sir G. F. Bowen, G.C.M.G. KIMBERLEY.

No. 70. Copy of a DESPATCH from the Right Hon. Earl of Kimberley to Governor Sir G. F. Bowes, G.C.M.G. (Circular.) Sir,— Downing Street, 20th April, 1871. You are doubtless aware that acts of violence and barbarity have been from time to time committed by British Subjects in various Islands of the Pacific which are calculated to bring discredit on the British name, and to excite a feeling injurious to the interests of the trade with those Islands, in which Australia is largely interested. In the existing state of the law these crimes, which are chiefly perpetrated by persons proceeding from Australian ports, and are legally cognizable by Australian Courts of Justice, have constantly escaped punishment from the difficulty of procuring evidence against the criminals. To remove this and other difficulties it has been proposed to introduce into Parliament a Bill which should, amongst other things, provide that —