MINUTES OF EVIDENCE OP THE

H.—No 1. 8,

4

Mr. R. Pearce.

27th Sept., 1871

SO. Mr. Vogel.] You are not clear ? —My answer to the question is that lam not clear. I don't recollect. 81. Then, you will admit that it is possible that Mr. Martin was present?—lt is possible Mr. Martin may have been present. 82. This being the case —not able to recollect Mr. Martin as being present —are you prepared to state positively that your memory was not in fault in respect to anybody else not being present ? —No, I don't think any one else was present. 83. Now, I understood you to say that Mr. Larnach read it, and to the best of your belief you read it ?—Yes. 84. Can you say in what way Mr. Larnach read it?—l handed the telegram to Mr. Larnach. He held it in his hands and read it. 85. Did he not read it to Mr. Martin in your presence ?—I don't remember his doing so. 86. Did you get the telegram back again ? —Yes. 87. Before Mr. Larnach left ?—Yes. 88. If Mr. Martin read it he must have read it in your presence ? —No. 89. One of three things must be the case. Either Mr. Larnach stated falsely that Mr. Martin read it; Mr. Martin must have read it in your presence; or Mr. Larnach must have taken it away from your presence and shown it to Mr. Martin ?—I am endeavoring as much as possible to recollect the incident as it occurred. 90. What I want you to tell me is this, whether you deny that Mr. Martin read it; or, supposing he read it, did he read it in your presence, or did Mr. Larnach take it away from your presence and may possibly have shown it to Mr. Martin when you wore not present. Which of these three things were the case ? —I really fail to recollect the incident as it occurred. I bring telegrams every voyage. I have no positive recollection really. 91. Mr. Larnach gave you the telegram back again after he and you had read it ?—Yes, fastened it in the same envelope. 92. Was it fastened ?—Just fastened down with the gum still remaining on the envelope. 93. Are you prepared t/» say that that gum did adhere ?—-Yes. 94. Did it require to be opened by force ?—lt was much more easily opened than before, but it was still closed. 95. Have you any recollection of where you .put this document ? —I put it in a drawer in my state room. It was locked. 96. Do you take all telegrams to the office yourself?— Yes, or deliver them to the person to whom they are addressed. In most cases—in ordinary cases—telegrams are sent to me to be opened by me and forwarded. In this case it was not so. It was addressed to the agent of the Otago Daily Times. 97. Do you recollect what you did witk thia telegram. How did it finally leave your hands? — At the Bluff. I gave it to the person to whom it was addressed, the agent of the Times. 98. You believe so. Can you say positively that the purser had not access to it ?—He had not. I can say that positively. 99. Then, if the purser was aware of the news it contained, did he obtain it by reading the telegram ?—No. 100. You are quite clear upon that point ?—Quite clear upon that. 101. If Mr. Martin read the telegram would that account for the verbal information that was floating about the ship ? —I should think not. 102. Had he not intelligence enough to understand it ?—Yes, he is an intelligent man. 103. I understood you i.o say that intelligence was floating about the ship, but not the same ?— Not the same ; besides it was very vague, and mere rumour. The last passenger that came on board may have brought it. 104. Are you prepared to say that Mr. Martin or Mr. Larnach did not speak of it ? —I think not, for it was not to Mr. Martin's interest that he should impart the news to any one. 105. That was a very remote interest. The only reason that Mr. Larnach did not disclose newa was on account of his interest in the Daily Times? —Yes. 106. Has Captain Pearce any means of giving the Committee an assurance that the news did not leak out on board from others than himself?—l can't say that. 107. You wrote a letter, dated 17th ipril, at Lyttelton, some months after this occurrence took place. I think it took place in September. Some months afterwards you wrote this letter. [Beads letter dated 17th April, 1871.] You must have recollected Mr. O'Toole coming on board ? —He came on board first. 108. Did he ask you what was the latest news ? —I gave him a newspaper which contained it all— the second edition of the Argus. 109. Are you prepared to state positively that you did not give any verbal information ? —Certainly, none. That contained in the second edition of the Argus. 110 [Mr. Vogel read evidence given by Mr. O'Toole] Do you recollect Mr. O'Toole asking you for the third edition ?—I do not. 111. Are you prepared to state positively that Mr. O'Toole's statement is untrue—that part which refers to getting information from you?—Oh, yes. I say that the only information given to Mr. O'Toole by me was what ho could have got from the papers. 112. Did you give any information to Mr. O'Toole verbally at all ?—No. 113. You gave him nothing but a paper? —I gave him a paper. 114. All this account of a subsequent transaction is utterly untrue ?—I may in course of conversation have given him some of the items of the news contained in the papers. Ido not recollect, but it is very likely I did. 115. Now then, Captain Pearce, you may have given some more items of news which to the best of your belief appeared in the paper, but which only appeared in the telegram. Now I want to ask you as a matter of possibility—we may say you took a great interest in the English news, but you