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the holding of the minor offices was " incompatible " with the Ministerial office, and that I could not therefore reckon the years —some eight —during which I was a member of the Executive Council as part of my Civil Service, although on one occasion in 1861-62 I had neither pay nor portfolio as a Minister. It was long before I could obtain even the courtesy of a reply to my letters, and it was not until more than three years had elapsed after my retirement, and upon the accession to office of another Ministry, that I obtained such a settlement as I could accept; even that settlement, moderate and incomplete as it was, barely escaped from abrogation—on purely party grounds, as it appeared to me—after a party battle in which I bore all the blows. In the year 1891, the Hon. Mr. Ballance expressed his willingness to take a vote on the report of the Public Accounts Committee in my favour, but very kindly advised that, as the temper of the House in regard to the Civil Service was disturbed by the Public Trust Office inquiry and matters connected therewith, it would be better to wait until the next session. To this I agreed. I need not remind you of the occurrences of the following year, to which, as having somewhat of a private and friendly character, I now merely allude in support of the view I have expressed that my claim remains open and still unsettled. I venture here to reiterate that the public faith was pledged that my right to a retiringallowance as a Civil servant, should be preserved intact; that my claim has been admitted to be just by the Controller and Auditor-General, by the permanent official head of the Treasury, by the Attorney-General, by the Solicitor-General, and, finally, by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, who, with one dissentient only, recommended that the arrears (£1,389 os. 5d.) claimed as due should be paid to me. In the face of these facts, I shall not, I hope, be considered unreasonable in again respectfully asking for information as to the grounds upon which what I am obliged to regard as a denial of justice to me by the present Government is based. If the Government should not think fit to give me the information desired, I ask respectfully that copies of all letters addressed to you on this subject, with enclosures, and copies of the replies with which you have favoured me, may be laid before Parliament in the next session, as in continuation of former papers already on record. I have, &c, The .Hon. the Premier, Wellington. Daniel Pollen.

No. 14. The Hon. the Colonial Sbceetaky to the Hon. Dr. Pollen. (No. 557.) Colonial Secretary's Office, Sic,— Wellington, New Zealand, 11th June, 1894. I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 26th December, in which you comment on the refusal of the Government to reopen the question of your claim for arrears of pension. In the first place I beg you to accept my assurance that no reflection of the slightest kind was intended by the Government upon you in adopting the decision they arrived at, a decision which they must adhere to, nor is there any desire to do you any injustice. The fact, however, remains that no action was taken on the recommendation of the Public Accounts Committee of the late Parliament. A new Parliament is now in existence and the Government think that the new Parliament must be directly consulted in the matter. The Hon. Dr. Pollen, M.L.C., I have, &c, The Whau, Avondale, Auckland. P. A. Buckley.

No. 15. The Hon. Dr. Pollen to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetary. Sic, — The Whau, Avondale, Auckland, 16th June, 1894. I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter (No. 557) of date 11th instant, and to thank you for that communication. I had previously, a few days ago, sent to the Hon. the Premier a letter which you will probably have seen, in which, after recapitulating the leading points of my case, I asked that he would be good enough to cause copies of the letters, &c, addressed by me to him on the subject, together with copies of the replies with which he had favoured me, to be laid before Parliament in the coming session, as in continuation of former papers already on record. Should this request be, as I hope, complied with, an opportunity may be afforded to honourable members of the House of Representatives of expressing their views of the question, either upon motion for the printing of the papers or for giving effect to the recommendation of the Public Accounts Committee of the late Parliament in my favour. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Daniel Pollen.

No. 16. The Hon. Dr. Pollen to the Hon. the Premier. Sib,— Wellington, 20th August, 1894. With reference to my letter to you of date 26th December ultimo, I have now the honour to enclose copy of a letter (No. 557, 11th June, 1894), from the Hon. Colonial Secretary, together with copy of my reply. As I have not yet received an answer to the letter last mentioned, I venture to