F.—8.

H. PHILLIPS.]

31

Miss Hilda Phillips examined. 1. Mr. Ostler.] What is your Christian name, Miss Phillips?—Hilda Phillips. 2. Your postal address?—2B Croydon Road. 3. You are helping Mrs. B. Smith?— Yes. 4. I understand she is recently out of hospital and not very well? —Yes. 5. Were you present when an empty envelope was received addressed to Mr. Smith ?—Yes. 6. Was it somewhat similar to that —of that shape?—Oh, yes, exactly. 7. Did it have on it the words, " If unclaimed within seven days please return to box 912, Auckland " ?—Yes. 8. Was the flap in or out?—lt was out. 9. Mr. Gray.] Where did you get it from, Miss Phillips?—From the postman. 10. At the door?— Yes. 11. He called at the house ?—Yes. 12. You were at the door and he handed you the letter, did he?— Yes. 13. Did you draw his attention to the fact that the flap was out and the envelope empty?— I never said anything to him. He said, "Is this Mr. B. Smith's"? There was no number on the envelope. 14. And you took the letter : that was the only one? —Yes. 15. You might have seen at once that the flap was out and the envelope empty?—l never bothered; I took it to Mrs. Smith. 16. After that you did not see it, again, I suppose?— Yes. 17. After Mr. Smith came home? —Yes. 18. I want to know what became of it?—l had it on the mantel-shelf several days, and then I burnt it. 19. The same man called for some weeks and is still calling?— No. 20. He called for some weeks—some days?— Yes. 21. You never mentioned it to him?— No. Rev. Howard Leslie Elliott examined. 1. Mr. Ostler.] Your full name is?-—Howard Leslie Elliott. 2. You are a Baptist minister? —A Baptist minister, residing in Wynyard Road, Mount Eden. 3. I understand, Mr. Elliott, you are one of the Committee of Vigilance, which had the use of this box 912?— Yes. 4. Were you one of those responsible for the issue of this pamphlet, " Rome's Hideous Guilt in the European Carriage"?— Yes. 5. How many thousands did you circulate?— Twenty-five. 6. Twenty-five thousand. Did any results follow from the publication of the pamphlet?— Very loud objection was taken in certain directions by some members of the community, and resolutions were passed in certain meetings asking that the distribution should be stopped ; and it was also submitted to the Attorney-General asking that he should prosecute. Mr. Gray: Is this gentleman speaking of something he knows from his own knowledge? Witness: Those facts are all within my own knowledge. 7. Mr. Ostler.] Where did the wording of the pamphlet come from originally?—lt was a reprint from the well-known paper published in St. Paul's Churchyard, London, the Churchman's Magazine, by Mr. John Kensit; he is the editor. 8. There is a little bit of local stuff—apart from that it is merely a reprint?— Merely a reprint entirely. That reprint appeared in Australian and Canadian papers as well as being reprinted here. 9. Did the police take any action?—l can only say from report. 1.0. In consequence of the pressure brought to bear on the Attorney-General to prosecute you what did you do? —We at once got the various lodges and the Protestant bodies in New Zealand to make protest against such action ; and subsequently I saw the Attorney-General in reference to the matter. 11. Can you tell us somewhere about the date of your interview with the Attorney-General ?— It would be, I think, about the middle of June; it would be earlier —in April. 12. What was the effect of your interview with the Attorney-General? —The Attorney-General said there was nothing calling for action in the pamphlet—that we were within our rights as citizens to make comment, upon matters of history and of politics in the fashion we had done. 13. When did you first ascertain that box 912 was placed under censorship?— About the beginning of April in this year. 14. Did you take any action? —When we had evidence from private correspondence that the box was under censorship, and that orders for these pamphlets were being stopped, together with money-orders, and not returned to the senders, who in consequence made inquiries asking why we had not kept faith with them, we had to report the fact that the box was under censorship, and then to test the aim of the censorship we posted a number of letters addressed to the box, which were exclusively dealing with matters relating to the Roman Catholic Church, to find out the scope of the censorship and the object and intention of it. 15. Who posted the letters?—l did. 16. How many?— Four. 17. On what date?—On the 10th April. 18. At what post-office? —At the corner of Dominion Road and View Road. 19. What is that —a posting-box?—A posting-box. 20. Were they all posted at the same time?— Yes.