F—No. 3

32

CHARGE PREFERRED BY DR. FEATHERSTON

Mr. Parris. 17th August, 1861

" mischievous character of which had already been exposed by His Excellency Governor Gore "Browne in his Memorandum of November 19th, 1855 (Pari. Papers, July 1860, page 177) and "bymein my Pastoral Letter of the same year. Your opposition to those plans was as well known " and open as mine, or it would not have exposed you to the invidious remarks to which your letter " refers. " I can see no reason why you should now wish to conceal or retract a single word of that " letter, which is as honorable to your feelings as it is favorable to the Native character. Having " placed the letter, at your request, in the hands of the Government, I shall reserve to myself the " full discretion of giving any further publicity to it, which I may hereafter consider necessary." Do you admit the construction put by the Bishop in his letter upon your letter to him of the 26th August, 1858 ?—I admit it. 177. Mr. Richmond.] Did your letter refer to plans proposed by Mr. Turton only, or to plans proposed by Mr. Turton and others, as stated by the Bishop ?—To Mr. Turton only; my letter is a sufficient explanation of that. 178. Mr. Cracroft Wilson, C.B.] Did you mean, by admitting the construction contained in the Bishop's letter of January 2nd, 1861, that you ever supposed that the Bishop had a right to show your letter—26th August, 1858—to any person ?—Certainly not. Mr. Fitzherbert moved, That this Committee, having sat from half-past 10 a. m. until 4 p.m., do now adjourn. Amendment moved by the Chairman, That this Committee, having sat from half-past 10 a.m, until 4 p. m., do adjourn at half-past 5. And, on the original question being put, the Committee divided, when there were :— Ayes, 1. Noes, 3. Mr. Fitzherbert, Mr. Crosbie Ward, ~ Cracroft Wilson, C.8., „ W T eld, Chairman, And so it passed in the negative. Cross-examination resumed by Dr. Featherston. 179. Did I understand you to say the other day, " that the offer of the land at Waitara was "first made in March 1859, and that no one was aware beforehand of the intention of- Teira ta " make the offer which he made at the meeting of March, 1859" ?—On the arrival of the Governor, the Natives both North and South came to the town to pay their respects to him, including the Taranaki, Ngamotu, Puketapu, and Waitara people, and were all present when the offer was first made by Te Teira of his land to the Government. 180. Were you yourself aware ? —I was. 181. When were you first aware of Teira's desire to make the offer ?—Twelve months viously ; perhaps more. On motion of Mr- Fitzherbert, the Committee adjourned until Monday next, at half-past 10,

Monday, August 19th, 1861. Committee met pursuant to adjournment. Present: Mr. Fitzherbert, Mr. Russell, " Chairman of Committees, " Cracroft Wilson, C,8., " Creyke, The Hon. the Speaker.^ Mr. Weld in the Chair. Minutes of preceding meeting read and confirmed. Mr. Parris in attendance. Mr. Chairman of Committees moved for leave to acquaint the Bishop of New Zealand with the charge preferred against him by Mr. Richmond, contained in the written statement received by this Committee on the 9th instant,—namely, that of improperly disclosing the contents of a letter, and expressed in the following words :—" Secret thoughts and feelings expressed by Mr. Parris in confidence, under the seal of privacy, to his Spiritual teacher, to his Father in God, have been wilfully disclosed, —not to the Governor of the Colony,— not to the official superiors of Mr. Parris, but to a prominent political opponent of the Government, to a party leader for a party purpose. As was to be expected in such a case, the true meaning of the passionate and involved expressions of Mr. Parria' letter to the Bishop has been utterly perverted." Which terms are contradictory to His Lordship's statement, (2nd January, 1861,) that the letter was not a private communication to himself, nor written at his request, but a public document written at the request of twenty Natives of the Taranaki tribe, on a subject of common interest, and forwarded by Mr. Parris, not as a private friend, but as a member of the Church, " in the absence of a Clergyman able to confer with the Natives."