E.—No. 1.

No. 13. MEMORANDUM respecting Mr. George Graham's Letter and Enclosures. On receiving from His Excellency, on the 10th of October, Mr. George Graham's letter and enclosures, in which an attempt is made to show that the native prisoners ran away from Kawau in consequence of something said to them by Mr. Fox, he lost no time in conveying to His Excellency his positive denial of the allegations made by Mr. Graham. On considering the subject carefully, Mr. Fox has arrived at the conclusion that Mr. Graham, (who is a gentleman well known in the House of Representatives for a remarkable bewilderment of mind, and whose knowledge of the native language Mr. Fox is assured is of the most limited character,) has stumbled on what is commonly termed " a mare's nest." The Thames natives who furnished him with the materiakpf his letter appear to have heard from Home other natives of an interview between Mr. Fox, as Colonial Secretary, and the prisoners on board the hulk in April last, when, accompanied by the Attorney-General, he stated formally to the whole of the prisoners now the Government intended to dispose of them at the end of the war when generally peace should be made. His Excellency has been informed of this interview long ago. It occurred at least three months before the proposal was made by His Excellency to the Colonial Secretary to send the prisoners to Kawau, and had no bearing upon that event, and not a word was said at it to justify the conclusions jumped at by Mr. Graham. Among the persons present on that occasion was Noa Te Rauhihi, of Manawatu, who has since, in a published account of his visit to Auckland, described the interview in question. His description i» appended. Mr. Fox also appends a memorandum by Mr. White, who, according to Mr. Graham's statement, interpreted between Mr. Fox and the natives on the ooeasion referred to. Auckland, 21st October, 1864. William Fox. Enclosure 1 to No. 13. EXTRACT from Journal of Noa Te Ratjiiiui. ***** After mutual salutations, Mr. Fox addressed them thus : —" Men of "Waikato, I am glad to find you well. You will continue to be well cared for by the Governor, and when the war is over you will be permitted to return to Waikato. The laws of the Queen are tempered with mercy. The fighting that is now going on is no longer for Matutaera —it is to gratify the pride of Tamihana and Rewi. Now friends I shall allow six of you to go ashore, and of this number two w rill be selected by the Ministry to visit the AV"aikato." ***** Enclosure 2 to No. 13. MEMORANDUM upon Mr. Georoe Graham's Letter to His Excellent, dated Bth October, 1804 I never intei'preted for the Hon. W. Fox to the prisoners on board the hulk on the subject of their release, except once; that was in the month of April, 1864. What was then stated to the natives had no reference to their removal to Te Kawau, of which I heard nothing till the date when His Excellency requested me to bring the subject under Mr. Fox's notice, viz.: Bth or 9th July, 1864. On the occasion when I did interpret for Mr. Fox, his remarks were expressly limited to the treatment of the natives at the end of the war. He informed them through me that when the time should arrive, and peace be made, they would not be tried or punished, but allowed to return to Waikato, (excepting any who have committed murder, they would be tried and punished according to law.) The Hon. Mr. Whitaker was present. The announcement was a formal official one, all the prisoners being gathered to hear it. Noa Te Rauhihi. from Manajvatu, was also present, and heard what was said. It appears to me that the statement made to Mr. Graham is a garbled and second-hand version of the above interview. October 20th, 1864. T. A. Waxes.

No. 14. ■ MEMORANDUM of His Excellency respecting the dimensions of the Hulk " Marion.'' The Governor transmits to his Responsible Advisers a letter he has just received from the Senior Nava] Officer, covering a report from Mr. Bishop, chief engineer of Her Majesty's ship " Miranda," of the measurements of the decks of the "Marion" hulk, on board which the native prisoners were confined. The Governor was informed by Mr. White that for the first nine weeks of the imprisonment of these men, the main deck alone was allotted to them, during which time also the " Marion" was used as a coal hulk. The surface space at that time, therefore allotted to each of the 182 prisoners then confined there was little more than ten square feet per man, and the cubic space was less than 48 cubic feet per man. Latterly the cubic space may be taken at about 99 cubic feet per man for 220 prisoners, if that was the number. Government-House, 29th September, ISG4. G. Gbet. Enclosure to No. 14. Sih,— H.M.S. " Miranda," Kawau, 26th September, 1864. In compliance with your request, I directed Mr. Bishop, chief engineer of H.M.S. "Miranda," to measure the decks of' the " Marion v hulk, and have the honor to forward his report for your Excellency's information. I have, &c, Robert Jenkins, To Sir G. Grey, X.C.8., &c, <&c, &c. Captain and Senior Ofiicer, New Zealand.

73

KELATIVE TO MAORI PRISONERS.