E.—No. 1.

statement made to the prisoners by Ministers, to have been instituted before they were let loose on the Kawau." This is His Excellency's reply to a plain request for his authority for stating the broad fad thai " no enquiry had ever been made." His Excellency may think ii a very light thing to make such a grave charge of a matter of fact, ;mi(l when asked for proof, to say thai ne had c .■ ;ue impression on his mind derived from circumstances which he does not particularize, and from documents which he cannot specify, thai the fact was as he has stated it. Ministers submit thai such charges ought not to be made unless convincing proof of the truth existed before they were made, it is little satisfaction after such imputations liave been hazarded, to be told, that if the Governor is in error he will be very glad to be told so. Such things Ministers respectfully submit ought not to be said, unless they are known to be true at the time they are said, and he who says them is ready with, proof of their truth. The facts of the ease are these. The Ministers did. at various time:, institute the most searching enquiries as to the probability of any of the prisoners being implicated in the murder of Europeans. The Assistant Law Officer ofthe Crown. Mr. Fenton, himself a good -Maori scholar and -..ell acquainted with the Waikato tribes : Mr. Naughton, the Chief Commissioner of the Auckland police ; the relations and neighbours of murdered men ; and friendly natives, were sent repeatedly on board the ship to make such enquiries. Bverj prisoner was passed before them in file, and strictly scrutinized by persons wlto were personally acquainted with many, if not most of them, and enquiry and examination of the prisoners themselves and of other Datives, was constantly in progress. Mr. White, the Superintendent of the prisoners, also losi no opportunity of endeavouring from day to day to elicit evidence on the subject. The statements of Mr. Fenton and Mr. Naughton on this subject are appended, and shew some of the steps, though by no means all, that the Governmeni took. "The facts,' however, which His Excellency says "musi have come out" did not come out. at least against the Natives whom he mention,-. One murderer onl] was discovered, and he was tried and convicted: and there is not in existence a particle of evidence against any other prisoner, which would ensure a conviction or committal before a Magistrate, or even justify a reasonable suspicion. The fact, therefore, which lIU Excellency so broadly asserts, and which is the basis of a very serious charge of most culpable negligence against the Government, is proved to have no foundation whatever. Ministers musi decline bo accepi as an excuse for his Excellency making such a charge his expression of readiness to be convinced of his error ii' he ttas made a mistake. Ministers think that such : ought not to be made, and could easily be avoided. Ministers are at a i- iscover His Excellency's object in addressing To them such a I , il' liic 2 unless it were to distraci attention from his own responsibility in reference to I isoners from Kawau, and to "ride off" on collateral issues from the consideration of the real merits of the case; while he smothers in controversy the few simple facts which shew where bhe respon that event real] Ministers have mad,- the more careful analysis of His Excellency's allegations mi this occasion, in the hope that ii may induce him during the short remainder of their term of office, to spare the repetition of such painful and unnecessary controversy, winch cannot conduce to the good government ofthe Colony, and which, when made public, will, they are assured, be the subject of regret to all who read!; nfit.as.it is to the Ministers themselves, whose misfortune it i- to lie obliged to engage in it in self defence. November 1. 1864. W. Fox.

Enclosure 1 to Iso. 58. EXTRACT from Mr. CL C. Mack-ay's Eeportof 10th September, 1M54. " A Native named Watene had an argument with me about the (.Tossing Mangatawhiri. He said [ was in error, stating that the Merediths were killed before the soldiers crossed the Mangatawhiri. The soldiers crossed first, and the Merediths were killed afterwards by Taati's fighting party." Jakes Mack w. Junior, Ci\ il Commissioner, Waihou. Enclosure 2 to No. 58. MEMORANDUM of Mr. Mokbo relative to Suspicions of Murder resting on certain Maori Prisoners. In reply to a remark of the Governor's yesterday, I mentioned that I had heard it reported that Taraliawaiki, Tapihana, Tamati, and Haurua were the murderers of the Merediths, and had jotted it down at the time as a rumour. The sheet of paper on which 1 noted, thai and other scraps of news, for my private information, is herewith attached. October27th, 1864 Hen it v Moxeo. Ngatipehi, of the Arawa, have left liori Te Whatuki's place and gone to Eangitaeroa ; frightened away by reports so it is said. Rote, Take, and Ngatio, of Ngatiwhakare and Ngraukawa, are with the rebels. Whakatalare. from < >potiki, (a great rascal) is now in town, August 6th. Since killed at Maketu . fight. Ngatimanoki, or Bora, or Poru, in bush at Papakura. Porokoru lead the attack at Shepherd's Bush (Rama Rama), where Purena, of Ngatipou, was killed. Tamahuia Te Mahiinaha. wounded by a shell from the "Avon," on AY. T. Wirat Kauwhitu "Wi Tara or Tarahawaiki, Te Tapihana (of Ngatihikairo), Tamati. and Haurua, it is said killed Meredith and son.

90

MEMORANDA AND REPORTS