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6. The Colonial store vessel ' Prince Alfred,' was stated to be required to carry stores, which did not necessarily imply active Military operations as Colonial vessels have before been frequently employed to convey stores for Troops in garrison. # 7. Even yet, Ministers have no authentic information as to whether Military operations are to be undertaken at Taranaki or Wanganni, or at both places, or if so with what object, or when they will probably be commenced. Ministers will again observe, that if "Wanganni is to be the scene of active operations, it is< desirable that some precaution should be first taken to put the settlers there on their guard against danger. 8. G-eneral Sir Duncan Cameron addressed a letter to His Excellency on the 2nd of July on a reference made to him of plans of future military operations suggested by Ministers. Ministers became aware on the 19th of August only, that this important letter had been written in reply to a Memorandum written by them, when they requested His Excellency to permit them to see it. 9. In making' these observations, Ministers have no intention of reiterating the statement that His Excellency had not thought it necessary to communicate to Ministers any information relative to military movements, but except in justification of their having been under what His Excellency states to be a grave misapprehension on the subject. 10. Ministers feel bound to add that His Excellency on the 30th of September, courteously offered to furnish them with such information as they may wish to possess as to the military operations at Taranaki or "Wanganui. if it is of a kind which the Governor thinks, he can properly ask for, but Ministers have not fell themselves justified in accepting His Excellency's offer, seeing that their resignations have for several days been and were at the time that the offer was made, in His Excellency's hands, awaiting acceptance. Fkkdk. Whitakeb. Auckland, 4th October, 186 i. No. 4. MEMORANDUM by the Govebnob. The Governor feels that he ought not to withhold from his Responsible Advisers his opinion that notwithstanding what is stated in their Memorandum of the 4th October, 1864, they really were under a very grave misapprehension when in their Memorandum of the 30th September, they complained to the Secretary of State as follows : — "For some time past His Excellency has not thought it necessary even to communicate to them " any information relative to Military movements, and at this very time it is only through the newspapers " that they have been informed that some expedition is about to be despatched to the South, either to " Taranaki or Wanganui, or to both." # * * * " If Whanganui be the intended scene of Military operations, Ministers feel especially that they " should have been informed, for it appears to them of importance that timely notice of the intention " should have beeu given, in order to place on their guard, the out-settlers, who will be exposed to " Native outrage." The Governor will not now remark upon the first portion of the Ministerial Memorandum of the 4th instant on that subject —he will do that hereafter. He will only now say that in making every general preparation to enter upon operations in the (south of this Island, the Lieut.-General conjointly with himself were, to the best of their ability giving effect to the repeatedly expressed wish of Ministers —and, to shew the nature of the misapprehension which existed in the minds of Ministers, when they forwarded their complaint to the Secretary of State for the Colonies without previously asking the Governor for any information, he will quote the following paragraph from a letter he has to-day (October sth) received from the Lieut.-General .— " I will also feel obliged by your informing me as far as possible, as to the object and contemplated " extent of the intended operations in the South, as on this information will depend the advisibility of " sending the whole of the Force available for service either to Taranaki or Wanganui, or of dividing it " between those places." G. Gebt. Government House, Auckland, sth October, 1864. No. 5. MEMORANDUM by the Goveenob. Adverting to the Ministerial Memorandum of the 4th of October, upon the subject of the Governor not having thought it necessary to communicate to Ministers any information relative to Military movements, the Governor wishes to offer the following remarks : — He transmits a copy of his letter to Lieut.-General Sir D. Cameron of the 19th of May. Ministers say they were not aware of the existence of the instructions which that letter contains, until the 4th of September, when the Governor iv a casual couversatnn communicated to the Minister for Colonial Defence the substance of his correspondence with the General. The Governor begs to point out that Ministers have fallen into an error on this subject. They in fact themselves wrote the instructions for the General on the 19th of May. A comparison of Mr. "VVhitaker's Memorandum of the 19th of May, with the Governor's letter to the General of the same
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