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PAPERS RELATIVE TO CLAIMS AND COUNTER-CLAIMS

8.-No. *.

No. 9. Copy of a Despatch from Governor Sir George Grey, X C.8., to the Eight Hon. the Duke of Buckingham. No. 61. Government House, Wellington, 15th July, 1867. My Lord Duke, — Adverting to my Despatch, No. 37, of the 6th of April last, I have the honor to transmit for your Grace's information a copy of further correspondence between Mr. Commissary-General Jones, C.8., and the Honorable Major Kichardson, in continuation of that enclosed in my former Despatch. His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, G. Grey. <kc, etc., <fee.

Enclosure in No. 9. Memorandum by Major Kichardson. Wellington, May 2, 1867. To His Excellency Sir G. Grey, Knight, Commander of the Most Honorable Order of the Bath, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Colony of New Zealand, and Vice-Admiral of the same, &c, <tc. May it please your Excellency,— I have the honor to submit to your Excellency a copy of a correspondence between Mr. Com-missary-General Jones and myself, in continuation of that which I had the honor to forward on the 16th ultimo. J. Kichardson, Colonial Commissioner.

Sub-Enclosure 1 to Enclosure in No. 9. Memorandum by Commissary General Jones, C. B. Wellington, 6th April, 1867. To the Honorable Major Kichardson, — I have just received your Memorandum of this date. I beg to refer to your remarks regarding the mode I have adopted of computing interest, to show how necessary my system of personal discussion was. This is one of many points upon which I was anxious to obtain your views, but by demanding my account to be closed before you would confer with me upon the items contained in it, you obliged me to act upon my own responsibility, and to charge the interest at the higher rate, leaving to Her Majesty's Treasury any alteration or revision that should by their Lordships be considered fair and reasonable. I may add that I have specially drawn their Lordships' attention, in my report of two days since, to this particular question, and if I have exceeded their instructions, the error will, I have no doubt, be rectified. I rpgret that my departure from the Colony debars me from examining any further claims against the Imperial Government, but you should bear in mind that the delay in rendering them was in no way occasioned by any act of mine. I have been here six months waiting for you, and in the whole of that period you have only been in the place three times—once for about two days, and twice for possibly ten days each. I would further remind you that three months since I intimated to you verbally my intention to embark in March last; but out of deference to His Excellency, upon whom you were in official attendance, I deferred my departure for a month. In the first week in March I informed the Colonial Treasurer that I was ready and waiting for you ; and a few days subsequently, in reply to a message from the Honorable Mr. Stafford, I informed him that I intended leaving on the Bth instant (April). I have been so long in the Colony for this special purpose, and without any other duty, that I am inclined to think I am more likely to be called to question for the delay rather than my departure under existing circumstances. I am not aware of ever having stated that the vouchers would remain in Auckland after the whole of the Imperial Troops leave the Colony ; indeed, I was not aware that the removal of all was intended ; but of course in that event the vouchers will be removed with the last of the Commissariat books and papers. H. Stanley Jones, Commissary-General.

Sub-Enclosure 2 to Enclosure in No. 9. To Commissary-General Jones, C.B., — t Sir, — Wellington, 7th April, 1867. In acknowledging the receipt of your Memorandum of yesterday's date, I would observe with reference to the question of interest which you were directed to charge on the Imperial claim, that you appear to forget that we had exchanged our views on this subject in one or two interviews. Independently of this, I must request you to bear in mind that it was your duty to prepare your claim, which included interest; whereas my duty consisted in examining that claim, when presented, in concert with yourself.