PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1672, 26 April 1866, Page 2

PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS.

The following dispatches fo mt . Secretary of State for the GoloS 5° Sir George Grey, are of nSi 1 importance among those which N not already been published i u > Zealand. a^'

No. 16. Downing Street, September 23, m , Sir,-I have the honour to enclose tn v, copy of the instructions which the^! } " * of State for War is sending to £a > by the present mail. They are addruT 1 the Officer commanding Her Maieitv'.» to as it is believed that General Ca J'> have left the colony on the receipt of! *'" mission to do so, which was sent t<» ■ r<fcr ' the mail leaving London in April j„ ? pliance with his own request, ' c ° m " Her Majesty's Government desire thit • you have not already done so, you vi,' 1 once take every step which may be m ' ' at your own part for enabling theofL f !°" mandingthe troops to give effect to "?' structions with respect to the five rt*i! n " They hope that, with the concurrent. n!i ' advisers, you will b e enabled to do? 0 * more, and that the declare! p o |j, v ~"? New Zealand Ministry will be* carrio? > full and complete effect by the early w ° drawal of the whole force. ' % Your Ministry was formed upon the,.' ciple of the early withdrawal of HerMal-M troops from the colony. 'J hat principJ* accepted byyourself and by the AsUnS? Her Majesty's Government cordially m ,Z } ; it. The Secretary of State for wffi with issued instructions which, so far being repugnant to that approval J!.'" directly in pursuance of it. They imtrucw General Cameron at once to withdraw* regiments, and if he should learn from T that it was the desire of the Colonial Gmi? ment yet further to diminish the force, take measures for carrying that desire all' into effect. The discretion left to £ Cameron was so far from being absolut that, as it was correctly interpreted by him self, it would not have justified his retards ~ in any degree the immediate execution of fa' instructions. It was in deference only t' your own authoritative protest that heV luctantly consented to the delay which kactually occurred. This circumstance m i presume, known to your ministers I L unable, therefore, to explain, and you do no' assist me to explain, their minutes forwarded to me in your separate dispatch. Some nn understanding evidently prevailed at tht time when those communications were ad" dressed to you, and I do not now di 3C u« them, because I cannot but believe that I shaji soon hear that that misunderstanding hr been dispelled. 5 You will take care that your Ministers M j , the Assembly clearly understand that fe e is no change in the views of Her Majesty's Government. Having accepted with cordial satisfaction the resolutions passed by the Assembly of New Zealand in December ia* their desire is that the policy embodied "in those resolutions may be completely carrH into effect. 1 have, &c, Edward Cabdwell. Governor Sir George Grey, K 0 B 4c, &C, &c.

Enclosure in No. 16. War Office, September 23,1365. Sir.-I have considered the corresponded which has passed between the Governor of .\« Zealand and Lieutenant General Sir D. A. Cany. Ron respecting the withdrawal of five regiment* from the colony. ° I informed the Lieutenant General byth>l«t mail that I approved of his having suspended, in deference to the decided protest of the Governs, the execution of the instructions he had received from me. But Sir D. A. Cameron himself interpreted those instructions rightly, and Her Majesty's Government regret that any delay should have been allowed to take place in carrvin» them into effect, * ° My instructions on this subject still remain in force, and you are directed to take immediate steps for carrying them out in the absence of any emergency unforeseen by me which would render the withdrawal of the troops dangerous to the safety of the colony. I hope also that the action of the Governor under the instructions of the Secretary of State for the Colonies will enable you still further to reduce Her Majesty's force in the colony. P.S.—You will be careful that the Governor i; made aware of this and every other initructioa from me bearing upon the subject. I have, &c, De Gaßr axd Rteoj. The Officer Commanding Her Majesty's Forces.

No. 17. Downing street, Sept. 25,1565Sir,—l hare now received, and forward to you, the answer of the Secretary of State for War, to whom I communicated your dispatch of May 23, No. 73. Officers commanding Her Majesty's troops in the colonies are required to report to the Secretary of State for War, not through the Governor, and consequently through this department, but directly; and in the 195:1 i section of the Rules and Regulations of Her Majesty's Colonial Service, the following provision is made for cases in which the officers may think it incumbent upon them to mate reports affecting the Governor of the colony. or the orders given by him. " The respective officers employed under the War Department are in all cases, without exception, to give timely notice to Governor' of'any communications which they imy intend to send home affecting such Governors or the orders given by them, so that K« Majesty's Government may be simultaneously made acquainted with the opinions of uie Governors as well as those oi the officers in question on any matter on which it jrequisite that the views of both should ? known."

It is much to be regretted that this regulation was not observed by General Camera. and that copies of the dispatches in questio:! were not sent to you by him before the dispatches themselves were sent to Earl de GreyOne of the mischievous consequences of nr.s departure from the rules of the service, & his part, probably has been that you, not '"'■• naturally, have suspected that reports liw been made by him unfavourable to yourseh and your Ministers, to a greater extent th i:l you will find to have been the case. At the same time, however, I must obsipe that the following circular instruction »«* issued in ISSB by my predecessor in 1:;1 - office, vh.:— ~ " When the civil Governor of a colony sluhave occasion to report upon, or bring ui* the consideration of the Secretary of Stste for the Colonies proposals involving niiliW as well as civil considerations or questi*' which can only proptrly be decided by tin Secretary of State for War, or with the currence of the two Secretaries of State, i". 1 Governor will, in that case, first comniumcate with the officer commanding the trofP on such proposals or questions, ami havWr obtained that officer's opinion or obscrvati>>r> thereupon, he will transmit the same "i'- 1 "'' own report to the Secretary of State.'* .. After informing the Governors of Coloiu-' that corresponding instructions given by the Secretary of State for War k officers commanding Her Majesty's troops the colonies, my predecessor says- (i '• Attention to these instructions will nto promptitude in the decision of questi" 11 '' a mixed nature, and render much of < J preliminary correspondence which uo»' often takes place, unnecessary." . ■,, If, as soon as you knew that in the ov of tlie officer commanding the troop* )'■ , measures respecting the confiscation of > ; would render the early withdrawal °' j 1 -| portion of the troops impossible, y 1 ". 1 acted upon this instruction, your op"* might have been senthoraejseveral months:> • with those of Genera; Cameron, ami 'j your report upon his observations. M IK the mischief which has occurred in 'V, Zealand might have been avoided, a" d .. j Majesty's Government might have d<*u the difference of opinion between _yoi'. full information, and with promptitu*- ~ I trust that by a careful attention t» . ( regulations of the • service that risk ot l

Enclosure in No, 17. War Office, Sept. 20,1865. ' Sir,—l am directed by the Secretary of State for War to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of tho 26th ult., enclosing the copy of a dispatch from Governor Sir Goorge Grey, dated May 23, 1865, No. 73. In that dispatch Sir Gooige Grey appears to question the right of a general officer iu the position of Sir Duncan Cameron to furnish the Secretary of State for War with any information that he thinks may be useful to Her Majesty's Government regarding tho management of affairs iu a colony, as far as they lelate to the manner in which the troops. nro employed, unless the dispatches containing such information are forwarded through the Governor of the colony, I am to request that you will inform Mr. Cardwell that, after a careful consideration of the subject, Lord do Grey is unable to acquiesce in the views entertained by Sir George Grey. It appears to his Lordship to bo essential that a general officer at the head of a large body of Her Majesty's troops engaged in operations in the field, and responsible to Her Majesty's Government both for the successful conduct of those operations, and for the expenditure incurred on account of them, should communicate freely with the Secretary of State for War, under whose orders he acts, and should explain fully the grounds of his proceedings, and the results which he expects from them, In order to do this, it will often be necessary to point out the military consequences of the measures taken by the colonial authorities, and to state fully the manner in which they are likdy to affect the operations in the field and the expenditure incurred for military purposes. _ In the ease of the New Zealand war, this necessity could not fail to arise, as Sir D. Cameron's operations, and the amount of forces required for '■ them, have all along been determined more by the j extent of territory which the colonial authorities ! have thought it advisable to occupy, than by the > numbers of the rebel natives in arms. 1 - A careful perusal of Sir Duncan Cameron's dis- < patches prores, in Lord de Grey's opinion, that he t has not aisumed to himself any latitude incocsis- < tent with the high position which he fills, while a [ comparison of these dispatches with those of other general officers in similar circumstances, shows that they are not inconsistent with the usual prac- ' tice of the public service, Sir D. Cameron has been entrusted with no un- r usual powers, either as regards his position in a relation to the Governor, or m any other respect, t He has the same rights and the same duties as f any other general officer commanding a large a body of Her Majesty's troops engaged in active h operations in the field and Lord de Grey does not tj consider that it would be desirable to restrict his free communication with the Secretary of State n for War, to whom he is responsible, or to require him to forward any portion of his correspondence Cl through the Governor of the Colony, who is not *' in communication with the Secretary of Sta'te for 0: the War Department, and can receive no orders from him. jj

Sir D. Cameron ought, however, in accordance With the Horse Guards circular letter dated February 1859, to have furnished the Governor with duplicates of any dispatches addressed by bin to the Secretary of Stale for War other than those relating to discipline and military routine, lord de Grey had no reason to suppose that Sir Duncan Cameron was unaware of this rule, and, was not in the habit of acting upon it; but as it appears from the present correspondence, and especially from a letter received by the last mail from Sir Duncan Cameron, dated sth July last, that he is not acquainted with the contents of the Horse Guards letter, his attention will be at once specially drawn to it, and he will be directed to conform to its provisions. Sir Duncan Cameron has already been requested by the mail of the 26th August last to furnish Sir George Grey with copies of certain dispatches therein referred to, together with any other dispatches bearing on the same subject which Sir Duncan Cameron may have addressed to Lord de Grey.

With respect to the private letter from Sir Duniin Cameron to Sir George Grey, a copy of which the former forwarded to Lord de Grey, and which has given rise to the present unfortunate dispute, I am to remark that a non-official correspondence, which sprung no doubt from the requirements of the public service, has been maintained between the Governor and the General. When Sir D. Cameron forwarded a letter forming part of that correspondence to Lord de Grey he at the same time at once informed the Governor, that he had done so, and it appears to Lord de Grey that if Sir George Grey objected to that step, or to any of the statements contained in the letter, Ms proper course was to address himself on the subject to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and Lord de Grey is not of opinion that Sir D. Cameron's transmission of that letter to his Lordship rendered it necessary for Sir George Grey to make known to his ministers the contents of the letter in question, or justified the publication in the colonial newspapers of two, memoranda reflecting upon the conduct of the General OiEcer commanding Her Majesty's troops; measures which could not fail to be fraught with serious risk of injury to the public service. I have, &<:., EDWABD Lr/GABD. ~~" The following enclosure in a dispatch is I important:

Treasury Chambers, Sept. 26,1865. _ Sir,—l am commanded by the Lords Cominissionera of Her Majesty's Treasury to acquaint you, in reply to your letter of the 21st inst., on the subject of advances from the Treasury chest in Heir Zealand, on the application of the local government, in which you request that an account of such advances may be furnished for the information of the Secretary of State that they hare caused the account herewith to bo prepared, showing the debt incurred by the colony to the Imperial Government for advances of money and supplies up to the present time, so far as the same can at present be estimated. This debt to Inperial funds, amounting to the sum of £666,939, is irrespective of the old debt of £68,000, incurred between 1817-8 and 1858-9, on account of the New Zealand Fencibles; and it does not include any part of the large erpenditure incurred for the protection of the colony, which has been charged upon the grants of Parliament for military and naval services, nor. the contribution payable by the colony for military protection, This debt of £666,939 may be divided as follows :

Ist. Cash advances to the colonial authorities in gross, avowedly ■ for military purposes, but the application of which has been removed from the control of any public officer accountable to this Board or to the War Department 186,000 2nd, Pay, clothing, arms, ammunition, stores, and other expenses for colonial forces, &c, wholly chargeable upon colonial funds 480,939 £666,939 This mm represent* moneys, appropriated by Parliament to specific public purposes, which have been applied to uses not sanctioned by Parliament. These moneys should be made good, before the ciose of the present financial year, to the department from whose funds they have been withdrawn.

My Lords request that you will acquaint Mr. secretary Cardwell that tho Commissary General, in charge of the treasury chest in New Zealand, nas informed this board by letter, dated the 6th July 1865, that money advances to the Colonial Ilmf!nt We tht ' n hcm S ma(le at & > rate of iIOOO a month, that he believed that such advances would increase in amount, and that they would not be of short duration; that the issue of Wtions had also been extended, and that there was every prospect of further demands; that the promts of repayment on monthly accounts, of wuch assurance was given to the Commissary general by Mr. Weld, in his letter of 18th February 1865, had not been fulfilled, and that notwithstanding 1 the instructions sent to the ComS 1 "? General by this board on the Bth October "HI, that the debt of tho colony should not be increased by further advances, that debt was being augmented at the rate of £16,000 a month, ~ v "I'ds consider that the power exercised by iMUoFcrnor of New Zealand m thus using the PWic money for purposes not sanctioned by the use of Commons, regardless of any inconTenience which the Home Government might exPfience by the disturbance of the financial J r ?? Dts of lho y ear < submitted to aid approved by Parliament, is open to- such grave Objections that if Mr. Secretary Cardwell had not ■maoy informed them that he had instructed the X et T°' oflfe * Zealand, "7 his dispatch of the v2 7 J 18K ' tbat ihcso unauthorized adtin,, j ;[ om tilu 'fowury chest must be discontou n J WOul(i hm Miil nwnteM on '"em hrin ? e 7 e adoption of stringent measures for 3 tho . m final, y to a dose, and for providing recuuty against the recurrence of thorn. I iJUy Was have transmitted a copy of this letter

consequences which you have yourself pointed out as likely to result from the communication of imperfect or erroneous information to Her Majesty's Government will in future be averted. I Lave, &c., Edward (Jardwell. Governor Sir George Grey, K.C.8., &c, &c, &c.

1 and of the enclosure to the Secretary of State for - War for his information, ) I have, Ac, i Geo. A, Hamilton, Sir Frederic Rogers, Bart,, &c, Ac. No. 21. Downing Street, 26th October, 1865. Sir, —I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch of August 14, No, 106, in which you enclose to me a memorandum of your Ministers protesting against the possible disallowance of the New Zealand Settlements Act, 1863, which was intimated to you in my dispatch No. 2+ of the 24th of April. You also transmit to me, by their request, a copy of a Bill which is now before the General Assembly foraltering, amending, and continuing that Act. As it is still uncertain in Avhat shape the Bill may pass the Assembly, I shall not here express any opinion upon its provisions. I will only remind you that before the end of next March Her Majesty's Government must decide whether the original Act can be allowed to remain in operation. There are, however, two observations in the memorandum of your Ministers which require notice; they are, (1.) "But if the colony is to be charged with the responsibility of its own internal government and defence, colonial Ministers claim for themselves the 1 right of determining the question as to what I land should be confiscated, and subject to ■ what conditions; it will be otherwise inipos- ' sible for them to undertake the responsibility of conducting the colonial Government," And (2.) " The case, however, is one in which, with the utmost deference to the Imperial ■ authorities, Ministers feel it their duty to J point out that, under the altered relations : between the colony and the Mother Country, the fullest discretionary power must be left , with the colonial Government." ' In the first place, it must of course be un- ■ derstood that the native affairs are not to be placed in the hands of the Local Government

in any other sense than that in which the affairs of the settlers themselves are so placed, and that in cases touching the honour or interests of the Crown.the adherence to treaties entered into by Her Majesty, and other matters of an analogous kind, the Royal power of disallowing Acts is no more abandoned in the one case than in the other. This remark applies not to New Zealand only, but to all colonies.

_ But I have also to observe that the Imperial control over circumstances calculated to affect the progress, continuance, or revival of the war was not to cease until the Imperial' force should have left the colony. I have not as yet been informed that a single regiment has been actually embarked; and I must distinctly explain that so long as any considerable number of British troops remain in New Zealand, Her Majesty's Government must continue to retain a reasonable control over that native policy on which the emplovment of these troops will depend, I have received with much pleasure your Ministers'assurance of their earnest desire to adapt their measures so as to meet the objects which the policy of her Majesty's Government has been directed to secure, I

shall await with interest your further report on the Act. In the meantime you may rest assured that I shall not lightly advise Her Majesty to disallow any Act to which the Royal assent can properly be given ; and that nothing will give me greater satisfaction than to see your Ministers, in concert with

the Assembly, pursuing with success a just and independent policy in native as well as in other affairs.

I have, &c, Ed-wari, Cardwell, Governor Sir George Grey, K.C.8., &c, &c, &c.