A—No. 2

No. 9.

copy of a DESPATCH from his grace the duke of Newcastle to goverxor GORE BROWNE, C.B. Downing Street, 7th March, 1861. Sir,— I have the honor to inform you that in consequence of the high cost of living, it has beeii found necessary to allot to Officers and Men of the Queen's Forces serving in Now Zealand, in like manner as in some other Colonies situated in the same part of the World, certain extra allowances They consist of payments of Five Shillings a day to all Officers, and of rates varying from One Shilling to Three Shillings aud Six Pence to some of the Civil Subordinates, together with the - remission, so far as regards Non-Commission ed Officers and Men, of the ordinary ration-stoppage of Three Pence Halfpenny a day for bread and meat. * In various other Colonies where similar extra allowances are rendered necessary by local circumstances, they are provided for out o| the Colonial Revenue. Very much larger amounts as you are probably aware, are defrayed in New South Wales and in Victoria from Colonial fund's I have to instruct you to apply to the Legislature of New Zealand to make provision henceforward." in conformity with the usage in a great proportion of the Colonies where special allowances are required, for the extra cost which those allowances entail. This provision would be irrespective of, and in addition to, the contribution of Five Pounds a Mar v/hieh, in the Despatch from this Department, No. 65, of the 12th of September last, you were instructed to call upon the Legislature to make towards the regular and ordinary charges of the Troops in New Zealand. You will doubtless be able to obtain from the Commanding Officer in the Colony, or from the Officer in charge of the Commissariat any particulars which may be requisite for your use in calculating the amount of the extra allowance. I have, &c, Governor Gore Browne, C.8., Newcastle &c, &c. &c.

New Zealand, "~ (No 7 27.) ss. Is. to 3s (id. 3s. sd. 3id.

No. 10. copy of a DESPATCH from his grace the duke of Newcastle to governor, GORE BKOWNE, C B. Downing Street, 15th March, 1861. , Sib, — In reply to your Despatch No. 117 of the 20th of Novembrr last, I have the honor to inform you that the Military Storekeeper at Auckland has been authorized to take in charge the four Guns landed from H.M.S. "Elk," and to issue them on loan to the Government of New Zealand as requested by your Responsible Advisers. I have, &c, Governor Gore Browne, C.8., Newcastle &c, &c. &c.

New Zbalasd, (No. 29.).

No. 11. copy of i DESPATCH from his grack the duke of Newcastle to governor GORE BROWNE, C.B. Downing Street, 25th March, Sin,— When addres ing to you my' Despatch No. 13 of the 26th January last; I inferred from the terms of Mr. Stanley Jones' Letter of the 10th July enclosed in your Despatch No. 100 of the 29th September, that a Memorandum communicated by the Horse Guards to Commissariat Officers on Foreign Stations respecting the issues of money from the Commissariat Chest had not been submitted for the sanction of the Secretary of State for War or the Lords of the Treasury. I find, however, on enquiry that this inference is incorrect, and that the Memomoraudum had been approved by the Secretary of State for War in 1857, before it was promulgated. I regret that this error should have been made, and lose no time in correcting it. It follows, that you were quite right in assuming that Memorandum to be, as far as it goes, a sufficient authority fax the issues of money which are contemplated in it. You will observe, however, that this circumstance does not affect the interpretation of the Memorandum, in respect to which I retain the opinion which I have already communicated to you. Nor do I see any reason to qualify the instructions respecting future issues from the Commissariat which were conveyed to you in my Despatch of the 26th January. I have, &c, Governor Gore Browne, C,8., Newcastle. &c, &c, &c.

New Zkalawd. (No. 30.)

8

FUKTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO MILITARY DEFENCE.