A_No. 6d
No. 2. MAJOR COOrER TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE dOVERNOR. Wauganui, 10th June, 1862. Sir,— I have the lnnor to remind you that the accounts between the Government and myself are still unsettled, and that I am consequently detained at Wangauui to the detriment of my private intei'ests. It is now 11 months since I have received any pay from Government, aud I hold your Excellency responsible as I received my appointment from your predecessor, and the order for my pay was signed by himself. I have, &c, His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., I. R. Cooper. Wellington. , P.S.—Even though willing to abandon the money due to me, I could not leave Wangauui till I am told to whom I am to hand over money due by me for the sale of ammunition.
No. 13. THE UNDER SECRETARY TO MAJOR COOPER. Colonial Secretary's Office, Wellington, 28th July, 186?. (No. 17.) Sir,— I am directed by Mr. Fox to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th ultimo to the Governor, aud referred by His Excellency to His Ministers, relative to the unsettled state of accounts between the Government and yourself, and in reply to inform you that the Government cannot recognize any special claim on your part against them for the delay of the adjustment of the accounts of the Wanganui Militia, inasmuch as your own disregard of the orders of the Government has occasioned this delay, aud, otherwise, much injury to the Public Service. With respect to the public mouey which you state you hold, and which you profess you are not aware to whom to pay over, 1 am to remind you that, when you were superseded, you were instructed to transfer every thing in your possession connected with the Militia Department to Major Durie. As you have failed to comply with that instruction, lam to request you to pay all such money at once into the hands of the Sub-Treasurer, (Capt. Sharp) at Wanganui. I have, &c, W. GISBORNE, Under Secretary. Major Cooper, Wanganui.
No. 14. MAJOR COOPER TO TUE UNDEE SECRETARY. Wanganui, 4th August, 1862. Sir,— With reference to your letter No. 17, bearing on the copy of letter No. 21 of the sth Februarj', (written by Adjutant-General of Militia) forwarded to me from the Militia office of this district 1 beg to state for the information of Mr. Fox, that unless the Government recognise my claim for compensation for the time I have been detained from my own affairs, I shall have to bring the matter before the General Assembly; I make claims on the following grounds:—lst, Mr. Fox directed my pay to cease on the day I received his letter, No. 376; this was evidently unjust as it took me a month to return to my own district (Auckland), after the receipt of the said letter, and of course I should receive pay till my return there or till I was gazetted out of the Militia. 2nd, I have had to pay three months lodging money, for Militia purposes more than 1 received. 3rd, When I spoke to you in Auckland, about my pay, you intimated to me that the Wanganui Militia accounts were to be settled at Wanganui, and 1 have been detained here till the 26th ult., for the settlement. Regarding the remarks Mr. Fox has directed you to make to the effect that my disregard of orders of the Government has occasioned the delay in the settlement of accounts, 1 deny its truth in toto. I never disregarded any orders of Government relative to pay and Government had no right to give me orders on other subjects. I did not, nor could lit I desired it, have put the Militia on pay, without orders, and the militiamen were distinctly told by me on the 15th May, 1861. when they were re-enrolled that they would not receive pay, till I heard from Auckland on the subject. I wrote to the Colonial Secretary and received instructions to estimate for pay for the Militia in accordance with the directions
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