E.—No. 2c

two orders in Council under the " New Zealand {Settlements Act. 18113." Mr. Whitaker was led to believe that the terms of them had been arranged with the Governor—that the Council was only formal —that no decision would take place, as the orders were so formed as not to involve any question of controversy, and that Mr. Whitaker's presence was only required as a matter of form ! o make a quorum. Mr. Russell submitted the orders to the Council, and the Governor signed them. His Excellency then produced the; Regulations to which he refers, which had been sent to him on iho 17th of May, and which Mr. Whitaker had not seen since that day, when he signed and transmitted them to the Governor. The Regulations had reference to another proposed order in Council, submitted to the Governor (not in Council) on that day, and not to the orders in Council submitted to the Council by Mr. Russell on the 28th of May. A reference to the date of the Regulations (May 17th) will show to what document they referred. EeEDK. WniTAKER. Auckland, 25th June, 1864. In a memorandum by Ministers of the 25th of June, addressed to His Excellency, which the Governor has handed to me, it is stated that a mistake had been made in my minute of what had passed at the Council held on the 28th of May. Three orders in Council, or papers so headed, were signed by the Governor and handed or passed to me by the Prime Minister, and therefore I was led to suppose that he had submitted them for approval. The Minister for Colonial Defence who had the Regulations in his hand, upon the Governor moving his hand to receive them, looked at the Prime Minister, saying "These are the Regulations," and the Prime Minister, leaning a.nd putting forward his hand, assisted in submitting these Regulations to the Governor ; and, as tho discussion which ensued on these Regulations was sustained, 1 may say altogether by the Prime Minister, I was led to suppose that he had submitted those Regulations for the approval of the Governor. But it was from the Minister for Colonial Defence that I took the Regulations after the Ministers had bowed and were hurriedly retiring. i-'uIiSTEB Gorinu, Clerk of the Executive Council. Government House, June 27th, 1864.

MEMORANDUM by the Govebnor on a Memorandum of the Colonial Treasurer. The Colonial Treasurer in a Memorandum dated the 29th September, remarks upon the correspondence that has passed between the Governor and his Ministers upon the subject of the forfeiture of Native Lands. In reply the Governor would state as follows : — His own views on this subject were fully made known to his late Ministers, of whom the present Colonial Treasurer was one, and were by them laid before the General Assembly as the views of the Governor. There can be no mistake as to what their views of the Governor's plans were, for these are stated in the Ministerial Memorandum of the 24th June, 1863, as being the plan which the Governor had explained to them in detail at a meeting of the Executive Council which had been held shortly before the 24th of June. The Ministerial statement of tho plan is this :■ — " The plan briefly stated is, to make the Waikato river, from the sea on the West coast to its Southern bend in the middle of the island, a temporary line of defence, by placing armed steamers on the river, and by establishing posts on its Northern bank. Then from the bend of the river to establish a line of fortified posts, extending to the Hauraki gulf. The intervals to be defended by cavalry ; the gulf and its shores to be looked after by another steamer. Next to throw forward military posts from the central bend of the river up to Paetai and Ngaruawahia, taking permanent possession of these

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FURTHER PAPEIIS RELATIVE TO