E.—No. 1.

far greater force with reference to natives who were captured fighting, and who are imprisoned while their friends and allies are still waging war. 6. Ministers do not fully understand the object of His Excellency's observations on Responsibility. They recognise, of course, that there must be an important difference between the practice of Responsible Government in England and in a Colony ; but if his Excellency means that Responsibility for the acts of the Government in New Zealand rests with him, and not with them, they feel it to be their duty respectfully to express their dissent from that view. Ehedejuck Whjtakek. Auckland, 26th April, 1861.

Enclosure 1 to No. 8. MEMOEAND'uM of the Colonial Sechetauy. The Maori prisoners taken in arms during the Waikato campaign, and up to this time detained in confinement in the harbour of Auckland, having been the subject of recent communication between His Excellency and his Eesponsible Advisers, and being regarded by both as entailing a very grave responsibility "on the Government of the Colony, the Colonial Secretary begs to submit to His Excellency the Governor the following brief summary of the circumstances attending their imprisonment, and their condition at the present time. He has also appended an account of a visit paid to the hulk by the reporter of one of the Auckland newspapers, who, in common with the other representatives of the local press, was recently admitted to inspect the floating prison and its inmates, and which contains a very fair description of them, so far as a casual but careful observer could examine into the subject during a single visit. His Excellency will perhaps think this memorandum of sufficient interest to justify its transmission to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies. The greater number of these prisoners were taken at the capture of Baugiriri on the 21st of November, 1863 —were sent in immediately after that event, and by the obliging permission of commander Sir W. "Wiseman, Bart., were placed on board H. M. S. "Curacoa," where the bulk of the crew being ashore as a naval brigade, there was ample room on the main deck for the captured Maoris. Every possible care and attention was bestowed upon the prisoners by Lieutenant Yonge, the senior officer on board —by the officers and men of all ranks, and by Dr. Slade, of H. M. S. " Miranda," who ■ visited them daily, and expended much professional labour upon them. Mr. T. A. White, an officer of the Colonial Government, was placed on board as superintendent of the prisoners, and as the medium of communication between them and the ship's people. On the 17th of December it is recorded in Mr. White's official diary that the prisoners " express their thanks to the officers and men for the kind treatment they have received on board, and the kindness shown to them by the soldiers (the guard, a part of H. M. 50th Regiment) and sailors is more than they deserve." On the 24th December the hulk ''Marion," formerly a barque of 150 tons, having been properly fitted up, and moored immediately abreast of the town, under the guns of the " Curacoa," a guard of 50 men of the Colonial Force, chiefly Germans under the command of Captain Krippner, was placed on board. Tiie superintendence was again entrusted to Mr. T. A. "White, and Dr. Sam (a graduate of the University of Oxford, and M.E.C.S.L.) appointed medical attendant on board. Divine service lias been held generally twice on every Sunday by Ministers of the Church of England and Wesleyan denomination (there was only one Roman Catholic prisoner), and visits have been paid by ministers of religion almost every day. Orders have been issued, as a matter of course, to ministers of religion whenever asked for. A supply of New Testaments in Maori, and slates, pencils, and some elementary books have been given. Under the voluntary care of Mi-. "White several classes for elementary instruction have been formed, and a considerable number of the prisoners have learned reading, writing, and arithmetic. The Testaments are in constant use. Such games as they are accustomed to and are capable of being played on board of ship—such as drafts, a great favourite amongst Maoris, and at which they are great adepts —are permitted. Fishing lines a"nd hooks have also been served out, which both alleviate the tedium of imprisonment, and afford a wholesome variety of food. When first brought on board the " Curacoa," and even to the date of their removal on board the hulk, there was much disease amongst the prisoners, chiefly arising from poverty of diet and dirty habits. They were clothed in filthy and tattered rags, and more than half were eaten up with a very bad sort of itch, extremely difficult to eradicate. These diseases have been now almost entirely removed by the unremitting care of Dr. Sam. Personal cleanliness has been enforced to the utmost by the discipline enjoined by him and Mr. White, and a good supply of clothes, blankets, and other necessaries has been constantly provided. The same liberal scale of rations has been allowed, as is usual for prisoners waiting trial in common prisons in the Colony, with such additions as the fishing line, or occasional presents from natives, may have afforded. The whole of the prisoners have improved very greatly in health and general condition, so much so that those who saw them at the time of their capture now scarcely recognise them. One death only has occurred, that of Te Eakatau, a chief of no great note, the cause being dysentry. A number of the other prisoners were allowed to attend his funeral ashore. Little or no depression of spirits ha* existed among the prisoners, which has no doubt very greatly contributed to the general health of the ship. They seem to have become aware early after their capture that their lives would be spared, and that when the war was over they would be allowed to return to their own country, or be sent to some island on the Xew Zealand coast, for which some of them have expressed a strong desire. The great improvement in their general health, and the entire absence of all complaints whenever they have been visited by members of the Government, and by many other persons, including the ministers of religion, afford strong evidence that their confinement so far has not weighed very

8

MEMORANDA AND REPORTS