OF MINISTERIAL RESIDENCE.

9

D.—No. 26.

No. 13. Mr. W. Phaeaztn to Mr. A. de B. Beandon. Clifford and the Government. Attorney-General's Office, Wellington, Deae Sic— 17th May, 1869. I return the draft lease and counterpart engrossed. The term will be from Ist April, 1869. If you will let me have the counterpart filled up to correspond with the lease, I will get it executed and exchange with you. I am, &c, A. de B. Brandon, Esq., W. Phaeaztn, Solicitor, Wellington, Assistant Law Officer.

No. 11. Opinion of the Attoenet-Genebal. The Hon. the Peime Ministee, — 1. As to the house leased from Sir, C. Clifford, I am of opinion that the contract having been made on behalf of the Crown, Mr. Stafford must be deemed to have executed the counterpart and accepted the lease as trustee for the Crown. From my own knowledge of all the facts, I may say that there can be no doubt whatever on this matter. 2. As to the second question, there can also be no doubt Mr. Stafford is not entitled to retain occupation of the house on any such ground. 19th August, 1869. James Peendeegast.

No. 15. The Hon. W. Fox to Mr. E. W. Staffoed. S IHj — Government Offices, Wellington, 20th August, 1869. Eeferring to my letter of the 13th instant, I have the honor to inform you that I have placed the lease of the house rented from Sir Charles Clifford, together with all the papers bearing on that subject, and on that of your occupation of the Ministerial residence, in the hands of the AttorneyGeneral for his consideration, and I now forward you a copy of his opinion on the two questions raised, namely, whether you are entitled to claim, on your private account, the house in Hobson Street; and whether, if you be so entitled or not, you have any right to insist upon retaining the Ministerial residence until you are put in possession of the other. I hope that after this, I shall learn from you that you are prepared to place me in possession of the Ministerial house at the immediate termination of the Session, and that you will oblige me by informing me that you will be prepared to do so, in order that I may be able to make my arrangements accordingly. I have, &c, E. W. Stafford, Esq., M.H.E., William Fox. Wellington.

No. 16. Mr. E. W. Staffoed to the Hon. W. Fox. Sic ,— Wellington, 20th August, 1869. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 13th instant, and have to apologise for the delay which has occurred in replying to it. I have also received your letter of this day's date referring to the same subject. With reference to the first portion of your letter of the 13th, you have misapprehended my intention if you conceived that I intended to assert that there was any positive arrangement between any particular persons to the effect that the Minister in occupation of the Ministerial residence should continue to occupy it until the end of the Session. What I intended to convey was, that opinions to that effect had been expressed by many persons (Ministers and others), in which I concurred, and which had ruled the action taken when I succeeded Mr. Weld in 1865. What exactly took place on that occasion was as follows : One or two days after I took office Mr. Weld said to me that it would be a convenience to Mrs. Weld and himself if they could remain in the house until their arrangements for returning to Canterbury were completed (or words to that effect). I replied, that I considered he was entitled to remain in "tho house during the Session, and other persons whom I consulted concurred in thinking so. Acting on that understanding, I had no further communication with Mr. Weld on the subject, and ho made such arrangements as to his return to Canterbury as were convenient to him, and left for that Province some four or five days before the Session ended, — possession of the house being taken by me some nine or ten days after, when two of my colleagues went to reside in it. I only mention these facts in explanation of part of my letter of the 11th instant, and not as necessarily determining any question of occupancy of the residence —the more especially as I have been for some time before the Session commenced anxious to remove to Sir C. Clifford's house, which I had taken for my residence, and to which, as I have previously stated, I would have removed some months since, had His Excellency not wished it to be temporarily available for the Duke of Edinburgh and himself. As regards my position in respect of that house, I cannot understand on what grounds you, who had never previously been informed as to my intentions in the matter, can express surprise at hearing what those intentions were. Those intentions were correctly stated in my letter of the 11th instant,

3