5

H.—37.

that he will forward my letter to the Government, and urge that an inquiry may bo held on your conduct towards the Bench, and towards me in particular, in the above case, and also for having abused your position as Justice of the Peace, by trying to influence a vote in the late election of a member of the Provincial Council of Auckland. I have, &c., Geo. Kellt, Ht H. Fenton, Esq., Mongonui. Clerk to the Court.

No. 10. Mr. Fountain to Mr. H. H. Fenton. (No. 8S8.) Sic, — Office of the Minister of Justice, Wellington, 2ud December, 1872. I have the honor, by direction of the Minister of Justice, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the sth ultimo, with further reference to your complaint against the Resident Magistrate at Mongonui; and in reply, to inform you that the same is under consideration. I have, &c., R. G. Fountain, 11. H. Fenton, Esq., Mongonui. Acting Under Secretary.

No. 11. Mr. W. Builee, J.P., to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetaet. Sic, — Mongonui, Bth November, 1872. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th ultimo, and in reply to state that I deny the statements made by Mr. Kelly, and respectfully request the Government to accede to his request by granting an inquiry, and to have evidence taken on oath. I am also prepared, if an inquiry does not take place, to forward to the Government a full explanation of my conduct in the transaction referred to by the Clerk of the Court. In reference to Messrs. Ball and Anderson's memorandum, I beg to state that neither of them were in the settlement when Mr. Kelly says I tried to intimidate him. I have, &c., The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Wm. Butlee.

No. 12. Mr. Fountain to Mr. W. Butlee, J.P. (No. 891.) Office of the Minister of Justice, Sic,— Wellington, 2nd December, 1872. I have the honor, by direction of the Minister of Justice, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Bth ultimo, relative to the complaints made against you by the Clerk of the Court at Mongonui ; and in reply, to inform you that the same is under consideration. I have, &c, R. G-. Fountain, W. Butler, Esq., J.P., Mongonui. Acting Under Secretary.

No. 13. The Resident Magisteate, Mongonui, to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetaey. Sic, — Resident Magistrate's Office, Mongonui, Bth November, 1872. With reference to your letter, 4th October, No. 711, covering charges made against me by Mr. H. H. Fenton, I have the honor to state that I will not reply to the insinuations made against me as a private gentleman, further than to say that I have been thirty years in this Colony, nearly eight and twenty in the service, and I am pretty well known, and for the twenty-five years 1 have been in this district I have been treated with respect and confidence. Mr. H. H. Teuton's opinion does not affect me much. I cannot permit Mr. H. H. Fenton to take credit to himself for disinterested motives in making these charges, for they are principally conjectural, and made purely from malice. Mr. Fenton is one of those ill-tempered, selfish, dogmatic persons who do not act from disinterested motives; besides, as he says himself, he has not a friend in the place. For the last three years I have differed entirely from Mr. H. H. Fenton's views in cases in which he was personally interested, and he has circulated opinions and statements prejudicial to me, but which I did not consider it worth my while to take notice of. This feeling has been greatly embittered by an action brought by Mr. H. H. Fenton to recover a dog, and the whole community thrown into excitement, not only by the conduct of Mr. H. JET. Fenton, but by Captain Butler, who, having lately resumed his occupation of shopkeeping, has imparted a sort of trading opposition in the case, in which he took an active part. With regard to the concluding remarks, I am not aware that any correspondence has taken place, as I did not resign my appointment of Judge of the Native Lands Court ■, but, being in Auckland, Mr. Judge Fenton told me he had recommended that my services should be dispensed with, there being one Judge in the North wholly available, which I was not, and he had to reduce the expenses; also informing me other Judges would have to go. I saw the Hon. Mr. McLean immediately, who very kindly said he had waited to see me before making any change, proposing that I should take the office of Crown Agent instead, which I did, and so it has remained since.