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The statement of which Mr. Gisborne requested an explanation is contained in my letter to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary of the 6th April, 1871, and is as follows: — " I may state further that my salary as Eesident Magistrate at Wanganui is £400 a year, but that, reckoning Eegistrar's fees and other allowances, my total income from official sources amounts to about £600 a year." My calculation was made in the following manner :— £ s. d. Salary as Eesident Magistrate ... ... ... ... 400 0 0 Forage allowance ... ... ... ... ... ... 79 10 0 Salary as Eeturning and Eegistration Officer ... ... ... 25 0 0 Fees as Eegistrar, computed at ... ... ... ... 50 0 0 Fees as Sheriff, computed at ... ... ... ... 50 0 0 £604 10 0 The amount of salary and forage allowance was fixed and certain ; that of fees was a matter of computation ; and I accordingly placed my total income from official sources at " about £600 a year." Under the terms of my appointment as Eegistrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriages, I was entitled to retain the fees up to £50 a year, the presumption being that they might exceed that amount. I had held the appointment for less than two years. The fees for the first year had slightly exceeded the limit of £50. I had surely a right to assume that with a growing population they would not fall below it in the year following. What amount of fees had actually been received up to April of the second year, I had no better means of ascertaining when I wrote mj> letter in Wellington than I have here, for it would require a reference to the books in the office at Wanganui. But the manner in which the Treasury has made its calculation —namely, for an arbitrary period—is obviously unfair, because the amount of fees being entirely dependent on the number of marriages is necessarily very uncertain and fluctuating. My predecessor in the office, Major Durie, informed me that in one particular year the fees exceeded £100. Secondly, as to the office of Sheriff. I had only very recently been appointed, and had no actual knowledge of what the fees were likely to be. I understood that during one of the years that Mr. Harper held the office, the fees amounted to close on £100, although the town was considerably smaller than it is now. Had I supposed for a moment that they would fall short of £50 a year, I certainly would not have accepted the responsibility of such an office, where in consideration of the fees the holder is amenable at law (and possibly in very heavy damages) for the default of himself or hit bailiff, over whose appointment he has no real control. In fact it will be found that at the time of my appointment as Sheriff I raised this very question, and proposed in a letter to the Colonial Secretary that in lieu of receiving all the fees, whatever they might amount to, the Government should fix my salary as Sheriff at £50 a year; the Treasury receiving all fees accruing, and the Sheriff being indemnified against actions, except for his own wilful default. To that letter I received no reply, the question of my leave of absence having supervened. I have no copy of my correspondence with me in England, and I am writing on the subject after a lapse of more than two years. But T have a distinct recollection of the letter in question, and of several conversations which I had with the Attorney-General in respect to it. Having accepted the office, with the fees accruing from it, I could not of course omit this in my calculation of income. And it was this very uncertainty as to the actual amount that led me to qualify the estimated total as " about £600." But to go one step further. So far from my having any idea of misleading the Government in this matter, when I called on the Hon. Mr. Gisborne to arrange about the amount of my half-pay, I took my letter of 6th April with me, and explained to him personally how my estimate was made up ; the result being that I was authorized to draw only the one-half of my actual salary as Eesident Magistrate, leaving to those who were to act for me all the fees as Eegistrar and Sheriff. The above is the simple explanation that I have to give of the statement contained in my letter to the Colonial Secretary, and I trust to have an assurance from the Government that it is a satisfactory one. I 00131- regret that through some inadvertence I have been placed at the disadvantage of having a charge of "apparent discrepancy " left so long unanswered. I have, &c, The Agent-General. Walteb L. Bullee.

No. 3. The Agent-Geneeal to the Hon. the Colonial Seceetabt. Sib, — 7, Westminster Chambers, 26th November, 1873. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of 2nd August, No. 94, relative to Mr. Buller's appointment as Secretary. I beg to forward for the information of the Government, copy of a letter which I have received from Mr. Buller, in which that gentleman, after stating very fairly the facts of the case, declines to accept the terms proposed by the Government, and intimates his wish to retire from the Public Service. I have only to add that, as soon as I can make other arrangements, Mr. Buller will be relieved of the duties of Secretary, in accordance with his request. I have, &c, I. E. Featheeston, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Wellington. Agent-General.