3

A.—lc

done it. Ido not think this can be denied. They produced, I believe, important political effects at the time. Now these warnings or threats are generally disapproved of; it is easy to laugh at them, and they cannot of course be carried out; but I still remain of opinion that they ought never to have been used. I shall not at present notice those points which I think unconstitutional or wrong in your Excellency's despatch of the 21st June last; but I trust that you will transmit to the Secretary of State a copy of this my defence to the charges you have made against me. I have, &c, His Excellency the Governor. G. GREY.

No. 2.

His Honor Sir G. Grey to Governor the Most Hon. the Marquis of Normanby. My Lord,— Wellington, 18th October, 1876. Since I wrote to your Excellency this morning, I have had placed in my hands a Dunedin newspaper, the Otago Guardian, date the 16th instant, the Editor of which makes the following positive personal statement:— " The threat about the man-of-war was started by the Ministerialists. The " writer of this has heard it personally from many of them, including Mr. " Dargaville himself, and always as a hectoring threat, and long before the date " mentioned by Mr. Dargaville, as that on which he heard it originated, as he " says, by Sir George Grey." I enclose the only copy of the newspaper I have. I beg your Excellency to do me the justice of transmitting it, with a copy of this letter, to the Secretary of State. I would also suggest that Mr. Dargaville should be telegraphed to and informed of the statements now made. I have, &c, His Excellency the Governor. G. GREY.

No. 3. The Governor the Most Hon. the Marquis of Normanby to His Honor Sir G. Grey. Sir,— Wellington, 19th October, 1876. I have received your Honor's letter on the subject of my despatch of the 21st of June, to which you take exception. 2. You state that the charges against you are three in number. Ist. Your conduct in improperly dictating, in your office, as Superintendent, a particular resolution to the Provincial Council of Auckland. 3. If your Honor will read my despatch, you will find that I make no such charge against you. I simply state the fact, that a resolution in favour of a change in the provincial system did pass in the Provincial Council by a majority of five; and my reason for doing so was to show that the feeling against abolition was not so unanimous as your Honor seemed to suppose ; and I further stated that that resolution was rescinded the next day by a majority of one, at your Honor's direct instigation and dictation, and this I gathered from the reports of the proceedings at the time, in which I find that Mr. Reader Wood (the Provincial Treasurer) is reported to have said, during the debate, that when ha asked your views of ministerial responsibility, you replied, " Well, Wood, if the Council think I am " in this way going to act as a Constitutional Governor acts, who does nothing " without the advice of his Ministers, I had better go back to Kawau." Shortly after, in the same debate, Mr. Sheehan is reported to have said, "He had the " authority of Sir George Grey for saying, that he regarded the action taken on " the previous day as most disastrous, and fettered him to such a degree that it " became a question whether it was worth while carrying on any further. Sir " George Grey said, he had left his retirement for the purpose of taking up this " question. The people heard him. He proclaimed openly what views he held. " Resolutions of confidence were passed in him. The provincial press teemed with " articles of approval, and yet the Council, which he expected to assist and aid