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Sin, — Auckland, Ist December, 1864. I have the honour to request that you will lay upon the table of the House the enclosed copy of a letter from Mr. Erskine May, in addition to the correspondence already placed in your possession concerning an alleged breach of privilege. I ask leave to observe that the letter in question is an answer to one from me (of which I have not preserved a copy) enclosing a copy of the opinion given on the same case by the Law Officers of the Crown, and requesting Mr. May to state whether his own had been in any way changed by the arguments adduced on the other side. I have, &c, Hugh Carleton, Chairman of Committees. The Hon. the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Sib, — Bournemouth, Hants, 19th January, 1864. As the mover of the resolution agreed to by the House of Representatives in the session of 1862, " That the amendment of the 17th clause of ' The Native Lands Act, 1862,' is an infringement of the privileges of this House," I feel it my duty, having been informed that the Legislative Council do not admit that any breach of privilege has been committed, to take the opinion of Mr. Erskine May upon the question, and accordingly forward you a copy of the correspondence on tho subject, requesting you to inform the House of that gentleman's decision. I have, &c, Hugh Carleton, Chairman of Committees. The Hon. the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Sib,— 40, Duke Street, St. James', 22nd July, 1863. I have the honour to request your opinion upon a disputed point of privilege which has arisen between the Legislative Council of the General Assembly of New Zealand and the House of Representatives. The practice of the Assembly in regard to money clauses is identical with that of the Imperial Parliament. I am content, on behalf of the House of Representatives, to accept the statement of the case which has been drawn up by a Select Committee of tho Legislative Council. I Jay this statement before you, and desire to ask whether or not, in your opinion, an extension of the operation of a tax in the manner described, if made to the Lords, would be a breach of the privileges of the Commons. I have, &c, • Hugh Caeleton, M.G.A. Thomas Erskine May, Esq. Sib,— 23rd July, 1863. In reply to your letter of the 22nd instant, 1 desire to state that I have perused the papers which you submitted to me, and particularly the report of the Committee of the Legislative Council of New Zealand upon the Native Lands Bill. It appears to me that the amendment made by tho Legislative Council to that Bill, having rendered a certain class of instruments liable to a tax or duty from which they were exempt under tho Bill as passed by the House of Representatives, was an infringement of the privileges of the latter. No such amendment would have been accepted in this country by the House of Commons if made under similar circumstances by the Lords. I have, &c, Hugh Carleton, Esq., &c. T. Ebskine May.

House of Commons, My dear Sib,— 30th May, 1861. I have no desire to be engaged in a controversy at the antipodes, but I have no objection to state, without entering into any arguments, that I adhere to the opinion stated last year—that, if such an amendment, having tho objects designed by that in the Native Lands (New Zealand) Bill, had been made by the House of Lords to a Bill sent up to them by the Commons, the latter would not have assented to it, in accordance with their own privileges and the usage which is maintained between the two Houses. I have, &c, Hugh Carleton, Esq. T. Erskine May. APPENDIX, No. 4. Extract from Journals of Legislative Council, 18th August, 1868. Legislative Council Committee. —The Hon. Mr. Holmes, from the Select Committee appointed to inquire into the powers and privileges of this Council, with a view to a modification of its constitution, brought up a report, which was read as fol-„ loweth:— In the consideration of the subject remitted to your Committee to report on, they have deemed

it expedient to state concisely the authorities on which the powers, privileges, and immunities of the Legislative Council are based ; to review the constitution of similar Chambers in other British colonies ; to narrate the action which has hitherto been taken by the Council in the direction of a limitation of its numbers ; and then to suggest such a course as, in their opinion, would be best adapted to extend its influence and to sustain its independence. With reference to the first of these stages of consideration, it may be observed that the Constitution Act, which passed the Imperial Legislature in 1852, empowered the Legislative Council and House of Eepresentatives, among other things, to make such standing rules and orders as might be necessary for the orderly conduct of business (52); defined the power of the General Assembly to make laws for the peace, order, and good government of New Zealand (53); and enabled it at any time to alter any of the provisions of the Act itself (68). This Act was amended in 1857 by an Imperial Act, repealing certain clauses, and enabling the General Assembly to alter, suspend, or repeal all or any of the provisions of the said Act, except those which were specified (2); and was further amended by the Imperial Act of 1862, with respect to the power of creating new provinces, repealing a previous Act on the subject, and making further provisions instead thereof. In 1856, in pursuauco of the power vested in it by the Act of 1852, the Legislature of New Zealand passed " The Privileges Act, 1856," whereby certain of the privileges, immunities, and powers of the General Assembly were defined and declared (1 to 10); such definition, however, was not to be construed, directly or indirectly, by implication or otherwise, to restrict in any manner whatever the privileges or immunities of the Legislature (12). " The Parliamentary Privileges Act, 1865," repealed the fifty-second section of the Constitution Act, which had empowered the Legislative Council and House of Eepresentatives to make standing rules and orders for their guidance (5), and conferred upon the Council and the House respectively, the privileges, immunities, and powers enjoyed and exercised by the House of Commons on the Ist of January, 1865, whether such were held by custom, statute, or otherwise (4). Your Committee now proceed to state briefly the constitution of the Upper Legislative Chambers of some of the principal colonies of Great Britain. In New South Wales the constitution was established in 1853. The Legislative Council consists of not fewer than twenty-one members, appointed for life by the Governor and Executive Council, of whom not less than four-fifths consist of persons not holding office under the Crown. The Council now consists of twenty-seven members, the Legislative Assembly consisting of eighty members. In Victoria the constitution was established by a local Act in 1854, confirmed by the Crown, and was subsequently amended. The Legislative Council consists of thirty members, elected for six provinces, one of the members of each electoral district retiring every two years : the qualification of members being the possession of a freehold property worth £5,000, or of the annual value of £500 ; and the qualification of the elector being the possession of freehold property worth £1,000, or of the annual value of £100. The Assembly consists of seventy-eight members. In Tasmania the constitution was established by local Act in 1855. The Legislative Council consists