3

H.—s

the Premier, and gave it to Sandbrook, his messenger, with instructions to leave it in Mr. Seddon's room. Mr. Seddon being away, Sandbrook left the letter on the table in Mr. Seddon's room, as directed. A few minutes afterwards Sir Patrick Buckley requested Sandbrook to bring the letter back again. Sandbrook found the letter on the table in Mr. Seddon's room, in the same condition in which he left it, and returned with it to Sir Patrick Buckley within five minutes of the time he had first placed it there. Sandbrook knew that the envelope contained Colonel Fox's letters, as Sir Patrick Buckley told him so before he took the letters into the Premier's room. When Sir Patrick Buckley received the envelope, addressed to the Premier, from the Premier's room, he placed the Hon. Mr. Cadman's name on the corner of the envelope in the presence of Sandbrook, and Sandbrook delivered it by leaving it on Mr. Cadman's table, in his room at the Government Buildings. It is clear to me that the letters in question were first placed in Mr. Cadman's room by Sandbrook before 11 o'clock on the 4th April, and that they were contained in an envelope, addressed to the Premier, and marked "Confidential" in one corner, and " For Mr. Cadman " in the other corner. In proof of this very important point, I think it is advisable to quote some extracts from the evidence of Messenger Sandbrook, who delivered the letter: — " I know it was the letter [that is, the letter containing the Fox correspondence], because Sir Patrick Buckley told me so." "He gave it to me to take to Mr. Seddon's room, to be left there until Mr. Seddon's return. That was after Sir Patrick Buckley had read it himself. After a few minutes he sent me back to Mr. Seddon's room for it, and he told me to take it to Mr. Cadman." " But when Sir Patrick sent it to Mr. Seddon's room it was marked ' Confidential.' " " So he (Sir Patrick) looked at it a bit and then said, ' Just take that to Mr. Seddon's room and see that it is left there.' He then sealed it up and marked it ' Confidential.' " " Mr. Seddon's messenger was not there just at that time, so I put it on the table myself. In a few minutes Sir Patrick rang his bell and asked me to fetch the letter back again." " And when Sir Patrick finished reading it, he told me what it was about." The Commissioner: "Do I understand you to say that he told you, before you took the letter to the Premier's room, that the envelope contained Colonel Fox's report or letters?—■Yes." " I took it back straight to Sir Patrick Buckley, and he put Mr. Cadman's name on it in my presence, and told me to take it to Mr. Cadman. I took it to Mr. Cadman." " I believe I laid it on his table." " I should think it must have been after 10 o'clock." " Was it before 11?—I think it was, but lam not positive." " Was it opened again by him ?—No; I think he just wrote Mr. Cadman's name on the back, and said to me, ' Tell Mr. Cadman that is the letter.' " " Did you tell Mr. Cadman that was the letter?—No, but I think I told some one a few minutes afterwards that I had left a letter on Mr. Cadman's table." " Do you think that the letter you left on Mr. Cadman's table was addressed to the Premier, with Mr. Cadman's name on the corner ? —I imagine so, because Ido not think that Sir Patrick had time to put it into another envelope. I think he gave it to me quickly. I would not swear to it, but I imagine so." " You told the Commission yesterday that to the best of your belief the letter was addressed to the Hon. Mr. Seddon; you took it off Mr. Seddon's table and brought it back to Sir Patrick Buckley; and that Sir Patrick addressed it in the corner to the Hon. Mr. Cadman ? —I still think so—■ for this reason : It was hardly an instant before Sir Patrick gave it back to me and said, ' Give that to Mr. Cadman, and tell him that is the letter.' He could not have had time, I think, to put it in a fresh envelope and address it afresh." "Was the letter you took into Mr. Cadman's room marked 'Confidential'?—l would not be sure, but I imagine so, because it was marked ' Confidential' when I took it into Mr. Seddon's room." " Then, do I understand that, so far as you believe, it was marked ' Confidential' in one corner, and 'Mr. Cadman' in the other? —I believe so." It is evident that Mr. Cadman was not in his room when the letter was first left on his table, and it is clear from the evidence that Sir Patrick Buckley went into Mr. Cadman's room shortly after the letter was laid on Mr. Cadman's table by Sandbrook, and that he saw it on Mr. Cadman's table unopened. The Hon. Mr. Cadman's evidence is to the effect that on the morning of the 4th April Sir Patrick Buckley entered his (Mr. Cadman's) office, and mentioned the fact of his having received the Fox letters from the Premier, and that he told him he would send them along for him to read. About the time when Sir Patrick Buckley saw the Fox letters on Mr. Cadman's table (in an envelope, as appears from Sandbrook's evidence, addressed to the Premier, and marked "Confidential" in one corner, and " Mr. Cadman " in the other), the envelope containing the letters mysteriously disappeared from Mr. Cadman's room, and Mr. Cadman was not aware that it had ever been in his room. The letters were not returned to his room until the afternoon of the 4th April; and when they reached Mr. Cadman's room the second time they were not contained in an envelope addressed to the "Hon. the Premier," and marked " Confidential " in one corner, and " Hon. Mr. Cadman" in the other, but in another envelope, addressed, in the handwriting of Sir Patrick Buckley, to the "Hon. A. J. Cadman," and marked "Confidential." That envelope was, I believe, the one seen on the table in the afternoon by Mr. Wilson, Private Secretary to the Hon. Mr. Cadman, and it was not opened until the sth April. I find that while he was in Cabinet the second letter was left in Mr. Cadman's room; that he remained in Cabinet until 5 o'clock, and simply went into his room and got his hat, and went to dinner. After dinner he read the contents of the letters in the Evening Post newspaper, and when he returned to his office that evening he saw the letter on his table, and did not open it at all, but took it into the Cabinet meeting on the morning of the sth April, unopened. Mr. Cadman handed the letter to the Hon. Mr. Ward in the Cabinet room, unopened; Mr. Ward passed it on to the Hon. Mr. McKenzie,