5

8.—5.

No, he could not. I then said to him, "Will you give me an answer to a direct question ? I see that you state in your paper that copies of my letters have been received in Wellington. Are you absolutely certain of that fact ? " He replied, " Not only am I certain that they have arrived, but I knew they were coming." I then said to him, " I have perfect confidence in my own clerks; but the matter is a very disagreeable one, and some one must have let out the information. I should be very much obliged if you would give me a direct assurance—if you can do so—that the information has not come from my office." He replied, "You may take my word for it that the information has not come from the Defence Office." I would now personally like to state that I have every confidence in the integrity of my clerks. They had my official report in their possession practically from the middle of February up to the middle of June last year, and it was kept absolutely quiet. Lieut.-Colonel Fox re-examined. 17. The Commissioner .] Do you consider the publication of your letters without authority a violation of the Official and Colonial Defences Secrets Act ?—I am not really prepared to answer that. I have not gone into the question, and could not give an opinion. 18. Would you like to look up the Act and give me your opinion ? I have a copy here ?—Yes, I will do so. [After looking at the Act, Colonel Fox answered :] If the information was given by officials belonging to my department, then I consider such officials would probably come under that Act. 19. Did you send any copy of the letter to His Excellency the Governor prior to the 4th April ? —No; I have told you of the only copies that were in existence. If I might, I would draw your attention to a fact that might be of use to you, possibly. If you will look at the information published in the Post, and compare that information with what was telegraphed over the colony by the Press Association, you will find that it differs, and it only differs in one place. Now, this is what the Post has published : " That the Premier sent an officer of his department to make extracts." The sentence telegraphed by the Press Association is precisely the same, except that it states that the Premier sent his Acting Under-Secretary of Defence. Now, it is a very curious thing that the. Press Association is the nearest to the actual wording of my letter. In the publication by the Press Association the words are altered back to what was in my letter; and I think this almost is a fair ground for the conclusion that there must have been a memorandum of some sort, which was altered, as I have pointed out, by the Post. Then the Press Association evidently got hold of the memorandum, and sent the actual wording over the colony. Lieut.-Colonel Fox re-examined. 20. In the course of your previous examination, I understood that in your conversation with Mr. Hoben he gave you his assurance that the information did not come from the Defence Office ? —Yes. 21. Did you gather from his conversation that he had obtained the information in a perfectly straightforward, honourable, and legitimate way, according to the accepted views on the subject by newspaper men?—He absolutely refused to reply to my question asking him how he got the information, so that you will understand it is perfectly impossible for me to answer that question. 22. Did he leave an impression on your mind that he had obtained it in an improper manner? —There was no impression left on my mind, because I asked him a question, being perfectly certain in my own mind that he would not reply to it; and the answer which he gave was the one I expected, and which therefore left no further impression on my mind. I may add to that that I was rather surprised at his answering my succeeding question in the way he did. 23. Did you form the opinion that he was the man who obtained the information?—l cannot say that I did, though I suppose I must have, because he said definitely that he did not receive the information from the Defence Office. I do not, of course, wish to say that that is an opinion of mine, because I cannot form an opinion on the matter. 24. You thought it probable?—What I did receive from him was an assurance that the information had not been got from the Defence Department. 25. Would you kindly tell me to whom you intimated your intention to resign before the publication of the thing in the Post. It appears before me in evidence that before the publication in the Evening Post of your proposed resignation the fact was known to others, and through you? —The information that it was probable I should resign, and on certain conditions, could possibly have been obtained through several officers and gentlemen whom I had taken into my confidence, whose opinion I had asked, and whom I had consulted as regards a very grave step which I was then contemplating. I may say that the fact that I was contemplating resignation was not looked upon by me as an absolutely confidential matter. That the fact had been contemplated by others than myself is shown by the fact that the opinion was expressed to me that there was no other course open to me but to resign. The matter of my resignation was fully discussed by me some time prior to the 16th March with Colonel Newall and one or two other gentlemen interested in defence matters. The fact that I had resigned was known to Colonel Newall, Captain Coleman, and, I think, Colonel Hume; and I have spoken on the subject of my resignation and reasons to Colonel Newall, and, I believe, to Colonel Hume, also to several other gentlemen, friends of mine. These conversations were absolutely confidential, and, as I have said before in evidence, no one to whom I have spoken could possibly have supplied the information which has been published in the Post, and other papers in the colony. The rough drafts of my letter, as I have already sworn, have never been out of my possession. I should like to say, in connection with the statement I have made, that I have made it with the desire of assisting you, Sir, as Commissioner, to the best of my power ; but I should question your right to examine me on any confidential statements or conversations which I may have had with any gentlemen. Because I have spoken confidentially to any personal friends of my own, is it reasonable that they should be brought before this Commission? I hardly admit it. I hope you understand what I mean, Sir?