11

H.—s

The first I heard of them was on their publication in the Evening Post. I had no knowledge that there were such letters until then. That same night I was told there were such letters, and I was told by Mr. Cadman that he had the letters in his office in a sealed envelope, and that he had not opened the envelope, and, having seen the publication in the Post, he said he did not intend to open the envelope until the Cabinet meeting was held. The following day the Ministers met in Cabinet, and Mr. Cadman brought in the envelope which contained the letters, and stated what they were. To the best of my recollection, he handed them to Mr. Ward ; but Mr. Ward said he had seen them the previous day. I then asked Mr. Ward for the envelope, so that I could have a look at them. I opened the envelope and looked at the letters. 92. Can you say in whose handwriting the envelope was addressed?—The impression on my mind is that the handwriting was Sir Patrick Buckley's. 93. Were there any other marks on the outside of the envelope, so far as you are aware? —I distinctly recollect the word " Confidential," written across the corner of it. 94. Can you say to whom it was addressed ? —No; I could not remember now. 95. Was there anything in the other corner, opposite the word "Confidential"? —I cannot recollect. The fact of my knowing what was in it prevented my examining it as carefully as I otherwise would have done. 96. Is that the first time you saw the letter ?—Yes. 97. Were you aware what the contents of the letter were before that at any time ?—I was not aware of the full contents of the letter. I had received a cypher telegram from the Premier, giving an intimation of Colonel Fox's proposed resignation on certain conditions. 98. Did that telegram give the reasons, or the charges made ?—No; the telegram simply informed me that the Premier had received such a letter from Colonel Fox, offering to resign on certain terms. Hon. William Pember Eeeves sworn and examined. 99. The Commissioner.] You are the Minister of Education?—Yes, with one or two other portfolios. 100. Will you kindly tell me if you had ever seen the letters of Colonel Fox which form the subject-matter of this inquiry, or any copy or copies of them, prior to the 4th April. I mean the letters of 16th March ? —lf you mean the letters a precis of which appeared in the Post, certainly not. I never saw the letter or letters, nor a copy of them; and, to prevent possible misunderstanding, I never had the letter, or a copy of it, read over to me. I just saw what I presume was an abstract of the letter. I did not know there was more than one letter in the Wellington Post. I believe the letter had been published on the evening previous to my leaving by the train for the North. A copy of the paper was handed to me on the morning I left in the train, and I then read it. 101. What morning was that ?—Thursday, the sth April. I then read the precis of the letter in the train. You speak of more letters of Colonel Fox's. The only letter a copy of which I have seen—and that I have not read —was a letter of Colonel Fox's on the state of the defences of the colony. I say this as I wish it to be absolutely clear. 102. Did you authorise any one to give the contents of those letters to anybody else?—■ Certainly not. 103. You did not authorise their publication in any way?—Certainly not. 104. It is quite clear from the evidence before me that it is a matter of absolute impossibility for any one to have published that summary in the Post unless they had the actual letter or a copy of it before them, or unless some other person having a copy of the letters or the originals dictated them to somebody else ?—I have only to state my absolute ignorance of the communication to the paper. 105. Did you know they had been received in Wellington before you left?—Since I knew you wished to call me I have been racking my memory as to whether I did know that the letters had come to Wellington. As a matter of fact, I do not think I knew they had arrived. But I only speak to the best of my belief. Hon. J. G. Ward, Colonial Treasurer, sworn and examined. On the 4th April, between 10 and 11 a.m., Mrs. Ward and myself called on Sir Patrick Buckley in his room, and as I was leaving he handed me a letter which he stated was from Colonel Fox to the Premier. Mrs. Ward and self walked to my office. I opened the letter in my office and read it, and handed it to my Secretary, and told him it was to be sent back at once to Sir Patrick Buckley, and handed to him. The letter was not, from the time I got it from Sir Patrick Buckley till I returned it to my Secretary, five minutes in my possession. I told my Secretary to put it in an envelope. Immediately I saw the letters in the Post I rang up my Secretary and asked him if he had sent the letters to Sir Patrick Buckley, and he replied that he had done so promptly. I did not, directly or indirectly, cause or authorise this information to be given to the Post or any one else, or any copy of the same to be taken. The next morning I saw these letters ; they were brought into the Cabinet room by the Hon. Mr. Cadman in a closed envelope. I cannot say how that envelope was addressed. It was handed to me by Mr. Cadman, and I handed it to Mr. McKenzie, and he opened it in our presence. Hon. James Carroll sworn. I was with the Hon. the Premier during his trip north of Auckland during the latter end of March. I was with him when we arrived at Helensville. After I left Helensville I went to Auckland. The Premier did not go with me to Auckland, but I met him there subsequently. The first I knew of his (Colonel Fox's) resignation was from Mr. Seddon, and he showed me a wire which I believe came from Sir Patrick Buckley. I was not aware when at Helensville that Mr. Seddon had received these letters, but I knew from that telegram that these letters had been posted. I