H.—34.

COMMISSION.

Plunket, Governor. To all to whom these presents shall come, and to Charles Cargill Kettle, Esquire, a District Judge, Joseph William Poynton, Esquire, Public Trustee, and Herbert Samuel Wardell, Esquire, late Stipendiary Magistrate: Greeting. Whereas under the provisions of "The Civil Service Act, 1866," ''The Post Office Act, 1900," the respective amendments thereof, and respective regulations thereunder, certain Post-officers employed in the Chief Post-office at Christchurch—to wit, Joseph Willis, William John Larcombe, Thomas Walter West, and David Hobson Lundon —have been accused of certain breaches of duty, the accusations against each such officer being set out in a letter to him from the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, a copy of which letter appears in the schedule hereto : And whereas each of the said officers has denied the truth of the accusations made against him, but the Governor nevertheless thinks that sufficient cause has been shown for further proceedings : Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred upon me by " The Civil Service Act Amendment Act, 1871," and of all other powers and authorities enabling me in this behalf, I, William Lee, Baron Plunket, the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, do hereby refer the matter of the said accusations to you, Chaeles Caegill Kettle, Esquire, Joseph William Potnton, Esquire, and Herbert Samuel Wardell, Esquire, to inquire as to the truth of the said accusations in the case of each of the said officers, and you are hereby authorised to sit and act at Christchurch and at Wellington, or at either of these places, as you may think fit, to hear, receive, and examine evidence. Given under the hand of His Excellency the Governor at Wellington this twenty-ninth day of September, one thousand nine hundred and five. J. G. Waed.

SCHEDULE. Chaeges against Joseph Willis. To Joseph Willis, Post Officer, Christchurch. Puesuant to the provisions of section 26 of " The Civil Service Act, 1860," you are hereby charged with breach of duty in that, contrary to the regulations in that behalf and your Post Officer's Declaration, you, in or about the month of July, 1905, at Christchurch, at the request of Mr. F. M. B. Fisher, M.H.K., searched the records of Treasury vouchers in the Christchurch Post-office, and from that record gave him the number and amount of a certain voucher—to wit, Voucher No. 15819, for ,£76 4s. 9d —and also that, in or about the month of July, 1905, at Christchurch, you informed the said F. M. B. Fisher that a voucher for an amount exceeding £70 had passed through the Post-office at Christchurch payable to R. J. S. Seddon for reorganizing the Defence Stores; and also that, on or about the 4th day of August, 1905, at Christchurch, you made and delivered to the said F. M. B. Fisher, an affidavit that some time during the year 1904 you, as a clerk employed in the Christchnrch Post-office, saw a voucher for an amount exceeding £70 made out in favour of K. J. S. Seddon for the reorganization of Defence Stores at Wellington; and also that on or about the same date you made a duplicate original of the said affidavit and gave it to Mr. T. E. Taylor, M.H.R, 1-H. 34,