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nistering the Government, to trans-nit herewith copies of two despatches received by the Colonial Government from Her Majesty's Secretary of State, on the subject < of substituting any punishment for transportation. The return of criminals you require will be furnished as soon as the necessary information has been received from the Registrars of the Supreme Court. With reference to the third paragraph of your letter, his Excellency has directed me to inform you that he regrets being unable to furnish you with the recent Act of the 20th August, 1853. or with any of the London Gazettes, on the subject of " secondary punishment," as the Government are not in possession of these documents I have the honour to be, Sir, Your very obedient servant, Andrew Sinclair. To E. J. Wakefield, Esq., Chairman on Secondary Punishments.

Sir J. Pakington to Sir G.JGrey, No. 20, 3 June, 1852. Duke of Newcastle to Sir G,Grey No. 92, 5 Dec., 1853,

Copy. Downing Street, 3rd June, 1852. Sir, I have received from the Lieutenant-Governor of Van Dieman's Land a report that an aboriginal native, named " Te Aharu," having been transported to that Colony from New Zealand, he had sent him back. I have felt it right to approve of the course which Sir William Denison adopted on this occasion. No native offenders must be transported from the Colony under your government to Van Dieman's Land. I may further take this opportunity of stating, that in consideration of the various difficulties which New Zealand had to contend with, the practice of transporting European offenders from thence to Van Dieman's Land has been acquiesced in longer than in the case of any other Colonial possession. It is the only remaining one from which such transportation has not been prohibited. You will, however, have been prepared by my predecessor's circular despatch, dated 28 September, 1850, for expecting that this facility could not much longer be continued even to New Zealand. I will not in this despatch put a sudden close to a means of punishment on which the Colonial Government has hitherto been able to rely. But I have to state that I do not think that it can be allowed to continue beyond next year, and I shall be glad if you will turn your attention to the be«t mode of providing for the secondary punishment of offenders within the limits of New Zealand, on the general objects to be arrived at in such secondary punishment. I feel it unne- : cessary to add to my predecessor's despatch, of which a copy is herewith enclosed for greater convenience of reference. I h; &c. John S. Pakingion.

28th Sept, U5O.

CIRCULAR. Copy. Downing Street, Sept. 28, 1850. Sir, I. Since I have had the honour of holding the seals of this department, my attention has repeatedly been called to the fact, that in most of the British Colonies the same difficulty of finding a good secondary punishment for offenders has been felt, which, you are doubtless aware, has been experienced in this country ; and although I am not ignorant that the Colonies must differ too much in their circumstances from one another and from this country, to render it reasonable to suppose that any one system could serve for all; yet when I see that there is so