residing, in the Province that of Justice
of the Peace. Still less can I under-
stand the assertion that, this Govern-
ment would be responsible for a sus-
pension of law, if it did take place,
when the Government had nothing to
do with Mr. Taucred's resignation,
with your Honour's appointments of
Mr. Brittan, and Mr. Hall, and their
possible refusal to act under them, or
with originating the doubts as to your
power to make such appointments, and
while it may be superfluous for me to
state that whatever responsibility can
at any time be fairly charged upon his
Excellency's present Ministers will be
at once accepted, I most emphatically
decline to permit your Honour to hold
this Government responsible for acts
done by you, whether in the exercise,
or in excess of your powers.

I would now state as a general rule
having reference not only to questions
like the present, but to all matters af-
fecting the relations between the Gene-
ral and Provincial Governments, the
present Ministry is most anxious to
co-operate with the latter. I believe
that it is only by the most cordial co-
operation between them that the Go-
vernment of the Colony generally can
be conducted with satisfaction, either
to the inhabitants, or to the respective
authorities, to whom the conduct of
public affairs may be for the time en-
trusted; and it is especially necessary,
that a good understanding should exist
with respect to the appointment of
public officers. Acting upon this
principle the present Government, has
in every case hitherto, where it has
previously been requested to that
effect by any Superintendent, made
appointments in accordance with such
request. While it has therefore shown
and will continue to show, every desire
to co-operate with the Provincial au-
thorities, it must decline to endorse, as
a matter of course, all appointments
made by Superintendents, where no
previous intimation has been given so
as to permit of due consideration, as
to the fitness or otherwise of the pro-
posed appointment. For your Honour
must admit that although the gentle-
men appointed by you in the cases
now under notice are unexceptionally
qualified for this office, it is by no
means impossible that appointments
might be made by Superintendents,
especially as to judicial offices, which
might might be the reverse of benefi-

cial to the public service; and I can-
not believe that you would consider
that the General Government was
placed in a proper position if it
were required to confirm, without
any discretion in the matter, all such
appointments for the fitness of which
it thus became responsible, I believe
that such a position for the Govern-
ment of the Colony would be not only
most derogatory to it, but at the same
time in entire opposition to the inten-
tion of the General Assembly when it
established the principle of Responsi-
ble Government; as in this position the
General Government, would be re-
sponsible not to the Assembly, but to
the Superintendents, whose mere ser-
vant it would become. Such a position
being totally opposed to the principle
of the Constitution Act, is one which
no Ministry could for a moment
defend, and which his Excellency's
present advisers can never consent to
occupy.

I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your very obedient servant,
E. W. STAFFORD.

Superintendent's Office,
Christchurch, March 3rd, 1857.

SIR,—
I have the honor to acknowledge
the receipt late yesterday of your
despatch of the 11th ultimo on the
subject of the Commissions of Resi-
dent Magistrates in the Province.

From this Despatch, I can only infer
that the Government of New Zealand
does not recognize the appointment of
Mr. Brittan and Mr. Hall as Resident
Magistrates: that it declines to con-
firm their appointment whilst at the
same times it considers them to be ad-
ministering law illegally: that it de-
clines to take any steps whatever to cor-
rect this state of things: that it is sa-
tisfied that the law will be sufficiently
administered by Mr. Watson, Mr.
Hamilton, Mr. Tancred, and Mr. Moor-
house as Resident Magistrates, and by
27 other Magistrates, notwithstanding
that Mr. Watson's court is not acces-
sible except to a few families, Mr.
Hamilton is fully employed in another
department, and Mr. Tancred and Mr.
Moorhouse have, as I conceive, resigned
their offices, and the former has left
the Province.

It does not become me to retort
upon His Excellency's Government