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DE
The Bench respectfully begged to be made acquainted with the reasons of the Government for doing so, for the information and future guidance.
On the 11th instant we received a despatch & / a simple acknowledgement of the receipt of our letter of the 10th instant, and that appeared to indicate the intention of the Government to discontinue the correspondence, without affording the Bench the required information, a general meeting of the Justices was held on the instant, to take into consideration the correspondence which had taken place, and decide what further steps were necessary.
At that meeting we again appointed a committee for the purpose of placing the above correspondence in your hands, and of expressing the views of the Bench generally in connection with the circumstances.
We have therefore the honor to state that the Bench cannot consider the interception of the circular in question as an ordinary act of discourtesy which had best be left unnoticed; the Government must have had special reasons for pursuing the course it did, as that course could only be justified by something in the circular either contrary to the law or contrary to the practice.
The Bench cannot but consider the explanation offered by the Colonial Secretary an evasion of the question. No individual member of the Bench can possess power legally or honorably to intercept and withdraw from circulation a circular letter addressed to all the Justices. The Colonial Government may possess such power, but it seems to us...