MINUTES OF MEETINGS
OF A
→
COMMISSION,
Held at the Council Chamber, commencing on the 27th May, 1858.
452
FIRST DAY,
Thursday, 27th May, 1858, at 11 a.M.
PRESENT:
The Hon. C. ST GEO. CLEVERLY, Esq., Chairman, Hon'ble, H. T. DAVIES, Esq. J. SCARTH, Esq., J.P. Hon'ble GEORGE LYALL, Esq. A. FLETCHER, Esq., J.P.
Registration Ordinance was in Committee, and I was pre- paring to attend it, when a letter was placed in my hands from Mr May, stating positively that Mr Caldwell was the owner of licensed brothel No. 48, as appeared by the fact that the lot 241 B, on which it stood, belonged to him. Not, as falsely stated in the semi-official article, not influenced by relations good or bad to Mr Caldwell, but for two reasons, which I will mention, I determined to state it that morning in the Legislative Council. The 1st was, that I knew it was perfectly hopeless sending in any report to the Executive THE ATTORNEY GENERAL, being asked if he had Government, as Mr Caldwell was always held up as quite any information to give the Commission, stated that the necessary to the administration of the colony. My second charges in the List of Charges" were not his, and accord-reason was, that I wished to induce the Legislative Council ingly read his etter of Protest of 24th May (4), to the to do with the Registration Ordinance what they had neglect- Acting Colonial Secretary.
ed to do with the Brothel Ordinance, and insert a clause
Read, Warrant of Commission and List of Charges,
He was then requested to state what evidence he had to disqualifying Mr Caldwell and his family from deriving any produce with reference to Charge 2.
pecuniary benefit in the exercise of his functions with regard The Attorney General. The evidence which I had to offer to that measure. On going into Committee, accordingly, I was offered to, and I suppose examined by, the Executive moved that clause, and the Committee adopted it without a Government, for they gave their decision on it in a very division. The Governor and the Acting Colonial Secretary unmistakable manner, and such as to oblige me to present appeared however much opposed to it, the Governor treat- my appeal, on the 17th instant (B), to Lord Stanley, Secretarying the charge as ridiculous, and the Acting Colonial Secre- of State. The nature of that evidence and of that decision tary as impossible.
was stated in my Letter of the 13th instant (C), which I re- Dr Bridges stated himself to be professionally aware of the quest may be read. I have here a Letter of the 18th May, fact that Mr Caldwell had parted with every inch of land he No. 280 (D), from the Acting Colonial Secretary, and my possessed in the colony before he became Licenser of reply of the same date (E); also the Acting Colonial Secre- Brothels, and that he had acquired none since. I protested tary's Letters (F and G) of the 17th May, Nos. 272 and 276, of course against this mode of dealing with a charge which and y reply to both (II); and the Acting Colonial Secre- I said I had made upon my liability to punishment if it was tary Letter of 15th May, No. 269 (1), and reply to the same (K).
[The Attorney General states, that he places these letters before the Commission in conjunction with the protest of 24th May, referring to charges Nos. 2, 5, 14, 15, 17; and reads part of letter of 13th May, to Acting Colonial Secretary, regarding these charges.
The Attorney General handed in to the Chairman a paper containing the names of two witnesses to be summoned at
• once]
untrue. Then Mr Cleverly (the Surveyor General) express- ing his concurrence with Dr Bridges, (the Acting Colonial Secretary) proposed to go down and examine his books, and returned with the statement that the lot 241 B was registered in the name of Mr D. R. Caldwell; on which the Governor apologised to me for having doubted my state-
ment.
Some one suggested that perhaps the Crown-rent might not be paid by Mr Caldwell, but by somebody else, to which the Colonial Treasurer Mr Forth said, he had just examined his books, and his clerk Mr Gilmour, who was
I beg leave to state to the Commission what the conduct present, could tell that the money had been paid by Mr
of Mr Caldwell was upon the charge being made. The Caldwell's own hand; to which the clerk assented: The
102
I