enquire whether His Excellency intended to make or had made my action the subject of report or comment, but only whether I might be informed if he had so done. I purposely did not enquire directly as I considered that to do so would be disrespectful. My feeling was that while much regretting the necessity His Excellency had felt himself to be under of censuring my conduct in unusually strong terms, I should not on that ground alone and for the only object of endeavouring to obtain a reversal of the censure, trouble the Secretary of State in the matter, but that as the censure arose from condemnation of what I thought to be a proper course of duty as a magistrate dealing with the case and involved questions of principle affecting the relations between the Executive and the magistrates, it was important that if it came at all to the notice of the Secretary of State, my view of the matter should be represented also.
With regard to the concluding paragraph of your letter