PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference:-
IPITTI
C.O. 882
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
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expected me to refute and explain. To give that explanation in the full and complete manner indicated in your letter of the 3rd instant, it was necessary for me to go through a mass of evidence and documents, and to produce witnesses on the other side. Before I had time to deal with the evidence you had sent to me day by day up to Thursday last, and before any of the English officials who desired to disprove the four charges of the minority were heard, you have, in my opinion, prejudged the case.
Nor can I altogether reconcile the sudden decision taken by you on the 13th instant with your
letter of the 10th, in which you invited me to give you a written assurance (which I at once gave), that after your departure I would not molest any of the officials in consequence of their evidence.
Under those circumstances, I shall appeal to Her Majesty's Government against the course your Excellency has adopted.
SIR,
His Excellency the Right Honourable
Sir Hercules Robinson, G.C.M.G., Royal Commissioner.
I have, &c. (Signed)
J. POPE HENNESSY.
Enclosure N. in No. 49.
ROYAL COMMISSIONER to SIR JOHN P. HENNESSY.
Government House, Port Louis,
December 15, 1886. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of yesterday, which shall not fail to forward to the Secretary of State, with such observations as it may appear to me to call for.
I trust your Excellency will not conclude that, because I do not consider it desirable to reply to your letter in detail, my silence implies acquiescence in the correctness of the assumptions and inferences contained in it.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
HERCULES ROBINSON,
Royal Commissioner.
His Excellency Sir John Pope Hennessy, K.Č.M.G.,
&c.
&c.
&c.
Enclosure O. in No. 49. TELEGRAM.
From Sir HERCULES ROBINSON, Port Louis, to Sir JOHN POPE HENNEY, Réduit. 15th. I have, at your request, examined Dr. Meldrum, and Mr. de Joux will be examined this afternoon, as well as Mr. Connal and Captain Childs.
If you will give me the names of other officials you wish to be examined, they will be summoned for to-morrow.
(Sent 1.30 p.m., December 15, 1886.)
Enclosure P. in No. 49.. TELEGRAM,
Received December 15, 1886. From SI JOHN Pope Hennessy, Réduit, to Sir Haroules RobinSON, Port Louis. I was about sending you a list of thirty-four witnesses when I received your communi- cation suspending me from office. I did not, therefore, send you the list. You will see from my letter that, in my opinion, you have prejudged the case in suspending me, without waiting for my defence, and that I am appealing to Her Majesty's Government. Except in preparing materials for that appeal, I must decline to be a party to any further proceedings.
(Received Wednesday afternoon, 15th December 1886.)
127
Enclosure Q. in No. 49.
TELEGRAM.
From SIR HERCULES ROBINSON, Port Louis, to SIR JOHN POPE HENNESSY, Réduit. 15th December.-Your telegrain of to-day. I have already examined four witnesses to-day in your behalf, Messrs. Meldrum, Connal, de Joux, and Captain Childs. To- morrow I have summoned six officers, who had been asked by Mr. de Joux to give evidence.
Am I right in concluding from the last sentence of your telegram of to-day that you do not intend to send me your defence to the Cape?
(Sent Wednesday afternoon, 15th December 1886.)
Enclosure R. in No. 49. TELEGRAM.
From SIR JOHN POPE HENNESSY, Réduit, to SIR HERCULES ROBINSON, Port Louis. 16th December. With reference to your Excellency's telegram of yesterday evening, informing me that you had examined four witnesses on that day on my behalf, and asking if you are right in concluding that I do not intend sending my defence to the Cape, I beg to refer you to my letter of the 14th, and my telegram of the 15th. From the moment you suspended me from office without hearing my defence, I have not been a party to your examining any of the thirty-four witnesses that I had intended calling to rebut the testimony of the minority of the English officials and, pending my appeal to Her Majesty's Government, my observations will be sent to London, and not to the Cape.
(Received 16th December 1886.)
Enclosure S. in No. 49.
NOTES of an INTERVIEW between Mr. F. J. NEWTON and Sir JOHN POPE HENNESSY at Réduit on the morning of Tuesday, 14th December 1886.
11.30.-I delivered Sir Hercules Robinson's note and letter to Sir John Pope Hennessy. Nothing then passed worthy of remark, except that he mentioned there was a financial question connected with the matter (alluding, I presume, to pay, &c.), to which I replied that I could say nothing as to that.
He took me downstairs and showed me four or five bundles of papers, indicating them
"
8.8 'evidence," with papers connected with each, and asked me to bear this in mind, as he weant to allude to it. He had previously (up-stairs) told me he would like to keep some of the evidence, and I said that I was directed to bring away what I could, at any rate enough to go on with the copying.
His Excellency afterwards appeared to change his mind, and insisted on my taking all in his possession, which I did eventually. He once more took me into his office and read to me a memorandum of what had occurred. 1 demurred to the statement in it that he had shown nic each of the witness's evidence done up with parcels belonging to it. I had formed my own impressions about that after his previous remark. assented to nothing in the memorandum, the latter part of which he barely showed to me, and I cannot immediately now recall what it was about, as he said, "This is my statement, and not yours." I pressed him almost to keep what he wished of the evidence to go on with his work with, but he said that now that the affair was brought to such a sudden termination by this letter, he thought it best to send back everything. I said that I did not wish to be understood as agreeing to the idea "that the affair was brought to a "sudden termination by this letter," and that I was sure Sir Hercules would never wish him to say that he had been in any way interrupted in his defence. At which he said,
Oh, no! no!"
He did not ask me to sign the memorandum he had read, and practically withdrew it when I objected to his statement of what I had seen. I should not say by any means that all the evidence was prepared, that is, ready to be dealt with. A good many seemed to be simply placed in envelopes. I had leisure to observe this till he came in himself and helped to turn them out with Mr. Gaud. I arrived at 9.80, and was downstairs from his bedroom at 9.45 and left the house at 11.15.
(Signed) F. J. NEWTON.