Sewell in 1856 came down to the House with the conditions on which Governor Browne would grant responsible government, one of the conditions being that the manage ment of native affairs was to remain in the hands of the Governor, I urged the House i to reject the conditions, unless native affairs were placed equally with all other matters under the control of his advisers ; when I remind you that in 1862,1 urged the House to accept the offer then made, both by the Duke of Newcastle and Sir George Grey, to hand over the entire administration of native affairs ; and that Mr.Weld and his supporters moved amendments declining the offer, and succeeded in ousting the Fox Ministry, you will find some difficulty in believing that the Weld Ministry were sincere in putting forward such a plea for the removal of the troops. But whether they were or were not sincere, will any of them say, that during their administration Sir George Grey had not as potential a voice in the management of native affairs as he ever had ? Will the pre sent head of the Government say, that if the troops were withdrawn to-morrow, the repre sentative of the Crown would not exercise as much influence in native affairs, as he does at the present moment ? The truth simply is— it is impossible and absurd to attempt to de fine the relations between the Governor and his Ministers. Her Majesty's representative must ever exercise an important influence in the administration of affairs, whether ordinary or native. To show how absurd it is to ex pect that Governors can be reduced to mere nonentities, I might refer you to the action taken at various times by the Governors of the Australian colonies. It was only the other day, that the Government of New South Wales resigned, because the Governor refused the dissolution they asked for ; and a report is current, that the Governor of Victoria is likely to be re-called, because he has been backing his Ministers in strangely illegal and unconstitutional proceedings. 