PRÉCIS OF CORRESPONDENCE. The following "Instructions are placed in the hands of the Candidates, along with the Correspondence of which a Précis is required :— The time allowed varies according to the length of the correspondence. Having read the accompanying Correspondence— 1. Make a short Abstract, Schedule, or Docket of several Letters. 2. Draw up a short Memorandum or Précis, stating briefly and distinctly what passed, in the form of a narrative. DIRECTIONS. (1) The object of the Abstract, Schedule, or Docket, is to serve as an Index to be referred to when required. It should contain the date of each letter; the names of the persons by whom and to whom it is written; and, in as few words as possible, the main substance of it. The merits of such an Abstract are (1) to give the really important point or points of each letter, omitting everything else; (2) to do this briefly; (3) distinctly; and (4) in such a form as readily to catch the eye. (2) The object of the Memorandum, or Précis, is that any one who had not time to read the original letters might, by reading the Précis, be put in possession of all the leading features of what passed. The merits of such a Précis are (1) to contain a concise history of the correspondence, including all that is important in its substance, and nothing that is unimportant; (2) to present this in a consecutive and readable shape, expressed as distinctly as possible; (3) to be as brief as is compatible with completeness and distinctness. You are recommended to read the whole Correspondence through carefully before beginning to write, as the goodness both of the Abstract and of the Précis will depend very much on a correct appreciation of the relative importance of the different parts. I. Parliamentary Paper. Persia. Sess. No. 63, 1857. II. Parliamentary Paper. New Palace at Westminster. Sess. No. 405, 1856. III. Parliamentary Paper. Vancouver's Island. Sess. No. 229, Sess. 2, 1857. IV. Correspondence respecting_Consular interference for the Prevention of Smuggling in China. Presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of her Majesty, 1857. V. Parliamentary Paper. Hong Kong. Sess. No. 115, Sess. 2, 1857. H VI. Correspondence respecting Insults in China. No. 98-end. Ditto, No. 7-10, inclusive. VII. Read the following despatches, &c. :— SIR, From EARL GREY to Governor Sir C. A. FITZROY. I HAVE the honour to inform you, that in consequence of the information recently received from New Zealand, her Majesty's servants have determined that an increase of the military force now in that colony should be effected without the least possible delay. With that view, I have to instruct you to make immediate arrangements, in concert with the officers commanding the troops in New South Wales, for sending the whole of the disposable force now serving there to Wellington, with the utmost practicable despatch. It will, I calculate, be in your power, without danger, to send at least nine hundred men for this service, still retaining a small force at Sydney, which, under the present circumstances of New South Wales, is all that I consider indispensable. New South Wales may be regarded as being perfectly safe, for the present at least, from any attack from a foreign enemy; there are no native tribes capable of engaging in serious hostilities with the colonists; and the convict establishment is now reduced so low, while so great an increase has taken place in the numbers of the free population, that there is no longer the necessity, which some years ago existed, for maintaining a considerable military force to guard against the risk of an attempt to rise on the part of the convicts. Under these circumstances there is no part of her Majesty's dominions in which there is less occasion for a large body of troops. Accordingly I find that, with the exception of those at Sydney, the troops now serving in New South Wales are broken up into small detachments, and obviously performing duties more analogous to those of a police corps, than of a part of her Majesty's regular army. But these are duties which the heavy demands upon the services of the British army do not admit that it should be called upon any longer to undertake. Her Majesty's confidential servants will consider it their duty to take care that the naval and military forces shall afford efficient protection from the attacks of any foreign enemy to so important a part of her dominions as New South Wales; but for the maintenance of internal order and tranquillity it is only reasonable that the colonists should themselves be called upon to provide, by the formation of an adequate force of police, or, if necessary, of militia. You will bring this subject under the immediate consideration of the Legislative Council; and under no circumstances will you consider yourself authorized to delay sending to New Zealand the force I have already named. I do not propose that for the present there should be any alteration in the amount of force in Van Dieman's Land, including Norfolk Island or Western Australia; nor is the arrangement for sending the 96th Regiment to India to be disturbed. I have, &c., (Signed) GREY. MY LORD, From Governor Sir C. A. FITZROY to EARL GREY. Government House, Sydney, 30th April, 1847. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's despatches, military, Nos. 2, of the 24th November, communicating to me the determina tion of her Majesty's Government to increase the military force in New Zealand with the least possible delay, and instructing me to make immediate arrangements with the officer commanding the troops in this colony for sending the whole of the disposable force now serving here to Wellington, with the utmost practicable despatch. With reference to these instructions, I beg to transmit copies of communications which have passed between Lieutenant-General Sir Maurice O'Connell and myself on the subject, by which your Lordship will perceive that the Lieutenant-General proposes, as soon as transport can be procured, to send the whole of the 58th Regiment now in this colony to New Zealand, retaining here the 99th Regiment. This arrangement will increase the force in New Zealand to (including sergeants and drummers) 1,935 men of the regular troops, exclusive of artillery and marines; and will leave New South Wales with only 830 rank and file, or, with sergeants and drummers, 887 men, a number that will not be more than sufficient for the duties which are absolutely required to be performed by the military. These duties will be the protection of Sydney; the convict guards over the Stockades at Blackheath and at Newcastle; a detachment at Melbourne, lately increased to 100 men on the earnest representations of Mr. La Trobe, and rendered necessary by the occasional religious_riots between the lower orders of the Catholic and Protestant portion of that town; and another detachment at Moreton Bay, which it is advisable to keep there to prevent the aggressions of the blacks, who are numerous in that vicinity, and have on several occasions shown a disposition to hostility, which, I am of opinion, it is more desirable to keep in check by a small military force, than to run the chances of collision between these people and the settlers, and the consequent retaliatory proceedings which would ensue. The detachments hitherto stationed at Bathurst aud Port Macquarie have been directed to be immediately withdrawn, that at the latter station being no longer required, as the convict establishment there has been broken up. In case your Lordship should desire an explanation of my reasons for considering the presence of a military force of not less than 600 men in Sydney and its immediate vicinity to be indispensable, I beg to observe that this number will not be more than sufficient to furnish the necessary guards over the Commissariat and Treasury, and those over the convicts in the Woolloomolloo Stockade and Cockatoo Island, and the magazine on Goat Island. Moreover, although the lower classes in Sydney are generally well behaved and orderly, yet your Lordship must be aware that there are many desperate ruffians among its population, and I am much disposed to believe the knowledge that there is a strong military force at hand has much to do with the preservation of the public peace. I am informed that on more than one occasion mobs of the most turbulent character have assembled which it has been totally beyond the power of the local police to overawe, and nothing but the influence of the military has dispersed. I believe that there is every disposition on the part of the Legislative Council to maintain a respectable police force in Sydney and throughout the colony, but unfortunately the present high price of labour renders this impracticable. When men of the class from which such a force would be formed can obtain high wages as labourers or mechanics, leaving them a considerable portion of their time at their own disposal, it is not to be expected that they will enter a service which is irksome in its duties, and which subjects them to the restraint of discipline; therefore the Sydney police, although adequate to the ordinary duties required of it, is not, and cannot be made, as efficient as it ought to be. 24 I may mention incidentally that, such is the demand for labour, no soldier stationed in this colony finds the slightest difficulty in obtaining a loan of money for the purpose of purchasing his discharge; this practice has been carried to such an extent as to cause serious inconveniences to the service, and complaints on the part of commanding officers of regiments. It is right that I should also mention, that, exclusive of the specie in the Colonial Treasury and the Military Chest, I am credibly informed that there are nearly £700,000 in specie in the different banks in Sydney; and I need not point out to your lordship the inducement that the knowledge of this fact would be for plunder, should the mob of Sydney ever get beyond the control of the executive power. Under these circumstances, I trust your lordship will believe that I have not wished to maintain a larger force in this colony than is imperatively necessary. I have, &c., (Signed) CHAS. A. FITZROY. SIR, From EARL GREY to Governor Sir C. A. FITZROY. Downing Street, 19th Oct., 1847. I HAVE to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 100, of the 30th April last, with its enclosures, reporting the steps proposed to be taken by the Lieutenant-General commanding her Majesty's troops in the Australian settlements, in obedience to my instructions to yourself of the 24th November last, for increasing the force in New Zealand by the reduction of that in New South Wales, and also pointing out the difficulty which exists in organizing an efficient police force for the last-named colony. Although the force which you propose to retain in New South Wales is somewhat larger in amount than I have directed you to keep there, it is not my intention to withhold my approval from this arrangement as one of a temporary nature. Viewed in this light, I see no sufficient reason for objecting to the arrangement, because the force which it provided for New Zealand will be raised nearly to the amount that was intended, while the restoration of tranquillity in that colony has greatly diminished the want of troops which seemed to exist there when I addressed to you my despatch above referred to. At the time the arrangements which you now report were adopted, there was a further reason for departing in some degree from those which had been directed, in consequence of the demands which still continued on the services of the troops in New South Wales to keep the convicts in subjection. This demand will, however, now cease, as orders have been given for breaking up the convict establishment in that colony. Hence, and taking also into consideration the fact that this colony is peculiarly exempt from the danger of being attacked by a foreign enemy, I am of opinion that the amount to which I last year directed that the garrison of New South Wales should be reduced, will ultimately be amply sufficient; and I cannot, accordingly, hold out to you the expectation that so considerable a force as that to which you refer will long continue to be kept there merely for the purpose of supporting the police in the maintenance of order, this being a service for which the colony must provide. You will do well, therefore, to bring under the consideration of the Legislative Council of your government, the propriety of taking early measures to increase the police, so as to be prepared for the further reduction in the number of regular troops maintained in the colony, which will probably be effected at a very early period. In taking any measures for this purpose, you will suggest to the Legislative Council that it deserves to be considered whether the difficulty which is described to exist in obtaining the services of an adequate number of effective policemen might not be met by causing men to be engaged for this purpose in England. I have no doubt that men well fitted for the duty might easily be engaged here, under a stipulation to serve for seven or ten years for reasonable wages; and, in order to secure their performance of the agreement, some bonus should be held out to them on the completion of their term of service, while, on the other hand, in the event of their either leaving the service voluntarily, or being dismissed for misconduct, before the expiration of the stipulated period, they should be male subject to a penalty equal to the probable cost of their conveyance to the colony, for the recovery of which stringent and summary powers should be given to the Governor by the Act authorizing the measure. I have, &c., (Signed) GREY. From EARL GREY to Governor Sir C. A. FITZROY. SIR, Downing Street, 21st Nov., 1849. IN my despatch of the 24th of November, 1846, No. 2, military, I instructed you to make immediate arrangements, in concert with the officer commanding the troops in New South Wales, for sending the whole of the disposable force now serving there to Wellington, with the utmost practicable despatch. I calculated that it would be in your power, without danger, to send at least nine hundred men for this service, still retaining a small force at Sydney, which, under the circumstances of New South Wales at that time, was all that I considered indispensable. I was of opinion that New South Wales might be regarded as being perfectly safe from any attack from a foreign enemy, there being no native tribes capable of engaging in serious hostilities with the colonists, and the convict establishment having been reduced so low, while so great an increase has taken place in the numbers of the free population, that there was no longer the necessity, which some years ago existed, for maintaining a considerable military force, to guard against the risk of an attempt to rise on the part of the convicts; and that, under these circumstances, there was no part of her Majesty's dominions in which there was less occasion for a large body of troops. I found that, with the exception of those at Sydney, the troops serving in New South Wales were broken up into small detachments, and were obviously performing duties more analogous to those of a police corps than of a part of her Majesty's regular army. I considered that these were duties which the heavy demands upon the services of the British army did not admit that it should be called upon any longer to undertake. I informed you that her Majesty's confidential servants would consider it their duty to take care that her naval and military forces should afford efficient protection from the attack of any foreign enemy, to so important a part of her dominions as New South Wales; but, that for the maintenance of internal order and tranquillity, it was only reasonable that the colonists should themselves be called upon to provide, by the formation of an adequate force of police, or, if necessary, of militia. I instructed you to bring this subject under the immediate consideration of the Legislative Council, and under no circumstances to consider yourself authorized to delay sending to New Zealand the force I had named. In my despatch of the 4th March, 1848, No. 11, military, I instructed you to inform the Legislative Council of New South Wales, that while the right of the Australian colonies to look for their fair share of that protection, which it is the object of her Majesty's naval and military forces to extend to all |