No. 25
13th May 1864
My Lord Duke,
I have the honor to lay before you a Statement of Fees paid to Lawyers and Attorneys on account of Public prosecutions in this Colony, from April 1863 to present date, with a view to obtain Your Grace's opinion upon the regularity of these charges.
2. I am induced to make this application under the following circumstances: The Colonial Secretary some days ago, submitted for my approval a Bill from the Attorney General (Mr Cary) amounting to $340 dollars, which he informed me was in the usual course.
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3. I found upon inquiry that there was no authority beyond that of Custom for these charges, and no rule or scale for the Amount of Fee charged, and is therefore subject to no check.
4. Your Grace is of course aware that the Attorney General is a Salaried officer, and also that there is not any Crown Solicitor—as in other Colonies.
5. I confess I do not understand for what purpose an Attorney General receives a Salary, if not for the purpose of conducting Crown prosecutions. I also think that the Legal Staff of the Colony is incomplete withoutaManuscript image a Crown Solicitor.
I have the honor to be,
My Lord Duke
Your Graces very obedient
humble Servant
A.E. Kennedy
Governor
Minutes by CO staff
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Mr Elliot
You will probably pass this to Sir F. Rogers.
ABd 28 June
TFE 28 June
This is virtually a complaint against the Attorney General. I think that while on the one hand all complaints against a Governor should go through the Governor, so on the other complaints of this kind by a Governor against a public officer shd not be made without giving that public officer a means of explanation.
I should answer that no doubt a colonial Attorney General is generally speaking not at liberty to charge the Govt for his services. But that before pronouncing any opinion on Mr Cary's case Mr Cardwell would be glad that he should be requested to explain on what grounds, being a salaried officer, he advanced a charge for particular services.
I suppose the answer will be that he is bound as Atty G. to do barrister's work—but that his charge is for doing attorney's work.
FR 5/7
CF 6
EC 8
Documents enclosed with the main document (not transcribed)
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"Statement of Fees paid to Lawyers Attorneys &c from 1st January 1863 to 7th May 1864," dated Treasury, 7 May 1864.
Other documents included in the file
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Draft reply, Cardwell to Kennedy, No. 19, 11 July 1864.