Chas. bourchier to the treasury.

In obedience to My Lords Commands signified by your letter of the 31st ulto directing me to transmit a detailed account of the measures which I have pursued with a view page 409 to determine the proper course of proceeding for bringing to trial the Master and Mate of the Ship Elizabeth on a charge of being concerned in atrocious crimes committed in New Zealand as detailed in the papers transmitted to me in your letter of the 24 Dec. last. I beg leave to acquaint you for My Lords information that upon the receipt of your first letter I wrote to the Secretary of the Customs stating that it appeared that the Elizabeth was in the London Docks on the 22nd Feby. 1830, and sailed soon afterwards for Sydney, and requesting that he would if possible afford me any clue by which I might discover where the ship, the Master, the Mate or any of the Crew were as the papers in my hands afforded me no information whatever on these points.

In reply I received a letter from Mr. Walford the Solicitor to the Customs stating that the Elizabeth had not returned to England, that he had been unable to procure the names of her crew, but that he would endeavour to obtain information for me, that he had written to Yarmouth to which port the ship belonged and as soon as any intelligence was received it should be transmitted to me. I have since seen Mr Walford but he has hitherto been unable to supply any further information on the subject except that Mr. Stewart has not for some time been master of the Elizabeth.