Answers to Correspondents.

Auckland Examiner, Volume 1, Issue 19, 23 April 1857, Page 1

Answers to Correspondents.

Justitia. — The law cannot be equal before men, unless men are equal before the law. This affair of Gunpowder Lawry is flagrant. If the Custom-house authorities hush the matter up, by letting “ the very lame brother' hobble quietly out of it, his case will be regarded as a precedent, and cited as an example. If a Wesleyan Minister may smuggle with impunity, because he is a Wesleyan Minister, the fact should be well-ventilated. After a good airing, the stench of it may be less offensive; at present it stinks horribly. A Wesleyan Minister, and son of ff'esleyan Superintendent Lawry, after being smuggled into the ministry, attempts to smuggle gunpowder into the Province. In this case no plea of ignorance can be set up. Lawry, junior, well knew that gunpowder was one of many articles forbidden by the Passengers' Act. On the box containing the keg which contained the powder was written— Glass, and This side up, with care. For the lame brother a rather lame apology is hazarded [on the unsafe ground that gunpoicder smuggled was on ly six pounds —as if smuggling six pounds of powder were venial in comparison with smuggling six tons. Now, the amount smuggled has nothing whatever to do with the principle of smuggling. If men steal, we punish them for theft, without regard to the value or quality of tvhat is stolen. Nay, large-scale robbers usually contrive to escape with a less measure of punishment than those who do business on a small scale— One murder makes a villain— Millions, a hero. That's a fact. Another fact is that petty criminals are often worse dealt with than money-or-your-life-scoundrels who plunder by tcholesale. No doubt the crime of smuggling six pounds of gunpowder is petty and contemptible enough; but because crime is petty, and of course contemptible, are criminals to be permitted to escape I Judge Buller said to a man who complained that he was about ' to be hanged for stealing a sheep,—“ Sir, you are not to be hanged for stealing a sheep, but that sheep may not be stolen" Taking our cue from Judge Buller, we say Wesleyan Minister Lawry, junior, should not be fined for smuggling poivder (or other law-prohibited article) but thatitmay notbe smuggled. Once more,we call lipon the Custom-house authorities to take steps in this matter. They arebound to show that Custom-house law is no respecter of persons, and that Custom-house officers are prepared to do their duty. Plaintiff.— To break one's nails against the post —infringcre postibus ungues — is foolish; and lawyer Merriman did something very like that when he answered our criticism by a charge of blackguardism. But the doing of foolish things seems quite natural to him. When he blackguarded this journal its editor might have borroived the language of Apollo and sung or said—•

Pray, Gammon, please to moderate the rancor cf your tongue. Why flash those sparks of fury from your eyes ? Piemember when the judgment’s weak, the prejudice is strong A stranger why would’s thou abuse.

F Unlike the sailor's parrot, who, according ’ to veracious historians, couldn't talk, but was a devil to think, he is better at talking than thinking. Weak in judgment, while smart in speech, and full of

assurance, while destitute of tact, his personal contests have seldom been creditable to him. His wordy battles with lawyer Fox were frequent, until one day he interrupted the latter by observing, what he had often observed before, that sauce for the goose was. sauce for the gander. Whereupon the annoyed Wellington member rose, and scornfully fixing his eyes upon Lawyer Merriman, said—■, “ That hon. member has told us—sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, which 1 admit; but at the same time would have him to know that sauce for a Goose is not sauce for a Fox. lloiv the Goose felt, we are unable to declare ; but that he never again ventured to interrupt the Fox by cackle about sauce is certain. Plaintiff's communication not only impugns the political laches, but the professional character, of Lawyer Merriman, ivhom he designates as “ The Bad Adviser," and accuses of applying one part of certain moneys to his own use while investing another part upon worthless security. We will let Plaintiff speak for himself, and if his charges are false, Lawyer Merriman will be at liberty to rebut them. Ex parte, or one-sided, statements are often false. Perhaps the statements of Plaintiff are so. We neither affirm nor deny, but simply publish them. If false, Plaintiff ought to be gibbetted ; if true, Lawyer Merriman ought to be struck off the 801 l as being unfit and very improper person to act as an attorney. Plaintiff in this case is no other than Arthur Ormsby, who, far from wishing to conceal his name, expressly desired us to publish it. We feel, however, called upon to state that the document subscribed Plaintiff, and sent by Mr. Ormsby, not bearing the name of that gentleman ive refused to publish or even to notice it; our opinion being that anonymous accusers are seldom one whit better than common stabbers. Mr. Ormsby having strongly desired us to publish his communication AS his we do so, and here it is— THE Bad ADVISER. (To the Editor of the Auckland Examiner.) Sir,—Previous to the month of August, 1856, Mr. Merriman was my legal adviser. In 1855 I placed a sum of money in his hands to be invested in my name; and in the month of July, 1856, I requested him several times to give me an account of disposal, which he as often promised to do. I had just then returned from the North, and I mentioned to him the difficulty I had with reference the case in which lam plaintiff. He said I had no remedy but an action in the Supreme Court against his present client, and he then agreed that if I paid him a retaining fee, he Would be counsel, and that his partner would act as solicitor in the .cause. Before giving him further business I wished to settle that which I had entrusted-to him ; and, after repeatedly calling at his office, and writing to him, requesting that he would account for the money which I placed in his hands, I found, in the course of my last interview, that he had applied part of the money to his own use, and invested part npon worthless security; and that even for this sum, complete deeds were not forthcoming. His conduct upon that occasion was gross and insulting. I then called upon Mr. Bracey, and requested he would demand from Mr. Merriman a full account, along with any papers he had belonging to me. Up to the present time he has evaded the former request, notwithstanding my’ present adviser’s interference, and the result of my having employed Mr. Merriman is, that I have lost a considerable part of the money which I placed in his hands, in consequence of his unprincipled conduct. The foregoing may therefore be taken as a key to the feelings 1 which actuated Mr. Merriman in giving defendant tile advice upon which he acted. I am, &c., Plaintift. These are no light charges. If false their author ought to be severely punished. He requested us to ventilate them; and, having done so, our duty is done. No doubt the quarrel will be a very pretty one; but responsibility we disclaim. That devolves upon Mr. Arthur Ormsby, who, no doubt, ivill somehow settle the matter mith his “ Bad Adviser." According to authentic story, a certain physician inquired of his patient —“ Do you eat and drink very well ? Yes. Do you sleep very well? Yes. Oh 1 then," quoth the disciple of Esculapius, “ I will give you something to take away all that. We believe out' Plaintiff eats, drinks, and sleeps very ivell; but if he has falsely accused Lawyer Merriman. it would not surprise us if the latter physicked him in such fashion as to take away all that. Anti-Cant.— ln this number our correspondent will find the article he was unable to account for the omission of. It is from the “Taranaki Herald," and should have appeared in Bio. 17, of this paper. The omission must be charged upon our little chapter of accidents. Hopeful— Will see that we have a boldlooking article upon the subject of his letter. According to our idea the Maori problem presses for solution, and must ere long be solved. Until it IS solved this colony cannot advance far on the road of prosperity, either material or moral. Were it gold exporting, advance it must, and at railway speed. No export better than gold. But gold cannot be exported while Maories forbid us to dig for it, Noiv, to get gold tee are bound, and Government should in effect say —“ Make this a gold exporting colony we will, and as gold cannot be exported before it\is got, or got before we have land out of which to get it, why land must be obtained—peaceably if possible but—obtained.

A. M.— We did not say or mean that Major Greenwood “ endorsed" the on dit referred to by Qy.izzicus, but merely that he endorsed Quzzicus's statement that when he (the Major) brought in his Bill for adding to the number of Auckland members, it was reported or said Mr. Carleton was coquetting with Southern members. M. N.— Looking for Mother Carey's chickens would be quite as profitable as looking for sense, honesty, or argument, in the print ref erred to, which reminds us of Dr. Delany'y garden, for You scarcely on the borders enter Before you ’re in the very centre, Yet in the narrow cornpass we Observe a great variety Of trash. It is just a tissue of vulfiar platitudes, and common-place scandal. The jokers employed would be admirable did jokes go by weight; for theirs are the very heaviest roe ever read, and might be taken by persons who cannot sleep o' nights instead of laudanum or other soporific. They hint, rather than announce, their intention to favor us ivith sketches a la Quizzicus; but Quizzicus need not be alarmed, for with truth they assure us their imitation of the original will be very indifferent. No joke they have yet perpetrated is half so good as their reason for this boldstep. Quizzicus,they say, has disturbed the peace of families, by Pen and ink sketches of Local Politicians all on one side, so they are resolved to J'olloio his example, and disturb the peace of families by Pen and Ink Sketches of Local Politicians all on the other side. By andby, perhaps, another company of jokers, also ambitious to imitate our illustrious original, will disturb the peace of families by Pen and Ink Sketches of Local Politicians all of no side. Then Auckland's gallery of political portraits will be complete, and every one of its families put on a footing of peaceless equality.