DICK'S LETTER.

Auckland Star, Volume II, Issue 529, 20 September 1871, Page 2

DICK'S LETTER.

It was not expected by us that tho letter which we inserted yesterday from that wild young scamp, Dick, should pass away without effect; but we scarcely anticipated that any one of a party who desire to be regarded as the beay,x esprits of Auckland should have- descended to the use of a means of defence regarded as belonging exclusively to blackgtmrds. "Pet so it is. Last night, as Mr. J. Utting stood, in the lobby ofj thei Prince if Wales, he was set upon by Mr. Samuel Mcurin, . a,.great hulking fellow of about twice his' size, who belaboured Mr. Utting with a whip for some time, with.he intention, wepresume, of taking satisfaction for the exposure in Dick s letter.,: As Mr. .Utting; had,-, no connection with the letter, and never saw it, so far as known to us, till ,it : was, in type,' the' action was t6tally unwarranted. But when we consider the great disparity in size, and the fact that Morrin saw he could perform the operation with impunity, so far as physical defence or retaliation was concerned, we cannot regard the conduct of the man Morrin as other than cowardly and disreputable in tho extreme. It is, however, precisely as we ought to expect from one of a party who, under cover of darkness, sneak up to doors at midnight and perpetrate injury on the sleeping inhabitants ; and then take to : their heels and fly as for dear«Jjfe from the sight of a constable. X,We observe in this morning's Herald that on yesterday afternoon " Messrs. John lleid Bennett, Walker, jJames EflsSell/jand Taylo_"lcalied at.tHe ofllde of out contemporary and stated that they were the gentlemen referred to in," A Letter from '.Dick," published in yesterday's Stab, and requested our. contemporary " to mention that the-alleghtidns __ade' against' them in Dick's letter are untrue." These gentlemen having thus fixed the cap on their own heads, it is not for us to remove it; and tin our remarks we beg to be understood 'as referring only to the persons indicated ih "Dick's letter." The allegations made tperein are strictly and literally true, and we call on the police to do the'r duty, and show that they are not awed by the names and the influence of the relatives of those who have thu s/disgraced,themselViCS and their coh_te'ctibn_ 'dv their ruffianly and cowardly conduct.\pf it was Bill Jones, or Paddy Smith that had wrenched off knockers, and tumbled down fences, and smashed windows, they would have been tip before the Magistrates on Monday morning last, and been at present in Mount Eden. As it is, either the police are afraid, or an influence has been everted that paralyses the arm of the lflW. j Tye 'call on the police in .tbe^ interests qfJ2M-U9 safetys<?i^pt;.a|lc>T*ibis rSatttr. tp.be hushed up.Sand so create distrhst in the' administration of the law. It is intolerable that a species of reign of terror should thus be created by a set of young scamps who would try to live above the law; and if this matter is allowed to be cb-don3d,f rOT^ fwhat is/ £&&. ihe same,

settled by a pecuniary fine, then we cry shame on the law, and those who are its administrators. It is all very well for young men to be young men, and we 1 should make every allowance for the effervescence of youthful spirits. But when it degenerates into maliciousness, and comes to throwing bars of iron through windows into sleeping-rooms iu'the dead of night, it is a wholly different matter. We trust the subject will in some form be investigated. If we have mis-stated any circumstance—for it is but human to err— we shall be most happy to afford, through our columns, an opportunity for any one who may feel aggrieved to set himself right. But it is idle for those who are , annoyed to try to gag us by great swelling words about personal chastisement and actions at law, for we aro prepared for ■either eventuality.