The Globe. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1876.

Globe, Volume VII, Issue 777, 16 December 1876, Page 2

The Globe. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1876.

Several of our contemporaries, as far even as the North Island, are taking up the case of John Hamilton, a farmer at Waitohi, near Temuka, who was sentenced sometime ago by the local Resident Magistrate, to twelve months’ imprisonment with hard labor, for a breach of the revenue laws. And we do not wonder at the feeling thus raised in the matter; as, considering the particulars of the offence, it would seem that in this case justice was very far from being tempered with, even the smallest particle of mercy. The charge brought against Hamilton was that he had been connected with some illicit distillation carried on upon his land, where part of a distilling appartus, together with a quantity of newly made whiskey, had been discovered by the police. Prisoner, at the trial in the Resident Magistrates’ Court, did not offer any defence, bub admitted having had a knowledge of the still been worked, in the proceeds of which, he added, he had no interest. It was shown that Hamilton had always been regarded rgf a respectable man, that he was of good means, farmed his own freehold, and that he had hitherto borne an excellent character. This was all the evidence, and upon it the maximum penalty was inflicted upon the unfortunate man. Of course, we do not intend, for one moment, to urge that some severe punishment should not have been meted out to the culprit, for the flagrant breach of the law of which he had foolishly been guilty; far from it. But, considering that the offence was his first one, and in fact was the first which had ever been placed on the record in the district of South Canterbury, it is incomprehensible that the magistrate should have gone so very far out of the usual practice of his jurisdiction in similar cases, as to inflict the very highest punishment provided for by the statute. A fine of £SOO has hitherto been the limit recognised in these kinds of convictions, the imprisonraent with hard labour being only resorted to in notorious cases, where hardened criminals have repeatedly set at defiance the dicta of the Legislature. But here we have a sentence of a year’s imprisonment, and with hard labour too, passed without the usual alternative of a fine being offered. For twelve months, John Hamilton will be kept in the company of felons, and will then find ample opportunity of reflecting upon the risks and penalties that follow trifling with the Revenue. Hitherto it was always understood that any fraud upon it, by which it became a sufferer, was recouped out of the pocket of the offender by the infliction of a fine, imprisonment following only as an alternative. The Timaru magistrate has thought proper to adopt a totally novel mode of action, for which we trust he may have had some substantial reasons. It is indeed very hard to guess at their nature As we said before, no breach of the Distallation or Inland revenue laws has ever been known in that district, no example, therefore, in the usual acceptation of the term was needed on this occasion. The "Wellington Argus commenting upon this sad instance of judicial excess, calls it an extraordinary case of injustice, and says that the attention of the Government should be at once directed to it, in order that a mitigation of the sentence be granted. We are not prepared to go so far as to stigmatize it by so harsh a term. A magisterial blunder is perhaps nearer the mark. John Hamilton chose to play with the fire and burnt he was with a vengeance. We do not wonder, however, at the strong feeling of dissatisfaction expressed in many quarters the rigorous punishment which he received; nor are we surprised at the indignation manifested in the Temuka district where Hamilton was well known and respected. The option of a fine clearly should have been given him, especially as the police, who prosecuted, did not request for the utmost penalty of the law. When the petition to His Excellency the Governor which, we understand is being circulated, reached its ultimate destination, there is scarcely a doubt but that the prayer it contains asking for a mitigation of the penalty will be at once acceded to. JU certainly has our beet wjshee.

The report on certain vital statistics of the colony for the month of October last, furnished to the Government by the Registrar-General, contains some interesting particulars. The boroughs of Auckland, Nelson, Wellington, Christchurch, Hokitika, Dunedin, and Thames are examined side by side, and the result shows that Thames is the healthiest of all the boroughs, while Wellington possesses, by far, the heaviest death rate of these towns. Zymotic disease, distinctly traceable to bad drainage, is attributed, by the authorities on the subject, as the cause, above all others, leading to the heavy death rate in question. Christchurch, we find, occupies the fifth place, and the summary of the report is as follows: Thames, number of deaths per 1000 of population, 0.47; Hokitika, do., 0.85; Auckland, do., 1.35; Dunedin, do., 1.45 ; Christchurch, do., 1.46 ; Nelson, do., 1.51; and Wellington, do., 2.07. So much for the reputed healthiness of breezy, blowing Wellington, with its supposed advantages of natural drainage. Auckland, that never rejoiced in a good name as a salubrious locality, comes very well out of the race ; Nelson, notwithstanding all that has been said of that famed “ Sleepy hollow,” not showing well at all.