CORRESPONDENCE.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 78, 25 December 1862, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Jdditor of the JLsuvice a Bap T'unes. Dear Sir, —ln your last week’s paper you gave us a short ami pithy account of the appearance of the Maori accuse! of then by Mr. Roddington, of Clive, before the Resident Magistrate’s Court, and the dismissal of the ease. I tin I that your contemporary the Herald has, in a more fall report , very considerably softened qjf the ugly features of the case, and so put it that those unacquainted with the whole facts as they have previously appeared would be led to suppose that the natives are the parties aggrieved. AVe, however, must not lot worthy editors, in their anxiety to please the powers that he mystify us too much, it being perfectly •dear that the Magistrates couid not act other than they did. not, however, from the nature of the evidence produced, hut from the conditions under which he was permitted to appear by their honors, the Maori Mobility, viz, that ho should not he treated a'; a'prisoner, and that he should not. under any circumstances, he sont to jail. It. is wmnhv of remark that, tin; greater criminal;’, the jailbreaking gentry, are allowed to escape without. remark’, or attempt at capture, or punishment: there can at least be no question concerning their guilt. Supposing even that Mita was only taking the tror.wrs away to look at, and not, to steal, the truth is plain, —we cannot deal with a nstivo offender, if our doing so happens to he against the will of the heads of hapus, yet. Putt o-AiAoni.