The Hawke's Bay Times. NAPIER, THURSDAY, 11th JANUARY, 1866. THE WHAKATANE TRAGEDY.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 7, Issue 340, 11 January 1866, Page 2

The Hawke's Bay Times.

NAPIER, THURSDAY, 11 th JANUARY, 1866. THE WHAKATANE TRAGEDY.

” NULLIUS A.DDICTCS JCEASE IN' VERBA MAGISTBI.”

A considerable period lias now elapsed since the rebels concerned in the murder of Mr Fuiloon and the crew of the Kate have been tried and found guilty by court-martial, and yet we have no sign from the Governor as to what is his intention with regard to them. There is no question as to the identity of the parties, nor as to the justice of the sentence of the Court, —the evidence brought against them being extensive and conclusive, —the trial conducted with extraordinary patience, extending over five days, and resulting in the conviction of the prisoners of the crime of deliberate murder, attended with circumstances of peculiar ferocity and horror, —to the satisfaction of the public, who felt the necessity of bringing the bloodthirsty wretches to punishment. Why, then, this delay on the part of the Governor ? Is it supposed that the public feeling, excited to the highest

pitch of indignation by-the horrid deed, will suffer a reaction, and be supplanted by one of pity for the criminals ? Is it from an intention of pardoning them, and sending them again upon society, as has been done with others of the same class already ? We cannot bring ourselves to believe it, but we cannot deny that theie is some reason to fear that it is the case. A rumor has for some time past been current that it is to be so, but we could not conceive that Sir G. Grey could so far disregard justice and his duty to the public to act in this way, and we have waited for its contradiction, but, as yet, we have waited in vain. It needs not for us to repeat that it would not be the first occasion on which he has, by the exercise of bis prerogative, turned aside the course of justice in favor of murderers among the native race, and so given them grounds for believing that punishment would not be brought to bear upon them, whatever their misdeeds; and, though, in some of these cases this course has been most pernicious and blameworthy, perhaps never so much so as it would be in the case of the murderers of MrFulloou and bis companions at Whakatane, were they to be pardoned and sent forth again to work their deeds of blood. But our principal reason for disbelieving the rumour of an intended pardon rests upon the fact that it cannot be granted without involving the Stafford Ministry in the act. True, the prerogative itself is in the bauds of the Governor, but it is not less true that it would not be exercised against the advice and consent of his Responsible Advisers; and the Ministry must certainly be parties to auy such act of clemency. And when we remember that the pardon of other murderers by the Indemnity Act was one of the main causes of the fall of the late Ministry, we cunuot see how the present one can be guilty of a still greater error. Should it, however, prove to be the case, there can be no doubt it will greatly damage their cause at the forthcoming election. The policy of the late Ministry in pardoning the murderers of Hamlin, &c., was to the end that they might for the future pursue a course of justice against native offenders, and they seemed to think that their Act of Indemnity, by pardoning all offenders connected with the late war, (which they choose to believe at an end,) would render such a course clear before them. The Indemnity Act was allowed to become law, and the policy itself was adopted by the new Ministry—a policy of not fighting with the natives, nor interfering with them in any way further than might be necessary to punish offenders against the law; —and it was accepted by the country, who now awaits the action of the Ministry in the case of these criminals, in order to have ground for the formation of a judgment as to their ability to meet the crisis of the present time. We confidently expect the writs for the general election by next mail from Wellington. Let us hope that we shall have their decision regarding the fate of these murderers at the same time.