Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, APRIL 5 1872.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 19, Issue 1292, 8 April 1872, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addictus jurare in verba magistri. MONDAY, APRIL 5 1872.

The Wangamu Commissioner* seem determined to carry on their persecution pf Col. Whitmore. Jt will be remembered that the Resident Magistrate's Court at Wanganui issued two warrants for his arrest, and sent them to Napier, and that the Resident Magistrate declined acting upon them ; pne being thoroughly informal, and the pther issued upon a summons to which it was manifestly impossible that Col. Whitmore could answer. Mr Roberts, the solicitor for the claimant Peyman, poems exceedingly disconcerted at the failure of the warrants (for which, of course, he blames the Napier Resident Magistrate), and on the 26th ultimo, be made some rather offensive remarks. *' He vyoukl take this opportunity to state that lie believed Col. Whitmore -was doing all in his power to evade appearing before the commission. , . ..... A warrant could not be issued upon the old information, and a fresh one might be laid. .... The Commission should obtain the permission of Inspector Atcheson, and have $ constable sent with the warrant." The report proceeds; —"The Commissioners said, while wishing to give Mr Roberts every assistance, they had not the power to send a constable to arrest. ()c>lp,nel \Vhitn3ore, but they h&d no

objection to recommend to Inspector Atcheson, that such a course would be advisable, The matter was more in the hands of the Justice who had signed the warrant.—Sergeant Reid wished to know Jiow the expenses of a constable sent to Napier would be paid.—The Commissioners informed him that the expenses would be certified by them, and paid by Government. —MrPharazyn would like to know how they were going to have Col. Whit more arrested if he produced a medical certificate stating that lie was not in a fit state to be removed I —Mr Roberts said the constable who would have the execution of the warrant, would have to carry it out, and have Colonel Whitmore brought here. The change of air he thought might do the Colonel good," —lt is to be hoped that next session some measures will be taken to curtail the extravagant and arbitrary powers possessed by Pariianien tary commissions. It is an intolerable thing that, as has appeared in this matter, the powers of a pair of commissioners should exceed those of the Supreme Court of the Colony. The vexation-; use of their "brief authority," by Major Edwards and Mr Pharazyn, will no doubt finally result in the powers of commissioners being confined within reasonable limits. The Electoral Roll for 1871 72, and the List of New Claims for 1872-73, for the District of Napier, are now posted outside the Chief Post Office, in accordance with the " Registration of Elections Act" of 1866, which provides that it shall be lawful for any elector of the District to object (in a specified form) to any names which from any cause should no longer appear on the roll, and to ihe new claims of any person not properly qualified. A remarkable number of natives have this year sent in their claims. For the District of Napier 20 claims have been sent in by Europeans, and 42 by Maoris, The IVlaori applications are thus divided among the various provincial electoral districts: Petane, 18, Mohaka, 17; Havelock, 6; and Napier Country, 1. The Mohaka roll for the current year contains only 9 Lames, and there i> but one additional European claim in that district, so that should all the native claims pass through the Revising Officer's Court, the Maori vote will be exceedingly powerful in the Mohaka district. For the extensive district of Olive the new claims only amount to eight—seven HJuropeau, and one native. A young sperm whale, thirty feet in length, was stranded yesterday on the Western Spit. It was taken into possession by R. Baxter and party, who; expect to obtain about two tuns of oil from the carcase. In the evening, another whale was observed floundering in the shallow water near the harbor mouth ; and this morning a whale (probably the same) was observed in the inner harbor, near Battery Point. After a time, he ran aground on Gough Island, where he was taken by Mr W. Morris and party. This was also a sperm whale, about the same size as the one fu\s,t la^en.. 'The p.s. Nevada, with the European and American mails via San Francisco, arrived at Auckland on Saturday evening. We have been informed I hat this steamer will not come south this trip. The General Assembly, which at present stands prorogued to the 29th inst., is not expected to meet till June next. A good deal of sickness has prevailed in ChtistchuTch during the past three months, and the monthly average of deaths has amounted to about fifty. Diphtheria and scarlet fever have been prevalent, and have carried off a great many children. Arrangements have been made by the Christchurch volunteers to give their brothers-in-arms a ball on a grand scale when the rifle competition has closed. The Hobart Town Mercury urges the cultivation of the Phormium ienax in Tasmania, the climate and poii of which, it is informed by an Auckland gentleman formerly resident in the island, are admirably adapted for its giowth. Our contemporary concludes. a« follows :—" It will not be creditable to those who now com.pla.in of being ruined by their land being fiuky, if they fail to grow a crop so valuable, and so specially adapted to such land, is JSiew Zealand fla&"