THE Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addiclus jurare in verba magistri. TUESDAY, 18th NOVEMBER, 1873. A RETROSPECT of the circumstances

Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1526, 18 November 1873, Page 18

THE Hawke's Bay Times. Nullius addiclus jurare in verba magistri. TUESDAY, 18th NOVEMBER, 1873. A RETROSPECT of the circumstances

attendant on the separation movement which resulted in the establishment of the Province of Hawke's Bay, will reveal the fact that the settlers in this portion of the island were so ardently desirous of separation from Wellington, that they were willing to pay almost any price for the accomplishment of their wishes. Otherwise it is hard to conceive how they could so readily consent to give up one of the greatest privileges conferred on the inhabitants of the Colony by the Constitution Act. The'privilegc we allude to is that of the election of the Superintendent by the electorate of the Province. Of this all new provinces were deprived by the terms of the Act under which they were constituted, and we are justified in remarking that it was readily given up by those concerned for the sake of separation, no attempt having been made to retain the privilege, which was rather regarded as a matter of small moment, as the papers published at that time will show. There were not wanting some who argued in favor of the new method of electing the Superintendent by the Council itself as simplifying matters, and tending to prevent the recurrence of a state of affairs resulting in a deadlock between the Superintendent and his Council, such as that which had but recently occurred in Wellingtonforgetting, apparently, that in that case it was the Superintendent and not flic Council, that represented the will of the electors. It was natural that it should be so, he being returned by the single vote of each of the electors; while in the election of members of Counil, holders of property in various districts were able to give a plurality of votes. That kind of dead-lock, then, was not altogether to be deprecated, as it resulted in the triumph of the electors through their true representative.

The new Province was, however, established, and the electors submitted to

deprivation of the privilege, it being understood that the Superintendent was to be merely the executive officer of the Council, and its obedient servant. Something of this state of things did, indeed, obtain during the first two Superintendencies, but not longer. With the advent of Mr M'Lean, a change became apparent. Since that time the functions of the Superintendent have become quite as important as in the case of the older provinces, the only difference being, that in them he is the elected of the constituency, while with us he merely represents the prevailing interest in the Council. That the Superintendent should be elected by the whole body of the electors we have always consistently maintained, and it is satisfactory to find that the justice of our views has at last been acknowledged in the legislation of the Colony. Most of our readers arc aware that it now depends on the electors, whether the present state of things shall continue, or whether they will resume the function of which they have been so long deprived—an Act of the Legislature having been passed during the recent session of the General Assembly, which confers the power referred to on the electoral body, and which will be brought into operation by the proclamation of his Excellency the Governor, in the event of a majority of the electors requesting the same, It will thus be

perceived that tlie Act is permissive in its character, and depends for its operation on the action of the electors, without which it will become a dead letter. We sincerely trust that action will he taken in the matter without loss of time, as, if the existing Council should be allowed to expire by effluxion of time before the Act be brought into operation, the next election will take place as usual, and the resumption of the privilege of electing the Superintendent by the constituency may be indefinitely deferred.

Mails for the United Kingdom, Europe, and America, per Rangatira, close on the 19th instant. Mr Cornford, a solicitor, was one of the passengers to Napier per Star of the South on Friday last. Mr Cornford, we believe, is a partner with Mr Sheehan, and intends to practise his profession in Napier.

Betting on the result of elections has become so prevalent in some parts of the colony as to become a matter of public scandal. The Evening Post makes an excellent suggestion—that

voters should be examined as to whether they have any bets pending on an election, and that if such is found to be the case they should be disqualified from recording their vote.

An extraordinary catch of fish was made yesterday in Napier harbor, off the Western Spit. The fish netted were principally kawai and yellowtail, some of them weighing five or six pounds. The contents of a single net was sufficient to weigh down a large boat almost to the gunwale. The fishermen spoke of the " haul " as being unprccedenteclly large; and a brisk business was done in the finny spoil. Coach accidents arc not by any means frequent in this Province, and when they do occur, are rarely attended with serious consequences. One which took place at Pakipaki on Wednesday last, however, resulted in a severe shaking to Mr Colenso, who was one of the passengers, and who narrowly escaped more serious injury. We are glad to hear that he has recovered from the shook, and that no serious consequences are likely to arise.

A case of some interest came before the Eesident Magistrate's Court on Friday last—Lascellcs v. Tanner, a claim of £42 10s., the amount of a bill of costs. The defendant admitted the claim and paid it into Court, less the sum of five guineas, to which he objected as excessive. Mr Lascellcs objected to the defendant's plea, that as he had failed, within a month after the rendering of the account, to make application that it should be taxed, it was not now competent for him to raise any objection upon the items. The learned plaintiff quoted a scries of authorities in support of his position, and the Resident Magistrate took the same view of the case. Very considerable discussion ensued, and a number of matters outside the main question were gone into at some length. Mr Lascelles had been retained by the purchasers of Heretaunga to conduct their case before the Native Lands Alienation Commission. Possibly anticipating heavy expenses

Jicy stipulated that Mr Lascellcs' fees

wore not to exceed Jive guineas per clay. After the conclusion of the inquiry, but in connexion with the same proceedings, Mr Tanner retained Mr Lascelles in support of an information against Hcnarc Tomoana for perjury. Mr Lascelles, some short time after, rendered to the purchasers his bill of costs, amounting to the respectable sum of £315. With commendable promptitude, they applied to have the costs taxed, —in ordinary parlance, revised and cut down by an officer of the Supreme Court; but it appeared that this

application was subsequently withdrawn, with a view to other proceedings. Mr Lascelles then rendered Mr Tanner an account for his share of the costs—

the amount at present sued for. Mr Tanner stated that the bill, when first rendered, was accompaniee by a summons, but this Mr Lascelles denied. Mr Tanner neglected to apply to have the bill taxed for two reasons. In the first place, he was of opinion that the original application was sufficient, and, in the second place, he relied more particularly on this point—that if the Ecsident Magistrate's Court was competent to decide the case, it was also competent to enter into the consideration of the items. Feeling thus secure, Mr Tanner allowed his opportunity to pass away for ever. He argued with much eloquence and force that if the Court could give judgment at all, it could consider the separate items; but though the argument was to all appearance sound and equitable, it was not consistent with the law clearly laid down on the point. The authorities quoted by Mr Lascelles were so plain that the Court could not do otherwise than give the case against the defendant. Mr Tanner's objection was to two ittms only. For one day in the Supreme Court he was charged £8 Bs, being £3 3s in excess of what he considered he should pay, and for half-a-day in the Resident Magistrate's Court he was charged £5 ss, 6r £2 2s more than he thought right. Mr Lascelles stated that in a prosecution for an indictable offence these charges were low. The Court, however, declined to enter into this subject, and decided the case on the grounds urged by Mr Lascelles. Some very warm discussion took place, and Mr Lascelles freely indulged in charges of untruthfulness, &c, against his late client. On the case being decided against him, Mr Tanner intimated his belief that he could yet have the bill taxed—ho would apply directly to the Judge.—Mr Lascelles advised him to " try it."—Judgment was given for the amount claimed, with £1 5s costs. There have been no other cases since our last issue,

During the last few days the weather has been changeable, with occasional thunderstorms.

Mr Weston, the newly-appointed District Judge, arrived on Friday by the s.s. Star of the South from Auckland. He is highly spoken of by the Auckland press, and a farewell dinner was given to him on his departure. We trust he will meet with better fortune than his predecessor, who found the office anything but a bed of roses.

We mentioned on Friday that a meeting was to be held on Thursday evening at Waipawa for the purpose of forming a.cricket club. The meeting was duly held, Mr Baker occupying the chair, and the following gentlemen were elected members of the committee : Messrs. J. Calders, Harsant, and Smith.

Mr Baker was appointed to the post of captain. The name of the club has not yet been fixed. It has been instituted under promising auspices, and we hope it may succeed. In our last we mentioned the exploits of certain midnight disturbers, who had distinguished themselves by a series of acts of annoyance against the librarian of the Athenamm. We regret to have to report that these cowardly acts have been continued nightly since. Since the destruction of plants in the garden, the gate has been locked at night, and after this precaution had been taken, the stone-throwing nuisance commenced, and it became dangerous for the inmates to go outside their doors after dark. Every night the annoyance has been repeated, and on Sunday evening hist, between nine and ten o'clock, a heavy limestone was dashed through the sitting-room window, to the imminent danger of the inmates. This makes the fourth pane of glass broken in this way, and a general feeling of indignation has been aroused against the unmanly perpetrators of these outrages. No motive can be assigned for this disgraceful conduct, which would seem fo arise from mere wanton malice. As yet the offenders remain undetected; but their capture and condign punishment is pretty sure to occur, and will give rise to general satisfaction.