English Extracts.

Hawke's Bay Weekly Times, Volume 1, Issue 21, 10 June 1867, Page 133

English Extracts.

The Tichbohne Babonetcy. The London* correspondent of the Sydney MoraingHerald ■ writes as /follows, in an allusion to the case of .Sir Roger Tichborne“Never was public? curiosity more completely aroused', and never has itv been more.completely disappointed, thap, in this instance. Tlfe Press teemed with contradictory^statements,' a ‘lawsuit was threat-. ened,.and for ■weeks .the lovers of. scandal gloated over ‘ the " treat promised them.' But . air is oversow..,,. The last scene of the melodrama Kae been performed behind the curtaiiy arid Tail Two .know is that Sir

Roger has been formally recognised, by his ..family K and bats gorie to reside again in the fiOmesef hia aTiceetore; ,[ Meanwhile,'if we . may trust a morning paper, the adventures ©ftHebaroriet have been, dramatised, and arty how. being performed at the Wincheater Theatre. . The local papers,. too, are raking up all the olden traditions -and legends of-tfreTichbome family. - One -of these; is- entitled the “ Tichborne Dole,” and briginally appeared some years back in the" Winchester Observer‘The-legend tells that, at aonae remote period, a Lady Mabella, on her deathbed, "besought her lordf theiTichborne of ‘thqsedays, 1 toi supply her with,, the means; for bequeathing a gift or dole" of bread'to any one who wouH'apply for' it s Annually bn the Feast oftheAnnuaciation of the BlessedTirgin. Sir Roger promised her the proceeds of as much land as- ! ehe'- cbuld? go "over -while a brand or; billet ; of a certain, size waa burning t’ ahe' was bedridden and nearly dying• and he-ty avaricious lord believed that r . he; '. hath '/imposed-; - conditions which would place -within very narrow limits the area i of land 'to be aliehated. But he'was mistaken. /A.nairacillousdegree of strength was given to her. She was carried by her attehdahts iteto a "field; where she crawled round/ .many -goodly {acres. A; field of twenty-three acres, at Tichborne, to this .day' bears the name of the “ Crawl;"

lady just before, heir death;-solemnly-warned -her family against any departure-frora the terintyof th» dole-; she predicted that the .. family; nanaof vrpnld become, .extinct, - and fortunes impoverished, if the dole were .everfwithdrawn;' - The' Tichborne 1 dole/ thnaf was regarded as the oocaaion of.-apr annual festival during, many generations/ V Ifwas usual to ’ bake' fourteen bundredlbaveß for the dole, of twentysix ounces each, and-to give .twopence tp any itii exceed of the'number’that • could then b«? serVed.‘> This custom i inis continuea.tQl about the middle-of the last eentury, -:7 wfienl under pretence of ing of.eyQ'y, description, assembled, &pm sM - quartera, .pilfering,' throughout 1 the land at- last, in 4793/ ion accognt i Of lbe. coraplainta of r the magiaand it was' discontmued. This J gav«> to many who had beem-^t^c^omedv^to -ireqeive- .the- .dole. And'how arose a revival of old traditions! The * goBd 55 Thdy MabOlla, 1 as the* legend told,-had ppedwtedj fchatjyif the, dole should be withheld the; mansion would oramble to rdins , that the family 'natlie would come extiDOt ;through; the failure of bPida heirs j and that tliis failure wpuid be occasioned by'x r gebe^irtiott 7 of ieven aohs being followed -by- a pmeration sof - seven; daughenough, the old housei partmlly^f&l'' l Sitik \in 'IBO3V 'the baronet of sbns.:.7the 1 eldest of thesq had sOfbn daughters j jrad the owner of the* 'a "Doughty ■ the w<iuffiy' only foiir-

froifa the apparent ehjbymbnt bf all - wofldly 1 adTantagesy but has bgemMirreauty a relief Sigbation hjjp, ilifev/Was bone, lohg, strangle; againatthe enfi&nhg»H!(j£» imS ehfe&blbdrrbonatitution’

inherited from belibt'^4nbW T a^day;s ; 'hfealthi, 1 ‘’ahtlrtrliil yoliirifei does ‘do^ha^pia^! ii 7;Bubh|r6jfr4f affliction the. racts’ "pf kindness ah’d charity -, upobr By! jextensiye circle' of - bis. family/ connections - hoi whs regalrdedwithwell-merited !affectibn;i mTS His numerous tenants and-.dependauts -be . was jthe justest and; most-generbuabfJand-lords andf maßterß, and to the outer world his charity was Oue mstance ■ of : the Tatter Tb so striking; and sd-iiluetra- i fciye that we cannot refraihfrota meiitibni i ing it. So delicate was he that the winters < of‘’this, climate would- have been at once 1 fatal : to him, ahd for many years he passed 1 them at Madiera. On-these occasions be * used to .discover individuals affiicted-With J the sqme delicacy of eonstitution as him- < self, but who were totally unable to afford ' the solace which wealth procured for bum. J These, sometimes, to the number of thirty ‘ or forty, be! prevailed upbn to accept bis ' “invitation upon a voyage, in search of 1 health,? as he delicately termed, his noble act of thoughtful kindness. -From England / to Madeira during the wintsr,’and thence ‘ back to- England, he took upon himself every possible charge 1 of these poor people, not only < every: enjoyment of 1 which they were capable, but also the .' advantage of the first-rate medical skill l which was necessary- for - his own' caseEvery packet brought-every luxury, possible of transportation from his numerous estates, and-all were as freely at the dis- ■ posal of his as his own. .He had no greater, gratification than to perceive that he had been the happy-means of procuring for others that glow of health which, , alas, was destined never to be seen on his own cheeks/ He' was once 1 described by one who knew/ him- most . TntL mately. as - “ the most amiable mortal breathing:”—Court Journal:*

The Pbemieb of New Zealand —The Nelson Examiner, May 23, has the following. lengthy article:—Mr Stafford,, the present Premier of New Zealand, is a dark and dangerous man. The malignity of his .will is-equalled by. the extent of his power, and both conspire together to threaten the most grievous calamities to fchd country. With the subtlety and. craft of * Richelieu, he combines the pride of Louis Quatorze, and adds to both the remorseless directness of/-purpose of;a Cffisar ora 1 Cremwelh -E ndowed with; these dangerous gifts, it. would appear that'Mr Stafford is deposed to use them for the' most nefarious of- purposes, and with the most fatal effects.. He. is.engaged in a deep laid and" deliberate plot for the annihilation of the last vestiges of libertrjr, in New Zealand, and for the estab: tishment of ah iron despotisn upon its ruins... This 1 black and odious scheme is .being carried on by means of ,a polioy as admirable for its combined skill and vigour as it is deteßtable’for its perfidy. Mr Stafford; has made, up his mind to, subvert the liberties of his countrymen, and to estab fish hhio own will as‘the supreme lawin New Zealand. - .To : attain this objeot,'he sees clearly enough that He must first strike at the' provinces.' i: Thb premier Has' not read history in vain, and he .knows that Provincial Institutions have in aU ages been the guardians’of liberty; 1 He kn’ows that there , never has' been,, and never can be/ a tmly free country in which the Central Government : 'is I ' inything more 1 than nominal; he knows?thattEngland has never been free since -the abolition of tho . Provincial ‘ c Tnßtit'utibhß' i which '- she formerly enjoyed; under ?the;<<jname;':of the Saxon Heptarchy, when Offa was Superintendent 5 ‘of Mercia 5 and Tna of Wessex, each assisted by • hit -Provincial Council and. independent of any central authority."' All this" Mr'Stafford I 'knows well enough/ and he sees clearly, that .if- he is to strike with any chance of succcess at the i liberty of his couhtry, hie must strike at, it thrGughr.tha Provincial 'lnstitutions: The. ruin of the provinces, therefore, as The first step,' towards the establishment of a despotism, iB Mr Staffbrd'sicherished purEose, and .to the attainment'of this .end he e is ready to use the most unscrupulous means: : As an illustratioh of this/ it is believed on good ; grounds: That, .the „ policy lately pursued by the Government towards Otago,' wasplannedwiththeexpress design of goading, that oppressed. province, into the commission of some act of lawless violence of which advantage- will immediately be taken ; to-suppress: by force all the Provincial Governments in. the colony. To his way forVsuoh an J undertaking; thqPremier -adopts; the mostastute pracautiqhs. _ If there, is a man in the' Colonial Parliament whio'is- eloquOnt/and attached to the Conßtitution/ he.buys <hiih off .with, a lucrative . office.. MrEitzGerald ; has -been made Coinptroller of* the Revenue; 'and trouble. jTsJili probabtyh o niade.; censor of public press/ with me duty of suspending in a ; manner more, " Mr takes care tb siirrouiid himself witlj'iihlEJxeeutivft'Staff/ready to <»^r objept. : fyWithythisv-yiew.he H£r jsssooiated with hhusolf in the an;niri6ra^tbußsdldiei/^Mijot-Ribhaifdßbh, f viewawhehhemkkesa/BTCeohafcapublic h I ehuafiyTeady

'. If wo hre asked.;,what, eyidencer we can prdduce tb prove that, the Ministry is yeallycherishihg thew [iniquitous designs/ we reply that we haveihothingttoldojwiththah/Aijournalists jwe have onty to reflect public -opinion; andlnot to'go 1 income,videhcb; and we see not indeed parties in difierent' place's/ that the designs ofThdv.Mftiistry.'al'every.much'as'/we Have aescribed. It is from the columns of some of theinewapapetsTn -different parts T of-the cplohyt' that derived -oiir conclusions, b ahd"if definite evidence of their truth is je4tured; we must refer the inquirer tb ; the Daity* Thhei, thq ‘ Auckland papers, /and. .one. or* tw!o ; other journals. ?We think indeed that our - contemporaries ought‘to he much/obliged to us for; saying so, plainly, and .‘distinctly, what they , have only been-'driving at,- as it were. '-Tt is of no use 1 to “be.' mealy-mouthed- about ‘such a matter. If oiir liberties arCTo be subverted,, and a despotism established, it is better that the public should know the- Worst of once, and: we trust, that this. end. may be attained by our. plain exposition of the ‘case. We have made no halfstatements, but have endeavored to set the danger in its fulL magnitude before the-eyes of our readers. . With this view we have avoided those qualifications and ambiguities with which some of bur contemporaries have, as it appears to us, somewhatjweakened the effect of their dolorous vaticinations. To give an illustration of our meaning, a mention that some of the patriotic writers-who have thrown themselves across T;he path of our despotic minister have said a good deal about the Constitution. They have pointed out with a good deal of care, and, we must "confess with; a.clearness of argument which is quite conclusive, that New Zealand has a certain thing called a Constitution,, that this Constitution 1 was establihsed by Act of ‘the Imperial Parliament, and that it cannot be abrogated by any inferior authority. If this is the case, it is quite clear that a Minister,- however much he- may wish it, cannot subvert the Constitution of New Zealand without first obtaining the consent of the oeoDle of New Zealand, nnd than

procuring the sanction of the Home’ Government. This view of the matter appears to us beyond dispute or cavil j but just in proportion as this is so, does the imprudence of the writers we have mentioned become manifest; in dwelling so strongly upon it. For this consideration is sufficient “entirely to defeat the object which they have in view. They will hardly succeed in'raising the fears ,of the public to'the proper pitchj or in exciting a Sufficiently-acute fear of 'Mr : Stafford’s .-igns, and - a sufficiently lively indignation against him, whilst they-at the same time give iso much prominence to a view, which shows that* the fear is groundless, because it is impossible that the designs can be carried out. ; Headers who get as far as this will be likely to feel sceptical as to.the probability that such ■ designs were ever entertained, -and therefore we again* say, prudence' would have dictated to ourpatri*. otic contemporaries:an abstinence from all allusion to the Constitution, 1 or the constitutional powers of a responsible Minister.: they should: have ..endeavored to represent the case, as if a proclamation ; in the Government Gazette would suffice to overthrow the provincial establishments, to place all parts of the country under the authority of Ministerial nominees, to suppress the right rof- .public meeting,- and the liberty of the press, to impose taxes, and to abrogatethe necessity of a parliament. Not that isuoh representations would have carried conviction "'to any one, ' but’ at “all events the: writers would' ha've' shown some consistency in their systematic efforts to excuse and excite'-a state Of open-rebellion against -legal’ authority; For ourselves, we lire as warm friends of liberty as any of our'•Contemporaries,' and we' shall oppose! as--vehemently as any .of them any measure tending'to place too much power in the hand's‘of any Government, whether General or Provincial. 1 But we regard a respect for constitutional law as the surest -foundation of. liberty and our love of both compels-us-to-view with «the severest reprobation the efforts of tbose who from the most contemptible ,motive* of local and personal aggrandisement, are- willing to throw everything ..into ■ confusion, - - and indefinitely, retard ; the progress of the country.', It. is, -of course, difficulty to imagine that the twaddle ofwritervWho compare Mr ‘Stafford to .Count .bismarck can ihave much .weight..with -anyone, but we know that many readers retain a general impression upon' si subject without critically considering -the'grounds upon which they led to adopt it. ! It is., therefore' that : * we : ‘ deem it worth while tb point out that we'have “a House of Representatives,and a system' of 'responsible government ; and that no change cantake place,' either general’or provincial;without the full sanction the public'opinion of the We are no partisan’s of* the present 1 Ministry,- and we are 1 far- from wisdom--'of'-all- their actions;but-We- should• feCl'bound to make; common;:.cause with' a- worse'Minitiy.; if assailed by such unprincipled opposition i as ' that iioi; the - Otago .(faction j and their. aupppreera: in .other parts-:of . the eolohy ; ; Bince even..a bai Ministry .with lawbii;itfl;Bide,.is.;better than lawlessness, confusion,and-the destruction. of allt true natibnal existence. '

Pompeii,ppristmcLm consequence of having