The Lyttelton Times. Wednesday, June 11.

Lyttelton Times, Volume VI, Issue 376, 11 June 1856, Page 6

The Lyttelton Times. Wednesday, June 11.

We have been not a little startled at the result of a legal inquiry lately carried through the Supreme Court of New Zealand, at Wellington. Without pronouncing any opinion as to the forensic treatment of the investigation, we can only regret that the law, as laid down in the arguments of the plaintiff's advocate and received and approved b\' the learned Judge, has the effect of placing our Provincial administration under an excet dingly unwholesome and enervating restraint." We cannot avoid, in despue of our profound veneration for the law, and its general administration, feelinogrieved to perceive that owing to some extraordinary oversight, the heads of our Provincial Governments have found themselves the victims of an unheard of and unprecedented anomaly. No time ought certainly to be lost by our General Government in legislating to the end that an intellectual and high minded Judge and an intelligent Jury, may henceforth be rescued from°the painful duty of inflicting legal chastisement upon officers, who for compliance with a strong sense of moral and political duty, may now be held to have committed an unwarrantable infraction of ihe Civil Law.

By the Westminster and other vessels which have arrived this week, we have mails from Europe, Australia, and from most of our sister provinces. One day's later intelligence from Knsrland will be "found in our columns, extracted from the Sydney Empire of the Sth ult. ; the news thus "come to hand is important only in shewing that the English Government is preparing f or any wild freak the Americans might attempt to perpetrate under the pretence of injured national honour. Our English files received by this mail are to the 6th of February, and they supply many interesting details'concerning the sudden conversion of the belligerents in favour of peace. It would appear that if the war was to be persisted in, Russia must be attacked row through Poland. Hence the activity of Austria and even of Prussia in pressing "'upon the Empernr of Russia the necessity o f concession The Emperor of the French, it is said was unwilling to pursue the war on any other plan : doubtless with the view of obtaining by lh: s n.eais an extension of the boun! daries of the French Empire towards the Rhine, if not to the banks of that coveted river. The terms proposed by Austria and accepted by Russia as the basis for negotiation, we gave in our issue of the 14th ult. Let us hope thai ere this the object of the war has been attained, and that peace has been restored to Europe. The domestic news from England comes tinged with crimes happily but seldom committed in the pother- country.

We have no papers from Auckland, bat from the Wellington Independent we learn that the Sewell ministry has been defeated by a small majority (we understand a majority of one) on a vote of want of confidence. The news by the steamer will no doubt furnish the particulars of these proceedings in the Genei\al Assembly, and till then we abstain from any remarks. From the other provinces, except the gold fields of Nelson, the intelligence is distinguished principally by the accounts of the unsettled state of the native race ; indeed, throughout the northern Island somedisturbing influence appears at work among our fellow subjects, the Maories, calling for the particular attention of the General Government.