Colonial.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XII, Issue 707, 17 August 1859, Page 5

Colonial.

( . OTAGO. , , ; * Out1, dates aro.to the sth August. The most mii terestiug news is of the Supreme Court Sittings r which had,been lately held in Dunedin. Wero- - print the Judge's charge to the Grand Jury, because I it seems to, have awakened the attention of the j provincial authorities to the (act .that the gaol arl rangements are really disgraceful to the place—a I fact which, though patent to every visitor to Dune- | din, so as to have become the subject of common J joke, has hitherto escaped the attention of those in ] whose hands the administration •is placed. We ■ observe that the gaoler underwent ah examination ; before Mr. 'Justice Gresson and the Provincial i Executive, in the course of which'he recounted in „ R n accusing manner the difficulties' which the ab- ! sence of a real safeguard for the prisoners pre- } sented' in the performance of his duties. The fol--1 lowing report is from■ the ' Colonist'- of July 29 :— | • ' ■ SUPBEME COTJKT. f A session of the supreme court was opened on * Wednesday, at the schoolhonse, before Mr. Justice \ Gresson. There were only two cases set down for 3 trial —one for obtaining money under false pre;i teuces, by a person.calling himself Captain Steward, i but whose real name is said to be Shaw ; and the ( other a charge against two men for stealing from | a dwelling-house ,at luvercargill. Neither of these i? were, however, pvoceeded with on Wednesday, the | Grand Jury haying-ignored the bill in the former | case, and the. latter being postponed till Saturday, I owing to the non-an;ival of the witnesses. I The following were impanelled as the Grand I Jury : —Messrs. A. Morris, Kilgouv, Dick, Lambert, * Jas. Jones, Eisher, M'Leod, K. B. Martin, Reynolds, | Pater'son, Murray, J. Barr, A. Mollison; W. C. | Young, Esq., foreman. Mr. E. B. Carsyill did not, I answer, and was fined £10 for non-attendance. | His honor then delivered the following charge:— | 3lr. foreman and Gentlemen of the Grand Jury, — I It was my intention to have holden a session of I this Court here some months ago, but the absence I of his Excellency ttie Governor from Auckland prei vented the issue of the necessary proclamation, and : ravailed myself of the leisure thus afforded me to ■ proceed to Auckland on important public business, I which detained me there until the beginning of June. ! However, gentlemen; in future I propose to hold a session here regularly twice a year,-and I shall endeavour to make such arrangements <as to the | times of my arrival and sojourn here as will meet ■c the convenience ,of the public. | * Gentlemen, it gives me much pleasure to perceive | .unmistakeable signs of progress in this your f chief town;, and I have reason to believe that the f improvement in the rural parts of the province keeps $ pace with that of Dunedin. But, gentlemen, there t is one department,1 and that a most important one, I in which I perceive no'improvement. In all matters i connected with the administration of justice in this court, you are deplorably behind the other provinces of New Zealand. " • It is now, more than a year since I had occasion ! to direct the attention of the Government -to thei total absence, of restraint-, and. discipline in the building here conventionally denominated the jail. I . was then informed that the subject' had been for t some time under the consideration of the Provincial ; Government; and that arrangements were being ; made for the erection "of a suitable building. What do I now find to be the fact? That a few paltry and most' inadequate additions are being made to the accommodation for prisoners, but that there is not the semblance of a fence around the building, nor is the gaoler provided with the assistance of even a turnkey; and that the prisoners are habitually sent to the town for their own rations, without any guard—nay more, that from the system of indulgence adopted, they voluntarily remain the guests of the gaoler, because! forsooth, their so-called prison is made to them a comfortable house of accommodation of which they are glad to avail themselves. Gentlemen, it is .unnecessary for me'to remind, you that I such a state of things is calculated to do away with I the wholesome terror,of the l&w', and to bring its administration into" ridicule and contempt; nay more, it is inducing the gaoler to commit a crime, the punishment of which' may be the same as for treaspn or for .murder; for a voluntary escape by a gaoler amounts to the same offence and is punishable in the same degree as the offence,of %bich the prisoner who escaped was guilty, and for which he was in custody. Gentlemen, I trust that you will all feel it to be your duty to exert your influence to the ( utmost to put an end to a system so demoralizing to your population, and disgraceful tp your Government. ' Nor is it only of your prison, gentlemen, that I have to complain: I am grieved to find that equal apathy prevails as to providing accommodation for the Supreme Court.' It was not without considerable difficulty, and after more, than one refusal by .. the committee, that the use of the present building ■was obtained, and at one time I had serious thoughts of adjourning the Court until proper accommodation for it could be procured. Gentlemen, I turn with pleasure from these painful topics to the calendar before me; whicn, if it be a faithful index'of the amount of crime within the , province, affords ground for congratulation. But I j warn you, gentlemen, that you must not calculate | on your calendars continuing so light as they have been hitherto. ' Your increasing intercourse with Australia, and the large influx of population from [ that and other countries, will naturally tend to the increase, of crime; and it is your duty to make timely preparation, by providing a well-secured gaol, with a, force sufficient to maintain discipline, and, if possible, a proper classification of prisoners. ■ Gentlemen, I understand that there are but two | cases to come before you; one a charge of larceny, upon which you require no assistance from me; the other a charge of obtaining money under false pretence's.' 'In this case, gentlemen, before finding a true bill, you must satisfy yourselves hot only that the pretence was false, and that it was made for the purpose of inducing the prosecutor to part with his .money, but also that it was a pretence of an existing fact, not of an act to be done.by the pri-- ' soner; for example,,a pretence that he would repay the money advanced, which would not be a pretence within the meaning of the statute, but merely a promise for future conduct. Gentlemen, you will'now be so good as to retire to your room; and the bills will be sent to you withOut delay. Mr. Harris, who had been subpoenaed as a wit- ■ -ness in Steward's case,not being in attendance, was ; sent for by the Judge, who inflicted a fine of £50, accompanied by some severe remarks. ; The Grand Jury then retired, and after some time returned into Court, having found no true bill against Steward, for obtaining money under fa'lae pretences. Mr. M'Glashan, the Crown Prosecutor, then stated that, as the witnesses for the prosecution {Maories) in the other case had not arrived from Javercargrll, he was not in a position to prqeeed i. with the indictment.

His Honor, after making enquiry as to the probable time of their arrival, decided to adjourn "the -Court until Saturday (to-morrow) morni.ig, at ten ■o'clock. The "foreman then handed in the following presentment, unanimously agreed to by the Grand •Jury:— ' ' • ■ ' "The Grand Jury,desire to thank your Honor for your favourable observations with respect to the (,'oneral state and progress of the town nrid province, and entirely concur in your Honor's remarks upon the subjects of the administration of the law, and the state of the prison and, prison discipline: and they venture to express the hope that on.yon'r Honor's nuxt visit, your remarks will be found to have had their legitimate effect upon the Government. The Grand Jury also desire to express their gratification tl» the promise on the part of your Honor of more frequent' sessions of the Supreme Court, and of improved arrangements for the regular despatch of business." ' Th« Court then adjoiirued till Saturday '

[ On Saturday, the charge of larceny against Wilson and Marsden was -proceeded with ; and they were found guilty and sentenced to twelve mouths' imprisonment.

The 'Colonist' of the Cth August says:—We are glad to find that the subject of the Dunedin gaol has at length been taken up in the proper quarter. His Honor Mr. Justice Gresson, with the members of the Executive and the visiting Magistrates, held an inquiry into the state and discipline of the gaol, on Monday last, and the result wo hope will be that the Government will at once take steps in the matter. Wo cannot speak in terms too strong of the culpable neglect which the Provincial Government have manifested with respect to the gaol, over since the administration fell into its hands. Remonstrances without number have been made, both by the gaoler and the visiting Magistrates, as to the utter inefficiency of the gaol as a means of .punishing offences, but until lately no action whatever seems to have been taken on the part of the Superintendent to remedy the evils complained of. The consequence has been that a state of things ; perfectly disgraceful to the Province has been suffered to continue for years; and the gaol,instead of. a place'of punishment for 'offenders, has been regarded.as a comfortable home byithose who have beenits inmates. As, the.gaoler ivery quaintly observed, he, was compelled to treat his prisoners well, in order to prevail upon them to ; remain.

We extract the following article on Banking and Currency, from the.'Colonist,' July 29•— We lately directed the attention of our readers to the subject off: banking; in connection with the monetary crisisin Canterbury and Wellington. We are glad to find from the papers just to hand that our anticipations have turned ouVso far to be correct, and that the question of local banks is being discussed fully and in earnest. The result no doubt will be that, at its next session, the General Assembly will be prepared to deal with the subject more intelligently than it did in 1 &SG. It is of the utmost importance that the press should take the matter up, and discuss it in all its aspects during the ensuing six months, sO; as to bring a; sound public* opinion „to;bear upon it ere; the Assembly meets. There are several very sensible articles on,the'subject in the 'Lyttelton Times,' which we regret that': want of space prevents us from republishing. We understand that one result of our observations a fortnight ago has been to set a movement a-going for the establishment of a Joint Stock Bank in Otago, and that all the most influential men throughout:the provinces are likely to co-operate towards its immediate formation. We need not say that we hail this as a movement in the right direc-tions-one which, if gonel into .intelligently and with caution, is likely to do more towards the prosperity of the province than anything we know of.. It is in no spirit of hostility to the existing banking establishment that we make these observations; on the contrary, we believe that it has been productive of great benefit to the province, and we have no doubt but it will continue to be so; at the same time, it is obvious to all who are conversant with the subject, that in the very nature of things the Union Bank, with its management in London, cannot adequately meet the wants of a province like this—and, moreover/that it is neither wise nor expedient for a community t.6 be as it were entirely in the hands of a single individual, subject to whatever fluctuations either caprice, misapprehension, or timidity may dictate.

Another reason which should greatly weigh with the public in inducing them to enter heartily into the matter is the certainty that if a local bank is not formed at once, we are sure to have another London bank, here very shortly. /There is ample room for two, and we believe the time is not far distant when the field will be sufficient for three. If therefore, we would retain the profits of banking, to be divided amongst ourselves and spent in the province, instead of being sent to London, we shall at once take such steps as shall effectually preclude the advent among us of another foreign bank. There is no lack of capital in the province, as the returns of the Union-Bank will show; and, if founded on sound and current principles, a native bank' cannot fail to yield a handsome dividend to its shareholders, i as.well as greatly to benefit the community. There is perhaps no business more profitable than that of banking,.when conducted legitimately; and we know of no place where a large sum of money could be more safely diffused throughout a whole community, without incurring any great individual risk, than Otago... We believe it, is, not saying too much when, we affirm that at present there is not an insolvent in the province... It is a most remarkable fact,, as stated to us Vy the principal merchants in the"place, that with outstanding assets to the extent of. many thousands of pounds, they would.', not compound one ; at less than its full amount; and that there has scarcely been a single bad debt in the course of all their business since the commencement of the settlement;: As a means of safe and profitable investment, a local hank is greatly to be desiderated/ There is no doubt but the time is coming when to many among us this will be of great importance. We' will not all .be able to invest in sheep, or cattle, or land ; arid a class will spring up —in fact it is doing so now-—in some respects analagous to the'class at home who are deriving their incomes from, holding shares in colonial banks, whence.they are, as in,the case of the Union Bank of Australia, receiving from twenty to forty per cent, per annum on .their capital. That there are difficulties in the way of forming a local bank cannot be disguised; the chief obstacle that we can see is the procuring of suitable men for directors. Those difficulties, however, must and will be overcome, and we have no fear, that, if. gone into with determination to do so, the good sense and proverbial " canniness " of the community will carry the thing to a sound and practicable issue. „\

We shall take' an early opportunity of descanting upon the practical details which it seems to us will require to be kept in view and embodied in the formation of the proposed bank, so as to secure its own safety and that of .the public, and to meet the peculiar requirements of the.proyince. i; ■ . Since the foregoing /.was in type, ,we. understand that a highly respect-able meeting has been.held, and1 the necessary steps have been taken towards the formation of a Provincial Bank. The general basis on which the 'company is to be founded was discussed and agreed upon, and a large and influent tial provisional committee embodied, with a view to taking the necessary action at once. ■ •

From the spirited manner in which the matter has been entered into, we anticipate that a local bank is pretty much a matter of certainty, in as far as the requisite amount of capital is concerned. We presume that the prospectus of the proposed company will shortly appear, when we shall be better able to judge as to its success. ; - V ."

We regret to state that a melancholy apcidenk occurred in the North-East Valley oh Monday lasts by which a little boy, three years* of age, named MP'Swan, lost his life, and a younger child was so severely burned that its life is despaired of. It appears that the mother wont out for a short time, leaving the two children together, and during her absence a girl, hearing a loud screaming, went into the house, and discovered the children enveloped in flames,. She threw some water over them and the fire was soon extinguished, but the elder child died in.about an hour, and the recovery of the other is, we are informed, not expected.— lbid. Inveecakgull.—A correspondent informs us that a social gathering of a number of the passengers by the Three Bells, who are settled at Liver? oargill, took place on the 16th ult.,to commemorate their arrival in this province. A plentiful repast having been partaken of, song, toast, and sentiment became the order of the day, or rather evening. All present heartily congratulated themselves and enoli other on their present success and future prosppofej and the company separated at a late hour. hinMy gratified" sit this opportunity of r<sunioy< undey- MU(!I\ favorable circuinsttiiices. — Ibid. His How ok the District Judge.—The'Colonist* of yehierdny says—" W<» underfil^i'l (hut *■*'•" remaiks'nia'lfi by hi", honor Mr. JiwUo'i G'V,soi> '-'»

'• tlie District Judge, who had b<;en subpoenaed as h witness in the case of Kegina v. Steward, and failed to attend in tjmo, have excited a very strong feeling : among the members of the profession who were j present, who consider his. honor's observations to : have been in bad taste and quite 'uncalled for. It :is rumoured that Mr. Harris intends to resign the jjudgeship in consequence." Inquiry having been made of us in reference to the foregoing remarks of our contemporary, we may say that we have no authority for stating that Mr. Harris intends to ; resign .— Witness, July 80.