The Lake Wakatip Mail. Queenstown, Saturday, July 4, 1863.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Volume I, Issue 19, 4 July 1863, Page 4

The Lake Wakatip Mail. Queenstown, Saturday, July 4, 1863.

A question of paramount importance to miners, and of almost as much consequence to every man in the country who is not a policeman, has arisen out of the late case of Job Johnson, tried for murder and " acquitted, with a conscience void of offence in that weighty matter." The question is this : Shall the police he entitled, when a great crime is committed, to come among the miners and pick out from among them an offering to the blind goddess, Justice ? and shall they be entitled to persecute and destroy every man who steps between the victim and his executioners ? If the police are entitled to pick a suitable offering, then, by all means, allow them to hound down those who dare to call a rescue- Let those whom the Destroyer passed over, bless their good fortune, and leave the luckless victim to his fate. Let us extol the vigilance and efficiency of our police, who, whether they hang the right man or a representative man, never allow a crime to go unpunished. Let us treat their eccentricities as pardonable extravagances, arising from

over-zeal to do right; and let us present Mr. St. John Branigan with a gold medal, having a raw-head and bloody-bones on one side, and a policeman rampant on the otner. These remarks have been provoked by a piece of persecution which has been within our knowledge some time, but which we did not care to notice, till fire had been first opened from the enemy's batteries. Long before Job Johnson's trial, the police authorities were aware of what the result would be—they knew that Job Johnson was innocent ; in short, that they had made an unfortunate selection—an honest man—a digger who was not friendless, but one who had friends starting up in all quarters to testify to his character and innocence. With this knowledge, and with the uneasy sense that their failure was not only inevitable, but would probably be ignominious too, they set to work diligently for the preservation of their own character.

Let the case end in a bare acquittal, and all would be right. Set the oath of the prisoner's friends and mates only against the oath of the witnesses selected by the police, and all would be right. St. John Branigan might ride through Dunedin, wearing his medal, and face Job Johnson leaving the Court with the brand of " the manslayer" on his brow—face Johnson's bronzed mates, who had been true to him in his hour of need, and glower at them as perjurers who had cheated justice of her prey. Ihis spectacle would assuredly be enacted, and the credit of the police preserved, if they could keep back one witness. What that witness could prove, had been known to the police almost from the first, and all their energies were directed to prevent that witness from appearing. TkU witness was a Government Official and ought to have known better than obey the subpana of prisoner. But as he did not, why then, he must be taught by Mr. Vincent Pyke, on behalf of his brother officials, that the holy circle of officialdom must not be rudely broken, and chiefs of departments robbed of their expected medals even to save a man's life and character. The man is only a digger —a low digger—who cares!

M Rattle his bones, Over the stones, He's only a digger whom nobody owns." How dare the district Warden and Coroner make a four days' journey to give evidence on behalf of a low digger. Why not leave the worm to his fate, thankful if destiny saved his plebeian neck from the rope. What have such low fellows to do with characters; they have no home, no franchise, no right to do anything but dig, and a man can dig without a character. But Mr. St. John Branigan does want a character, and so does Mr. Vincent Pyke,—the latter especially,—and how dare the said Warden cloud the character of Mr. Branigan as aforesaid. But the deed is done and Mr. Vincent Pyke knows it, and Mr. Vincent Pyke is acting accordingly; and we can tell the diggers of the Lake district that if Mr. Vincent Pyke can carry out his wishes, they may expect a new Warden who will " respect persons," and a more convenient Coroner who won't let his inquest papers tell tales that ought not to be told against Mr. St. John Branigan or Mr. Vincent Pyke. But we warn Mr. Pyke that his game is understood in quarters whence it can be thwarted. There is an old saying—" Let sleeping dogs lie " If Mr. Pyke is wise he will note that proverb and let Mr. St. John Branigan fight his own battles and earn his own medals. We may have to suggest a medal for Mr. Pyke before long; when we do, we promise him a device that shall be the admiration of all New Zealand, and we engage to fix it for him so tightly that he will not lose it in a hurry.