NELSON. [From the Nelson Examiner.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume I, Issue 49, 13 September 1845, Page 3

NELSON. [From the Nelson Examiner.]

Governor Fitzroy's presumption is unparelleled. Not satisfied with interfering, as we are told by the Auckland papers he constantly does, in the minute details of the Government offices under his immediate control, he pretends to teach the judges their duty even in their own courts. At the October assizes, last year, Mr. Justice Chapman directed the grand jury, as the " grand inquest of the district," that as "guardians alike of the Queen's authority and the public welfare, it uas within their province to take notice of anything which might militate against either." The presentment made at that time and at the last assizes, were carefully restricted to those limits. Of the first, no notice was taken by his Excellency ; and in answer to the last, he "cautions" the jury to keep within their own province for the future ! As, from their position, the same gentlemen must almost inevitably be again summoned under the mles of the Jury Ordinance at future assizes, their continuance to discharge their duty to the community without further notice of his Excellency's impertinent caution will be a lesson to him (if he can now learn any) to keep " within his own province for the future." To the Hon. C. A. Dillon, Felson. Police Office, Nelson, Aug. 9, 1845. Sir, — I am directed by his honour the Superintendent to communicate to you, as foreman of the grand juiy at the last Nelson assizes, that the presentment relative to the state of the district, forwarded through his honour Mr. Judge Chapman, has been attentively considered by the Governor ; and I am further directeed to acquaint you for your information, Ist. That a new "lock-up" will be constructed at Nelson. 2d. That his Excellency is enjoined not to detach small bodies of the military, but to keep them concentrated as much as possible. Nevertheless, his Excellency will do his best to comply with this request of the grand jury, as soon as he is able to de so. 3d. I am further to apprize you that the Governor received the report of Mr. Commissioner Spain, on the Nelson purchases of the New Zealand Company, only at the end of the month of May last: but that Crown grants will be prepared and forwarded with the least possible delay. 4th. The opinion presented by the grand jurj as to the Catile Trespass Ordinance is, his honour is desired to remark, contrary to the common law of England as well as to the opinions of the law officers of the Crown in this colony. sth. The suggestions contained in the last paragraph of the grand jury's presentment is, his Excellency regrets, totally out of his power to comply with. 6th. I am, in conclusion, to caution the grand

jury of Nelson to confine their presentment* to matters strictly within their province, in future. I have the honour to be, sir, Your most obedient servant, Donald Sinclair, Chief Police Magistrate.

At a meeting of gentlemen summoned to serve on the Grand Jury empanneled at the April Assizes, held at the Literary Institution on Tuesday, the 19th August, 1845. The Hon. C. A. Dillon, foreman, in the chair. Resolved unanimously — That we respectfully acknowledge the reply of his Excellency the Governor to the presentment of the Grand Jury empanneled at the assizes in April last, and forwarded by Mr. Justice Chapman to his Excellency; but we observe with regret the " caution," which his Excellency has thought proper to offer to the Grand Jury of Nelson, "to confine their presentments for the future to matters within their own province." That the Grand Jury was reminded of the ancient privilege of offering presentments to the Court by the Judge who presided on the first occasion that a Grand Jury was empanneled in Nelson : and we are unable to perceive that the presentments hitherto made have travelled out of the province indicated to us by his Honour on trat occasion, which province we conceive to be every matter affecting the welfare of the district in which the Grand Jury is empanneled. But that, had any limitation existed to the province of a Grand Jury in this respect, and had we transgressed it in suggesting anything which we believed to be conducive to the public welfare, we should still observe that no other body existsin the settlement through which the opinions of the community cau reach the authorities, and that being summoned from the most respectable portion of the community without reference to private opinion, its recommendation may be considered as free from all party feelings. That in the performance of their duties we consider the Grand Jury as under the direction of the Judge alone, and responsible only to their own consciences. Constantine A. Dillon D. Sclanders, J.P» J. D. Greenwood, J. P. Thomas Ren wick F. Otterson, J.P. Francis Jollie Hugh Martin, J. P. R. K. Newcome William Fox W. Harkness George White Charles timpson D. Monro Alfred Fell E. W. Stafford Charles Thorpe John Saxton A. Perry James Stuart Tytler R. B. Gee H. Seymour T. Lowndes Francis Dillon Bell P. Graham W. O. Cautley

We have been favoured by Mr. Waitford, of the " / don't know," with files of the Sydney Morning Herald to the 23d of August, "from which we have extracted the interesting debate in Parliament upon the Oregon question, to which we have elsewhere alluded, we do not observe any notice of the debate on Lord Stanley's conduct, which came off on the 22d March. The following is from a leader of the Times alluding to it: — As to the merits, we must own, that although a sensitively honourable Secretary of State would have avoided even the appearance of assenting to one set of terms, and of privately directing another to be acted upon, still that there was not that amount of deliberate trickery established against Lord Stanley which in the previous debate had been alleged; and we are willing to believe that the immense accumulation of business in that most wide department, falling as it does upon one head, although of fair average ability, and of cleverness beyond (he average, may have been sufficient to have prevented his Lordship from guarding against all misapprehension in so explicit a manner as might have been secured, had there been as many heads engaged as would have enabled a sufficient number of them to have attended to the New Zealand Company's business, undistracted with the affairs of other colonies at the same time, to say nothing of Government and Parliamentary business in general, added to the cares of Doncaster and the Derby, a large bettingbook, and the representation of Lancashire.

When Mr. Buller's motion respecting New Zealand came before the House, Captain Rous bad given notice of his intention to move an amendment that the proceedings of the New Zealand Company had been highly detrimental to the interests of New Zealand.

The great case of the Bank of Australasia v. the Bank of Australia, after a sitting of twenty days, ended by the Jury finding a special verdict — For the plaintiff, upon the 7th and Bth issues, damages £175,703:18:7, subject to the opinion of the Court, as to whether upon the facts proved, they had a right to recover : upon all the other issues, they found for the defendant.

From the Sydney papers we glean the following additional information regardiug the^ late event in the north :—: — Copy. Camp before Heki's pa, 11th July, 1845. Sir, — In my letter of this morning, 4 o'clock a. m., I had the honour to acquaint you that the pa was in our possession, and that the enemy had retreated to fastnesses amongst the hills-,

about ten mites distant, where it if, I believe, impossible to attempt to follow them. The enemy was unable to carry off his guns, and we have taken th'-ee iron ones on ship carriages, and one more was found disabled in the fortress. There is no doubt that it was the fear of another assault being made after the renewal of offensive operations jesterday, that caused this retreat. In consequence of the alteration of the state of the affairs here, since my letter by the Velocity, I have taken upon myself to suspend the sailing of that vessel, until your further instructions are received. The quantity of provisions stored in the cap tored fortress (potatoes) exceeds any thing I could have formed an idea of. One report in camp is, that the principal part of the enemy have dispersed in different direc tions ; but I have so little opportunity of gaining correct information, that I scarcely give credit to any. I shall proceed as rapidly as possible to pull down and burn every part of the pa. I have, &c, (Signed) H. DESPARD, Colonel commanaing the troops. His Excellency Governor Fitzroy, Auckland.