THE EVENING MAIL, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 251, 10 February 1877, Page 2

THE EVENING MAIL,

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1877.

W«^ro thing*,. Midi* drop ot ink faUinsr upon a. ♦hoiiKhtmatf prociws that which. make» ChownmUt tatak."

Ir meting out punishment with a firm mad rigorous hand, and proving himself a perfect terror to evil-doers, be any proof of the efficiency of a magistrate, the people of Dunedin appear to have secured a trea•ore ilk their newly-appointed Resident Magistrate, Mr. I. N. Watt. We do not know whether Mr. Watt was selected to fill the office on account of his possession of those qualifications, for his sternness is not ©if a recent date, and there are not a few who remember his SarsToctc-lifce- conduct with regard to the unfortunate- man and the shady tight cast upon that traaiaction by the revelations then made. Stemnes* «n the Bench is a most commendable q,u»lity, but it is possible? to overstep the mark, when its possession becomes the reverse- of » blessing; ; and there are occasions when its east-iron rule should be thrown aside, and justice- tempered with mercy. Mr. Watt, however, appears to know no middle course. The law i» written, he is the instrument by which it i» administered, and woe to the unfortunate whoso misdeed necessitates am introduction 1 into fib august presence. It i» generally supposed, by offenders, tout when bail i» left in the hands of the police for appearance at the police court, it i» optional whether they answer to their names in the morning, the estreating of the bail being looked upoa as an equivalent,, and this rule has generally been acted upon by hb predecessor and justices ttt other courts. , The new ygijimi has, however, decreed otherwise, and an uniertunate cabby, who had not surrendered tn hm bail, and thereby unconsciously wounded the dignity of the Court, was brought i» the presence of the Judge under warrant. When asked the reason of lu» contumacy, the offender replied " that A* thought he would be benefitting himself by allowing hi* boil to be estreated, a* hj« would thereby be paying the fine, and avoiding the exposure and toss of time."' The Bench, however, quickly proved the fallacy of the supposition, and by a fine {three tunes in excess

of tie baa proved that Be would have materially benefitted himself by throwing himself on the mercy of the Court. Of coarse, in that particular instance, there is not so much to complain of, but a case was heard before the same gentleman a couple of day 3 since, which certainiy should not be allowed to pass by without remark. Four hoys, ranging in ages from ten to fourteen years, were charged with what, tn juvenile phraseology, is known as I " boxing the fox," but on the chargesheet was set down as stealing fruit. The ! case was proved against three of them, and while the two younger delinquents were ordered so many stripes on the back, the older was sent to prison for fourteen days, with hard labor. Mr. Watt is to receive no credit for not having sent the whole three to prison, for, fortunately for the two, they were of an age which took it out of the power of this humane gentleman to do so. The third boy. it was proved, had just readied fourteen, and the temptation was not to be resisted of dealing with the case according to the rigorous code which now cxist3 ; n the City Police Court. Colonial boys are generally very precocious, and it is just possible that either of the younger oms would have been equally, and possibly more, guilty than their more aged companion ; but because he had reached the age fixed by the law, he was seized upon and made a victim to what we must characterise as an indiscretion, to use the mildest term. The administration of justice should have a two-fold object and effect. It should not only punish a misdeed, but ttint punishment should be of such a nature that it would be preventive and curative in its effects ; and this latter we take.to be immeasurably the more important of the two. We ask, then, will the sentence passed upon the boy TuoJtrstojf have that tendency i .Sent at a tender age, when the mind is capable «»f taking 'impressions for good or evil, to herd with hardened criminals for fourteen days : the sentence may undoubtedly be a punishment, but it certainly will not prove a corrective. We very often hear sneering taunts at the decisions of the "Great Unpaid." and what is characterised as Justice's justice, but we question if any act of that body was so open to censure as that of the autocrat of the Dnncdin Police Court.