PARLIAMENT ASSERTING ITS DIGNITY.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 592, 26 March 1878, Page 2

PARLIAMENT ASSERTING ITS DIGNITY.

In order to prejudice the case without committing contempt of Court—for they had not tin; coin';'.'."..' to do that—lmprinciph d Atkinson Covernment journals indusry ""..-ly circulated numerous canards i;; reference to the article on tin' Nativ- Land-: Dill. Some asserted that it was not -written l>y jdr. Jones, hut '■< as the work of some "northern iiui!ij.;;;uii;,''wlin had made ;i too] of the accused, whilst other newspaper writers who had not the pluck to write disparagingly of a matter in which public opinion was decidedly opposed to them, circulated rira voc reports of a similar nature. Now that w r e are no longer under a )>an, we hasten to denounce such statements as utterly without foundation. Whatever may he the merits or demerits of the article, we are proud that the object sought to be served by its publication was one dear to the Colonists of New Zealand, and are convinced that, although full results may not be realised in the immediate future, a spirit of inquiry and watchfulness has been engendered amongst the Colonists that will ere long have the effect of jealously guarding the public estate from the encroachments of ruinous monopoly, and of enabling every Colonist to become legitimately possessed of laml, according to ins means. We make this ex plana! ion in contradiction of untruthful rumours which would lead people to believe that the accused was not fighting his own battles, hut that of the political party ; and that, after having been led into a difficulty, was deserted by those w!n> .-hordd have befriended him. It is only fair to certain lion, members that we should write this contradiction. To return to the initiatory stage of the prosecution. .': s a proof that public oninion was in favour of the accused and wished to afford him every opportunity of proving his statcim-nts, several gentlemen, at the conclusion of the trial in the licsidont Magistrate's CoitrC expressed their lesire to become bond-men :or the accused, an entire

Andrew Young, iii ' cut:- !•[ rising coach pro-j-.>-li_r--i- lit' lii-- N'orlli Isbuni—now retired from business —wa-.se name is weli known i;i this district, inras almost a matter for re' ret lint the Magistral s, evidently viewing tie ; l i-i:i:-' d'- offence somewhat more lightly than it had been reckoned in the II (Misc. v, here the matter was not discussed' en its liH'i-i tix.-d the at \.2i>:>. iiad it

been necessary to provide a. bond of ten times ihat amount, it 'would have been forthcoming, and would have alibrded the gentlemen before mentioned an opportunity of publicly evid'-iicing their view of a i matter ov.r which so much mock virtue I and indignation had been unneoe.sarily expended. " The iiesideuE .Magistrate's. Court proceedings over without terrifying the accused into making an apology and begging clemency at the hands of Mr. VVhitakcr and the Mouse, evidences were not wanting that I the "Whitaker-buies bu.-iness would be the I hist of the kind taken up by the Parliament | of New Zealand, and that if, at any future time, a member of the .Ministry happened to i Im-: more righteous than he was generally j thought In be. lie Would have to attempt io assert that righteousness at his own risk and expense, ami not degrade Parliament by inducing them to take up a cause that might be proved to be rotten. Several months passed, the trial in. the Dunedin Supremo Court being postponed from time to time, in order to suit the convenience of both parties concerned. Unfortunately for Mr. Whitaker, the action could not be (plashed, 1 localise it had been ordered by a, vote of the blouse. Probably, bad the Atkinson Covornment remained in power they, as ha- been characteristic of them, would have acted differently, and a nolle would have arrested further proceedings on the threshold of the Supreme Court. The {'•]> y (iovcrnment would perhaps have been only too g-ad, immediately on accession to ollice, to have stopped the progress of the trial, and saved the additional expense entailed to the country ; but what would have been tiie elfect ? Whilst they would have actually conferred benefit on their opponents, next session they would be told by them that they were afraid to face the inevitable n suit, and there Would be another scene in tiie House in -which hou. members would swear by all that was holy that they were honorable men. It was patent, therefore, that the trial must proceed, although Mr. Whitaker, the accused, all Parliamentary parties, and the public (more especially if they could have foreseen that the trial would not thoroughly disclose all the particulars of Mr. Whitaker's alleged improper land transactions) would, have been better pleased had the farce not been played out. Several witnesses for the defence were in attendance in Court, and, although the majority were hostile witnesses, jmtl would rather have been subptened on the other side, there was nothing to fear from the result had obstacles not been thrown in the way of searching investigation. The prosecution was difficult to please. One plea was too meagre—another was too comprehensive, and it became evident that they would have preferred to have seen no p'- ca at all. AVas it not sufficient that Mr. Whitaker whose word is always reliable, denied the charges brought against him by the Mail. It is quite true that he, in the House, stated that lie would oiler every facility for a thorough inquiry into his conduct with regard to tiie acqnir. menfc of native lands, but he didu't mean that. At that time, he was not responsible for all his actions ; and shewed valour that, under some circumstances, would have been perfectly safe. But the gauntlet was taken up by the other side, and then it became evident that Mr. Whitaker rather feared the result of an inquiry. Mr. Haggitt, therefore, with the

advice of Mr. Whifcaker, and the gratuitous assistance of not a few of the legal ability of Dunedin, who clustered round those gentlemen like flies round a sugar barrel, succeeded in digging from beneath the dust and dirt of some shelf, an Act passed some time in the Middle Ages, which, in the absence

of any other authority, was held to bear upon the case. The plea of justification was disallowed, and the accused was left to the bare plea of "Not Guilty." General dissatisfaction was expressed that inquiry should have again been burked, and the only conclusion that could be arrived at was that Mr. YVhitakcr preferred the present position of affairs, unsatisfactory as it was, to risking the results of inquiry. This is the view that the jury took of the matter, and after a few minutes retirement brought in a verdict of Not Guilty. And thus ended one of the greatest mistakes ever perpetrated by a Government. In future Parliament will not be so ready to protec the character of its members, especially of those who, whilst protesting honesty and every other virtue, are terrified at their being put to a crucial test. The people of this Colony have cause for complaint that their money should have been used for such a purpose, for, allhon-.di Mr. Jones has been compelled to pay his own private expenses in connection with the prosecution, the whole of the legal and other expenses will have to lie paid by the country. The moral to be drawn from the all'air is—A. journalist should never show up in his paper the corrupt praetiees afleeting the interests of tin; country of those in positions of trust, because, in the present state of the law it may cost him his liberty and hardly-earned money, and the culprits can shelter themselves behind an obsolete Act whilst professing a desire to vindicate their characters.