THE PATEA MAIL. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays SATURDAY, JULY 3, 1875.

Patea Mail, Volume 1, Issue 24, 3 July 1875, Page 2

THE PATEA MAIL. Published Wednesdays and Saturdays SATURDAY, JULY 3, 1875.

We think the time has now arrived for Patea being declared a port of entry, and being afforded increased facilities for trade. The advantage to the district generally, and to the storekeepers and others carrying on business here, of such a change, would be great, as it would allow them a larger use of their capital, and give them more frequent opportunities for baying to advantage when prices are low and stocks heavy. At present our merchants are obliged to pay duty on all they import, at the port of shipment, instead of being allowed the same privileges as their correspondents in larger places where Custom Officers are stationed. They are thus deprived of the use of much of their capital, and obliged to run heavy risks of loss of goods, which having been cleared at the Customs at the port of shipment, would cause a far more serious loss to our merchants than had they been lost whilst coming from foreign ports under bond, to the importers and others from whom we obtain our supplies. A port which has so much shipping business pass through it as this, should have the advantage of a local Custom House, as the absence of a Revenue Officer is simply an encouragement to smuggling. We do not say that smuggling is carried on here, but there is nothing to prevent it, as any of the small crafts frequenting here could easily be supplied with dutiable goods from ship’s stores lying in the larger ports, or from a depot in some of the secluded inlets across the Straits. Such a depot existed some years ago in Kapiti, and was kept replenished by passing vessels, whose masters found there a ready market for surplus stores. The Government only requires to be made aware of the wants of this port to ensure its then being attended to, and we therefore think our local traders should memorialise the Commissioners of Trade and Customs on the subject, pointing out the advantages of such an innovation. If we had our own bonded stores, goods could be cleared for home consumption as required, instead of being the cause of a lot of our capital being locked up unprofitably for months at a time, as is now the case, owing to their being no Custom’s Officer stationed here. The . want of proper night signals is also a pressing one, as, although it is not safe as a rule to take the Patea bar at night, there are times when it is the lesser of two evils, and would save a vessel occasionally from sharing the fate of the William and Mary. A good wharf and landing shed are also among our list of urgent wants, as the present wharf accommodation is totally inadequate for the requirements of the port, whilst the want of a landing shed is even of greater urgency. Goods are now frequently seriously damaged by the sun and weather to the loss of the consignees, at whose risk they are shipped, and who have to make up such losses by charging higher for the undamaged remnant, in order to keep his credit good. A man must make his business pay, and it stands to reason that if, owing to the risk of loss from the several sources we have alluded to, and which might be done away with, he has to put on a larger per centage of profit to cover the multiplicity of risks; it is the consumers who really suffer. It is therefore to all our interests to see that the trading facilities of the port are made as great as possible, and that we should bestir ourselves in the matter, and not leave to chance or the Fates to bring about the changes we all can see are so urgently required. It is no use expecting the Government Jupiter to come to our aid if we sit in the mind of inaction and wait for onr wants being seen and attended to by those in office, who have quite enough to do with the work that is pushed on them without stepping aside to do unsought services for people too apathetic to move out of their ordinary groove, ane too bashful to ask for what they require. If'Patea is to keep pace with the rest of the Colony, we must have a little more vigour infused into its

management, so that its requirements may be vigilantly looked after, and its progress pushed energetically forward. Of course this means that our leading settlers must take more or less interest in their surroundings, and be willing to devote some part of their time and energies to the common welfare. On another occasion we shall have some further remarks to make on the subject of increased representation for this district, which at present only has a share of a member instead of having one for itself, who would see that its interests were not neglected at head quarters. We can no'longer retain our silence in reference to the vagaries and eccentricities of the gentleman entrusted with the administration of justice in the Patea district, as we are now called upon to speak out in defence of a community, who have long been suffering from the incapacity of the gentleman holding the office of Resident Magistrate in this district. At the outset of our career, painful manifestations of the ineompotency of our R.M. were being exhibited from the Bench, but we had hoped that improved discipline would result from the presence of a professional reporter, and the publication of the Court’s proceedings; and the gentleman, who forms the subject of this article, would have endeavoured to have avoided being cast upon the rock of ridicule, which his administration inevitably threatened. We have attended many Courts in New Zealand, and are loth to admit that the Resident Magistrate’s Court in Patea is conducted with the greatest of indecorum. We assert that an investigation into the manner in which our Court of Justice is being conducted is absolutely necessary, in order to allay the wide-spread dissatisfaction which is generally expressed throughout the district. It is not our intention to comment upon the verdicts of our R.M., or to question whether they have been the result of mature deliberation and conscientious convictions, but we shall go so far as to question the propriety of his lending a willing ear to persons who, through ignorance, take the liberty of ear-wigging him in the street, and reciting their stories before the cases are brought before the Court. Yesterday, at the close of the case of Ball v Mercer, one of the most disgraceful scenes enacted before a Court of Justice, was quietly permitted by the Bench to pass without committing the offender for contempt of Court, or even attempting to uphold the dignity of the Court in any way. The offender in question openly accused the magistrate of prejudging the case, and on being called upon to be more careful of his utterances, redoubled his allegations, and defied the Bench. The magistrate, in the midst of the greatest uproar and confusion, left the Bench, without even adjourning the Court, It seems strange to us, although Mr Hammerton should have cited two parallel cases adjudicated upon by Mr Kenny in the R.M. Court, of Taranaki, Major Turner should have given an entirely opposite verdict to that of a gentleman holding a higher position, and also without advancing one single reason in support of his decision. It was, indeed, quite refreshing to be present in the R.M. and District Courts during Judge Kenny’s presidency, and witness the manner in which he conducted the business of his Courts compared with our prenticehand.