THE STANDARD. SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 1873.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 43, 12 April 1873, Page 2

THE STANDARD.

SATURDAY, APRIL 12, 1873.

“•We shall sell to no man justice or right: We shall deny to no man justice or right: ’We shall defer to no man justice or right.”

Mr. Greene will sell the balance of goods undisposed of at his last auction sale, this day at the Albion Hotel. •Dr. Nesbitt’s friendly admonition to the publicans, delivered from the Bench on Tuesday last, during the hearing of the charges of rioting and peace-breaking that had originated ■in drunkenness, and ended in something very much akin to bloodshed, —will, we trust, have •a salutary effect. It was well-timed, and feelingly delivered. By this we mean that the Magistrates know what difficulties there are in the way of a publican, in a small place like this, rigidly adhering to the strict letter of the law. They also know that they are .deserted by the Government and have not a physical force at their back to enforce a penalty for a breach of the moral or legal daw; but still’Dr. Nesbitt considered ithis duty to •draw attention to the fact that publicanslay themselves open to a fine, and the chance of losing their license, if they supply drunken men with liquor; as also that* large proportion of the • disturbances that take place are traceable more or less to the public-house. The law, as it exists in this province, is very stringent; and as the town increases -in size we must expect that the irregularities, which somehow or other are winked at in the early stage of affairs, will be sought to be removed—at any rate it is a consummation devoutly to be wished.

The Resident Magistrate’s Court was oceUpied the whole of Thursday. There Were eight cases set down for hearing, and the businesswas not concluded at a late hour. The proceed-f ings of the cases heard, will be found in another, column. The Court sits again this morning atl

10 o’clock. ’ One Policeman an» no more! —lf the presiding Magistrate at Gisborne does what he should do, and that which we all hope he will do, our police force (save the mark!) will be placed upon a proper strength and footing without further delay. Not to put too fine a point upon matters, it is simply disgraceful that the town of Gisborne should be left with but orfe solitary functionary of the law to preserve order; and it is a disgrace to our boasted civilization that some three or four Maoris should be made drunk and I then suffered to run riot through our streets, with only one policeman, unaided, to check their rowdyism; but it was so on Monday night. Several Ngatiporon natives, (whose amicus curia told the bench the next day that they were chiefs of some importance) got drunk, and, as is the ease with these gentry, rather troublesome. Constable Donoghue did his duty, and after-•chasing one -into the water; knocking another on the head with his only weapon,—a pair of handcuffs; —after being felled to the earth himself, and kicked and buffetted in an unequal contest, he succeeded in landing three of the delinquents in the Block-house. It was a case of attempted rescue, pure and simple; and had it fallen to the lot of any white man he would have been visited with a punishment commensurate with the crime, which, we need hardly say, is held to be a veiy serious one. But with this we have not to deal just now. We desire to Call attention to the proper authorities to the matter in the hope of getting the grievance (of being thoroughly and systematically neglected, on the question of police) removed. Now let us look at the other side—thirty policemen and no less ! This force is stationed at Ormond with positively nothing to do. At the road side inn there a man makes himself offensive to the landlord and the customers, by his behaviour and threatening language ; he has no money, and persists in such unseemly conduct that the landlord gives the man in charge, or attempts to do so and fails ; and a warrant has to be taken out in Gisborne for his arrest. Let us tell the Government the reason why he was not taken in charge, so as to save them the trouble of investigation. They have not yet thought fit to have either a guardroom or a lock-up built. The Barrack-room is unsafe for either purpose, and the consequence is that the disagreeable necessity of having to do sentry-go over a refractory captive is sufficient to cause the blind side to be from the wall when it should not ( be. Again. Application is made by a private individual to the Commanding officer at the camp for a body of men to be sent to a certain district for protection, inasmuch as he (the private individual) fears a breach of the peace. The protection required was against the removal of a certain house, which said private individual thought, and possibly was, being done illegally. A sergeant and two constables with pistols and swords, were despatched to the scene of action, and what was nothing more than a matter of civil right, was turned into a Quixotic military movement by the assumption of authority to settle it vi et armis. But looking at it as a mere police duty, the law is certainly turned into a wrong, and withal a mischievous channel, if questions of civil jurisdiction are to be settled by a soldier-policeman threatening to take a man into custody if he attempts (not to break the peace, but) to recover property which probably the law would enable him to do, and with the settlement of it, as a question of right, the policeman can have no authority whatever. Practically the Commanding officer has taken upon himself to authorize a constable to proceed on the principle that “ Silent leges inter arma,” and to determine a question of mine and thine at the point of the sword, which must even now be disposed of by civil process! We understand the matter has been reported to the Government. But this is our moral: In town one policeman is battered unmercifully by three or four drunken men, and the Commissioner, we hear, says our force is large enough ; while in the country, a trumpery dispute about the removal of a house, can command an armed force to carry out the will -of one of the disputants.

We learnjihat a rather practical and disagreeable joke has recently been played upon some of our tradespeople. Captain Read recently engaged—so it was reported—some half-dozen carpenters in Auckland to come to Poverty Bay, they being in great request. Arrangements were made for them to come on in the Paterson, and certain plans and specifications were entrusted to their care for buildings to be set about at once in Gisborne—among them, it is said, those of the Bank of New Zealand, and certainly those intended for the residence of the Collector of Customs. The Paterson came, but >the caqienters didn’t; ’ Nor the plans; nor the specifications; and Captain Read, on being communicated with, knew nothing of either. The sell is complete, but results in very inconvenient consequences. MrHarris’s complaint assumes a public phase. When he was promoted to take charge of the Custom’s department here, it was understood that a private residence was, or soon would be, ready for him. Captain Read kindly undertook to build one for him, and this is the result. We have nd desire to make ourselves inquisitive about the domestic affairs of any one, but there is one thing we hold to with great tenacity, and that is, that the concerns and well-fare of our officials and public men . should be ours also. Promotion loses all its value if it is attended with pecuniary loss; it is a promotion which moves a-head like the crab, and .cannot benefit the possessor if he has to give up in one direction what he gains in another. The here is without a house to enter. He and his family have had to put up with the inconveniences of an Hotel for months; his penates are distributed and destroyed. We hope the Government will look into the matter.

Earthquake.— A. smart shock of earthquake Was felt in Gisborne on Thursday night, about half-past 10 o’clock.

\ We are informed that Mr. McDonald has determined to drive his flock of about 7,000 sheep overland from Napier; he was to commence the journey last Monday.

Postal. —That part of the very small mail service which Poverty Bay has ever possessed, which provided for conveyance of mails between the Post-office and the ship, and vice versa, lias collapsed. A contract was held to perform this duty at the rate of £lO ’per annum; but it expired on the 31st of December last, since when no new tenders have been called, and, at the present moment, there is no one in authority to perform the duty. The consequences are apparent. Having to rely entirely on the good feeling of any irresponsible person willing to undertake a gratuitous work, our mails come and go in a sort of hap-hazard, happy-go-lucky, kind of way, which is refreshing but not satisfactory. Not long since a large mail, consisting of several bags, which arrived during the night, was pitched into a shed, and did not reach -the -Postoffice till 9.30 a.m. The Port Ahuriri mail, on the last trip of the Rangatira for Napier, was left behind simply because no one had the responsibility of its charge. Messfs. Park and Sid dons take the interest of the community very much into consideration, and generally ensure the transit of our letter bags with commendable certainty; but they cannot be expected to continue to do on the present uncertain basis ; neither is it right or proper that they should. Our mail service is increasing; the number of steamers calling at this port are not likely to decrease, and we desire to impress the imperfect state of this part of the machinery on the attention of the Government.

A recent Government Gazette contains a proclamation by Sir George Arney, announcing that he has assumed the administration of the Government of the colony.

His Honor Mr. Justice Johnston is about to publish a work entitled, “The Practice of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal of New Zealand.” It 'is notified that the work will contain—The rules of the Court, with introduction, notes, and reference ; a list of enactments affecting practice and procedure, with analysis of the most important; and ‘index to the statute law of the colony, including session 1872; and a copious general index. We understand that the punt at the Big River (Waipaoa ferry) is now complete and in working order. Mr. Goldsmith has gone to much expense in enlarging and otherwise improving on the carrying capacity of the old punt, and the increasing traffic over that river will be much benefited by the alteration. It remains now for the Road Board to make the approaches safe as against the possibility of losing life or limb in either embarking or debarking.

Telegrams from Napier to the Southern papers say that a native meeting at Tokano (Taupo), at which 700 Maoris were present, appointed Te Heu Heu, Poihipi, Hohepa, and Topia, a committee to manage the leasing of the land and possibly the sales. Hohepa’s speech referred to the. wealth of the Auckland and Napier natives through land sales, and poverty of the inland natives. It is probable that the result of the meeting will be the opening of the Tuhua country. At the present time the Waikato appears to possess considerable attraction for land speculators and others. We have been reliably informed that a number of southern capitalists are about to visit us with the view of buying land as a speculation, and others with the object of becoming bona fide settlers. It is encouraging to observe that keen men of business look upon the Waikato as a good field for the investment of their capital.— Waikato Times.

The native meeting just past, at which his Excellency the Governor took a very conspicuous part, has very little political significance. In fact, we regret that the representative of Her Majesty condescended to meet the small native fry who were present, and who, for the most part, attended as a matter of course—many for the sake of the food doled, others because they felt it incumbent upon them to show gratitude for past favors, others in order to personally learn what was going on. Undoubtedly the meeting - has done much to cement the friendship existing between the Government and certain parties of the natives —friendship based on self-interest, and selfinterest only. The dignity of the Crown has been, without doubt, to a very great extent jeopardised. We have often pointed out that the proper course for the Governor and Government to pursue, would be to tell the natives: “If you wish to see us, you must come to the seat of Government. The relative positions of the two races are clear. The pakeha has the power in his hands to crush you. .If you desire to exist as a people, you must listen to reason and show respect to the Government. The earnest desire of the colonists and the Imperial Government is to spare you and lead you into the proper course by moral suasion. If you refuse to be dealt with by this means, physical force will have to bs restored to. The pakeha can procure at least ton-.fighting men for every one you can bring into the field. If you kill all at present at his disposal, ten times that number can’ be imported to crush you.” The surest means of bringing about a satisfactory termination to our difficulties is to adopt a dignified course. Treat the native as a man; the time has passed when to treat him as a child can be productive of anything but evil We regret that we should have to disapprove of the last political act of Sir G. F. BoWfen; -during his reign over the colony he has by many acts justly gained the respect of the inhabitants. We cannot however, help thinking -that his last is the most impolitic- act he has committed since he landed on our shores. — Waikato Times.