Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, JULY 24, 1882.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1104, 24 July 1882, Page 2

Poverty Bay Standard. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. MONDAY, JULY 24, 1882.

It was with a genuine feeling of curiosity, not unmixed with some astonishment, that we perused the leader in the ‘"Evening Herald” of last Saturday, touching on the alleged suppression by the Government of an enquiry into certain actions stated to have been committed with wrong and fraudulent intent. Now it occurs to us that while it is certainly the distinct province of a journalist to expose wrong, he should “nothing extenuate, or set down aught in malice.” That the article in question is calculated to effect any public good we deny, while we assert that it is simply an adulation and extolling of the superior wisdom, which we may fairly question, of certain gentlemen who have an axe to grind. Deprive the article of its flimsy veil of alleged public spirit and view it in its native garb of indecent nudity, and behold, the result is that we recognise the fine Roman hand of Mr. Tucker throughout the whole effusion. And we have the less hesitation in declaring this, inasmuch as this very same axe was strenuously endeavored to be ground on the Standard stoue. This, however, we refused to allow, conceiving that there exists more of private spite than public duty in the matter, and resolutely refusing to be made the tool of any individual for any purpose whatever. If any person be guilty of such practices as thus imputed, we hold that there is a legitimate course open to the parties who may be aggrieved that no Government can, or would, possibly interfere with. After the almost idolatrous adulation the “ Herald" has always assumed regarding the actions of the Government, it certainly seems unkind to say the least of it, that they should let anyone grind such an axe, which, while reflecting upon the misconduct of that Government in protecting, and offering in fact a premium for, crime, clearly ex presses the opinion that MrDELAVTOVB and Captain Tucker are the only men in the country capable of patriotic and generous action. The trumpeter who as so well and faithfully served these gentlemen has evidently met with some accident which necessitates his absence. If there were proof wanting of our assertion that the whole matter is being stirred up for personal motives of oppressive spite, documentary evidence to that effect can be produced by us at a moments notice. We quite hold that i if the responsible author of the being i of this foundling article were to work ■ half as hard in public interests i as he is doing in this purely personal i matter, there might be some chance , of the district generally benefiting to acertain degree at his hands, As it is, notwithstanding his efforts in selflaudation, we conceive that the country existed before either himself or Mr DeLautour made their appearance on the scene, and, strange as it may appear, we almost fancy that it will continue to exist even after these two gentlemen have shuffled off this mortal coil. While quite acknowledging the value of Mr DeLautour’s efforts in gold fields (Southern) interests, we utterly fail to see that we here are in any way indebted to him, Anyhow, in the interests of truth and justice we decline now, as we have done throughout, to let our columns be the medium of conveyance for personal enmity or private spite. If there has been a wrong done, the criminal law of the country, as administered under the jurisdiction of its courts, is thoroughly able to resist any attempt at such suppression or coercion as is here alleged. It is not at all times advisable to make police reports public, nor at any time unless the substantiation is very clear. The ends of justice would oftoner be defeated if that were done. We never hadmuchfaith in the present Ministry, but we don’t think them capable of such stupid folly or wicked prostitution of their powers as offering protection in any shape or form to criminal deeds.