The Pahiatua Star. (Published Tuesdays and Fridays.) FRIDAYS, AUGUST 6, 1886.

Pahiatua Star and Eketahuna Advertiser, Volume 1, Issue 17, 6 August 1886, Page 2

The Pahiatua Star. (Published Tuesdays and Fridays.) FRIDAYS, AUGUST 6, 1886.

The conduct of the police authorities at \\ oodville regarding the unfortunate niAn.-M.ium, wiia we referred to iu our last issue as being of unsound tnind. is of such a nature as to call for an investigation on the part of (iovonirnttit. Mr Stewart, of the Pahiatua Hotel, finding that Munn was becoming (tsrtgvTmrs to himself. bis fnrotiy, and to settlers generally, telegraphed to the nuaiest police station (Woodvillei, for u-'istance ; but Sergeant Carlyon, evidently a believer in redtapeisin, replied that Pahiatua was out of his district, and therefore he could not interfere in the matter, and suggested sending on to Eketahuna for Constable Healy. Now the distance to Woodville is only ten miles as compared with seventeen to Eketahuna, and in order to secure the services of the constable nt the latter place, the journey had to he done on horseback ; whereas the Sergeant at Woodville was made acquainted with the fact by telegraph. This difference alone should have been quite sufficient under the circumstances to induce Sergeant Carlyon to waive the question of district, and to have either come here himself or sent his subordinate ; hut he appears to have treated the matter with the utmost contempt, therefore we take exception to his conduct as a serious breach of the rules of the service to which he belongs. Situated as we are, with no resident constable, our prospects of securing the aid of the police are very remote, and crimes of the most diabolical nature might be perpetrated here with impunity so far as Sergeant Carlyon is concerned. Wo find it necessary to speak plain on this subject, as it is the second occasion on which assistance has been refused within a short time ; and we wish to see the duties of a constable properly defined. Are members of the police force, because they happened to be stationed in one particular locality, at liberty to plead “ out of bounds ’’ as an excuse. If so, we will put a case to the Sergeant at Woodville which will somewhat puzzle him to answer. According to his ruling, he is not supposed to cross the Manawatu bridge, and if a murder or other serious crime were committed say at the Maori pah ijust this side of the bridge), a messenger would have to be despatched to Eketahuna, a distance of about twentyfive miles, whilst to Woodville it would only be four. The whole thing is absurd on the face of if, and we feel rather astonished at a man of the experience of Sergeant Carlyon hiding behind such a weak argument. We now come to another peculiar point. Constable Healy was sent for. according to the Sergeant's recommendation, and arrived here on Wednesday morning. Looking at the distance from Pahiatua to Masterston in comparison with that of Woodville, Constable Healy considered, and rightly too, that it would be less expensive to take Munn to the latter place for medical examination, which was accordingly done ; but Sergeant Carlyon distinctly refused to have anything to do with the case, and ordered Munn to Masterton. Seeing that there are three medical practitioners in Woodville, we wish to know why this act of cruelty was perpetrated, lor it would have been far more humane to have detained Munn a night in Woodville awaiting the arrival of Dr Printing from Danevirke, than that lie should have been sent on in the piereiug cold to Eketahuna, there to remain until the arrival of the morning's coach before he could be taken on to Masterton. If two doctors could not conveniently be found in Woodville at a moment's notice (we have reason to believe they could), why was not one called in to give his opinion us to t)»e best course to he adopted? Who can say that the unfortunate man will not he made considerably worse by being dragged about the country in the manner in which he was ? We submit that the circuiustajices surrounding this case arc sufficient to call for an investigation, and if Sergeant Carlyon can satisfy u ; or any one else that his action was justifiable, then we shall he only too happy to do justice to lam.