CORRESPONDENCE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 62, 17 April 1869, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

OCV* Correspondence Column ia open to tlio ta uperato discussion of questions of public Ireierest ; but we do not in any way identify '«ai selve3 with the opinions expressed by our Correspondents. All letters must be accomby the writer's name arid address, not necessarily for publication, but as a guarantee of good faith.

THE NEWLY CEEATED J.P.s AT MOUNT BENQEE.

((To fk& Editor of the TuapelM Times.)

$Ie, — I percervo that your Mount Benger Correspondent, in your last issue, comments in a most uncalled-for ■ manner upon the recent appointment of J.P. 's at the Teviot. Now, although " your own "' may not entertain friendly feelings for one of the gentlemen re fferred' to, that is no reason why he should make a- general attack upon men engaged in any particular kind of business. He .refers to the business of hotel,-..\eeping iv anything but a flatterin«- inf inner: now, I must distinctly assert i'hat the liotelkeepers of this district .ire, as ja, rule, upright and well-reputed men.- Still, I cannot deny that t Nereis i*>ne 'exception, and although the mdiv idual in question has (I believe) so fai • managed to keep clear of theineshes o: ? the law, I must acknowledge that he has earned for himself a m.ost unen 4 viable notoriety for sailing -\ r cry close? . to the wind. Although bo J ;Ti tho gent lemen recently appointed J. P.'s are donbtless keen business men,, and although their private interests, may very often clash, I believe that (excepting your correspondent) tb .ere is har.dly a man in the district that ivould not place perfect confidence int their integrity and impartiality on *tho bench. lam avrore that it may t p .- occasionally ineonyeaii-ent'forievil-c 1 iQG^j to have to deal with magistrates" of inflexible disposition ; still, I rath er thinly that this <js a quality whic h the 1 public iv general will apprecir ite. As your correspondent sfcenis ti 7 be so extremely, anxious

that those gentlemen who may be entrusted with the administration of justice should enjoy the confidence of the public, it seems somewhat strange that (as fax as I am aware) he -has never called attention to the conduct of the 8..M. who adjudicated on what was known as the "hard-swearing case," which occurree in this district some time since. Perhaps he may be a new arrival among us, and is not as well posted-up in the affairs of byegone times as some of us old Bengeritos are; or can he have any other motive for remaining silent on the subject? However this may be, as I tin' ak the matter is deserving of publicity, I trust you will allow me to 1 trespass on your, columns, in order fc^i&t I may state shortly the facts of the case.

iSomo time since, a couple of enterprising individuals, partners in a paltry business, sued a former customer for a balance of account. When the case came on for hearing, the plaintiffs, of course, swore that the defendant was' indebted to them, and that the account was correct. After a long and searching cross-examination, "during which both of the plaintiffs swore repeatedly to every word of their original statement, the defendant was asked what he had to say. He at once produced a receipt for the very money sued for, dated a considerable time before. I myself had the receipt in my hand three days before the trial, and the defendant had it in his possession all the time the plaintiffs were standing alongside of him, swearing to the debt. I was not in court at the time, but from what I have heard, the Frenchmen could scarcely have been more astonished at the sight of Torres Vedras than the hard-swearers (this is- the name they went by afterwards) were at the sight of the 1 receipt. Of cour.se, sAvearing to the debt :jvas no use any longer ; so the next job was to get out of the trap which they had fallen into. Eventually the magistrate stated that the receipt produced was evidently a full discharge for the amount sued for, and hinted at the possibility of being obliged to commit one (or both) of the plaintiffs for perjury ; but instead of doing so he adjourned the case for a week, thus allowing them an opportunity of entering" into explanations. I suppose I need not tell you the upshot. landing that the receipt had been preserved, the fellows did not show themselves, and so the case was dismissed, the defendant being allowed just about onethird of the expenses which he incurred. Now, how is it that " your own " has never referred to this affair? I hardly think he can plead ignorance, for unless I am much mistaken in the identity of the individual — lie teas in court at the time. As I have heard various opinions expressed, as to the conduct of the magistrate in this case, I wish to ask one or two questions 1 — Ist. When the defendant produced the receipt, ought not the magistrate to >have dismissed the case at once, and committed the plaintiffs for trial, for perjury and conspiracy ? — 2nd. In the event of any proceeding being taken now, could the effluxion of time be pleaded as a bar' to a criminal prosecution? — 3rd. Is the magistrate that adjudicated on the above ease worthy to be entrusted with the administration of justice.

Should it be deemed advisable to enquire further into the affair,, I shall be most happy to furnish full particulars ; and if any one should say, " let by-gones be by-gones," to such people I would reply in the -words of the very talented author of the " Chronicles of Terra Moa "—"-I" — "-I cannot recognise in any man the right or privilege of being kept out of such light as -the world has or can produce to guide it."

I am, &c.,

Splenetic. Mount Benger, April, 1869.