PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. No. III.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 237, 15 August 1872, Page 6

PARLIAMENTARY PAPERS. No. 111.

THE GOVERNOR'S POWER TO GRANT PARDONS.

In the volume of despatches from the Secretary of State for the Colonies to the Governor, is a despatch which claims attention on account of the importance of the question raised by it, and because of the interest it excitei at the time the matter it relates to was before the public, over eighteen months ago. The subject is the Muston pardon case. Now the facts of that case were these : — When the famous telegraph libel case was heard in the Ke«deut Magistrate's (Jourt, Duncd-n, of course the first step in the prosecution was to prove the authorship of the alleged libols. This c uld only be done hy the testimony of employe's of the Otago Daily Times, in which thvy were published. But here a difficulty arose. These witnesses were equally liable with the de eudant, as being concerned iv the publication ; and they accordingly iefu*ed to answer any questions on the ground that they might otherwise be led to crimiuate themselves. Thereupon the counsel for the piosecution produced a free pardon, ready signed and scaled, made out on behalf of Mr Muston, the sub editor of the Daily Times, who was placed in the witness-box, aud, the plea of liability being quashed by the t nder i*f the pardon, was compelled to givo his evidence. Now the I Governor's commission only empowers him to pardon offenders after lonvhtion ; and the question was immediately raised, whether he had power to issue a pardon on speculation, for an offenc; with which the witness had not been even so much as charged, and which was not proved to have buen ever committed. Mr Barton it will be remembered wrote to Earl lvimberly complaining of the course taken by the Governmont, and submit te Ito his Grace the opinions of the principal members of the Dunedin bar, that his letter "disclosed a fit case for enquiry by the proper authorities. " Subsequent to the issue of the trial two facts came out. Fir3t tbat the Attorney-General, under whose advice the pardon was issued, acknowledged that his advice was given " without consideration of the terms of the Governor^ commission ;" and that he " undoubtedly out to have pointed out that the Queen's prerogative as to pardou seemed not to have been to its full extent delegated to the Governor." Second, tbat the pardon issued to Mr Muston was g anted in the absence of the G »vcrnor on the Wes>t Coa t, and that Mini>tvrs were i.i the habit of procuring from his Excellency, when he leaves Wellington, a few blank pardons, ready signed, to be available in cises of emergency (explained by Mr OJisborne as being those in which the immediate release of prisoners is necessitated by regulatio is in respect of good conduct, by medical causes, or by other unforeseen circumstances) ; and that it was one of these winch Ministers used, without his Excellency's knowledge or permission. in the Krai pl.ice, let us observe that Earl Kimb< rlt*y, writing under date October, 1871, declines to offer any opinion upon Mr Barton's case pending legal proceedings ; but the Governor having in his despatch hone expressed the hope that if it should be decided taat the power of granting pardons before actml conviction has not been conferred on a Governor, the Imp-rial Government would take into consideration whether the power referred to might not ail van t a geonsly be given to the Governors of Colo nies under such conditions as may be thought expedient, the attention of her Majesty's Government was directed to the aspects of the subject. The cases dealt with were classed thus : — Pardon of convicted offenders ; pardon or security of immunity to a witnens fearing to criminate himself; pardon of an accomplice included in a prosecution and turns Queen's evidence ; promise of pardon to an unknown person concerned in a crime, but not being the principal offender, in order to obtain such information and evidence as shall lead to the apprehension and conviction of the principal ; and promise of pardon to political offenders or enemies of the State. Alluding to the first class of cases, Earl Kiinberley cays the present commission of the Governor gives him full power to deal with it ; and he alministers to Sir George Bowen a severe rebuke for permitting the use of blank pardons to be filled up and used during his absence from the seat of Government— " a practice which is irregular, and cannot be permitted in any case." The Goversor is bound to examine personally each cisc in which he is called upon to exercise the powers entrusted to him under the delegation of the Queen's prerogative, though, of course, he must pay due regard to the advice of h's Ministers, and is not to grant any pardon Miihout receiving their advice thereupon. Under the second head, it is absolutely necessary that means should exist by which the evidence of a witness fe; r'ng to eliminate himself may be obtained ; but, says Earl Kimberley, th.s may be better prov ded for by local legislation. The judge presiding at the trial should be empowered to give a certifica'e that the evidence of the witness was required for the ends of justice, and was satisfactorily given ; such certificate to be a bar to ail proceedings in respect to the matters upon which that witness was examined. In respect to the third bead, no local legislation nor alteration of the Governor's commission is needed, it being considered that the practice in England on the point may properly be adopted in the Colony. In respect to the fourth head, future commissions will Vest in the Governor the power of granting a pardon to any accomplice, not being the actual perpetrator of the crime, who shall give evidence leading to the apprehension and conviction of the principal offender ; but no supplementary commission for* the purpose will be issued, as the issue of a proclamation by the Executive C mncil that they will recommend the granting of a pardon to such person will have the desired effi cfc. Nor is any change in respect to the promise of pardon to political offenders co-isidered necessary. Earl Kimberley concludes his despatch by expressing the hope that these explanations will remove any doubt as to the exercise of the prerogative of pardon in the Colony. No IV. RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION. The following is the report of the En-gineer-in-Cbief on the Clutha and Mataura railways : - Public Works Office, Wellington, 7th June, 1872. Sir, — The Invercargill an I Mataura railway forms the western section of the proposed Otasjo trunk line, of which the Dunedin and Clutha railway forms the eastern section. Both of these lines have been sanctioned by the Legislature, and will be carried on simultaneously. It is not at present proposed to construct the middle section from Clutha to Mataura ; but it is necessary, in estimating the probable revenue of the Invercargill and Mataura railway, to take into consideration its probable future construction, and the large extension of traffic which would follow. At present, the traffic between Inrercargill and Dunedin is done almost entirely by sea, but ou the completion of the Invercargill and Mataura, Dunedin and Clutha rail-.-ways, a great part will go by land. There

is also a large traffic between Dtmodra and Lake Waka ipu, a part of which will be diverted from i s present channel, on the completion of thj luiediu and Clutha, lnvercargiiland Mataura,^ Wjnton, and Kingston railways, all of which will bo completed nearly at the same time ; and the whole of tins traffic will bs diverted when the middle section of the trunk line from Clutha to Mataura id completed. It is estimated that the amount now paid by passengers and goods along the line of the railway is L7OOO a year ; to which must be added L3OOO for the expected increase in the business of the Woodlan :.s: .s Meat Preserving Works, making L10,0<>0; and it may be safely assumed that the total amount paid for carriage will increase rather than decrease with the cheapness and facilities which the railways will offer. I think it a very moderate estimate to assume that the local traffic will ri3e to at least L.12,300 a year, at which I c itimate the working expenses, including removal of permanent way and rolling stock. The thr ugh traffic between Invercargill aud Dunedin, and Lake Wakatipu anl Dunedin, Mould cover renewal of ! bridges and other timber work, and probably leave enough to pay a small dividend. When the middle line from Clutlia to Mataura is finished, there would be, I have little doubt, sufficient traffic to pay a fair dividend on the whole cost. The indirect advantages of the railway will be great. The traffic of the Bluff and Invercargill Hail way will be largely increased, and a tine agricultural district will be opened up at a cost very little exceeding what would be required for a macadamized road. The line passes through a generally favourable country. There is, however, one cutting containing 95 000 cubic yards hauled on i an average three-quarters of a mile. The most important structure is the Mataura bridge, consisting of 10 timber spans of 40 ' feet, supported on masonry piers and abutments. There are nine other bridges, of an aggregate length of 567 feet. The rails will be 40 lbs to the yard on cross sleepers, bedded in ballast. The gradients and cvi yes are comparatively easy. Public Works Office, Wellington, 4lh July, 1872. Sir, — This railway is perhaps the best pla-ed of all the proposed lines in Nvvr Zealand for doing a large traffic. It is of sufficient length, and passes through a fertile district, which is well settled. An estimate of revenue was prepared in 1865 by tho late Mr Patterson, m which he estimates the gross revenue sit LI 13,750, and the net revenue at L 45,500 per annum, or 16 per cent, pur anuum on the cost, as let to iMessra Brogden. This is certainly too sanguine. The following appea s to me to be more nearly what may be expected :—: —

Net revenue ... £16,500 0 0 This represents a profit of about 6 per cent, per annum The line is unfavorable as regards gradients and curves, the worst part being at the Chain Hills where curves of 74 chains radius occur on a gradient of 1 in 40.

We take the following statement of the contracts accepted, and the opinion of the Eng veer-in Chief, Mr Carruthers, from a Parliamentary papers : — The works which Messrs Brngden have tendered for, and for which their tenders have been accepted,

When account is taken of the contingeacies of rise in cost (ilue more to ths scarcity of skilled sab-contractors, iron masters, founders, mechanics, and others, than to any actual rise in the price of labour) which takes place even in England and other thickly peopl d countries, on the beginning of largo public works, I am of opinion that the work would not be done by small contractors cheaper, on the whole, than Messrs Broaden have contracted to do it, while the risk to the Government is of course mush reduced, or altogether done away with, by having a linn with a reputation. Note. — It will be seen from the above that the cost per mile from New Mirkct to Mercer will be L 4,267 10s ; from Napier to Puki Puki, about 1.2,800 ; from Wellington to the Hutt, L 3.57 7; Picton to Blenheim, L 4 417 ; Dunedin to Clutha, Taieri section, L 4,110, 1 10 ;an I lnvercarg'll to Mataura. L 2191. Even the mo3fc captious caunot complain, for as far as we are aware, every line is within the cugincer's estimate. No. V. Public Works Office, Wellington. 24 November, 1871. Sir, — I have fie honor to snbmit the plans for a railway and roid bridge over the Waitaki river, with estimates of the cost of each. 1. An iron plate girder bridge of 54 spans of 66 feet, each supported on piers consisting of two 4- feet cylinders of cast iron, filled with concrete, and sunk to a depth of 24 feet below the lowest water level, the under side of girder being sevesi feet above the highest flood. The t >t;tl depth from under side jof girder to bottom of cylinder being 37 feet 2 inch s. The estiraited cost of this bridge is L 57.983. 2. A wooden b itlge • f 44 spans of 80 feet each, suppo ted on pit rs precisely similar to those of plan No. 1. The teusiou booms and the three end brace? would be of jarrah timber, the whole of the remaining parts would be of totara. As protection from fire, a coating of gravel, four inches thick, set in cement, would cover the whole floor, and the Looms would be protected from the weather by a covering of zinc. The estimated cost of the bridge is 138,936. 3. An iron plate girder bridge of 110 spans of 33 feet each, supported on piers, each consisting of two sets of solid piles. Each set is made up of three solid piles 4f inch diameter, and driven to 24 feet below lowest waterlevel. The piles will be long enough to reach three feet above ordinary low water level. An iron ring wilt be shrunk hot into the heads of the piles, and further Becuredjby a

set screw. Om the rings a casting will rest , which will bind together the heads of the piles, and act as a base for the upper work to rest on. A ring of iron shrunk in hot will also tie the pile heads together, and thus relieve the casting from undue strain. The upper work consists of a strongly braced iron frame, carrying a wooden cup, on which the girders rest. The girders are these already ordered for the bridge. The piers were designed by Mr Blackett, and I fully approve of the designs, which are cheap, effective, and ingenious. The estimated cost of the bridge is L 34 183. In all the above plans it is proposed to let the highway traffic pass on the same platform as the railway traffic. The bridge will therefore be closed to the public exoept at stated hours of the day. The roadway will be 19 feet wide, giving room for two drays to pass. I consider plan No. 1 certainly the best of the three designs, except that it is too expensive ; comparing it with plan No. 2, there is a difference in the first cost of L 19.000, which, put at compound interest at 5 per cent, would replace the destructible part of No 2 plan every n>ne years. I have no doubt that the wooden bridge would last twenty years instead of nine, se it would be sound policy to aAoyt the wooden bridge as against plan No. 1. Plan No. 3 has much to be said both for and against it. The spans are too small to allow drift timber to pass, and I do not, therefore, consider it a perfertly durable bridge. It is apt, also, on account of the smallness of the spans to cause excessive scouring during the usual floods. Its advantages are its cheapness, and the fact that it comes within the amount appropriated by Parliament. It could also be erected in six months from the time the piles arrived from England, while the other plans would take fully 5 year. The girders are already ordered, and will soon be on their way out.

On the whole, I consider the advantages, especially the cheapness of this plan, sufficient to give it the preference over the others and therefore recommend its adoption. I think the iron work ought to be ordered at once by the Government from England, and the erection submitted to public tender here.

Note. — No. 3 design was the one approved of.

£ 8. <\ Passengers, through, 9,000, at 12s Gd 5,625 0 0 Passengers, 20 mile«, 12,000, at 5s 3.000 0 0 Passengers, 6 miles, 45,000, at lsOd 3,375 0 0 Coal, 60,00') tons, at 3s 4d ...10,000 0 0 Merchandise, 3-%(>0l) tons, at 10s 17,500 0 0 Timber, 6-4,000 feet, C.B ML, at 4s 12.001 0 0 Sundries 1.000 0 0 T otal receipts ... £32,500 0 0 Working expenses 36,000 0 0

iire • — Miles. Newmarket to Mercer ... 39 07 Napier to Puki Puki 18.13 Wellington to Hutt 8.00 Picton to Blenheim 1710 Dv edin to C'lntha (Taieri section) ... 34 55 Invcrcjirgill to Mataura ... 39.56 Construe* tinn. £ 166 724 50,807 25,616 75,534 142,000 86,697 Main* tenance. £ 2200 860 400 1000 1835 2135 Total ... 156. Gl 550,378 8430