THE "HERALD" AND THE CHIEF JUSTICE.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12630, 18 October 1905, Page 4

THE "HERALD" AND THE CHIEF JUSTICE.

H\d it not been for th' unflfiurantab!e r . outrageous, and positively indeo^nt- reflection cast upon the Chief Just-ice irx the leading columns af t'h^ s(/ fleaiald "" last evening, we should x not|iave^;hought lof taking anjr part in' the controversy now being waged between Mr Walter-Gi-ej and the editcu- of our ©ontemporary on the subject r of Xo-License. Right thinking people of all shades of political opinion will agree \yibh us that so gro&s 'an offence against 'common decency ought not to be allowed to pa«s unnoticed. Mr Grey, in ooncludimg his letter throw down a challenge an thefollowing words*

No reputable journal professing to be fighting the battles of th£ people, as against wrongs and oppression /should make such a statement without supporting it by evidence,''and in order that you may produce that evidence, a gen— tlenmn,, whose name I have given you confidentially, is prepared to deposit the sum of £100 (one hundred pounds)-* if tho "Herald" will prove that thereis, asfmuoh liqncw'4l©bn^unied in Ashburtqn^at present .as Sunder License, and". that ihe^ demoralising effects of NoLioenjSe are hair:as: great as those under" I^ioln.^,^"Evidence supporting and op— posing ypur statements to be pubmittea to,a tribunal consisting of, say, thephier .'iTust'foe. and another Judge of the SuprepW Cbiii't, to be "selected by tho* "! Herald^ '

Surety no challenge could have beert: more; fairly put? Certainly it is impossible to conceive a better or more impartial tribunal than that suggested byj'Mr Grey. Now note what the- " Herald " says:—

In order to safeguard the £100 so* liberally offered; our correspondent suggests that one of the two arbiters .should? include the strongest and most prominent No-license in the colony, Sir Robert Stout. It is not with theidea of securing the £100 Mr Grey's friend is prepared to deposit that we= return to the charge, for the conditionsimposed bj' <Mr Grey are manifestly too-one-sided justify us in hoping tosscure an unbiassed verdict.

We venture to say that never beforehas so wanton &n insult been levelled afc a Judge of the Supreme Court of thiscolony by any reputable journal. Sir Robert Stout, a man whose reputationboth a>3 a Judge and a citizen is absolutely unassailable, a man whose highcharacter, judicial acumen, and scholarly attributes have won for him theesteem, honour, and unwavering confidence of both Bar and Public, is branded by the "Herald " as a man, from whom it is impossible to hope foran unbiassed verdict! This man, theChief Judge of the Highest Court in the land, is said by our eontempora.ryto have been selected by Mr Grey " inorder to safeguard the £100!'! In plaiir English, the meaning of the "Herald's"* outrageous assertion is that Sir Robert Stout, sitting as an .arbiter with a brother Judge, is not to be trusted to* give a fair verdict on the eridence submitted to him. The " Herald's " word* aro capable of no other interpretation,.

and are tantamount to the allegation that Sir Robert Stout is unfitted to occupy his position on the Bench. Our contemporary knows quite well that there is not an atom of justification for its words, and, as an honourable journal there is only one course open to it, viz., to promptly and publicly apologise, without rasorvation ca excuse, to Sir Robert Stout and to its readers.