THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1877.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 770, 24 May 1877, Page 2

THURSDAY, MAY 24, 1877.

The prerogative of mercy, which' rests Vvrith. the Governor, has nob been exercised in the case of Te Pati, and that malefactor was yesterday executed in the usual manner. Nor, do we see any special reason why the ordinary course of tho law should have been interfered with, but, on the contrary, very many reasons why it should have been left to its operation. The murder waa not only a cruel and bloodthirsty but it was clearly and unmistakably a planned and 'premeditated one. The degree of civilization to which the murderer had reached, and, by all accounts, it was a very low one, cannot be held as excusing a crime of this character, for, respect for human lite must be insisted upon, and the responsibility is understood and appreciated by the most brutal of men. To have made an exception in the case of Te Pati, would have been not only a social mistake, but a political blunder. The murderers of Todd, of Sullivan and other Europeans are at large, but the wood is grown and^ the, hemp is twined which will yet be instrumental in the vindication of the law which those murderers have violated, even though they have now the security afforded them of the sanctuary at Te Jvuiti. They will, yet become evidences of the truth of the old German proverb, "The mill of God gr^ds slowly, but it grinds exceedingly small," and sooner or later they will be handed over to justice. In this case, thanks to the exertions of ouc Waikato settlers and police, the murderer was captured ere he reached the refuge of the King country, and if, for any reason whatever, the authorities now failed to exact the full penalty of the law, the King natives might well retort upon us, at any time we may demand the extradition of murderers who have sought refuge among them, that when we had one such taken redhanded on his road to the King country, we did not care to vindicate the law.