The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 852, 1 December 1877, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

i'liialaul exact lusiice to all men, . > -,v.liac«sver suite or parsudsioa, ieiigi«UH i.r (jxiiticai •*9 # * * rore shall the Presi the People's) right muiutaiii, ftiiiwoi i>v iu'luouoo atiil uubviboil by uuin SATURDAY* DECEMBER I, is 77. To hung a man first nud try him afterwards is a somewhat oue aided judicial arrangement, bub, to bang .liar without triul at all, is going even a step farther. Yet cbat is just xvbat a of the Waipa electors to have done m the o.isa of Mv A. Cox. The course taken ut the uieecuig of Satard y kst, report d more lv ly m our issue of to-day, is rather calculated to create syuiunthy for that gentleman m the muida of the jlectors generally than; ocuerwiae. Ie was uompeteut for t hcj meeting to liavo expressed an opinion one way or the other on the auuion of their uem ier, but to take ste^is toe forcing a resignation from him wicnout awt hearing what he had to aay m ais defence, was goiyg just one »oep 00 far. To ask a aittiu^ member and lepreaenbafcivo to rtwi^a v, »»o my time, an extreme course, but to U" so at the fig end ot' tha session, aid when m the natural course oi tivems be would have an opportunity, almost immediately, of facing jiia accusers and obtaining a heaving, is calculated almost to defeat ■'he' object intended. Not tnat we would Uave the eieotors, or any ,) irtion of them, sit quietly down under what they conceive to be a {jolitioil wrong, indicted upon them oy the laches of ibair rep. udentatire. If they feel that his aciiou m the Assembly has been inimical to the interests of the district, there is really no other oaurae open to them, consistent with their duty to tuemdelveß, unpleasant though it may bd, olian to invite him to a public meeting o£ the eleciora, to tbeia anl then clear himself, if he can, of the charges brought against him, or, failing to do so, to leave the road open to some one m whom the •lectors have greater confidence. Vud here, again, such aoiion saou.d tj that of the Waipa filec oivice as t whole, and uot merely of any odte v ctiou of ie, and shoul 1 come t'roni 1 geuc»ral meeting of the electors, convened for the special purpose, aid held m some central posioiou, such as Oiiaapo. So specific a a itj.-me as calling on the JEt-pre^nta-live of the district to 'resign, us the •utconiH of ao general a su jeet foiiiscussioD as " the consideration of ite present position of affa.ra m the .-Eouse.of Representatives,' was more ban the eieotors were warrauuett m ooking for, and, therefore, the reajuion, p.issed on Saturday, o.unot >c taken as expressing the opinions ol he electors generally of the district. We are no apologists for Mr Uox's political action m the Assembly. That is a matter m which there should Orf thefullestand clearest understanding between himself aud those who sent him to Parliament to represent ohem. That which we feel called on m the present instance to omuent ipon is the manner m which it has b en sought to condemn him unheard, ■Mid m his absence, which we can. iot but feel is un-E ig i«h, and unworthy of the elecr.ors themwives. If it is thought that Mr Jux has betrayed the trust of the electors, let him be broug.it fi.ee to c<ce with his accusers. ~ ThLs at nast he has a right to demand. The ■nembers of " that most au Assembly " have nut done much, ■some of them, to maintain its character during the laat, session m he c.'c» of the public, but it has jot yet Bu n k so low that any one of them, as such, should not be entitled t- 1 the same consideration as we .fford to the lowest criminal — an jpeu trial mid the opportunity of disproving the charges brought <tgainst him.