THE CHRISTCHURCH SCANDAL.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 10865, 15 January 1901, Page 5

THE CHRISTCHURCH SCANDAL.

FEELING IN WELLINGTON AND DUNEDIN. MR MARTIN'S RESIGNATION ACCEPTED. Since publicity was given to the facts ill connection with the Martin scandal, there has been room for no other topic of conversation in Christ-church, and from all parts of the colony word comes that th* news has been received with the greatest astonishment and regret.

Sufficient time has hardly yet elapsed to allow the papers to be prepared for proceedings in divorce, so that the writ has not yet been issued.

In the Supreme Court. Act, 18S2, under the heading "Constitution of the Ciurt," it is enacted that no person c r hcr than a barrister or solicitor -)1 not less th>n seven years' standing of the Supreme C'-crt of New Zealand, or a barrister or ad'-ccttie of not less than seven years' standing in the United Kingdom, "shall be appointed a Judge of the Court. The commissions of the Judges shall continue in full force during good behaviour, notwithstanding the demise of her Majesty. It is lawful for her Majesty upon the address of both" Rouses of the General Assembly to rea,ove any Judge from his office ;-nd to revoke I.is commission, and for the Governor-in-Council to suspend any such Judge upon a like address. When the General Assembly "hi not in session the Govenijr- , a-Ci>ut:cil niay suspend a Judge temporarily. The Governor-in-Council may also, in toe absence or illness of a Judge, appoint a temporary Judge. At tlie re-cent civil session of tlie Supreme Court, and during the heating .-_,£ a slander case, in which a lady was concerned, Mr Martin, who was then on the Bench, made some remarks concerning marriage, which were considered rather extraordinary at the time. A cc-r'ain witness attempted to discredit the evidence, of another witness, by stating that this second witness had for some years been living with a woman fo whom he was not married. After rebuking the witness for making such a statement for this object, Mr Martin went on to say that it was purely a matter of opinion whether a marriage ceremony was necessary or not. Some people thought one way, soma another. As for ■himself, h-e thought none tihe less of a man because he happened to be living with a woman without first going through some kind of a marriage ceremony with her, and on this account solely he would certainly nob discredit, in any way, a man's testimony.

(press association TELEGRAM.) WELLINGTON, January ll Mr Justice Martin's resignation was ac« cepted by the Cabinet on Saturday. (from ot_r own correspondent.) DUNEDIN, January 14. Apart from the prominent position which Mr Martin held on the Magistrate's Bench, as Public Trustee, and as a Judge of the Supreme Court, he was not known to the Dunedin public, but of cours© in legal circles he was very well known, and on all hands was highly 'respected as a man of ability and integrity. Such tho case, it is needless to say that "sensation" does not fully interpret tho feelings caused by the news this morning of his strange conduct. There is a feeling of intense, indignation that tho high position which the Judiciary of New Zealand has all along held t-hould be in this manner degraded by a man who hat. givenr'such great promise, and been so markedly favoured as Mr Martin. The whole thing came as a surprise. Of course from the non-committal Press message on Saturday it was evident that someone in the. Cathedral City was in trouble, but the name of Mr Justice Martin was not included amongst those connected with the matter by the man in the street.

It is' felt here that his successor will be either Dr. Fitchett, Mr Stiincer, cr Mr Sim. The names of Messrs Cooper, oi' Auckland, and Chapman, Dunedin, are also spoken of as likely successcors to Mr Martin. It is understood, in reliable circles, thai these five were in the running when Mr Martin was appointed.

(SPECIAL TO "TI3-R PRESS.")

WELLINGTON, January 14. The Martin scandal nas been the talk o? the town since the news began to circulate on Saturday, and it is needless to aay that most persons have passed through the various stages of positive incredulity, blank astonishment, and indignation amounting to disgust over the affair. When Mr Martin was Stipendiary Magistrate there he resembled some Eastern Cadi in the strictness with which he visited punishment on wrongdoers. In a popular phrase, he tried "to keep the town straight." Later, he is known to have expressed strong opinions a-j to the heinousness of transgressions of tha moral code, which is at the root of our social fabric. It is when they think of these circumstances that Wellington residents aro filled with conflicting and end by confessing that it is hopeless to try and unravel the workings of the passion which tidied the analytic powers of Balzac and Turgineff. Tho "Times" this morning deals with the scandal under the heading of "The Fall of a Judge," and. says of tho principal actor, "From Ids boyhood his life has been as open as tha day. and his present infatuation must be ascribed to that? form of madness which has been known to have transformed in a moment the careers ol the most honoured of men and women."

(press association telegram:.) WANGANUI, January 14. Tlie news of Mr Martin's downfall haf caused a painful sensation here, and expressions of pain and regreit arc universal