To the Editor of the Southern Cross:

Daily Southern Cross, Volume 51, 6 April 1844, Page 3

To the Editor of the Southern Cross:

Sir, — On perusing an article in your Paper of last Saturday, under the head of " Native Gratitude," said to havi been communicated ; I could not help feeling convinced that its insertion had entirely escaped your Editorial eye ; had it not done so, I am sure that you would either have rejected a communication, which, to eay the least of it, was in bad taste, reviving a subject supposed finally settled ; or, at all events, if you had seen' it, and allowed its appearance, that you would have exercised your undoubted privilege of making your remarks upon it, and exposing its absurdity ; seeing that you have not done so, I am almost inclined to look upon the paragraph as being adopted by yourself. I regret that this affair, which wbs the cause of so much excitement amongst the inhabitants of Auckland, should have been again brought before the Public, and more particularly as it has been brought - before them in such an offensive manner. With the prerogative of the Governor, I of course have nothing to do, but with such a communication as that which you published last Saturday, I have to do. Surely Mr. Editor, your communicant could not have heard the evidence given on this trial ; or, if he did, he must have disbelieved it, otherwise he would not have written the following, referring to Te Mania, he says :—" The Chief who was supposed to have intended to steal a cap," (certainly worded in the most delicate manner, of course not to hurt the feelings of this great Chief) Why, there was, thete could be, no supposition in the case, it would admit of none, this great man had actually stolen the cap, and tbe property was got concealed about his person 1 There never was a fairer trial ; the prisoner had the benefit of the best Counsel in Auckland ; there never was a more unanimous Jury, and there never was a more just, and at the same time, a more lenient sentence. -To admit that Te Mania was tried, found guilty by the Jury, and sentenced by the Judge, merely on supposition, would be to impugn the evidence upon which the Jury found their verdict, the decision the Jury came to, and the Judge's sentence ; for if the latter had allowed the Jury to find a man guilty of a felony merely on supposition, he would in my opinion be very culpable. It is with considerable reluctance that I have been forced to call your attention to this matter, but having" done so, I may further remark, that it appears to me your communicant seems to indulge in the very convenient idea, that a " few kits of extremely fine potatoes will satisfy ths just demands of the Law of England i ! It would be a most convenient thing certainly, if felony could thus be compounded. Te Mania himself, had a tolerable notion of how the matter could be settled in this way, as he wished to. make propositions to that effect before he was arraigned at the Police Court. Trusting that this affair will not again be brought before the Public. I am, &c., A Subscriber. Auckland, April 4th, 1844. [In justice to all parties, we publish the above letter. But while doing so, we must say, that we do not think the remarks in the article alluded to, were meant to be offensive. We must however, agree with " A Subscriber," that Te Mania's trial was a most fair one. "We were present at the trial. The evidence of his guilt was undoubted. He had every advantage in a goodCounsel, a good Jury.and an impartial Judge, and we are certain that none of these parties has a doubt regarding his crime. Te Mania, though a petty Chief, has been for a long time well known to be a thief. The intention of the article however, was not to shew that he has been wrongly convicted, but to make known a peculiar trait of Native character.]