Resident Magistrate's Court.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume VI, Issue 435, 29 August 1851, Page 4

Resident Magistrate's Court.

vm, Wednesday, 27th August. Before Thomas Beckham, Esq., Evident Magistrate. Mr. James O'Neill appeai'ed on summons to answer the_ complaint of Mr. J. Guilding, Customs Landing Waiter, " for passing, on the 19 th August, an entry without properly describing the goods contained in that entry — contrary to the 22nd clause of the Customs Ordinance, Session 1, No. 3, and the Customs Ordinance, Session 11, No. 5—5 — •whereby the said James O'Neill had forfeited the said goods." Mr. Guilding appeared himself in support of the information. Mr. Whitaker appeared for the defendant.

Mr. T. S. Ely deposed as follows : — L am locker to the Customs in Auckland. I had a case", No. 57, the property of Mr. James O'Neill, .opened on the 22nd inst ; it was described in the entry as a case of " Millinery." The ad valorem duty of 10 per cent was paid at the Customs on that .case previously to its being examined. Upon opening the case, we found twelve beaver hats, for which there is a fixed duty of 12s. per dozen ; and there were also three dozen cloth caps, for which there is a fixed duty of 2s. per dozen ; and two dozen straw hats, | for which there is a duty of Is. 6d per doz. The remainder of the goods in the case were things that could be correctly passed ad valorem 10 per cent, — that is to say, there is no fixed duty upon them. Cross-examined by Mr. Whitaker. — There were other things properly entered at 10 per cent. The total amount of duty payable on the two dozen straw hats, according to the fixed duty, would be 3s. I have no idea what the defendant did pay on the hats separately. He paid duty on £24 lls. lid. The invoice states the value to be £26 195. sd. — less £1 7s. 6d., the value of the case. The entry is exactly the amount. The ad valorem duty on the straw hats, taking the price as by the invoice, would be 3s. lid. Three shillings was the duty that ought to have been paid; 3s. lid. was the duty paid. Mr. O'Neill, on the item of straw hats, did cheat himself out of lid. There are three dozen cloth caps; the proper duty on them would be 65., that is 2s. per dozen. The duty paid was ss. 9d., — 3d. short of what should have been paid. The proper duty on the hats would be 125. ; the duty paid was 4s. 7d. Locking at that long invoice, all I could find wrong were those few articles. There are sixty-seven parcels included in the entry. There are three items that are incorrect. Of those three, too much was paid on one, 3d. too little on another, and 7s. sd. too little on the third. I have not, that I recollect, ever had any conversation with Mr. O'Neill on the subject of the duties. I never told him that the Customs did not expect to get the full amount of duties paid. I have known amended entries to be permitted but not since the new tariff came into operation. lam not, of my own knowledge, aware of any wrong descriptions having been given. Mr. T. E. Taylor examined. — I am chief clerk in the Customs. The entry produced was passed by Mr. O'Neill ; and that declaration at the back is the declaration relating to the goods which have been seized. It is case 57 that has been seized. At the' time Mr. O'Neill came with the entry, I called his attention to the necessity of describing the goods very particularly, and called his attention also to a notice on the wall, in which it is declared, that unless goods are properly described, they will be forfeited. lam not aware that Mr. O'Neill made me any reply. He read the notice, and then made the declaration. Cross-examined by Mr. Whitaker. — There is an instance of one wrong entry having been passed since the new tariff. It has not been arranged yet. There has j been no amended entry or description } made. If there had been, it would have i been in distinct contravention to the public notice. Before the new tariff came into operation, amended entries were sometimes allowed, but it has been looked upon as a very great indulgence There is no provision made in the ordinance for their permission; it states particularly that, if the goods are not properly described, they are liable to forfeiture. By the Bench. — Parties may have an opportunity of examining parcels before passing their entries. If a package arrives without an invoice, or if, from any other cause, there is a doubt as to its contents, the only thing is to make a declaration to that effect, and to get them landed, — when they will be looked at by the landing-wait-ers and a description given. This ended the case for the information. Mr. Whitaker had no desire to call any witnesses. * - Mr. Guilding said he wished to remark that he thought the time of the Court and of the parties engaged had been very unnecessarily wasted. The value of the goods had nothing at all to do with the case. What the Customs went on was, that they had not been properly described. The amount was of no consequence, but they desired to go on the principle. It would not do to let parties pass entries for just whatever amount, and in whatever way, they chose ; if that were allowed, the ordinance might as well be at once trampled under foot. He would call upon the Bench, under the 22nd clause of the ordinance, to order the confiscation of the goods. Mr. Whitaker in reply, said, — It did appear to him that the condfact of the officers of the Customs in this case was not what it should have been. He was always desirous to see the law upheld against those who wished to evade it, but he must say, he did not think that any discrimination had been shown in this case. It would appear that there could not possibly have been any intention to defraud the Customs entertained by Mr. O'Neill. Here was a new law, — with a long list of fixed duties, and Me thought the bench would at once see how easily an error might creep in, without the least intention of defrauding the Customs. ; A discretionary power had been wisely vested in the bench, which declared that under < certain proof, &c, they ndght order the goods to be confiscated — this power was i

made in order that the Bench, whil&t they could order seizure of goods on which it was attempted to defraud the revenue — should not be obliged to entail a hardship where an error had unintentionally crept in. That the latter was the case here, he thought the bench would at once see, and that it would agree with him ihit this was a case which should never have been brought before the Court. A question here arose as to whether the judgment of the Court should apply to the articles which were not properly described — or to the whole of the case. — Mr. Gruilding contended that the Customs had a right to seize all the goods passed in the entry, because the entry was incorrect, and stated that it;was only through clemency that they had forborne to claim confiscation of both cases passed in the same entry. Mr. Whitaker, on the contrary, pointed out that if Mr. Guilding's law upon the subject were admitted, it would make the whole thing ridiculous and intolerable. According, to Mr. Gruilding's argument, if a party were passing entry for £1,000 worth of goods, he would, for an error in an article of the value of one shilling, be liable to have the whole confiscated to the Customs ; let that error be ever so unintentional. The information set out that 'the goods were'not properly described, and that the said J. O'Neill hath forfeited the said goods' He thought it was pretty clear the provision of the Ordinance was twofold, the one for the fraudulent passing of an entry, in which case the whole of the goods included in that entry might be confiscated; and the incorrectly specifying the goods, in which case the goods incorrectly specified would be subject to seizure. Judgment deferred to Friday (this day).

Extract of a Despatch of Earl Grey to Governor Grey. No. 22. Downing-street, 19th February, 1851. Sir, —In acknowledging your despatch No. 98, of Sept. 20, in which you report the resignation of certain Members of the Legislative Council of New Zealand, I will take the opportunity of adverting to your former despatch, No. 161, of Nov. 30, 1849, in which you proposed the introduction of representative institutions into New Zealand in the beginning of the present year. 2. I have, as yet, refrained from answering this despatch, not from any reluctance on the part of Her Majesty's government to entertain the momentous question to which it relates, or from any distrust of your judgment in thus proposing the extension of free institutions, at an earlier period than was before contemplated, into the community over which .you preside ) but from a sense of the practical difficulties which oppose the immediate realization of your views. Fully .admitting the principles which you advocate, and also the force of your testimony to the fitness of the community of New Zealand for the proposed change, the manner of effecting it required serious consideration, not only from its own inherent difficulties, but because it could not be done without the authority of Parliament. 3. I therefore postponed my answer until it could be determined whether it was possible to submit any measure on the subject of the Constitution of New Zealand to Parliament during the present session. I must now inform you that upon a full review of the various subjects which must necessarily be brought before the Legislature in the present session, her Majesty's government have ! come to the conclusion that it probably will not be in their power, without interfering ; with measures of more pressing urgency, to introduce in this session a bill for determining the future constitution of the Government of New Zealand, since from the experience of the discussions on the bill for extending to the other Australian Colonies the constitution already established in New South Wales, it is evident that the consideration of such a measure would necessarily occupy a very large portion of the public time. 4. These reasons, in addition to those already stated in my despatch of the 22nd of December, 1849, have induced me to consent to the continued postponement of a more comprehensive measure, and I have felt the less difficulty in doing so, inasmuch as the powers with which you are already invested by the Suspending Act of 1848 enable you to introduce the representative principle, of your own authority, into the Legislatures of the Provinces into which New Zealand is divided. If you think the time has arrived for the safe exercise of those powers, I wish you to use them forthwith. For it would, in my opinion, be attended with much convenience that the Provincial Councils should be re-constituted on this basis before the constitution of the General Legislature is altered. 5. The best model for these Provincial Councils, which must be regarded as temporary and subordinate institutions, will probably be attained by introducing a number of elective members exceeding the nonelective ; but the proportions, and the other details, I leave to yourself. 6. I agree with you in thinking that here- i after-, when the population of the colony shall have increased, and the means of communi- ; cation been improved, many of the subjects which must for the present be dealt with by these separate Legislatures, will be brought again with propriety under the control of the General Legislature; the Provincial Councils confining themselves, ultimately, to the discharge of duties similar to those which, in Canada, devolve on the District Councils.

7. I approve also of 4he change wliieli you propose, in paragraph 7 of your despatch of Nov. 30, 1849, to introduce in the present constitution of the Provincial Councils as to the suspension of their Ordinances by the Governor-in-Chief ; but this is a power which, from the nature of the subject, shouldjje very sparingly exercised. 8. On the question of the farther subdivision of New Zealand in general, or of New Mun&ter, into Provinces, I must necessarily rely, in great measure, on your judgment. According to the best opinion which I am able at present to form, it is desirable that J such subdivision should take place. The parties who are interested in the settlement of Canterbury, and I believe also those who are concerned in Otago, are desirous of having those settlements erected into separate Provinces, in which case Nelson would remain, as now, in connexion with Wellington. But the decision as to the limits of these Provinces I wish to remain with yourself. 9. This opinion, however, is not unconditional. lam not satisfied of the expediency of establishing in these smaller Provinces Councils entirely nominated by the Crown, as you appear to suggest in your despatch of Nov. 30, 1849. I think, on the contrary, that no new Provinces should be constituted unless the representative element can be introduced into its Councils. But, even with a very small population, this appears to me practicable. 10. In the next place, I agree in your opinion, as expressed in your despatch of Dec. 22, 1849, paragraph 20, that no new Province should be constituted, unless on the terms of supporting its own peculiar expenses, and contributing its fair proportion to those general expenses, whatever they may be, which may be charged on the whole community of New Zealand. 11. In order to carry these views into effect, I have advised Her Majesty to make the necessary changes in the Charter of 1846. The Act of 1848, suspending the Constitution, does not suspend that portion of the Act of 1846, which empowers the Queen to divide the island into Provinces, or that portion which enables Her to delegate to the Governor any portion of the powers which that Act confers upon her. You will therefore be empowered, in general terms, to constitute new Provinces; and the Act of 1848 gives you sufficient authority (with the advice of the Legislative Council of New Zealand) to constitute Legislatures for such Provinces. 12. To facilitate the same object, the Royal Instructions will also be altered in the manner which you recommend in your despatch of October 22, 1849, as to the Constitution of the Executive Council. 13.- When the inhabitants of New Zealand arc thus invested with the power of managing the affairs of the separate Provinces by representative bodies, by which also they will be enabled to express their wishes and opinions to the General Legislature (which will no doubt be much assisted, and in great measure guided, by their advice), I trust that no serious inconvenience will result from the postponement for a short time of a change in the constitution of the latter body, by which a representative character will be given to it likewise I have the honor to be, &c. (Signed) Grey. Governor Sir G. Grey, X.C.8., &c.

The Cuba Expedition and the Southern Secessionists. — The newspaper organ of the government, at Washington — the ' Republic' — intimates that the intelligence communicated by telegraph from New Orleans, of the abandonment of the Cuban expedition there, was most likely a feint made by the promoters of the enterprise, to deceive the government and furnish a better opportunity for carrying the purposes of the leaders into effect. We should not be surprised if this conjecture was correct. Indeed, from what we havo seen taking place in different parts of the Southern States — on the coast of Florida and Georgia, and Texas and elsewhere — it is very evident that the Cuban expedition has been stimulated at various points, for other purposes and with other motives than a mere love of an enterprise against Cuba. j We have strong reasons for believing that, while Southern secession may assume a shape of an expedition to Cuba on the one hand, the Cuban adventurers are endeavouring to unite with the Southern secessionists for a grand and ultimate purpose that resembles more the expedition once attempted by Aaron Burr, or the more successful one which was carried into effect by the acquisition of Texas, and the other events resulting from that piece of enterprise. General Quitman, General Henderson, and several other political leaders of the South, are named as being connected with this expedition against Cuba. It is well known that these gentlemen, and many others who sympathize with them, entertain doctrines favorable to the secession of the South from the North, and even contemplate, at a proper time, the establishment of a Southern republic comprising the Southern States, Mexico, Cuba, and the West Indies, thus forming a new power in that region, separate and distinct from the Northern States and the British colonies. This dream of uniting the Southern States and Mexico, Cuba, and the West ladies, in one great republic, and of keeping the control of one of the principal highways between "the commerce of the Pacific and

the Atlantic — between China and the Asiatic countries, and London and the countries of the East, has been entertained by many of thos3 adventurers, since the termination of the late Mexican war. The number of points on the coast of Georgia, Florida, and Texas, which have been named for the sailing of the expedition to Cuba, and the movements being made hi thos3 quarters, very naturally suggest some understanding between those adventurers and the Southern secessionists. The imbedlity of the general government at Washington, displayed in the management of the Lopez trials in New Orleans, and in the attempt to involve General Quitman, without sufficient evidence, in a violation of the law, make the men engaged in these enterprises more confident in ultimate success, and of not only overcoming the United States' government, and of escaping their vigilance, but also of trying their chances in Cuba. The rumours of all kinds from the South, coupled with what is taking place in South Carolina and elsewhere, begin to exhibit a. very ugly aspect. This may be the game in which Palmers!;on and Sir Henry Bulwer may try to play trumps. Who knows ?

Tiie Royal Naval Exhibition or 1851. — Reports are already in circulation as to the Naval display during the Great Exhibition, and various ships' names have been quoted as likely to assemble at Spithead. We have reason to believe that one of the finest and best equipped fleets, not only that foreigners ever saw, but that Great Britain ever exhibited, will be formed at one. of the home ports, most probably at the Nore or Spithead 5 and it is said that the whole fleet will be under the Command-in-Chief of Rear Admiral Berkeley, C.8., M.P., one of the Lords of the Admiralty, with Commodore Martin as second in command. Three three-deckers are already in commission, and doubtless these will form part of the fleet A fourth will return from the Mediterranean about the time, and will most likely be retained in commission for a short time at home. There are also four two-deckers in commission at home ports to be added to the first-rates j in addition to which, there will be a 90-gun ship and the three screw line-of-battle ships. The above, added to 'Commodore Martin's frigate Squadron, will form the following imposing force : — Threedeckers, Caledonia 120, Trafalgar 12Q, St. George 120, Britannia 120 ; — Two-deckers, Prince Regent 90, Monarch 84, Vengeance 84, Bellerophon 78, Boscawen 70 s—Screw5 — Screw Line-of-battle Ships, Blenheim 60 guns, 450 horse-power, Hogue 60 guns, 450 horsepower, Ajax 58 guns, 450 horse-power ; — Frigates, Leander 50, Arethusa 50, Phaeton 50, Indefatigable 50 ; — Screw Frigates, &c, Arrogant 46 guns, 360 horse-power, Dauntless 24 guns, 560 horse-power, Encounter (paddle-wheel frigate) 14 guns, 360 horsepower, Retribution 28 guns, 400 horsepower. — Making a total of nine sail-of-the-line and four first-class frigates, three screw line-of-battle ships and three screw frigates, and one paddle-wheel frigate — in all, 20 ships, from 1,000 tons to 2,500 tons measurement. — TJ. 8. Gazette. Arrival op the first Foreign Man-of-War with Works of Art- and Vertu for the Great Exhibition of 1851. — The Governalli, frigate -steamer, belonging to the King of Sardinia, of about 1,600 tons, Captain Count Persiani, arrived at Spithead on Saturday, direct from Genoa, having been only ten days on her passage. She is loaded with 500 packages of art and vertu, which include statuary in alabaster and marble, gold work, velvets, silks, &c, to be exhibited at the grand mart in London, the produce of Sardinia and Piedmont. She has on board an extra number of officers and a number of Piedmontese and Sardinian noblemen, many of whom landed and looked round the town and dock-yard on Saturday. The Countess Persiani also landed in the evening, and proceeded to Brighton. The Governalli got under way about 4 o'clock on Sunday evening, and then saluted the garrison with 10, and the flag of Admiral Sir B. Capel with 17 guns, which were duly returned. She proceeded to Woolwich, where she landed her valuable cargo. The Ladies' Carpet, for the Exhibition, is now on private view at the Society of Arts, and is intended to shew the occupation of the boudoir of our fair countrywomen, and to promote a new style of decoration, which, if encouraged, will find work for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of the poorer classes. The carpet is 600 feet superficial, divided into 15,0 squares, worked in Berlin wool by 150 la&ies, each having worked four feet superficial. It may be remembered that this carpet originated in a suggestion by Mr. Simpson, and a design having been prepared by Mr. Papworth in August last, a sufficient portion of the centre was painted and exhibited to a committee, and to the ladies who proposed to help in the work, who assembled in the Egyptian. Ball at the Mansion-House, lent for that purpose by the late Lady Mayoress, who has taken the greatest interest in the matter. After several other meetings the whole of the divisions were issued to the several contributors. The carpet, being now made up under Mr. Simpson's care, may be seen at the Society of Arts by any one, producing a card from any of the committee.