THE Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXX, Issue 5412, 28 December 1874, Page 2

THE Daily Southern Cross.

LUCEO, NON URO. II I h»v« been extinguished, j «t there rlia ▲ thouund bencoui from th« rp»i k I bort.

MONDA Y, DECEMBER 23, 1S74,

It appears that after all Mr. Travers is not to be the Attorney-General when the present occupier of the oflice is raised to the Bench in itself the nnnouncementia,perhaps,of but little moment. Mr. Travers is not much known in. Auckland, but has a reputation for what may be termed rigour •mil " all roundness' 1 which has enabled him under various circuinatances to make his mark in the profession. The very fact of his beini? offered thu office of Attorney Geueral testifies to thus fact. The office, however, is one of which people generally know little, and for which, as a rule, they care less, throughout the colony. But although this is the case the reasons for the existing arrangement under w Inch fhe Attorney - Generur&isuuon-pohtical oflice, areof some interest to the public at large. We are told that Mr. Travers claimed a position as Attorney-General which was not conceded by the Government, and which would have necessitated a return to something like the old system or worse. He considered that he would be in the position of a member of the Government in all but the tendency to political mortality which usually characterises Governments The Government, on the contrary, looked on the oflico as that of a bimplo Civil servant. A servant in receipt of a large salary, indeed, and possessed of more position and perhaps less work than other Civil servants, but still, however lightly worked and excellently treated, no more than a Civil servant after all, although undoubtedly the highest. This position, high as it it), it appears Mr. Travers would not accept, and upon this the negotiation came to an end. It is said that Mr. Travel's thinks himself wronged. We tau scarcely bee ho'.v this cm lie. He might have had what all admit was a well paid oilice, where dignity was not wanting, and he did not like the terms. JNo one prcsaed him, it would seem, unduly to accept the ollice, and the oiler was not accepted. The argument of Mr. Travers will mo«.t likely be that the profession of the law is injured in his person. Thm also, it is not very easy to

u. ill iiL.uul. 'I lie law Ms it t-tauds, iuaj r bf a ijiKul law or the reverse, bin there can be no doubt, we should imagine, that the reading ot the law favoured by the Government is the correct one, and that favoured by Mr. Travors is wroni;. TJie history of the present arrangerneu show-5 this, we imagine, withsullicien clearness. The appointment ot' a per nianent Attorn^y-Gi neral .s an arrange nient of coinpaiatively recent dale in the colony, it was not until 180(5, if we remember rightly, that it was made. I'd to that time the plan pursued witli regard to our Attorney-Generals in New Zealand, was the same as that puisucd in tlie other colonies and in the mother country. The Attorney-General was then a Minister ot the Crown, who came in and went out with the Government to which he belonged. He was, in fact, what \ir. Travers paid he wi=heJ to be, with the addition of a liability to political decease, which Mr. Travers would gladly avoid. He desned to act as a Minister, to take part in the responsible 'government of Ins colleagues m the Ministry, but to be in uowise responsible ior hid actions. lie wished to see the whuhgig of time bring about its changes of Mm isters, while ho himself remained permanently in office, untoucued by the charms and changes of precarious political existence. Weil.this would certainly not please the Assembly, and it would, with equal certainty, be condemned by his brethren of the law, who imiy desire to win political position and emolument through thir professional capacity. The old system had its disadvantages, however, and these were esteemed ot sufficient magnitude to call lor a new anangement. It was found that the frequent changes ot Ministry led to a necessity of finding a frequent succession ot Attorney-Generals In a legisiatuie where legal talent is i*o\ largely represented this was felt to be a serious difficulty niuie than once. It was ea^y enough as <s lulc to get a Premier or a Colonial Tiea»urcr or Secretary from amongst the ranks of the Government party, but with the Attorney-General it was a diileient matter. 'I he consequences wore that more than once there was a difficulty in forming a Government, wmle a practical monopoly was secured to one or two men ot a seat m every Government that could be formed. To avoid thio serious difficulty the plan of a perpetual Attorney-General was thought of, and it was carried out with a pretty general approval from all parties, as all had felt in turn the difficulty complained of, and )were prepared at least to give a fair trial to the proposed plan for getting rid of it. Probably, some of those who agreed to the proposal for a permanent and non political Attorney-General in 18GG, would now take a dilierent view of the matter. Various reasons may have contributed to fU h a change of opinion, some at least of which might easily have been anticipated when the change was made. Of these, perhaps, the most reasonable is that serious inconveniences are found to attach to the present as well as to the former plan. The absence of the AttorneyGeneral trom the Assembly is sometimes felt to be a considerable inconvenience, during the process ot passing through the House of Acts which he has prepared. A Minister who is not a lawyer, has ot course no fair chance of dealing successfully with technical questions. And what is worse than this, it is no difficult thing for a lawyer or two in the House to make Benous alterations in an Act during its progress, which may wholly escape the notice of a non-professional eye until the mischief is irreparable. This has been the case not once only, but many times, indeed, almost constantly of Jate years, and the absence ot the Attorney General while it is thus a drawback to the efficiency of the Government in the Assembly, is also presumably the cause ot the hequent practical errors in our legislature which add to our statute book law & which are more or less inoperative. The change said to be asked tor by Mr. Travers m the position of Attornev General as the conditions of his acceptance ot tho office, would do little or nothing towards getting rid ot this difficulty. He would be very little more able in tho position ot a permanent Miuibter of the Crown to see that Acts passed through the House of Kep-esen-tatives in a reasonably workable form than he would in the present condition ot the office. The only reasonable post tion to take up with a view to getting rid of this evil is tliat the arrangement of 18(50 should be done away null, and that our law officer of the Crown should be as others are at -tho right hand of the Government in the House — to see that this legislation is workable. It may be urged in favour ot such a change that the progress oi the colony has placed us more on a level with other colonies in the matter of available legal taleut. It may be said that such a return to tne old state ot things would be followed at the next election by an influx of legal talent into our Parhaaient, sufficient to remove the difficulty which former Governments had reason to complain of by giving them plenty of men to choose among, each ot whom could fill if not adorn the office ot Attorney-General. Something may also be said of the beuefit to the legal profession of holding such prizes of merit before their eyes as incentives to exertion, and although this being a class matter must be ot very secondary importance, ii should not be wholly overlooked in dealing with the question. Something may be said on both sides. It must not, however, be forgotten tliafc we see the present evils very close, and we do not see those which were lelt so strongly jvhen the Attorney-General Act was passed. We should be careful not to undo what lias been done without some very strong conviction that the evils of the plans we adopt are trifling, when com. pared with those of the system we proprose to get rid of. Change in itself ifl an evil, and we should like to be sure of the counterbalancing advantages before we retrace our steps in »ueh matter as this. On the whole, if the country were in auunderstanding way to be polled to-mor-row on the question, we are rather disposed to think that the great majority would concur in the plain and somewhat blunt opinions expressed by the Commissioners ot Customs when, at his late meeting with ina constituents, he was interrogated by Mr. G. K. Barton, a lawyer ot Dunedin, who had repeatedly sought to Becure the sweet voices of a constituency and as often had tailed. Mr. Barton : Da you thiuk it best for tho interests ot the people that tuue aiumlil not bo a pi litical Att uney-Geneial selected by tho people, aud that that should be the only road to the Bench. Air. Kly.nolds r. plied tb.it he wa8 thoroughly opposed to having a political Attorney General. A poi.tieal Attorneylieuerai went in with a Govtiumout which remained m ofheo perhaps a tuituight ; aud another Attjiney-Ueuer.il was then appointed, who might alter everything that had been done by his pre.kcessor, so tb.it, they would never know wh.it i lie law was. Now with a non-political Attoruey-Geueral thire was no changing. Mr. Buu'on asked if it was more condu-c-ive to the public mt^redt that the road to the Bencli should be open to such lawyeia as the people selected to do their work, rather

than tint it bio . «i i>< cpeu ta Midi lawyers as a certain eiussaelfcutu'l to do its work ? Mr. Keyholdo's impression was that it was far better not to take a politician out of: Parliament and place him oil the Bunch. It would be far better to procuie their Judges away from politics altogether, because there was no doubt that a man who had been engaged in politics for a number cf years acquired certain prejudices foi or «ig>unat certain things, and against his opponents. Mr B\riov : Do you think that the course pursued by the English nation up to this time in the selection of their Judges is a mistake, and that we in r< tw Zealand ha\ o learned to improve upon it ? Mr Reynolds : We have been able to show the English people a number of improvemonts,—(Loud applause.) Mr. Bakton put on hia hat at ouce, au<I cook his departure. Mr. Barton evidently erot more than he bargained for, and probably he hurriedly assumed his beaver wilh the determination once more to seek a constituency. We are pretty largely governed by lawyers now, as the people know to their cost, and the Courts seem to bring more fees to the lawyers than verdicts for their chentB. It is a very general opinion that at the present moment we are already amply furnished with lawyers in the Parliament of the colony.

We are glad to observe by last advices from Lionrlon that money is reported ai being easier, and that there is a large amount of f;old in the coffers of the Banks. Mr. Vogel, the Colonial Treasure!, was expected to ariive in London about the 21 >t of tho present month, and it 19 sitisfactnry to find that the rise in the price of money, which from previous advices was anticipated, is not likely to take p'aee. Tli^ piosptcts ot tho market are, therefore, likely to be more favourable for the floating of llip New Zealand lodu, of which Mr. V. gel is in chatge. That gentleman has general!)' lvenfo-moate in his fimuc.al efforts, and v,e hoie his pievious sucresa will be icpeated, although, undoubtedly the terms aie not so promising as they were on the occasion of his last monetary visit to England.

So Sullivan, by order of the Supreme Court of Victoria, is to be Bent back to hew Zealand. What shall we do with him ? Villain aa he has bf en, is no means of repentance to be permits d to him on this side of the grave ? He is, to all intents and purposes, by law, a free man, duly pardoned by the Queen's representatives for services rendered, even although they were those of an approver and an accomplice — by means of which stern and necessary justice was enabled to take its course again-t a murderous trio. There was an unwise agitation created on the occasion of his pardon and intended departure from this colony. The officials were not sufficiently reticent, and the attempt to ship him to America, where he migh perhaps have had himself in honest lahour, was denied to him. At last, he was quietly shipped to Ed#« land from this port, but the news of his departure reached home before him, and lie found himself under police surveillance. Hunted there, he was attracted by early remembrances of his home at Inglewood, and he sailed for Melbourne, only to find himself once more a prisoner, and doomed to return to the colony where his name has so long been execrated. Poor wretch ! What cau he do here ? The sentiment of detestation of his crimes is no doubt a siga of public virtue ; but is mercy to be altogether forgotten ? True, he and hia accomplices showed none to the hapless unarmed \ictims whose lives they took ; but the law pardoned him, and now th> t he is coming back here, perhaps some may regret that he was not allowed quietly to leave the colony. He has been pardoned, and the public hatred should not now render the law practically of none effect.

The flogging bill before tho Victorian Parliament has beeii lost tkrougu technical objections. We tlnak this is <i pity. The bmt.il inaltreaters o£ vvomen are very tender of oun cuticle, and a Hogging \ct which was passed in England has been fuund effective m putting a stop to garrotting. In one of the " open port-i" of China — Flo i< k mj, or Shanghii, wo believe, crimes of a like nature, robbery with violence by gangs of the most aba'idoueJ Chinese, wn'd of Ircquonfc occurrencp, and our English authomirs at last obtuneA the poner of tiu j Iaah. Ou its first application, a set of fellows who, says a late agistrate of tholoc^i'y, "would have thought no mme of stamping on an infants' head than they would tnink of killing a cockroach — who would knife your finger as the easiest way of stealing your ring as coolly as they would, have handled their chopsticks," were subjected to " triangjlation" and the cat. The first victim vented shrifk after shriek, and those whose turn was to come, hithesto sullen and defiint, at once "set up (self) sympathising, aluaosi continuous howl, hrok n only by unmanly, tearful bobs. Huffian after ruffian had received Ins allowance (some in their agony cr) iug, '" No hkee — no hkee — more better bangee — me like 1'an^ee — no hLoe, no IiLgj ftangee." The sceno was truly exciting, ami (connnues the authont\ we quote) I will say, although I had n~ver before witnessed corporeal punishment without feeling pain myself, «xtremtly odifying." The effect was most beneficial, and a like result would doubtless have been effected in Victoria. Meanwhile the ruffians there have only had a respite, their turn will come, for we do not doubt the bill will piss nfxt session. The woodcock to hi>* own springe, and a taste of the cat is the best application that can be given to beaters of women and the abusers of children.

In the supplement which we publish today will be found an account of the services held in the various chui cues on Clmstmasday, and also a description of the horse rac s, athletic sports, and other amusementB which took place on Boxing-day. A man who arrived from the Fijis yesterday, bv the e.s. 'Star of the South, 'was taken to the hospital, shortly after the arrival of the vessel i«i harbour. It was reported last uight late that he had since died, we have boon unable to learn any particulars from the police as to the man's name, the nature of his illness, or whether the report of his death be correct. The Hou C. C. B)<\en has been gazetted a member of the Executive Council, Minister of Justice, aud Commissioner of Stamp Duties. Lieut. Maling has been appointed Private Secretary to his Excellency the Governor. Lord Hervey Phipps, and Lieut. LoPatourel aide-de-camp and extra aide-de-camp. His Excellency the Governor has ap pointed Matthew Thomas Clayton a surveyor under the Merchant Shipping Acts Adoption Acts. Those desiring to obtain ad eundem degrees in the New Zealand University are requested to send in their applications on or betore the 15th January. Statement of the Provincial Lunatic Asylum for the week ending December 26, 1874: Kemiined last return, 144 ; admitted since, 1 ; discharged since, 2 ; died since, 0 ; rem uning at rresenr, 143 92 males, 51 femiles) A parcel of illustrated papers from P. A. Philips, Eaq , ia acknowledged with thanks. The Sisters of Mercy of St. Mary's Convent return their cordial thanks to Mrs. Lynch of the Clanricarde Hotel, Mra. Hackett of tli'Maiket Hotel Mr9. Stewart of the Albert Hotel, Mrs. Gleeson of the Aurora Hotel, Mrs. Sullivan of thd Exchange Hotel, and others, for sundry presents of a r>asoiiable charactoi, for the orphans of St. iry'a. The E^rl of Pembroke has presented a fine ors»an to Wilton Church The Parisian railway authorities have discontiuut d most of the Sunday excursion trains for the present.