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New Zealander, Volume 11, Issue 989, 6 October 1855, Page 2

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' U ' Oi '-1,., ■ ■ - U KS’ .Vr,;. V , and more especidif thaFSjie deciding arbitrarily, and without appeal m certain cases,- should. be withdrawn Practically indeed apt! with reference to the | every day business of this community, tho Resident Magistrates Court is an instituI tioa of equal, if not of greater importance than the Supreme Court itself If,however Judge -Martin had accepted a requisition’ from any political party in Auckland, had 1 i offered himself as a candidate for theeitv j and become a canvasserfor votes,we should I all have been no doubt greatly shocked. Vv'e hope that the observations which we I have felt ourselves called upon to make ‘ will not be misinterpreted. Mr. Beckliara might perhaps be found to be a valuable and useful member of either legislature, but we think, {.hat he should at onco make hj i - election& of the game of p o 1 i tics an dthe wry comfortable certainty which he now enjoys, -and in expressing our regret that, whilst holding bis present a ppointraent, he mould, by any capse, be led to take part in political or eleeiioneerin* j strife, we echo the sentiments of many of , his friends, andofalarge number of the in- | habitants generally, wlio believe that the | role of the active politician and the functions of the absolute judge cannot, ia this community, be safely combined, The loud and incessant complaints of favoritism and partiality, with or without ■ foundation, which were made against ' the Survey Olhce were amongst the c uiscs wiiich rendered the establishment of the Waste Land Board desirable. It was hoped that the public confidence would have been secured for the Board by tho publicity of all its operations, and by the character soughtto be given to it,of an open court, in which disputes, relative to land purchases would be decided upon their merits, without suspicion of jobbery, or political favoritism. , Under these circumstances it was plainly the duty of the Superintendent to keep the attainment of those objects in view in making the several appointments to the Board, and it is as plainly the duty of the Commissioners themselves, bearing in mind the fact that their functions partake of the judicial character, not to committhemselvcf to any party but carefully to preserve their Court from party strife and the suspicion of political influence. His Honor the Superintendent selected the Commissioners from amongst the most prominent members of his own-party, and, with one exception we believe, the whole staff from the Chief Commissioner down to tho Messenger, are actively engaged in in the present election contest. Three of the Commissioners, Messrs. Taylor, Slay, and Ormsby are candidates, the first for a seat in the House of Representatives, tha latter for seats in the Provincial Council, and all are engaged in an energetic canvass of the voters. We are very far indeed from insinuating anti we hope that wc shall not be so understood, that party considerations would bias the decisions of the Commissioners in pj instance ; but, as we have before said, it is most important that the administration of justice should everywhere be, not only pure, but absolutely free from suspicion, and we leave it to the consideration of the public to determine whether, under pr-* sent circumstances, the political proceedings of the Land Commissioners above named, and their known predilections, fl re likely to secure general confidence in impartiality of tlieir decisions, in cases in which the disputants are always eagerandi not uufrequently us we believe, somewhat unreasonable.