THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. MONDAY, MAY 26, 1873.

New Zealand Herald, Volume X, Issue 2909, 26 May 1873, Page 2

THE New Zealand Herald. SPECTEMUR AGENDO. MONDAY, MAY 26, 1873.

We have English telegrams, to the 10th instant, by way of Port Chalmers; the Duke of Edinburgh, a sailing vessel, having brought later news in anticipation of the regular despatches by steamer. The most important item in the news is the announcement of the death of John Stuart Mill, the celebrated political economist. Truly a great and noble man has passed away; but he has finished his work, and left an imperishable name in the literature of his country. John Stuart Mill was born in 1806, and was under the care of his father, "the historian of British i j- - He waa in early life employed in the service of the East India

Company, and in 1856 lie wis promoted to the responsible office of Examiner of Indian Correspondence. Mr Mill was a contributor to the minbvrqh and Westminster Reviews. The principal of these papers have been republished under the title of " Dissertations and Discussions." His larger works are too well known to require special mention. For several years, Mr. Mill edited the Westminster Beview. In politics he was an advanced Liberal; and while lie sat in the House of Commons for j Westminster he became so unpopular with the masses for his advocacy of the right of women to the elective franchise, that he failed to obtain a seat at the late general election. Since his exclusion from the House of Commons, ho devoted himself with renewed vigour to the task of his life, the elevation of the masses, by whom his great merit was undervalued. Elis opinions on the land question, a peasant proprietary, and popular education, although in advance of the times, are almost certain to influence the legislation of the country in the direction in which he desired it to go. John Stuart Mill was one of the most amiable of men, and was aa greatly respected for his private virtues as ho was admired for his

writings. It appears as if England, by accepting the Dutch settlements on the West African coast, has fallen into a neat thing in the shape of a "little " war. 'The King of Ashantee, and a force of from 30,000 to 40,000 men, after severe fighting, menace the capital of the. Dutch settlements. On the other hand, the Dutch, by securing the exclusion of England from Sumatra, at the sacrifice of her AVest African stations, has realised an exactly similar state of things, with this difference, that whereas the Dutch troops have been disastrously defeated in Sumatra, no British troops have been engaged at Cape Coast Castle. It is at present a fight among the men of colour, who are improving each other off the face of the earth in splendid style. The unconstitutional proceedings in Louisiana, by the rival carpet-bag assemblies, has resulted in civil war, as it was predicted it would. Federal troops have been despatched to coerce the State.

We are infoi'ined that Sir Oharlea Baddelev will call the attention of the House of Commons to the state of colonial affairs, on the motion for going into Committee of Supply.

Tee news from Waikato, which appears in another place in our paper, confirms tlie general opinion we have expressed from the commencement'- of the crisis. Our readers will perceive, on a careful persual ot' the telegraphic summary of Mr. Maekay's speech at Cambridge, that his views differ in no particular from our owu. Should lighting be necessary to sustain the law, he holds, as we have done, that it must be made the last Maori war, and that it should not be terminated until the Queen's writ runs from one end of New Zealand to the other. A.t the same time ho is sanguine that the murderers of Sullivan will be surrendered to justice. Wc sincerely trust that his anticipations will bo realised ; and if they are, tlie danger will have passed away, because, as we said on a former occasion, the King will be vanquished without our firing a shot. s But there is a strong probability that Purukutu and his band will not be surrendered ; and in that case, the position of llewi is of the most embarrassing character. Professedly neutral, he occupics Kopua which, in a strategic point of view, commands the approach to the King's country from \Vaipa-, and he is prepared to fight or temporise as the exigencies of the hour iray suggest. That this is the attitude he has deliberately taken up is apparent from Mr. Maekay's own words. llewi assured hiin, Mr. Mack ay said, that " as long as fighting was carried on by " Europeans he would not interfere, " but if other tribes were brought "there, he might be compelled to " fight." Now this is tolerably clear. There is little ambiguity about it. If we desire to purchase Rewi'a neutrality, we must not avail ourselves of the services of the friendly natives, trained and armed by the Government, and devoted to its service. Really this is assuming somewhat too lofty a tone for a man who is himself under the ban of the law, so far as political offences are concerned; —a man who has levied war against tlie Queen's troops, and slaughtered our fellow - settlers at Maulcu, a hundred miles from his territory. Rewi should be very grateful to have his past offences condoned for his noble treatment of Mr. Mackay; but he should not assutno the attitude of a Dictator. If we fight the King with one hand tied to our side, Rewi will not interfere; but if we " go in to win," he might be compelled to fight us. As we have more than once said, Rewi's position is much more embarrassing to the Government than to the Kingites. It is satisfactory to have the assurance, from the lips of Mr. Mackay himself. " that since coming to the " "Waikato he had worked with the " Minister, and that they " were quite in accord as to the steps " which had been taken in the past, " and which ought to be pursued in " the future." This should close the mouths ot those who attempt to make political capital out of an unavoidable calamity, and who appear to welcome the horrors of war for the sake of a party triumph. We have always held, and we see no reason to change our opinion, that Mr. McLean's native administration has been most successful ; and if, through the joint action of himself and Mr. Mackay, sustained by the unanimous voice of the province, the law can be enforced without a resort to arms, the country should be grateful. Mr. Mackay is sanguine that it will be so. "We are convinced every right-thinking

man will be glad to see his expectations realised.

A vebt pathetic incident was related by the Mayor to the City Councillors at their late regular meeting. Mr. Gol ■ die, Inspector of Nuisances, " came to " him, and with tears in his eyes, com- " plaining that whenever ho went into " Court he was confused in every poa- " sible way !" Here is a picture of suffering innocence which angels might contemplate with unmixed satisfaction. It touched the hearts of the worthy and humane Councillors of Auckland who, in a spirit of pure benevolence, proceeded to wipe away the tears from the dovelike eyes of aqueous Goldie. There was one great mistake about the whole affair, however. Their indignation at the " confusion" and tears of their officer led oue of them at least to indulge in most unchristianlike and ungentlemauly language. Was ever such an outburst heard as that which fell from the lips of Councillor I-lobbs? —a gentleman, at all events, from whom better things might be expected. On Mr. Hurst suggesting that a committee should be appointed to inquire into the complaint of Mr. Goldie. Mr. Hobbs is reported to have exclaimed: "It re- " quired no investigation. They knew " that that respectable, painstaking " servant of theirs was bullied and " insulted in the Court, simply because "he was Inspector of .Nuisances. He " said that it was unworthy of any " magistrate, solicitor, or anyone else " to bully a conscientious and respect- " able man who did not choose to " make himself a low, blackguard bully, " and therefore he was put down, " dragged before the public and " bullied!"

"We presume Mr. Hobbs liaa read the report of his remarks ill the newspapers, aud that he is heartily ashamed of himself. If he is not, he should be. What does his charge amount to ? Why, simply this : that our esteemed .Resident Magistrate, Mr. Beckham, — a man who lias presided with general acceptance in a court of justice in Auckland for nearly as many years as Mr. Hobbs has been in the world, —abuses his judicial position, and prostitutes his office, to " bully " and blackguard" a public officer, because he is a " respectable, con- " scieutious man who does not choose " to make himself a low, blackguard " bully" to satisfy, we suppose, the depraved tastes of the Court! Was ever so wild a charge—we had almost selected a stronger epithet from Mr. Hobbs' bilingsgate—preferred by any man of respectable position in society against a magistrate of standing and repute? Is it true? Wo unhesitatingly state that it is not ; and we regret that the Mayor and Mr. Isaacs should have lent their countenance, as they certainly did, to an attack upon the magistracy. We do not understand what the Inspector of Nuisances means by sayiug that " he is confused in every possible " way when ho goes into Court." Does he want the Bench to couduct his prosecutions for him ? Are citizens who are prosecuted for a breach of one or other of the absurdly-restric-tive city by-laws not to be permitted to engage counsel in their defence ? Or, if they do so, is counsel to be gagged, aud in order to preserve the equanimity of mind of the Inspector of Nuisances, —is that" conscientious officer not to be cross-examined ? The purport of liis complaint against Bench aud Bar, and the tendency of the remarks of the Councillors as gathered from the reports, imply as much. What the City Council apparently wants is that there shall bo but one officer authority in Auckland, —Nuisance Inspector Groldie; and one code, — the Municipal bylaws. Now, the citizens of Auckland will not submit to such an intolerable tyrauny as this would be ; and public opinion must protect the magistrates from the advocates of judicial favouritism to Mr. G-oldie. The truth is, if that officer were to discharge Lis duty

faithfully, ho would forthwith lay an information against the City Council, for a greater nuisance it is impossible to conceive than; a civic body publicly combining to bring the administration of justice into contempt, as was done by the City Council last Monday. Mr. Groldie is a very zealous officer, no doubt, and should be assisted in every way ; but his zeal sometimes outruns his discretion, and when that happens, as in the case of his writing to the Council complaining of Mr. Beckham's decision, he should have been reprimanded instead of being petted.