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New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9213, 16 November 1888, Page 4

There has been a good deal of comment on the case of Sir Charles Burdett, who was sentenced to a fortnight's imprisonment for stealing flowers from the Albert Park ; and in consequence of representations made to the Minister of Justice, the convicting magistrates have been called on for an explanation. I*o w > it is time that a healthful public opinion should be formed on cases such as this, and we do not hesitate to denounce the maudlin sentimentalism that has been evoked by the justice that has been meted out to this pilferer of roses. | !1 all truth the great fault that to be found with the administration of petty justice in Auckland, is that deliberate offences against the peace and good order of society, which are inexcusable on any grounds of adequate temptation, are virtually condoned ; and the tendency o such procedure is the growth of a spu 1 of larrikinism and defiance of the lau, the effects of which will be sorely n 1 in Auckland by-and-by, even as _t. ne\ are now a scourge to the larger cities the colonies ; and, with the exception o Mr. Baddeley, whose removal troj Auckland is nothing short of a P ub " calamity, almost all the Magistraltea and Justices sitting on the local tfen have been directly contributing to growth of this kind of thing. In consequence of this the press of the city na» for many years past been constant!) upbraiding the Bench for this culpa ' leniency, reflecting in this, we believe, the strong convictions of the £ eil _ bulk of all the right-thinking citizens of Auckland. And now when find a man — one who from i"? years and from his connections experiences ought to know better--caught red-handed in the act . 0 deliberately stealing what is being kept for the innocent enjoyment or 1i whole people, there is at once an outcry raised becauf"* ha is visited wi

exactly the same penalty that would have been rightly meted out to a ragged urchin caught in the same act. There is no doubt that the fact of the culprit in this case being a Baronet, appeals to that tuft-hunting tendency that is found among all democracies, not even the position which lie has for many rears occupied being sufficient to eradicate the sycophantic reverence for blue blood. But whether noble or simple., the offender in this case has done a very mean thing, unci one the prevention of which has been found almost impossible by those in charge of our parks and cemeteries. The Albert Park is for the pleasure and innocent enjoyment of the humblest of the people. There are hundreds of families in Auckland who have not gardens, and cannot give to their children the enjoyment of the sight of llowers— form of innocent delight that is especially dear to the hearts of little children. To these and to their little ones the Albert Park, with its parterres and flowers, is a genuine and delicious enjoyment, and we do not know how anyone could feel otherwise than angry against a -thief who would rob the poor of such a means of enjoyment. In the United States of America, throughout all their cities and towns, the so-called reserves are unfeneed, and with all their floral treasures arc committed to the care of the people themselves, and the confidence is almost universally justified. But we have not yet been wholly emancipated from the ill effects of those monopolies and exclusions with which British communities are cursed ; and so, as the result of bad training, we pilfer and steal the llowers and shrubs that are grown for the pleasure of the people. But, if honesty won't come to us naturally, we must, accelerate it with the whip ; and we hold that, in every case in which any sneak thief is found plundering our public parks, he should be visited with condign severity. The fact of his happening to be a baronet should be no bar to punishment : and if public feeling is worked up for the release of a baronet, we shall not, with any regard for decency, be enabled to enforce the law against hoodlums of humbler lineage. \Ve emphatically assert that the thanks of the public are cordially due to the Justices who have visited this vulgar crime with impartiality : and we hold that it will be a disgrace to the colony, and a reflection on the administration of justice, if the Executive presumes to interpose, and to relieve by one iota the very moderate and entirely just punishment that has been indicted for such a mean and indefensible offence.