SPECIAL TELEGRAM.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 5803, 24 September 1880, Page 3

SPECIAL TELEGRAM.

(prom our own correspondent ) Wellington, September 23rd. Mr Bryca returned last night by coach, and 'Major Atkinson leturned to-day by the Hinemoa from Toranaki. The Hinemoa returcs to Taranaki to be in readiness to convey to Lytteiton the Maori prisoners, who wero tried to-day, in the event of conviction. The Premier will leave for the South tomorrow to take a brief holiday, and will probably return on Surrliy week. A meeting of the Ex-cutive Council was held at Government if. u-e this afternoon, the acting . Governor j-riSiduig. The business ■was chiefly relative to nutters of formal routine. The news from th« Constabulary camp today is only that the customary farce of pretending to fence was duly gone through by •54 Natives, who decamped with even more than their usual celerity when the Conßtabulary appeared. In reference to the trial of the 50 Natives with committing a breach of the West Coast Ssttlement Act, by wilfully obstructing the Constabulary road serosa the Paribaka block, whic'i commenced to-day at New Plymouth, before District Judge Shaw, the Post says:—" It was expected to be concluded early, the case being apparently very simple ; but we understand that a technical difficuliy has cropped up which may upset the proceedings. It is said that alth<u?h the Act was published at Parihaka io due time and the road before tie ail' ged tffence was committed, the gazetted pr, ciamaii* n had not been published at Parihaka wheu the Natives went out to attempt the fencing for which they were arrested, in which case the charge would -obviously fall to the ground." At the Chamber of Commerce meeting yesterday Mr Trayers, the well-known barTister, created some sensation by a mist unexpected and ECitbiog denunciation of lawyers' bills ef costs. He eaid that, speaking as a member of the Chamber, it appeared to him that bills of costs n quired a very large amount of clipping.—(Laughter.) As a lawyer he felt Jhimself j r :stifitd in taking reasonable advan. "tage of tLe existing state of thinge, and a good bill of costs presented its attractions to him aa forcibly as to any other lawyer—(renewed laughter) ; —but he had no hedtation in saj ing that many cf thtse bills were groas in the extreme, and that nothing could be more rascally than the syetem on which accounts were made out, both against clients and opponents.—(Applause.) Tf the Caambar wished to bring about like a sound system of jurisprudenc tbequeuuou oj oiw.sinuat first bo deposed of for bills of costs regarded from the standpoint of the general public were an absolute atrocity, —(Loud applause.) The Chamber ought also to set its face against the recovery of debts by means of suocmonses under (say) LlO. This would have ths effect of limiting credit to those ■who were honest, because people who had broken faith with their baker or grocer would sot be likely to obtain credit a second time. It would therefore reduce all dealings to the of cash transactions, and large sums of money which were now being recklessly spent in the public-house and so "sorth would be expended in the maintenance of families, and there- would be a larger -amount of providence among the working class than at present. He f urtht r held that lawyers should be made to pay for their own mistakes in the course of the pleadings to a suit. Having been summoned to give evidence before the Judicature Commission now sitting, he intended to repeat these views, Mr Nathan said the Chamber would be grateful if Mr Travers "would suggest methods of simplifying law prooedure, but Mr Travers said it would be impossible to do this on the spnr of the moment, ■and advised Ithe Chamber jto await the result «f the labours of the Royal Commission.