HOW J.P.s ARE MADE.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume I, Issue 23, 21 May 1892, Page 2

HOW J.P.s ARE MADE.

[Contributed ] j T make no apology for broaching thje following subject. <It is one upon which I have for many years held adverse' opinions to the custom of the colonies ; and almost weekly we hear of cases, concluded with extraordinary judgments, the-emanations from.the brains.or-want of trains of some of our J.P s afid R;M.'s. "A 'slight extract therefore, * from reminiscences of how, and why—certain of the said .gentry obtained thejr commissions, may prove salutary at 'this period, as ,well as _ interesting, and amUsmg:;to^jmany;iOf you? reattejesf 7Y %t mention n6 hames/but' leave:"those" AwHd think the cap fits, wear it. In doing this I proposei' it6 v''g;6'back'!td''a" rvery'liafly: tlate of the colony's history-^-lSii— and Seing''a'.Very'"ancient" rsettllßr^' lattHoagli not a continuous one —I shall speak with considerable authority, having been personally cognisant of the facts as narrated. it, was in the year 1844, to the chief settlement of the, then existing, New Zealand Company, that a man arrived from the home country, who had there been an articled clerk to a firm of architects, which firm having accepted a contract to erect a Metropolitan Theatre in -the west of London, deputed their articled clerk to prepare the designs and plans from which the theatre was to be built, he did so, and the outside elevation gave promise of a very sightly structure, bat when approaching completion of a very commodious gallery at the top of the building it was found that this budding" architect had omitted, in his plan, any means of communication thereto,— in fact, the staircase had been forgotten, and, consequently, a long wooden staircase had to be built outside of the building .and a doorway made through the wall'into the gallery. This slip gave the cbup de grace to this prospective buildei% and bis friends, seeing that'such bright-abilities would be lost in the old country, raised money amongst them, bought him a section of land from, the New Zealand Company, and shipped him out to try his hand ,at architecture -in sthe new, country. Soon after his arnvaU—naving brought a wife with,.him—he built a; Tionse on his town land;'and it is was' fair to acknowledge, that as no stair-i cases or galleries-were- necessary, -the bouse was ,a very'creditable one, and certainly one of the best then existing in the township. ■It so hapjponed that a short time after its completion a high dfiiciaf pi We British Government visited tftat ; portion of the land and the cxi. architect; .seeing his qhaticej gave up his house to the service of the said official .and .his ;fs~l~:beg,'parc!on^—lady. The result was a Commission of the Peace ,aod, a. .Resident oMag'*strasy,'; and j many other dignities conferred as., time.. Pr greased. I think you will agree with me that this • ; arc,h ; itect. knew, how ,to lbuild; a staircase for, Ws own elevation, but I ask, and I do so in vain, where were tlie qualifications for a J P. ? j

■■}The next I call to mind was a man whose friends had great influence in the sister coloniesi and : wiiose' family had once helped, largely\"'a wreTa'tTve"ofl)ner who held a high position in this colony, coriseqnenfy-Jhe !'^p4 made '< a; 3/P!C?pn. arrival and appointed to a lucrative position, and, aa tnay be inferred, finding himself clothed with despotic powers—'--he married a -young girl, as unexperienced as.himselfjiran amnck—p,ljayed' docks and drakes with! all (jovernraen't' money he could lay his hands, through the position^ he^ heTd^'go^ihlmself intb" inextricable confusion —and blew his brains biifci 1 His young widow returned to her father's house. ! „

Another J.P. obtained his commission in a somewhat different manner. He' was an illiterate man, unable atithe tinte to read brtwrite, butuude'rstobd coasting and whaling and so was dnbbed Captain, as nearlyjevery one was) in\ those Says. He had friends in Australia, and it was under their auspices he came to New Zealand (with a .nnrse),as Captain of a whaling ship. L He saw the land and saw that it was good and fertile; he saw the daughters of the. land .and soon learnt that some were heiresses of considerable areas of said land; he saw

a chieftainess of untold acres^and*inade her his spouse by Maori taw, and became ■a 1 very large landed v prcxprietorf|-m|ch 'of which be sold toith^New .S^la|cl ;Goinpany —gave/up fits §hip^settl|djon vhia land —obtained (importation^fj'dia his friends in Australia and opened through them communication with merchants in England. As that man was, ignorant, he kept a confidential clerk whip had been bred in a merchant's - o £fi ce JL_and this was the real merchant —the other only sham. Well, it happened that the Governor required money and tried to raise a loan from the only bank then in New Zealand, but as jthe *hen; mstnager } o^ Ihp^nk-andjtfie 'saidMjio^erfi&r wrte^riot ii6'arHWl«siko¥ terms, the loan was refused, when oar sham merchanhstepped-forward^aiidiby means of his Australian friends," advanced thetnoney; the Governor-wanted was awarded with "the blue riband/ thai is, the Commissipri of the* Peacaj, and thereupon^ he took lessons and learnt to:"'siga ilh'iß-nWmlß.';:;"' r--Being-a man of shrewd common' sense, he took caw nie'ver. "to" sit °on";the Bench 1, Jwithb'nfi Ja" brothbr ''JfPi;so fcHsii; Jhe°cbp(ld J always i another and wel I-kti6wn appointee.' At" the beginning of the' lasl^ war with^the Maoris native interpreters were .very scaree 1 fvpKethe'rßeliable.'prfri(6t); and;at that period!' there'"werej' several' 'white reneg&desHeading^idl4 iinm'oral lives ' amongst' the rebellious':;natives who were-,-warned by^_ to come in from put* their .ihaunta under pain of being treated as' rebels,—and many did f so. And qne.in .special, after some! delay,—-Ttsiifc sufficient 1 to 'make.him a rebel-^rdidu so,,- and .^through the influenQe : * of,j.ihe " then Native Mimister, made his* peace with the 'Government and accepted the office of Spy Interpreter.,^ for ? which, he.■.was ? well 4 <iual J jfied, havrag a^^aon^wife'aimbhgsfc the rebfels. Such animals I do not doubt were then great acquisitions to "the Govern'men^-rr but I canuotf'think that, when the war was over, -he; or, any -like -him, should have been make a XP. land RiM. • The nearest; tree, two fathoms of rope aod a short shrift w.ould>Hshave been more .appropriate. .. JElpweyer, .the Government _bhougiit; pthWwiVef'^n^thlose 'who are from jcirpumstanceSj>s obliged to appear rT in r , $is r Gourt,, .iiaen T .qf strict integritjr 1 §6utid ' edub'a'tibn, are forced to eat the-leek and bow to such a man's(jadgmient; lj .dTbezw;hole^system, of sach (■apppintments jhas been rotten 1 I could, go'jOb,! citing instances ad infinitwm of the "chicanery and roguery that has helped tp swell the roll of the so collect, great unpaidj i Tb>e^ fopgp,^- caaes.^l. .have..,Gi,ted, I think'^vill'"^6~' tb 'p'rove"-^^^©"'!^ room. ;eHpughy;and; ; to/|fip.are f for,. ..a.^ (thorough change in the mode of creating" ge^tfemen by law;r'and:rthenQ,tt^r fallace of expecting jusiticp; from rsame—-whether self-interest in rank, patronage or silent bribery can beriiised.:i fc^Slich appointees present a splendid field wfiereon^to operate snccessfallyy and,-it 4s through such that ou'r'law^; ;i and'ihose who are so placed to interpretthem, are brought into ridicdiejanddconfiepptVT