Dunedin, Saturday, June 5, 1852.

Otago Witness, Issue 55, 5 June 1852, Page 2

Dunedin, Saturday, June 5, 1852.

Notice was given by advertisement that a sitting of the Supreme Court would be held on the Ist June. The usual 36 Jurymen were summoned from various distances, and attended. There was, of course, no business. The Judge, His Honor Mr. Justice Stephen, did not arrive, it being well known by the Officials that His Honor could not come. What a perfect farce this Supreme Court has been made from its commencement! While Mr. Stephen was residing in Otago, although it was known that there was no business to transact, yet the full number of the jurymen were always summoned, and fines for non-attendance rigidly enforced: indeed the officers of tins Court, who were receiving some £1000 or more per annum, seemed to regret the fact that Otago was so quiet and moral a settlement as to afford not the slightest pretence for the payment of their salaries ; when His Honor, Quintus Curtius-like, leaped into the gulf and trumped up a case of conspiracy, supporting it before the Bench of Magistrates by evidence which, if His Honor be anything of a lawyer, he must have known to be no evidence at all. It was too bad to leave His Honor to manufacture a case : one of his subs might have done it, and have preserved the Judge's dignity, saved him from the disgraceful exhibition of a chief dignitary of the law descending to the Old Bailey style of practice we .then witnessed. What confidence, we would ask, will any man in j Otago feel in the administration of jus- !

tice, circumstanced as we now are, after that display of unscrupulous advocacy by a Judge ? How is the case in question, to be decided ? Mr. Stephen cannot be judge and prosecutor, and are the unfortunate defendants to be held to bail until he is reproved or promoted ? This question must be settled by those who are acquainted with the law, which ■we do not pretend to be. But it certainly is a most remarkable fact, that there has been no criminal business in Otago since the commencement of the settlement, except that which the very man sent to dispose of such matters created. But why are we not to have the full benefit of the absence of crime ? Why cannot there be local Courts — Quarter Sessions — to' try such trifling offences as are likely to occur, instead of the present cumbrous machinery ? Five times have thirty-six men | been summoned as jurors, and for no j earthly use ; and upon this last occasion ' they were told by the Registrar, in no very courteous terms, that " they might | wait until his Honor came if they liked, or return home." The Sheriff, who issued the summons, did not .think it worth while attending, evidently showing that he was aware that the whole affair was absurd. There is, how- [ ever, one good which arises from all this evil : it will convince the public of ! the necessity of Local Institutions. A good law often becomes mischievous by the fact of its administration being imperfect. Thus it is with law in Otago : | the notice of the holding of Sittings of the Supreme Court and summoning the Jurors is left in the hands of parties who have no discretion ; and if they had, we fear they are not discreet enough to use it. We believe that the Jurors cannot be fined for non-attendance unless the Court actually sits, — that is, unless the Judge be present, — and they can draw their own conclusion how they will act in future. In the meantime we console ourselves by reflecting that the present state of things will not last long.

Our neighbours at Port Cooper will learn with satisfaction that a stockholder and two shepherds, who arrived at Canterbury with sheep from Otago, have returned here, bringing three horses

with them: We regret that we have not been furnished with the details of the journey, although we applied for authentic information. We, however, understand that the distance was "-one over in twelve days, and the passage of the Waitaki River, which was expected to be a serious obstacle, was none at all, the place where the paity crossed not being over the knees of the horses. It is very satisfactory to find that we are so easily accessible to our neighbours. Cattle and sheep can now be driven from one settlement to the other ; and as the whole country passed over would afford excellent pasture for stock of all kinds, it may not be long before the whole line is occupied with stations, making the journey easy and agreeable. Several parties having driven stock from Nelson to Canterbury, and the passage from thence to Otago nowbping accomplished, the whole of the Middle Island may be said to be accessible by land, as no difficulty exists in passing from Otago to the Southward. '1 he ascertaining these facts will be of advantage to Canterbury and Otago, as giving them a central position of great importance to their future prospects. — [Since the above was in type, we have been kindly favoured by W. H. Valpy, jun., Esq., with an account of his overland journey from Port Cooper, which will appear next week.]

Flour. — Flour grown in this settlement is fetching a long price — £'25 per ton for firsts, £18 for seconds. We understand that prices are higher in the neighbouring settlements. There is a considerable quantity of wheat on hand waiting to be ground, the only mill at present erected not being equal to the work. We have no doubt a steam-mill in the town of Dunedin would be a first rate speculation, and a benefit to the community,.the charge for grinding being Isd. per bushel. Our cultivators should lend their encouragement to this

object, a monopoly in the business of a miller affecting their interests more than that of the rest of the community.

Man Lost. — It is rumoured that a carpenter named Thomas Tandy has been lost on the mountains between Dunedin and "Waikouaiti. The unfortunate man has been missing for a month, and several parties have been out in search of him without success ; there is therefore little or no probability of his being found alive.' This is the second instance of a person being lost on these mountains. Immediately after the former unfortunate occurrence a subscription was set on foot, and a considerable sum collected, to erect guideposts in those places where the track was not easily discernible ; but, from the disgraceful manner in which the work was executed, it is of no avail.

Whale. — A calf whale, measuring 20 feet, was lately washed ashore on the Ocean Beach at Tomahawk Valley. It yielded about 30 gallons of oil, and it would probably have yielded more, but the parties who secured the prize were not well acquainted with the process of " trying out." We have often felt surprised that an effort has not been made to keep a whaleboat and proper implements for securing a prize now and then, more especially as whales are frequenting the coast again, large numbers having been seen during the last season. About two years since a mo-derate-sized whale entered the harbour, and was made fast to by a boat's crew ; but after about two hours' efforts the whale escaped, the men having no proper instruments to kill it. Had they succeeded, it would have been better than a month's work at the diggings.

Cattle. — There is at present a brisk demand for cattle and sheep in Otago, a cow and calf of good breed in some instances fetching £16. Breeding ewes are not to be purchased. A cargo or two would handsomely remunerate a speculator.

Dunedin has, during the past -week, been visited by a number of Maories from the Southward. We understand that the object of their visit has been to receive payment for the land purchased by the Government.

We understand that the establishment of a School and Preaching Station at the Taieri is proceeding most satisfactorily. , The meeting held on the 26th ultimo was well attended, almost all the heads of families in that district being present. A Committee was formed for carrying out the first mentioned object, and the sum of £22 subscribed at the meeting. The amount is expected to be considerably increased by subscriptions in the neighbourhood.

We have not learned to what extent the suh. scriptions have since increased; but, considering the few inhabitants of that part of the East Taieri and their dispersion, the original sum subscribed is a satisfactory proof of the efforts which will be made to afford a good education to those of the neighbourhood who choose to take advantage of the opportunity ; and we trust that the Church Trustees will be able to supplement the fund to some extent.

This movement, though based on the purest motives, will yield a pecuniary advantage to the East Taieri, hy removing the objections which some of our most respectahle immigrants have to removing from the immediate neighbourhood of Dunedin, and thus give value to property, and extend the" systematic colonisation contemplated under the Otago scheme.