ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 72, 2 October 1852, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

A NEW MODE OF HANDLING THE PRESS,

Havixg found ourselves, as in duty bound, at the arguing of this case, and it being our province to sohe difficulties, we hereby opine and decide that the man who looks into a miiror — for the Press is a mirror — and sees smut upon his phiz, should in the first place wash his face (see Dick on Copperfield). If that won't do, let him wipe the mirror. The smut is surely somewhere, on the face or the mirror ; but let him ply his towel and clean water, and the smut will disappear. To smash the mirror were sheer insanity : it is the property of the public, who would crush the attempt.

"We observed a declaimer (smutty enough, according to the mirror and the marks of his own towel upon it), who denounced the mirror as the cause of e\ery e\il— social, moral, or political — from the taproom to the drawing room — from the " navvy" to the mo^t refined. "We know not his remedy, for he broke down in the peroration and Wt us in the dark . but should he happen to be gravelled, we can relieve him of his difficult}'. Let him call a public meeting and quash the monster, — not by knees and elbows, but by reasons 'high and purest truths. And why should not the public vc-pond to his call? He has said it would, on thingi l..'ss patent, and why not on this? Besides, having our.selves called upon him for a Lecture on Weathercocks, which he has not yet rcdeened, would ir not be a fit occision to do so? The public has* a liking for weathercocks ; and why, from looking at the experiments, should not the meeting set a-dancing and whirling about in imitatation of his instrument, and thus perhaps end the affair in hilarity and fun ? The ideas of this man to make mountebanks of a sober people and pocket their spoils are amazing. — Case postponed.

Another pleader in the case took the ground of impurity, declaring that he could not allow so filthy a thing to be seen upon his family table. Now this is a thing which our whole race holds in abhorrence — a thing excluded from the press* universal, and detested by the public. How then should a single instance of it have escaped detection by all ? We

have heard that superfine feelings are an index of dirty ideas, and if not a semblance of such ideas can be found in the mirror, we opine that this complain, ant should look within. No mirror can reflect him there. — We dismiss the case. Our sympathies were affected to tears — yes, to tears !-*- by an eloquent pleader, whose reasonings, however, w&could hardly follow, and who wound up with the pathetic exclamation (we must here drop all metaphor)— " The Witness," cried he, "has abused the Governor, and my Wife !" O, Witness ! you have much to answer for ! MacPunchie. To the Editor ofths OrA&o Witness. Dunedin, 27th September 1852. Sir, — As I stated publicly on Thursday last that I intended to resign my Commission of the Peace into the hands of the Government, and as it is most probable that some of the parties then in Court were not present the next morning when I announced my altered determination, I must beg of you to allow me space in your paper to state the reasons on which I had decided resigning, as also how I came to alter my determination. It must have appeared obvious to every one in Court last Thursday that the decision of the Bench in the case in which I appeared as the Plaintiff, was delivered by Mr. Strode in such a manner as to make it manifest to the Defendant and the public that he (Mr. Strode) considered him a martyr in the finding of the Bench. To the best of my recollection he used these words :— " George Lloyd, by a majority of the Bench the case has been proved against you ; a majority of the Bench adjudge you to pay 40s. and costs" (placing considerable emphasis on the word "majority"). As Chairman of the Bench, I maintain that it was his duty (notwithstanding his non-concurrence in the verdict) to have ( animadverted in strong terms upon the case, and to have informed the Defendant and the public, that j on the repetition of a similar offence it would be the duty of the Court to inflict the highest penalty on the offender which the Law prcsciibes. If for a penalty of 40s. a magistrate may be ob- j structed in the discharge of his duty, grossly insult- j ed, and liable to stray blows, as in my case, and this, too, by any ruffian who may choose to set all . Law at defiance ; while, on the other hand, if he , does not interfere to suppress riot, he becomes liable j to fine or imprisonment, or both : then it is clear \ that few, if any, of Her Majesty's subjects would be willing to undertake such an onerous post. It was from taking this view of the case, together with the firm conviction in my own mind, that had | the Plaintiff been one of the Police Force, or one of | the usual majority, instead of the minority of the j Bench, the case would have been disposed of differ- j ently, that brought me to the decision of resigning. I could not but observe the difference of tone and manner displayed by the Chairman of the Bench at the moment of delivering the verdict in my case, as contrasted with his remarks in the former part of j the day, when he threatened to commit Allan Mac- ' Master, one of the audience, because he happened ! to laugh at one of the police ; thus proving to me, that in Otago, to laugh at one of the policemen is a greater crime in the eyes of our Kesident Magistrate, than to insult with the \ilest language one of the minority of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace. On my leaving tho Cou:t several parties nif™>d upon me the necessiu of ree.>,.;.iaeur>i; my decision j in such terms as prevented the po,s.ibility of my lefusal, and which I was the more willing to comply with, seeing that my resignation as one of the minority would have been looked upon by some of our Bench satellites as a desirable consummation, and worth the sacrifice of a little justice to [accomplish. J A further inducement held out for my retention of the office was the fact, that the reign of the majority of the Bench cannot now be of much longer duration. Our next arrival from Wellington will no doubt bring down the writs for an election ; and it will then rest with the electors (of whose fidelity and discrimination I entertain no apprehension) to pledge their representatives to use all constitutional means for the removal of every Government official who in any way opposes himself to the public, or to the public interest; and further, to purge the Bench I of that portion of its members who look upon jus- { tice as a commodity quite unsuited for the Otago public. The decisions of the past week show clearly what is to be expected at their hands. — On Tuesday they aimed at, and, to a certain extent, succeeded in disfranchising some of the most respectable portion of our community — men who, although perhaps in ! humble circumstances, are still duly qualified [ under the proclamation, and are, both as regards I their intellectual and moral bearing, worthy to be j held up as patterns to the self-called " educated | gents," whose chief qualities seem to be those of in- \ temperance and riot. The proceedings of the Bench on Thursday and Friday were in perfect harmony with those of Tuesday : a portion of its worthies, not satisfied with the outrage of Tuesday committed j on the public rights of the people as electors, ap- ! plied themselves with all their might to suppress the liberty of the Press by showing open countenance to the Defendants in the case of Cutten v. Sutton, Williams, and Lloyd; and I may just state, while on thi.-> subject, that our Resident Magistrate, in extenuation of the assaults committed, stated that Mr. Cutten, at the time he received the paragraph alleged to-be the cause of the-e assaults, was made acquainted with the names of the parties accused ; and when I took the liberty to contradict his statement, he further informed the Bench that he could prove it. Seeing that there was a mis-statement somewhere, I took the trouble to enquire of Mr. James Brown, the author of the paragraph in question, as to the facts (in the presence of Mr. Mayo and another), and found them to be in perfect harmony with the statement made by Mr. Cutten before the Court. I have entered upon this subject with a view to the contradiction of Mr. Strode's statement, and not for the purpose of " gaining for myself popularity." I will, however, plead guilty to the said gentleman's insinuation, if, by the expression is implied an earnest desire on my part to merit the ap-

probation of my fellow-settlers ; and I consider it would redound to the honour of some of my brother Magistrates if they were to give this subject their serious consideration, and do likewise : there would then, in all probability, have been no necessity for my thus trespassing on your space. — I am, &c. William H. Reynolds, J.P. Mr. Heditor, Sur, — I war jist a-thinkin what the value of one of 'em Justices is now on bein assaulted, cos I remember three years ago, K. v. G , they were worth nuthin ; but the price I 'spose is now riz, for six month past it cost thirty shillin, — that is goin up, I calculate, at the rate of a shillin a month ; so I reckon they be now worth thirty-six shillins ahead for a hit from a Feller Justice. 'Spose, then, a general pummelification of the Populars by the Government Justices at 365. each, man to man, it would only cost 'em nine pounds. O what a firstrate example to the public ; the former small fights of the Justices would be nuthin to it. And I should like further to know : If a private man hobstructing a Justice in doin his duty cost forty shillins, what a thump at his head would be ? also, if the head of a Government Justice be rekoned of the same value as one of 'em Popular ones ? If so, the whole Bench, at their own price, will be worth Eighteen Pounds ; that is, as you would say, " dirt cheap." Sur, I am a staunch Government supporter myself, and I think it very improper them Justices should have anything but strong arms and thick sculls, to be able to stop a row when it 'appens; and besides the hopportunity of showing themselves the best men by smashing the PopuLirs, I would have "em pnnc their physical qualifications by a grand butting match 'gainst the boards of the Court-house, i j and whoever could not go bang thio' 'em head fomost should be disqualified for sitting on the Bench. Then would we be sure to get rid of all 'em hobnoxious members, who have a regard for anything but i " the true nobleness of Kstic' power," and who, it ! stands to reason, are quite ouS of place there. — I I am, Sur, your obedient servant, Timothy Slash ek. ■ To the Editor of the O r ago Witness. | Stu, — In answer to Mr. Ilopkinson's letter of the I ISth ult. I distinctly deny his statement as to my having been offered cither an apartiacntor stationery, and I refer it to the three gentlemen present at the tin*' 1 to say whose version of the matter is coirect. If Mr. Ilopkinson persists in hi* statement, I shall I feel bound to call on these gentlemen publicly to | prove my assertion to be correct. If Mr. Ilopkinson apolo^hed for his ignorant behaviour, and excused my over-neatness of attire by having my leather apron tied round my waist, instead of defending himself by batefaend falsehoods — no doubt acl\ ised by his legal ud\ ; ■,< r and executed | for him — I would peihaps be ineliiud to accept it. j —I am, Sir, &c, * " ; John Gallic, j To the Editor of the Otago Witness. ' North-East Valley, 10th Sept., IS>2. } INIk. Editor, — We can scarcely yet say with the i song that " Gloomy winter's noo awa'." for we are as much blocked up as ever for wan( of roads. I Tho rpnson I trouble you at present is merely to make =;o! v ie : .-mail: 3 as to the possibility of opening up a communication from the North-East Valley to Dunedin, by having a road made so that drays might be able to pass, both winter and summer. The hills near the town are at present out of the question, considering the small available funds at the disposal of the settlement, as it would requi-e the hill-tops to be conveyed into the hollows ior drays to take up reasonable loads. In the meantime, could there not be a road made alone; the shore by the Barracks ? What I recommend at this time is, to take the line as laid down in the plan through the fiats ; to | make six-feet ditches on each side the full breadth j of the road, well sloped on the sides, the ditch side next the road reduced down to about two feet from the bottom of the ditch, the soil all thrown over the road and neatly rounded over. The ditches, being deep, would not only drain the land, but raise up a sufficiently high mound, from which the surface water would run off, and the road dry quickly. For the water crossing the road, to have boxes of strong j planks, made wide enough to allow a boy to be able ' to creep through to clean them out if necessary. The largest runs of water would probably require two sets of boxes ; through the swampy parts, if very soft, lay strong bearers of wood to keep them in a proper position. It would be necessary to ha\ c crossing j places bridged over the ditches, for cattle and I stock to pass over from one bide to the other, to prevent the sides from plunging in. Over the Water of Lp'nh a chain bridge would allow the most space for j floods ; but if too expensive, a wooden one could be put up at a moderate rate. All above the Bplt, fourfeet ditches would do, the water runs boxed over the i full breadth of the road, to do away with all those ' unseemly bumps or bridges (specimens of former road-making) which look as if laid to entrap the poor animals legs as they pass over them. Soft roads such as I have been describing, if rutted up with the wheels, would require to be harrowed down as the summer begins to advance, afterwards, when dry enough, well pressed down with a heavy roller. I ha-, c seen some township roads in Scotland, near Tweedside, with one side mettled with broken stones for winter passage, and the other side kept soft for summer. Thus have I briefly laid out the plan and formation of a road, which I think adapted for soft flat land. I now leave the construction and details to others more competent than I am, and to make such alterations and improvements as they may think proper, — hoping these few hints may be the means of drawing the attention of the spirited and intelligent inhabitants to that which so much concerns the welfare of the community at large — good roads. I will just mention a few of the benefits arising from a good road to the Norlh-East Valley One of the first importance to Dunedin is, a regular supply of firewood at reduced prices ; a better supply of all

kinds of farming produce, and cheaper flour from the mills. It is my opinion that, if the roads are to remain in this impassable state much longer, it will not only retard the advancement of this district, but I fear be the means of causing some of the settlers leaving altogether. Allow me to suggest a plan which I expect would go far to remove our present difficulties, but which I approach with great diffidence. That if the good people of Dunedin who are in the habit of buying firewood were to subscribe 20s. each, the funds so raised would go far in making the road to the Water of Leith, and in the course of a twelvemonth they would be paid their money back again in the reduced prices of firewood. I expect above the Belt^the settlers would assist manfully (as they did on a former occasion) to accomplish the most utgent wants there. — I am, Sir, &c. An Advocate foe Good Roads. \