Correspondence.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 214, 8 November 1859, Page 2

Correspondence.

To the Editor of tht Colonist. ~ > .'.■■....;'■ ■ Sib, —In the supplement of the Examiner of the 26th of October there is a copy of a correspondence between the General Government aud the Provincial Council of Wellington; upon which, by your leave, I will offer, a few remarks! In the letter of the Deputy Colonial Secret tary to the Speaker of the "Wellington Provincial Council, I find the following paragraph. "In reply, I have in the first place to state that the expenditure of the provincial revenue by the Superintendent otherwise than under the authority of an Act of -Appropriation passed by the Council, is plainly" contrary to law." ( •• As ari abkra'ot proposition' this may be correct, but as is robseryed, in the next paragraph, ct An urgent public necessity; may occasionally arise to justify or even to. demand ;theJexpenditure of publio money in'anticiißatipn of a legal supply, whichQf Refused: will" leavfet the^Executive exposed, to the;liabi|ity .incurred by f ah illißga};ejxpenditope'.^fjije:^ublic! I wo^obaerwri|v the^r^irisD •abo^e^e&i&^ny thing, ■:^ l/the'-::-.argentv^u|^ic toecessi^ !wouW juatify;'the^t ; va;t4£|^B: *emoye^or nuUif^-the:. consequsntfiiab^ ing oa.thepartj;pf/%e;^^n)eri]Bte'^ie.nt,' atid if the learned-'gb^lenktt^h^ dictat6^|hat reply j would refer to thei case^plftSaC^najiiaiirgovernment of 4:833 and % W als^ P, ..' *$* .case, of thf Judge of the Vi^e-Admiralty s Court:in Ireland, of about the same date, he would find some instructive - and very apposite information; upon the very question it issue. In a subsequent paragraph it appears [that "in accordance with the request of the Provincial Council, a reference has been made to the Attorney-General, on the legal question adverted to by the Council in their petition." Before reverting to the documents referred to, I will notice the two last paragraphs of the reply. The last but one states " should the Provincial Council, ultimately refuse to legalise the expenditure which file Superintendent has incurred,: the responsibility of vindicating the law, will, according to the opinion o( 4he At-torney-General, rest upon the General Government ;" and it further states—" It is a responsibility which ;his Excellency's: advisers will not !. shrink from meeting-, whenever the occasion arises." And,'lastly, welearn^-" It improper to observe that the existing remedies against illegal Acts of the nature ih; question, as entailing consequences of undue severity, appear ill-suited to' the present political constitution oif the colony, and his Excellency's advisers therefore contem-i plate the proposal of measures in the General Assembly, for * adapting the law to the circumstances of the colony;" Whatever may be the character of the, contemplated adaptation of the I law to the present, circumstances .of the colony, ! I apprehend that can only have reference to the future. Consequently should the Provincial Council of Wellington; from ' a sense of public [duty, refuse to. sanction.!the 'Act complained of, and the Superinte'ndeiit should'see fit to prorogue the Council' before tlie meeting of the General Assembly, the ■contemplated measure of ; his Excellency's adviser? would-not reaolj th^ existing case;T Bfearfng in/ffinTwliafhas b^eif stated above, let us .see 7; what'"were the questions submitted tp the Attorney^General,■» and what) his reply to them. ll Ist. Has the Provincial Council of Wellingjton anyjemedy under tlie Constitution Act, or ; any Act of the General Assembly, for the illegal expenditure by the Provincial Executive autho* rities of the public money? The answer .is-r-""Neitlier the Constitution ;Act, nor any Act of the 1 General Assembly provides any remedy for the illegalexpenditure of1 the public money by the Provincial authorities, nor am I aware of auy mode by which a Provincial Council cah: make the Superintendent of a province and. his Executive responsible for spending public money without authority." Well then,if such is. the state of the law, or rather the np law pf the' casßi •■'■ the responsibility, from which his -Excellency's advisers; wilt not shrink from meetings' has not, uflr is ijb under ; the present state" of. things likely jtp bje calle.d j into action,; so that^thjis grandiloquent galamatia of the i learned gentlemen may be said, to be i" Vox.etpraeteria nihil.". Let us, proceed to the seconiquestion. • '[ Has the Superintendent tlie ;power by law of expending at* discretion public money in,the Proyinciar Treasury, not apprq- , priated- by ;tW Councih 3'1 the answer to^hich, i s _-.««f am opinion that the of a province is not vested yith )he pp^r .of., spending &Mm ;4iscreiipu.' pubHc money, ~|£id j over. uud^r : tlie General !' .the Provincial TreiMiry;gucli a Opinion is clearly both unconstitutional and oon-

the learned gentleman lifts evaded the question, and in the next place I would ask how he-recon-ciles-his answer to the first question, »tiihii reply to the second. If he thinks, hii mpiiiqia. quibble between money paid over by the <Qeneral Government, and that which finds iU^rajr into'the Provincial Treasury from loajj^gpfr sources, will avail bim anything,. my aptnti* is, he will find himself egregiousjy mistaken, bat as I am no lawyer that may not go for nuM& The third query is—" I« there .any, and what, remedy for the expenditure without authority of money paid over to the Provincial-Treasury ?" The reply is—"Under the surplus Revenue' Act of 1858, certain portions of the public feevenue are paid over to the several Treasurers of the provinces, and made subject to the appropriation of the respective Provincial, Ooonbits. la my opinion the recipients of this money are accountants to the crown—are liable as'such ta render account—and are chargeable' withjny sum of money not expended Under legal authority —they are amenable in the Supreme Court on the .prosecution of the Attorney-General." Here I am at issue with the learned, gentleman; In the first place I will say, tfa*taH political of* fences committed by public men in their putflid capacities must be determined by reference to special statutary enactments/and inthe absence of any such cannot be brought under or made cognizable 'under indictments at common Jaw, consequently as the learned .gentleman himself admits in his reply to t^ft; first%4»ery—V That neither the CcronstitutiotrAiJt nor any Act," (fee, under what statutary enactment will be frame ~ his eridictment or prosecution against a Superintendent for an alleged illegal expenditure of public money for public purposes ? . M regards the Provincial Treasurer*, they are neither ame* nable to the Provincial Councils for the oofanner in which the Superintendent may see fit to disburse the public monies placed at his disposal; the warrant of the Superintendents in their authority and justification for their conduct, iWri and except perhaps an Injunction from the Supreme Court upon any specfic case. As regards the second question and the reply, they n«cejK sarily fall to the ground, being nullififd bjrih* reply to No. 1. as to any penal consetfttMtttte. And as regards the third query and t&e'*epty, I think the learned gentleman has assume^ premises which he cannot substantiate, and his;opinion falls with them. In the first plate, lam not aware of any enactment, general of ptovin> cial, that requires the Provincial Treasurer! to keep separate accounts of monies, derived from general or local sources; and I'lUftfurther of opinion that all authority and responsibility of the General Government ceases; in/resjpeot of -the several portions of the -publict l^venuies; dtt& to the provinces, after; t^hey have Ji^ to the respective Treasurer^ anilheir receipt or acknowledment for the same accepWd fey the General Government, and consequetftiy^eyare not accountants to the Crown, and that th«y are not amenable for their acts^in the Supreme Courton the prosecution of tbe;.A*toW9|3<|f a neral; and so convinced am lof the correctne|< of my views of the case, that were la membei of the- learned profession. I would s^ake my pro; fessibhal reputatidntlr^n.thej^ue,V: - , .::■■:::.. lam, Sir,; ,-,7 ;■• ■■ ■''■'■":' ' '■"' •■■■■ Yoursi&o;,; . I . ;,.■, .. ■:.>•,<.. SEMEX ALBIJS; lait, ibout half an hour befort snnsetyßn electrical phenomenon was*'6bsei^'d:^oJr^.<-'''v^-'-*'peettliat-'----character. About tWenty to twenty-fivedegree* - r . above the horizon, and between the observer and the; sun," .: were; ''■■ seen- -some ■ beautiful cirro-cumulus clouds in two distinct strata^ the lower cirro-cumulus being rather darken and in larger masses than the higher. Between the two sections of cirro-cumulus the; phenomena took place, and was similar in appearance *o Aurora Australis, but perfect sky-blue' ihcbWr,,;lt began by discharging itself in points mth the bate towards'the sun, and so enlarging itself at the bait and throwing its points higher and higher towards the zenith until the highest cirro-cumulus had fotally disappeared, the lower cirro then, appearing a little darker. It was very curious in its transparency and also to see the Electrical current dissolve the j cirro-cumulus when the phenomena ceasedt The : time it lasted was about fifteen minutes.-^C^tfwtf- '• nicated. ■ •■'■■ '■''■: ■■' - ■ ' :- ~..■ '■■''■ "■''^ ■■■'■ If thou forgfvest him who injures thee/thou; : art like the mussel; which when its shell is per** forated by a sea-wprmj Btraightway'.clo;es the : wound with a pearl. ... "A ' Penny : Saved.a a Penny JEA»ipi!i>*''—*: Mr J\, who lived on the East of South-strjßetj nwtf the Wpod-and-Stone lane was a man who liked to: give correct honor to the day .as it. came, whether it was an anniversary of a Christian or a national event, or was marked by an eclipse, or 5 produced a new or full moon, or brought him to' the equinox-or solstice' and was, therefore, always : prepared to welcome the new year with Moore'a almanack. Some friendly neighbors, who* lived the.other side of the street, but who had not charged their yearly income with the expense of the intellectual luxury of an almanack, were often sending.: after Mn J's., which tyas slow to find, its way home again j and as the honorable com- 1 pany of stationers had not made -it to do service to so many. Householders, it showed by .its tattered, leaves, early in the autumn, that it was hardly equal to its year's work. Mr. J. had ;an inrier Shop. door, of two hatches, and he said to his wife with asraUe^Tll be a match vor'em. I*l,l have a .sheet almanack, and. cling it on to the ;.qp^.hatdh of the^sh^! dborv'.; Mrs.-J. tittered approbation. Ttf done. Soon afterwards Mrs, i Wipnham cameAyitti " Will yie be, so kiijd 'mM let Mrs. Hazard zee your almanack a J^UeiwVf She dp, want to reckon my dieter's tW^ges." ~:Me'§ on the dpor there, ■ She-s very welpome to zee en." Wi>;h hasty thanks for the kindness, Mrs. Wiffenham unhung the upper hatclioftheddoJ:; and weiit off bowing under it. like Samson wsth the gate o| Gaza. Mr. his .breatlii«a4 hisUughter for some time in wbwer, cried- ottt. at \ last, with convulsions of frls very heart,'? Theyiveia beet me ater all then, Lizzy. I'm fairly; adbpe." Mrs. J., looking with uplifted hands through .th# gap of the lost hatch, iwe4 she naypt ?did zee, anythingcome up to that. • • ;,: ~■ During the.- se^sfdt)l'off-the Court of Common Pleas, in.a. certain country not far from the Scoti* River, in Qjfiip, the presiding Judge, although « man of great ability and talent, was, npvertheless, rather too fond of the "red eye," and too much in the habit of performing thatpantomimic action commonly called " crooking the;elbow/* .On pne occ^ioij,; when "ifce 'court was assembled and waiting for, )At appearance, he entered, and, with a slow and (jolemn step, "w«)k«4 a line 'J up to jthe bencb> and, w&ougb, ty.ytp., cvi. deiifc to a}l that W had been ?> si^lb^^.'he ..*«. now as" grave aafa judge." Takinghi»se>t with great gravttjr (though it \yaa plain that he>a.<| difficalts:'t|n reserving' the centre' thereof), fKe opened' court; Matters went on swimmingly unj^l, in his endeavors to take notes, he dropped his pen, and itooping to ipickiiiup, he lost that. g;r»yity which until then he had So' iirefi»lly preserved,'and deposited hi» weight and.whisky on the.flpor..: Tft« court was in comrobi. tioh,,andi wliile two1 of the jpumbere of the bar rci stored th> fallen dignity" of. the |fench;; Mr. C-^r-~ . nioVed that i\i4' c6iirt^W.adjom^e4;'pn 'account of the , yii(len''Ulnfesi of lm judge", 'lyheri,' vto ■ jthe; of laii^ the^ Judge, whol}*s re«*ine4 his feeV ekeUimed, i'No^ic^lWiog", : no^iucn-thing, Mr. C-- . .'Ch'eijufige1 aili't sick; he'*«hunki m;Amk~4rax^ % sir!" Thepealoflai^hteif that rose can Itetter W itaaginedtiundeacribod. '