ERRONEOUS ACCUSATIONS.

Colonist, Volume VI, Issue 597, 14 July 1863, Page 6

ERRONEOUS ACCUSATIONS.

(From ,the Colonist, July I.J ' ; The Canterbury^ Press '-Has^achieved a; fanie in the colony '} for 'briUito^^^iting-f-M^ certainly thereappear fi^'ti^ rto;^iinein its columns,; ail jof; language;--!a; readiness^bf reference- to- abstract^'theory and first principlesrCwHcii at the outset is apt to surprise and the vulgar or superficial observer)—a-wealth 1 of imagWy,;: and a wondrous power of*denunciation,' that'would not;;be unworthy of aomS. of/the orators of a century agoj when oratory and fine writing were more in-vogue than they now are in this wbrk-a-day) world:- But brilliance in writing, and plausibility' of argument, however necessary as elements towards ;the making out of a good case, are not of themselves- sufficient to' do so: A plain fact, coarsely'put, will demolish the most elaborate and eloquently drawn conclusion if it is founded oi false ■premises. "We conceive -that the first:: great; p<^ in good writing is exactness, as .to facts. That is a more especial requisite, (if the term will admit of comparison^) when the object of writer is to censure, or, ratter libel an 'entire community. Ignorance of the facts in; such a case exposes the deiiouncer to the recoil of his own" weapon. ; The Press has, very unwiselywei think, re-opened the matter of a late notorious trial which took place in Nelson, and in doing so has made such strictures on this city and its inhabitants as has roused the indignation of a number of people ■ who ' have seen the article referred to. It appears to have' been written if not " to order,": at least on the " representation" of sonic one who has informed our cdritempbrat-y that '* great injustice has been done' i?p- an; innocent? person/ "and in defending this::innocent' person, : the Press, with' that fervour1: of. language which does^not" cst6p to^ think,' writes in this fashion regarding^tne. whole 1 otr the inhabitants' of Keelson, the :text :.ther'e-? for being the'public meeting/ held some time sin.cc' to into the fcause rflight aM escape from justice of an individualwith^felony :-^^^ -^s '^'■'•'■ :\:; ■• " ■ **'■ "But" wliiiitißvei- inay;liay^. Biqeli -tho boliaviour of' tlie accused, the conduct of the people/-of-Nelson1 \ras indecenti'it may)!be almost saidI disgiisfW9" :',?.-. -:■'•-': ■>. ■■:,-'.:h: ■•■'•■" ■■:\.\-y ■>;■■;"-; : ; Our fervid ■contempora^r;pfbceeds"to say that the public meeting referred -tb- was called to; discuss the merits ofthe case; -It -was nothing,pf the kind. " The calliiig of;the> meeting was not wise, and the meeting itself was not wisely conducted, as we stated-at; the time; but the object was to protest against any .presumed connivance at r the escape of a man who had fled from "justice. Moreover the meeting was called and conducted, and the proceedings taken part in by comparatively few persons" who did not represent "the; people of Mson,". whoihthe Press still further insults by saying—

" For our own parts, we do not hesitate to say, we should hesitate to live in a community capable of such an outrage on public decency."—!! "Methinks lie doth protest too much.,'' This is not exactly the tone nor the style which generally characterises judicious^ journalism. . "We should rather term it exceeding rash. The first quotation prefers a rash charge, the next makes a rash assertion. The one is made in ignorance of the fact, the other is a mere rhetorical' flourish,, which, a. calm writer would have struck out as 'a. bit of bathos badly written and meaning nothing ; for wo cannot suppose that the Canter--bury pilgrims are .a whit better than other people. In truth they appear to ,be worse, for they have found it necessary to pass 'a wey aftwH&w> owning %*t &q f^<&:,

stall sell, deliver, o^suppl^jpirilf p^pSS intoxicating liquors c to.. ce.rtaiakpersonslnabi-',^ tual drunkards,. &n^jo^es&^e^piaa]ave&f still supplied u ,an<|\get'.as f statute and penalty no^tEstancfin^i^^Sl^ , Another blunder'^ tne Ipresumtt^-ihat ':J? the accused person was appreneMea on^^ ;£ warrant transmitted'from Nelson^torbtago^; He was apprehended by a Port CnalmerPT,^ detective on suspicion, and identifiedvby^p means of a photograph conveyed By a private ' person; the detective navihg* applied to anf'fl Otago magistrate for a warrant on the usuaP'^ terms, "from information received." 1 -^ More mistakes are to be met'with further 'lir ~ on. It is said the trial was freely com-' *~ ' mented on by the Nelson press, " and espe- ' fcially the conduct of Mr Justice Johnston has been made the subject of violent criticism." The trial was scarcely referred to by> theNelson newspapers, the merits of the case*' 1 were never once commented on; and they said, f J not one syllable respecting the conduct of , Judge Johnston during the trial." How ' ' much of brilliant writing will atone for in- : accuracies like these? v Errors all the more ' * unpardonable, because indicating a recklessness in flinging charges about, while culpa- ''" bly ignorant of the patent facts about which v they are made. r "' The Press enters into various foreign ' questions, and assumes very, absurdly that ; J' the unfortunate publication in .England* of a '*' *r : clerical letter from Nelson, influenced public * feeling against the accused .He '* then returns to the charge once 'more bv~ ' dedajmg as follows-:-?^ \ ifJ~ * "That such a manias Eash,' the witness for the Crown, should be allowed to go at large,'is a mockery of all human justice, ana if no worse can be done to him, he ought at till events to be prosecuted 'for t perjury." Why is he not prosecuted for f perjury? "Whose blame is it that there is such " a mockery of justice" as his being_at^ large ? No information has been'laid' against this man * ~ » ■and without a prosecutor To lay such infof- , > mation, we suppose ifc is not the duty of the ' - Eesident Magistrate to institute proceedings/ ; our contemporary takes.Vup the c question of the coloniaMaw ofbpecial juries for trial u in .cases of , felony, and "endeavors to con- -, " tßadicStrthe statement 'we'made respectingthe' dangerous nature of ths enactment, affirming thereon in this wise:— *i« \ - ■ •-> > ' " We are not going at present to argue tKe question - ~ whether the act is a wise one'or not, but^we are well '„, satisfied that it does not -violate, but rather fails in * with, the spirit of English justice." ". *' *' * " • ' THe line of reasoning here is rather Jjcisn! ' He declines to" give an opinion'as toCwhether.' '. the act is wise or not,'and then, certifies^its' " wisdom by declaring it to-r be agree-"/ able with English' justice. % And,,here'J - he is wrong too,.and again'gives evidenced «. of ignorance of the term's 4of*'' the "^ctI'^ , of the Colonial Parliament.,' ,"We' r vaia^ >r\ .not object to the act because it permitted "-, the accused to apply for/a' special jury,' "BuY because it gives the same power "to the^'v Crown and to the Judge, without any reason^' assigned; and thereby, becomes inimical'to' '" public rights, and subversive .of juiy/trial" '+ On the whole, on this point We prefer, taking * 7 . ,the sage and well thought-put^ qpinioii^o?* "« ■^lackstone, to accepting'tHe\off-iand dictum \ of our vc-iZy writing contemporary^' ] To fine writers in general and to pugnacious fine , writers in particular,* the bundhVof errors r we have noticed ougntytq teach a\-simple" r moral I*^ 4 lesson, showing the wisHom.of b'eing.master'^ ,of facts, before1 writing about them,/and'th'e injustice of libelling 1, an entire^ community, while so ill-instructedjregarding rtlL6 ciicum- "-., stances treated on. , \ • Tongabieo akdEuapahu.—Dr. Hockstet- t' > ter thus describes those New Zealand- volca- " * nic cones: —Nearly in the centre of the Norths :*/ Island, close to the southern shoreof the great *• inlandlakeTaupo whose r waters fill the sunken crater of a once formidable'volcano,- now long •since extinct, rise out of an unfruitful high '. table-land of pumice-stone, 5,000 feet above 'the level of the sea, -New Zealand's two * gigantic volcanic cones, calledTongariro and ' JRuapahu. /The former is 6,soo'feet high, and' even at the present day gives -proof of its - volcanic activity by the solfatara issuing from - two always steaming craters ; whilst the r elevation of Euapahu is above 9,000 feet; the crater appears to be extinct and the sum- - < mit is covered with perpetual snow. These - two magnificent mountains are surrounded at their base by a group of smaller cones,'also - * extinct, which the native Maqries- designate, with that rude admixture of,, poetry': and, - ignorance that characterises that primitive - . people, as the wives and children of the two » giants Tongariro and Euapahu. According« - to the fanciful legend of,the natives, there-•-■** once stood a third giant of the name,.of Tara- -"' naki in the group, but he quarrelled with, the others and, being conquered,- was forced ' - to fly to, the western coast, where he now y» " stands alone "in solitary grandeur and pierc- * - ing the clouds with his snow-capped'summit. *-' This is -Mount Egmont, the elevation,■>of"which was formerly supposed to be eleven or t « *v twelve thousand feet; but this*was a xgreat" i exaggeration,^ as it is now ascertained to be"' * only 8,270 feet high. u\r\ - v ,v w *- '' <. ,lr* The ±NTtQun?¥. of New-Zealand.—ln a" v r geographical sketch of-New^ealandby;Dr.<' ' Ferdinand Yon Hochstetter,reclßntlypublish'- * " ed m.t'heA'ustralianandNewZehlmd, Gazette? "«"- - we find-the following passage r: 1- r ">lirom ' extraordinary* diversity of the-appearance of, >' the surface in New Zealand, it is butiiatural" rf to infer a similar" diversity in the geological, formation of these islands ; and this has been **<• already demonstrated to be the case wherever-'-' a partial geological survey has been .executed, * 5 ' though they only give a, t description of parti- > ' cular spots of no great extent, but-quite " suflicient, in the absence ofjJSaore perfect. . " information, to obtain a genial knowledge,' - of the interior construction of the islands.." > - In proof of the high- antiquity of New' - Zealand, it may be stated as an undoubted - ' fact that all the principal groups of geologi- " cal formation, from the earliest metamorphic ■ rocks, through the numerous 1 and different fossiliferous eras down to v the .most recent"-?" sedimentary strata, as from the most ancient i V 3 Plutonic formations down_ to „ those* of the *>X latest volcanic action, are1 duly, represented^ 4" New Zealand is also rich in mineraL treasures-^ of all descriptions, audit may v wellbe supp'o-'ij"~ ' sed that the gold, copper, iron; r chrome, ifgra^V^n phite, and coal which have^been*hith'ertS''fdis-^^ covered are but a foreshadow«of the^qtHerVi^ metallic substances that will unquestionably^ 13^ be brought to light*in the course ,pf;a^fewv^ years, and as soon as spientific J .me%slfa3l|be\f % L able to turn their 'at^UpjC•to;:ti^^§S'ecibt^! and, uncle?tak'e a completd