OUR MARLBOROUGH LETTER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VI, Issue 274, 1 May 1873, Page 9

OUR MARLBOROUGH LETTER.

(FROM OTJR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

There ase several actions for libel in this Province now pending in the Supreme Court. The first arise from the celebrated Eyes scandal case, the particulars of which I have already narrated in such brief form' as so prurient a matter deserves. They are instigated by the defendant against two of the promoters of the late enquiry nnder the Civil Service Act, and damages are laid for LI,OOO and L.2,000 respectively. The other arises from strictures passed by the Marlborough press on the Provincial Burgeon, DrD. Tripe, for not, according to the press, paying sufficient and inmie*Hatc4kttondance to the body of a man found drowned afth^ftcton wharf. It is almost impossible in New Zealand, Ttfrthe present time, to comment on the mis- j management of a coal or a gold mine, or to question the bonajfdes of an insurance company. The damages are laid at L3OO, but what pretext there can be for re -king damages for the following paragraph, your readers will perhaps understand— l cannot : — Some severe remarks have been made, by persons conversant with the facts, about the length" of time the Body of the unfortunate man Randall was exposed on the wharf after he was removed from the water on Sunday List. It appears that there is a want of knowledge of authority upon such matters; as the police authorities were under the impression that the body should not be removed until seen ty » medical man, if there is one to be obtained within an easy distance ; while the Coroner was of opinion that the body ought to have been removed to a proper place immediately on recovery from the water. It would be well for the future if the duties of all in such cases were denned, so that the remains of poor humanity should not be exposed to the , gaze of the morbidly curious or the' ordinary, sight-seeker. Another circumstance connected with the same subject^deserves mention. When the body' was fust brought out of the water, medical assistance was at once sought, but it was over an hour and a' half before any medical man attended to see if hi* services would be required. In this case there can be no doubt that Randall was dead when his body was trexcued from the sea; It might have happened that the body had been immersed for only a very few minutes, and .that experienced eyes could have detected signs of vitality in the body, and, aided by the now well-known methods of restoring suspended animation, could possibly hjtve arrested the vital spark-ere it finally fledl All chance of such a result as - this was destroyed by the delay that took place in the appearance of medical Assistance. We hope that never on a future occasion';' when aid is sought, will it be so long in being given. to hint thatfsome of our public men are not actuoted by pure and philanthropic motives, and that they are not insensible to the charms and emoluments of office ; or animadvert en the brutality of a man who beats his wife or dog to insensibility, without receiving in nine cases out of ten a notice of action for libel, or a demand for an immediate and omple apology. If some ambitious citizen or adventurer wishes te represent a constituency, either in the Provincial or General Houses of Parliament, and any journalist chooses to question his fitness for such a pofition, or the meant he adopts for the furtherance of such an* object, or having a knowledge of bis antecedents, gives any particulars of his -past life by which his chances for success are lessened, he is threatened with the terrors of the law for bringing such a person int-> contempt. There is no end to the annoyance journalists and newspaper proprietors have to contend with from the' excitability and rancour of persons so noticed. ' But there is no middle course that canbeadopted by the journalist : hehastotell the truth without extenuation, pass censure when the laws of society ace outraged, or the rights o; 'citizenship impugned. Men had apparently thicker skins two or three centuries since than their present descendants ; and the character of the punishment then meted[ out for defamatory abatements wm sp •ujformity with, (he tragbne«g of

tAeir hides, A, harsh notice of a book at the present day induces more resentment and* comment than the most virulent attack <-n private character in the times of the Stuarts. The lapse of time has altered the character of oar criticism, both of literary efforts and public men. We are not in the habit of imputing unworthy motives to oar contemporaries without a just and sufficient cause ; while able hireling peus are mere difficult to obtain than in times past. And though criticism has become so modified in its character, and the shafts of wit and the arrows of satiro are * made to perform the 'work that once was performed only through a knowledge of the -curriculum of Bifiinsgate, those who suffer meritoriouß punishment are not content that journalists —even if they transgress thetr proper limits — should be mulcted in coin of the realm for their indignant invective ;' bus many of such persons would like to see the pillory resuscitated for .their benefit, and the of--fenders marked like Oates for life. There is also this peculiar outcome of modern civilization, mood in former times was only supposed to appease wounded honor, while gold ia now held to be the moe potent salve. With our change of habits and criticism there has not been a corresponding change in our law for libel. Tt i«» still in a state of development), and what form it will ultimately assume "does not yet appear. At the present time there is a profound ignorance, even among the well-informed, at to What coastitutes libel. It often depends on what twelve good men. and true may so determine. Indigestion or bile may influence in a large measure the decision of these recalcitrant tribunals. There is no doubt but journalists and public writers are to a cer- | tain degree responsible to the public for their lucubrations. Ihe press is the b<t rvant of the public, a-& is accordingly responsible to its master. We have some plain law on the subject that may be easily understood alike by writers, the "public, and jurymen. Whether the powers of juries in libel cases should not be curtailed, is still an open question. The quarter's revenue of the Province has been published, and the Provincial Council is summoned to meet on the 13th of next month The quarter's revonne is about the usual thing— some L 3.000. I always believe in round numbers — they are easy to remember. You will of course recognise the importance of the existence of a Provincial Council and iU attendant paraphernalia, when such a lar^e sum of money has to be expended. 3f anything tended to bring Provincial Governments into contempt, one would imagine this illustration would suffice. The pauper provinces of this island have to thauk themselves for their poverty fq£ the reckless ma-iner in which they have alienated their lande.l estates. Half a million acres, composing the best land j in the Province, have been sold for I 1(38,000, or about 6s 8d per acre. This includes town sections, App. No. 72, C. No. 1. Thi3 fact suggests the question, " If the be^t land ia the Province has been ' sold at such a price, what will that of an inferior character obtain ?" • Your Picton contemporary has been "reviewing what he terms "The Provincial .Custom Duties'" of the varimis Provinces, whatever such a term may include^ It has the following mythical and wonderful sentence anent the Marlborous;h Customs dues :— "The Province of Ttranaki is shewn as having made more annnal progress than ours, which stands at the bottom of the- list as a warning and an example — a warning to would-be traders not to speculate with such a non-progressive community, and an example showing bow a place may be injured by allowing all the trade to be done by firms who have no interest in raising its status." Opaque, is it nots It also, in the same leader makes a wonderful discovery in political economy. It is not a. matter of much concern that the custom duties of Westland are less in 1872 than in the. previous year, as the Colonial increas**atones for the county's deficiency. While the. falling off in the yield of gold in Westland pFOves the fact that the laboring class have made substantial progress during the year. A r man- must always go from home to learhl * The Carandinis, . Miss Aitken, and Dr Carr have been here, devoting their time and tilents to the amusement of the people. The atijl life heir wants an occasional refresher to remind the occupants of this Province that there is another kind of existence beyond thTSfefd? of these Sounds, Mr O. GoulteV -aiereises the functions of Mr Eyes while the acfatol .*>r 1»W are pending. This course of actioiC^ t f?ssJl2 11c»1 1c», e » M deemed necessary in the ease of a civir&£l. vant, who^afc'fen'deTiffed: aUd refuses to resign. / i ' .