WHAT MAY HAPPEN TO A MAN IN DUNEDIN.

Wellington Independent, Volume XVIII, Issue 1861, 28 April 1863, Page 3

WHAT MAY HAPPEN TO A MAN IN DUNEDIN.

(From the Otdgo Daily Times, April 10. J

We are afraid the police are endeavouring to exercise too stringent a rule on the gold fields. No doubt a considerable amount of strictness is required, particularly in isolated districts where the force is not readily increaseahle. But there is a very clear line between severity and tyranny, and the latter is likely to create the very evil it is desired to avoid. In Wednesday's paper we printed a report of two cases which were heard at the Arrow Police Court, and which we do not hesitate to say placed tho police in an exceedingly unfavorable light. It appears a decision given by Mr Wood on the Bench, had created dissatisfaction amongst some of the residents on the Arrow. Whether there were grounds for the dissatisfaction, or whether the feeling was shared in by many, or only a few, we have no evidence. The bell-ringer announced tho meeting, and the police made a swoop dawn upon an individual named Connor, the person concerned in the case, the decision of which was to be made the subject of the meeting. According to Sergeant Lynch the prisoner was at the time in the act of addressing about thirty or forty persons who were present, but according to another constable he was only arguing with some of his tnates. Another witness, Mr MoTavish, Gold Fields' lnspector of. the. Union Bank, and Dr Robertson, wore bptlvpresent, and deposed that Connor Was riot addressing a meeting, and was doing nothing which made it necessary for the police to interfere, Of course the case was dismissed. Then

came on another case. It appeared that after Connor's arrest Mr McTavish and Dr Robertson went up to bail him out, so strong was their sense of the injury done him. Mr McTavish went into Sergeant's office and asked to see the charge against the prisoner. It appears, however, his manner was not agreeable to Mr Sergeant Lynch's sense of dignity; " He did not exhibit any courtesy in his remarks," said' that high official; and j another constable considered that he '' was not civil," although not impertinent." Mr_ McTavish was ordered out of the tent, upon which he naturally told the Sergeant who he was and mentioned that he was acquainted with Mr Branigan. This seemed to excite the eholer of the worthy Dogberry, and immediately upon Mr McTavish leaving the tent, in which he had stayed only four minutes, he was arrested on the three fold charge of obstructing the police in the exscution of their duty, refusing to leave the precincts of the camp when ordered to do 60, and for bringing people (the companions he had with him) on the camp reserve. He was forthwith subjected to the unpleasant process of handcuffing. lie at once enquired if bail would he accepted, when the police magnate announced his willingness to receive one hundred pounds as security for the appearance of his prisoner. Mr MeTavish offered his cheque for the amount. Oh, dear, no, was the reply, we know nothing about cheques, and Mr McTavish was immediately chained to a post, in company with Connor. Fortunately, Dr Robertson and one of his companions, got clear away, and announced the predicament in which he had left Mr McTavish. A hundred pounds was at once taken op by the Union Bank Clerk, and Mr McTavish set at liberty. The Magistrate as mentioned before, dismissed the case, upon which the worthy sergeant seemed j to have considered himself much aggrieved. Nor did any modesty interfere, with his saying as much; indeed, he appeared to have a full sense of his exalted opinion. " What am I to do with " this prisoner?" was his remark to the Magistrate, indicating a person who had been previously fined 40s for a similar offeneo. •'' What do you mean, his case is already disposed of," said the worthy occupant of the Bench. " His case is the same as the other, and you fina one and dismiss the other," was the rejoinder. The astonished Magistrate did not seem to conceive thathe should have committed the impertinent policeman who cavilled at his decisions, but began to argue with him, that the cases were not the same. The policeman, however, refused to see that there was any difference in them, nor did he seem to think that after indulging his own vagaries, the Magistrate might have been permitted the luxury of a little inconsistency, supposing, as was alleged, the tsvo cases were the same. The Bench at length silenced the valorous sergeant by telling him to attend to his duties.

We do not know whether to be more amused or angry at the whole affair. That a non-com missioned police officer, taking advantage of the authority with which he was temporarily invested, should give himself airs, and should feel himself insulted by the mention of the head of his department, is certainly rather laughable, and there was something excessively ridiculous in his venturing to beard the Magistrate, and call his decisions into question. On the other hand, it is anything but a laugeable affair that a gentleman of position and respectability should be treated as a felon on so slight a provocation. At one time it used to bo a favorite^ heading in the Victorian journals — '• What may happen to a man in Victoria." We venture to say that the sensationloving public was never treated to a more outrageous episode than this. Here was a gentleman of respectable position — a magistrate, we believe, in Victoria — who seeing what he considered to be an act of .tyranny committed by the police, took upon himself the by no means pleasant task of endeavouring to bail out the man whom, he supposed, was unjustly incarcerated. But no sooner had he sot about the purpose of his errand than he was treated with insolence, and arrested on three trumped-up charges. He was not obstructing the police in the execution of their duty ; his refusal to leave the tent may be estimated by the fact that he was only in it four minutes, and he was arrested outside it ; and in regard to bringing people on to the camp reserve, the gravamen of such an offence would be that they came there with improper purposes, whereas there was no pretence that such was the caso, neither was there anything to show that the two or three people, ac companyingMr McTavish were brought there by

him.

The trealtueut experienced by Connor, seems to have been scarcely one whit less harsh. His case was dismissed, in fact their was nothing against him. Supposing he had been addressing a public meeting, this was no offence, whilst it was clearly shown that he was doing nothing of the sort. If it were desired to hold a public meeting to review one of the Magistrate's decisions, there was no harm in it. It is bettor to allow dissatisfaction to bo declared openly, than to suppress its expression, and allow it to rankle in the minds of thoie who deem themselves the subject of injustice. The whole proceeding was thoroughly un-British, if we may be allowed the use of the expression. It was, tyrannous conduct such as this, that led to the Ballarat riots, and the Victorian Government received a lesson which taught them ever after to allow the fullest possible expression of public opinion. We can remember several instances in which the conduct of Magistrates has been made the subof public meetings in Victoria ; and when the facts warranted it the Government not only listened to the complaints made but had them inquired into. In the present case there may have been no grounds for complaining of the magistrate, but the police had nevertheless no cause to interfere. We are quite aware that the Arrow district was some timo ago in a disorderly condition, and th«t Mr Sergeant Lynch rendered service in reducing it to order. But an excess of severity will produce the very evils it is desired to avoid. The police may be as determined aa possible when they have something legitimate with which to interfere, but no pnrpose is answered by their trumping up fictitious charges. We should scarcely have devoted so much attention to this matter but that several complaints have reached us of inordinate severoty, not to say tyranny, exercised by the police on the diggings. There appear to be a deficiency of police on the gold fields, and too few police magistrates, and by way of making up for their want, it is thought a species of draconian severity should be employed. If the Government do not take care they will arouse a spirit of opposition not easily to be allayed.