9

H.—37

No. 20. Mr. H. H. Fentost to the Hon. the Minister of Justice. Sic, — Mongonui, 6th April, 1573. Some months ago I had the honor o£ addressing you on the subject of an inquiry into certain charges made by me against Mr. White, the Resident Magistrate of Mongonui. In your reply you were good enough to state that the matter was under the consideration of the (xovernment. I again call your attention to the grave character of those charges, particularly the one wherein I accuse the Eesident Magistrate with attempting, by means of a letter, to influence a Bench of Magistrates in their decision in the case of Fenton v. Frear. In order that you should better understand the connection between this letter and the foregoing charge, it is necessary to enter into a few details. The defendant, by some means or other immaterial to the charge, came into possession of a valuable setter bitch, my property. I applied to defendant for possession, and he refused. I then sought the assistance of the Eesident Magistrate, by swearing an information in the usual course. The Magistrate despatched the bailiff to defendant, but, strange to say, with no instructions beyond the inquiry whether the bitch was in his (the defendant's) possession. The defendant told the bailiff that if he demanded the bitch he would give her up. The bailiff replied that he had no instructions to demand possession. I again applied to the Magistrate, and he absolutely refused to interfere. I then commenced an action of detinue. About this time it came to my knowledge that Mr. White had lent his setter dog to defendant for the purpose of getting my bitch in pup, Mr. White receiving as payment the first choice of a puppy out of the litter. This circumstance, together with an evident disinclination to assist me in recovering possession of my bitch, led me to apply to the only two available Justices (Messrs. Anderson and Ball) to try the case. The trial lasted three days, and it was during the morning of the third day, while the clerk was taking down the evidence, that the letter in question arrived. It was laid by the bailiff on the clerk's desk. It remained there some time, the latter being too much engaged to read it. Captain Butler sat close by, and observed that the superscription was in Mr. White's handwriting. This, coupled with the fact that the Eesident Magistrate had previously taken an active and partial part in the case, led Captain Butler to suspect that this letter had something to do with the matter in hand: the sequel will show that it had. On adjourning for lunch, it was observed that the clerk read the letter —a very long one, —and at the first opportunity retired outside with Mr. Ball. Captain Butler had occasion, about this time, to retire for a certain purpose: when he came at the back of the buildings he found Mr. Ball and the clerk busy perusing the contents of the letter before mentioned. Nothing further transpired at the time, but when the case was over, and the decision given against the plaintiff, Captain Butler asked Mr. Ball if he had received a letter from Mr. White that in any way bore upon the case just decided. Mr. Ball—by a subterfuge—replied that he had not. On being further questioned whether he had seen a letter from Mr. White, he replied that he had, and further confessed that it contained matter bearing on the case. No further questions were asked. Captain Butler immediately afterwards came to me, and acquainted me with the whole circumstance ; and I then wrote three notices, one each to Messrs. Ball, White, and Kelly, requesting them to note down the contents of that letter while their memory served them. The notice also contained a request that the one out of the above-named three who held possession of the letter should be careful to neither lose nor destroy it, as it might be required at some future time. Nothing further transpired touching this matter until Mr. White volunteered to Captain Butler a statement to this effect, namely, " that the letter contained advice to the Justices to adjourn the case for further evidence." It must be borne in mind that the letter itself was not produced. Had it been, it would at any rate have shown an honest intention on the part of Mr. White that we should know the whole of the contents. I have well considered the transaction in all its bearings, and one only conclusion seems open, —that a highly improper act has been done :so serious, indeed, that I cannot conceive of the G-overnment overlooking it. It must be further considered that the Magistrate to whom this letter was read is a person, on his own confession, totally ignorant of law. He told Captain Butler and myself that he had never opened a law book, nor did he intend doing so. He is a person of nervous disposition, and little or no education to rectify deficiencies of mind. I need hardly point out to the Government how eagerly such a person would seize on the advice of the Resident Magistrate, a gentleman of twenty-five years' practice: how ready to remove responsibility on to the shoulders of one who ought at the least to be more capable of judging in such a case than he whose pursuits have not taken him beyond compounding drugs in a chemist's shop. I have before stated that Mr. White was an interested party, and a witness, and I should wish that the Government keep this in sight. Not only had the Justices Mr. White's moral support, but also the support of every individual who had invested their guinea in a puppy. In a small community like ours, six people constitute a public feeling. Such was the number of investors, and backed by Mr. YVHrite, every effort was used to deprive me of my dog. One of the Justices (Mr. Anderson), an inferior person even to Mr. Ball, was drinking, the night previous to the trial and the subsequent nights, with persons interested in the case. The case was most fully, and probably unfairly, stated to him before hearing it. However, I have no intention of involving other parties until the inquiry takes place, when I trust that the Government will give me every opportunity of sifting the matter thoroughly. I beg most emphatically to state that I am not bringing this matter before the Grovernment on personal grounds, nor am I influenced in any way by unworthy motives. I feel now, and have felt for several years, that that portion of the public inimical to Mr. White has been, and is, at the mercy of that gentleman, and I deeply regret to state that that mercy has not always been tempered with justice. I have myself hitherto resolved not to interfere in public matters or with public people: this lias been a rule through life; but I did not, in making such a rule, anticipate a state of things as above described. I feel now that I should be a coward if I shrank from what, to me, is so evidently a duty. There are other charges mentioned in my former letter, but it is not necessary to revert to them here. I would humbly suggest that the Government write to Mr. White for the original letter written by Mr. White, at Oruru, to Mr. Kelly, Clerk of the Court at Mongonui. If this is produced, the Groverninent will be in a position to judge for themselves as to one charge. If it is not produced, that in 2—H. 37.