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'- '-i^'- . - ■':" J ANNOTATIONS ON THE REPORT OF THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL AND SOL.-GENERAL OF THE PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA, IN THE MATTER OP MR. SHIELS, STIPENDIARY MAGISTRATE. HALIFAX, N. S. PRINTED BY JAMES BOWES AND SONS. 1863. miTf^.^iV . sa^'^lfe' 'm I 1 M>-2 I , .5. / mm ^ I 1- I. n.y communication to Government of the 17tn Jany. las I mt.mated t at I did not consider it necessary to offer any observations on the report of the Officers of the Crown, as all comment thereon must needs sound feeble. Con ler nl. however, the high official authority of that document I am mchned hlnk that silence on my part might be misconstrued; and I proceed to n'aL the following comments thereon, passage by passage, as I see occasion, putting my own observations into the form of paragraphs. The Report. In the matter of Mr. Dawson's Complaint against Mr. Shiels, Stipendiary Magistrate. Having carefully perused the pa- pers annexed, in the absence of the Atty.-Genl., I have to remark there- on as follows : As to Charge 1, by Mr. Dawson. If Mr. Dawson had been defendant in the case, or if it had been made to appear that Mr. Dawson was actmg as Mansfield's professional adviser, the matter would present itself in a totally different aspect. I can dis- cover no evidence to satisfy me that Mr. Mansfield is dissatisfied with the decision of Mr. Shiels; and Mr. Dawson's relation to this controversy seems to be that of a volunteer. Anstoer- f What may be the peculiar pppro- brlum attaching to the relation of "Volunteer," in the Province of Nova Scotia, I leave to the Solicitor- General of the Province of Nova Scotia to point out, as he may think proper. I think I can make out be- yond all reasonable question that I come within the purview of "the totally different aspect" (whatever that may be), to which he alludes. Certainly nothing can be more totally at variance with anything like the idea of willingness on my part, at the commencement of the occurrences, at all events. At the commoncemont of things. 1 do not think I ever hw\ the srrew put j upon mo in a small wpy, ([u'te so ! tlsrhtlv before. I i IHRII m 8 Report. Answer, My servant goes on an errand of his own, eak'ulateil to take up no grout length of time. He next upijears in company of a man, a stranger to me, who represents that he is a constable, and that he holds my servant as his prisoner, under execution for debt, jupt issued against him. There is the ship under weigh to which I have pressing occasion to send my servant with a letter I The constable wont let hiin go. There is my hay all exposed ! The con- stable wont let him attend to it. In- cendiary fires are continually raging — so rife as to have become a regular institution — to such an extent, in- deed, that most Insurance Offices de- cline policies in the district, — and those few that will effect them only do so on the express understanding that a person is to occupy the pre- mises at night. IMansfiold was the only person I had for all this. AikJ the constable says he must carry him off to gaol at once, unless I pay down the money for him. I did pay the money, and I should have had no choice but to have paid it, if it were three times the amount. But most conscientiously can I aver that there was mighty little of the "■volunteer'^ about me at this period of the trans- actions, as my language at the time, by all accounts, sufficiently indicated. The Solicitor-General can, however, discover no evidence that " Mr. Mans- field is dissatisfied with the decision ofMr. Shiels." I should be sorry to impart any- thing which might sound like a tone of levity to so serious a commentary as this is intended to be, — but such puerile assertion forces me to refer to. a parallel assertion that was once made to me. There was formerly a custom (now I hope, exploded) for * i I H t ' V l fc^ateJiJH w^mmm ttt^MiMM^iita 3 lieporl. Ansicer. I am, however, of opinion that, acting upon a sound discre- tion, no magi.trat« should issue a sum- mons in a civil cause where his son or other near relative seeks it as plaintiff, and especially so if, as in this case, i),n\ other could have acted. Charges 3, 4, and 5. As regards these all, it seems to me that as Mansfield makes no . complaint, and Mr. Dawson is no party to the suit in question, the proper course magistrate warreners to sew up the mouths of their ferrets with needle and thread, before turning them mto the ral)- bit holes 1 remember once rcnionstratmg on what appeared to me the cruelty of the operation, when the man gravely assured me that the ferrets " did not dislike it " Now, assuming Mansfield to bo the ferret in this case, I submit that there is evidence to show that he did dislike it— that he was " dissatisfied with the decision of Mr. Shiels," for he attempted an appeal. This the Solicitor-General will probably say was all my douig,— Mansfield was acting under my advice. And this, I presume to be the vohm- 1 teering which is to oust me of the indulgence of the " totally different aspect the matter would present itself in." I was neither "defendant in the case" nor " acting as Mansfield's professional adviser." " Professional," or not, I wa^ certainly his "ad- viser " and even if I had not been operated upon so strin-^ently myself to begin with, 1 can see nothing unbecoming in giving what I considered proper ad- vice to my servant. , , . r . i If in a case of bloodshed the relation of master and servant, where one is acting in pure defence of the other mi^it cause what would otherwise be u verdict of mansla°ughter to be mitigated to justifiable homi- cide, surely the relation of master and servant would i excuse me for assistiiig Mansfield with my advice m 1 a civil proceeding, even although the lawyer s fee i might be wanting. ,.,,,. c e v \ f Good taste and anything like delicacy of Icehng i would certainly have induced Mr. Shiels to abstain ! from acting in his son's case. :My censure of Mr. Shiels however is. not that he chose to act on that ! occasion, but that choosing to act, he acted with I sharpness, precipitation, and yigour, when every ccn- i sideration of propriety should have induced him to allow the defendant all the latitude and indulgence as regards hearing judgment and execution that the law would admit of. fThe Solicitor-General seems to forget that as re- gards charges 3, 4, and 5 (the heaviest and gravest of my charges), I myself am the " party t.. the suit —not Mansfield. I myself am the ferret, and surely have a right to express my own feelings under Mr. Shiels' manipulation.— And as to any redress that the Courts of law could aff.rd in such a case, I do not think that the legal acumen even of the Solicitor- Report. would be for Mr. Daw- son to apply to the Courts of Law, if be has any ju«t cause of complaint. And the rather so as tlie facts rosiwcting the issue of an execu- tion are controverted, and the Government have no means of de- ciding the dispute. 4 Anidcer. General of the Province of Nova Scofia, can point it out The short coming of all possible redress in that way is. in fact, the very basis of my application to His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor in Coun- cil. . 1 • i ,. f The fact of execution having issued is not con- troverted" by mo. Mr. Shiels now positively asserts that there was issue of execution, and I am far from dcnyin.-' it. Ml I say is that Mr. Shiels' roprcscnta- tion to me on a former occasion was. that there had been no such issue, believing which representation to be true, I acted on the belief by forthwith bringing my action against the constable, a thing that it wouhl have been impossible for me to have thought of doing, except on the faith of that representation. It seems to me that ^Ir. Shiels is on what has been termed " the horns of a dilemma. l^^ither there was issue of execution at the time, or there was not. If there was such issue, Mr. Shiels is guilty of conduct to which I have said in another place, " it is not easy" (and certainly it is not pleasant) "to aive a name." If there was not such issue then he I fs guiltv of conduct which " bears a criminal aspect, for the'docnment subsequently produced must have been a fabrication in the nature of forgery. Mr. Shiels endeavours to evade either horn ot this dilemma,— and how does he attempt it r 1 quote from his printed statement to Government : " Then he" (meaning me) " makes me say that there had been no execution in the matter. This is a wilful and deliberate falsehood, for I never at any time said such a thing,— I did say that the man was not arrested, but never did say that there had been no execution." Now, I ask. is it within the bounds of credibility that such, and such only, was his state- ment ■' Mr. Shiels does not deny the fact of his prc- I ducino' the Record book of his Court, and shewing I it to me. There is his own letter alluding to the i production of the Record to shew what the proceed- in c^s had been entitling him to my apology which i tendered for the language which I had given utter- ance to, under the impression that my servant was a prisoner in execution, before my eyes. V\ hat, I ask, (lid he mean that record to shew V That there had been no arrest? Impossible! That could never npiioar on the face of the record, either one way or the other. If his own words and actions in undis- .^ mmmmmmm «. 4 •' x\\ BeporU putoa cVuV3noc are to W any njeaning at aU. be I nature sl.cv. f f.^^^'V urroSn.r facts, but the j can that be. looking a ««™;^;^;;,-,,„ «£ i,«uo of absence o? entry ^^ ^"i' 7,,Xe of the record ? I execution whatever upon tl^ ace ott ^^.^^^^^ 1 My ownconeurrentaetK^ns n una ^^^^^^.^^ ^^^ too, in all reason. «^»«^//^J^S, J-.ng n.y action ,oe mu«t have been. ^ /^^^^^f^ p,, ^^ving done ngainst the ««n«^ J^-^y af Mr. Shieln would now 1 no uiorc than his duty, "-^y- "^^ , . • -^ ^J^^^y^ under 1 have -^«^--r°^:rv V-h^ >^^^^^^ -y 1 the process of the U.urt -J l^ ^ madness. part would have been "^^^""g . .f^^^^ to recover fn^e form and s^xbstanc. ^[-^^^^^^^Zn. me under j back money, which ^^^ been obtamea .^ ^^^^^^^^ a false representation that myjerva ^^^^ 1 under the process of the tourt, wi cess had ever, in fact issued -^^ dj. There is direct and P««^^^« ^^^^^^^^^^^^ against the reet and positive |j;--\-J X^l faSs in evi- statement of Mr. ^^'*^'^^ „' i-:„„>> dence and reason go for noth^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^ In the opinion ot the v^rowu " , . , vince of Nova Scotia, I understand it is so . In making these comments however, I am far from approving of the peculiar style ot defence adopted by Mr. Shiels, a proper respect for tbe highly responsible and impor- tant office he fills, for the party addressed, especially for those whose perusal his ropy was prepared, should in my opinion have dictated a very differ- ent document from that furnished by hini. I regret to notice the temper displayed in the papers attached, but I do not think this f H ? >»J Report. ifi one of tho cases re- quiring Kxocutivo in- terfereiifo. (Signed ) J. McCuLr.v. October G, 18(52. Anaicer, f lleceiveil by nic. Juny. 17, 1S03. Report. So much of tho charges against Mr. iShieln, as regards his bringing an action in which his son was j)hiin- tiff, or on a demand which was stale, does not appear to ino to be tho sut'ject of execu- tive enquiry — he had a right to issue a sum- mons, whoever might bo phiintifF, And his judgement on the merits can only be impeached on an appeal or other pro- ceedings in due course of law. Answer. IfTho b|)inions of tho Attorney-Oenoral and the Solicitor-Oeneral, on this point, seem a little at vari- ance. I do not see tnat mucii turns upon the ques- tion either way, so long as a judge takes care to avoid anything like the impufitlon of sha.p, oppress- ive, or partial dealing. Tho rule, the observance of which I think good taste would dictate, is rather. [ conceive, for the^pro- tection of the Judge than of the parties to the suit. The graver parts of the charge are mainly questions of contro- verted facts. Whether Mansfield had or had not an opportunity for a rehearing after the judgement by default ; f The charge against Mr. Shicls is precisely because this was not the case. The evidence of the Record itself |)roves that it was not so. Judgment was not "on the merits" but ex parte on the defendant's failing to appear at the precise moment named in tho summons. And tho further and graver charge is — that of subverting tho grounds of an appeal when ap- plied for, by misrepresentation, relative to the pre- vious judicial pioceedings. f However gi-ave this question may be — the state ment on the subject, be it what it may, constitutes no part of my charges. It is 3Ir. Shiels' own state- ment, and I do not even join issue with him on tho subject. I quote from my printed statement in reply to Mr. Shiels : " What Mansfield may have said or done when he got the-e" (the C art) "of course I cannot tell." I make, it is true, some little com- ment on the probability of the two stories, and sliow that Mansfield's is a consistent one, whilst Mr. Shiels' is, in my opinion, a lame and improbable one. mm^ tho Report. vhothcr an execution wnH issued at tlie tiuio, and i)laec.a the Reprt of the Solicitor-General* to which [ beg leave to refer. f Thi." does not constitute one of my charges. It is a mere false and inconsiMjuential issue. I ceitainly had reason gi\on me to think the de- fendant was arrested when I paid the money. But I will let the constable himself speak. I quote from Mr. Shiels' extracts from the minutes of evidence : " VVitness showed the execution to Mr. Dawson and he read if." "and Mr. Dawson handed out the two sovereigns to him, sooner than let him go to jail." After this, I th.itk the constable's statement, "Mans- field never .was arrested," may go for what it is worth, and Mr. Shiels' statement too. ^What does it signify, I ask, or how does it have any bearing on the points really at issue, whether 1 the execution was sh' , a to me or not "i Shown to mo or not, I did not doubt the fact, at the nme, of there being such a document. It was. in fact, bo- cause I did fully believe in it, that I paid the money. But it ;s equally clear that I had not noticed, or did not remend)cr the fact of seeing it, if it really was produced as the constable says, or I never could have acted as I subsequently did act, on the repre- sentation of Mr. Shiels. tAre all questions of false and inconsequential issue, calculated for no other purpose than to raise a dust to obscure the real points at issue and smother the gravamen of the charge. The true and material issue with reference to the graver of the charges which I first preferred (rescrv- in(r the 5th charge contained in my reply for forth- coming comment) is— did Mr. Shiels, or did he not represent to me that there was no issue of execution? If he did so represent he either told a frightful judi- cial untruth, or if not, he must have perpetrated a still more atrocious action (if possible) in the nature of a judicial forgery. The question is left entirely untouched by the Attorney-General. I consider that I have sufficiently enlarged upon it in my observa. tions on the report of the Solicitor-General so as to spare the necessity of repetition here. 1[In all parts of the civilized world wherever the name of " gentleman" is known, or the meaning of the word at all professed to bo understood, it is a 1, r^ MlilMfMlii, Report. I of the justice, there is 1 evidence which is be- ! y o n (1 contradiction. From all that appears, Mr. Shicls must have forgotten that it was his duty, however grossly assailed, to preserve his temper, or at all events not to de- scend to personal re- crimination. At the same time there is much to palliate Mr. Shiels' indiscretion. Mr. Daw- son confesses that be- fore seeing him or knowing anything a- bout the matter in con- troversy, except from his servant, he used language in reference to Mr. Shiels, which he knew would be im- mediately reported to him, of such a charac- ter that he is obliged to describe it as unqua- lified. And in subsequent in terviews with Mr. Sliiels, and on appear- ing before him as a Jus- tice, he used expres- sions highly improper, and which were not only calculated, but could hardly fail to create the feelings, and olicit tlio expressions loferrcd to in the nie- inuv'iil. Answer. never-varying rule, that the acceptance of an apology renders impossible any future expression of resent- ment for past injury on the subject for which the apo^ )<^y is tendered and received. The Stipendiary Magistrate of the Province of Nova Scotia does not see it ; and the Attorney-deneral of the Province of Nova Scotia does not see it. Mr. Shicls in his letter to mo of the 3lst July, writes, (T quote from the letter set forth in my printed statement,) " I accept your apology for lan- guage that would perhaps have grated harshly on other ears than mine." And in his printed state- ment to Government he writes as follows: "I had not forcrotten the language he had indulged himselt in to the constable. Courtesy indeed 1 atter the asper.sion, and insults, and detraction, heaped upon me, an utter stranger to him, and then to expect courtesy from me ! Ah no— he does not know me. or else he would not look for it after such conduct. And the Attorney-General of Nova Scotia, with the passages last quoted, before him, makes the observa- tions on the other side conceming which I need only remark upon the palpable disingenuousness of his representation, that I used the language complained of on the wmipportsd statement of my servant. He I is fully alive and adverts to the fact of my servant s I story being told, in the presence and hearing of the I constable, who was privy to every thing, and corro- borated every thing, when he writes, "Language -/hich he knew would be immediately reported to him." Who was there to report, and who did re- port, but the constable 'i HHow? When? AVherc ? I challenge the Attorney-General to the proof! Where, I ask, is there evidence of one word of ob- jurgation having fallen from my lips, with the excep- tion of what I may have said to the constable on the above occasion and on the occasion of my last in- terview with Mr. Shiels when I caine to take copy of the Record ? . What passed on that second occasion amounted to nothing more than fair and deliberate nutification of what f then contemplated and have since done, viz : my intention n. institute those charges again.-st hiin before tli^ T;;,ut. -Governor in Council. U tbut, I ii^i^ 9 roof! last in- Report. Answer. Besides, Mr. Dawson is a stranger to the case. Whether he in- terferes as master, or as the Attorney of Mansfield, does not very clearly appear ; — at all events Mansfield himself makes no com- plaint ; — he stated that Mr. Dawson owed him the money which that gen- tleman paid to the con- stable ; — and this Mr. Dawson does not deny. ask, to be designated, " the use of highly improper expressions" ? If so, I can only infer that the ap- proved practice of the Crown Officers of the Provmce of Nova Scotia is to institute prosecution agamst a man in silence ^nd behind his back. ^This seems to be the " volunteer objection ot the Solicitor-General over again. I refer back to my observations thereon. The substantial in- iu«ry therefore is to Mansfield, not to Mr. Dawson. If the mo- ney was due to his ser- vant, it cannot be a matter of much conse- quence to Mr. Daw- son, whatever it may f Deprecating the imputation of levity, I must again refer to the parallel case of ferret. ^Mansfield denied on oath at the trial that he ever made such a statement; and I sincerely believe he never did. He asked me to lend him the raonej,-- to " advance" it, in the presence and hearing of the constable: an expression which he would ^fr^^y hf « used if he had just before told the constable that i " owed him the money." ^Notwithstanding the general recklessness of asser- tion and unfounded assumption pervading this report, this is, I think, unquestionably an oversight; and as such, I am incapable of taking advantage of it._ i hei\,««r.w)t- "Toi'imil'.-i md,. 10 Repoii. be to Mansfield, whe- ther the debt was or was not well founded. If Mr. Shiels has in his manner or expres- sions lost sight of what is due to his position as a Justice of the Peace, Mr. Dawson's own language and de- meanour does not add force to his complaint. If Mr. Shiels owed something to his offi- cial position, Mr. Daw- son was not free from the obligation which his personal position, no less than his pro- fessional education, im- posed on liim. In the reply ad- dressed to your Ex- cellency, the Justice has shown the same temper towards Mr. Dawson, which he is charged with exhibit- ing on previous occa- sions. It is impossi- ble to justify the style of his reply, or excuse the introduction into an answer to grave charges preferred a- gainst him in a magis- terial capacity Of tlie versos which form part of his reply, — the insertion of these (apart altogether from their style and senti- ment) exhibit great want of knowledge of the proprieties of his position, and of the Answtr. I'U refer to my former observations, and those in the ensuing paragraph next but one. ^We all know the meaning of the expression, " to danm with faint praise." May there not be such a thing, I will venture to suggest, as " to support with faint condemnation" 'I _L 11 se in , "to uch a t with I Report. manner in which charg- fis coming before your Excellency should be met. It is impossible to pass over this fea- | ture of the case with- i out expressing a most decided opinion as to j the impropriety of Mr. I Shiels' conduct in this j respect. Upon the whole, ; making allowance for j the provocation receiv- I ed, applied to a person : of Mr. Sliiels' irritable temperament, and con- sidering him to have licen under the influ- ence of those provoca- tions ; — Ansicer. f The only provocation of any kind or description whatsoever appearing throughout the length and breadth of the case taking it even upon Mr fehiels own showing, that Mr. Shiels ever received from me, is that species of provocation that every delinquent is 1 apt more or less, to deem it, when any person indi- i cates a determination to expose and bring hira to iustice This spirit is clearly indicated by the com- i mencing lines of the verses to which the Attorney- i Oeneral in such a solemn and dignified tone of com- ment, has just alluded. " Last week another of the Vampire clan, (I took his measure at a single span) Against my Justiceship commenced a raid, ^^ I And certainly the creature should he paid. 1 All which, being interpreted, I vjonceive, means— I that I (the creature) am "to be paid —that is 1 vilified and abused, for no other reason than that i 1 had "against his Justiceship commenced a raid ; ' that is, presumed to question the propriety of his ju- ' dicial conduct, anl intimated an intention of lodgmg i a complaint against him before competent and I fitting authority. «' The very head and front of my offending Hath this extent— no more." And into this it is— and no more (if evidence and evidence alone is to be regarded) that every thing imputed to me by the Attorney-General the highly improper expressions," " provocation,' ,' demeanor gross assailing," on my part, so l.ferally mferred by him, must be resolved. , , • .• I will now let the Attorney-General bring his re- port to a conclusion, and then I have a few obsen^a- tions of my own to make on a point on which neither of the Crown officers of the Province of Nova fecotia have chosen to say anything. Report. And taking into ac- count still further that Mr. Shiels, though ad- mitted to be irascible, bears and always has borne the character of an honourable and up- right and honest man, and. in his magisterial capacity has for many years discharged his duty to the satisfaction of the conmiunity, I do not conceive the cir- cumstances of this case such as to render necessary the interven- tion of the Executive. (Signed) ADAMS G. ARCHIBALD. Halifax,Nov. 20, '62. 12 Answer. f Received by me, Jany. 17, 1863. f The Crown officers of the Province of Nova Scotia have now concluded their several reports, and except that they have alluded to it sufficiently to show that it has not escaped their observation, not one word does there appear relative to my 5th charge. This charge, at all events, is not of a nature to overtask their discriminating powers under conflicting statements. In my first printed statement it wdl be seen how that I profess to set forth a carefully examined and accurate copy of the Record. I beg now to refer to it as it there appears in print. It will be seen that no entry or mention of execution appears there. Mr. Shiels, alluding to tliis alleged copy, says, " The eleventh paragraph is not correctly taken from the book, whether from design or mistake, I t^o "ot pretend to say— the book can prove it." Then, after a little interlude of vilification and abuse, he proceeds : " It may be true ho did not see the entry, he was in such a rage at the tinie he was looking at it. However, I declare most solemnly that it was tliere then and is there now, and was written there by me on the day it was issued, viz. : the 23rd day of July, 1862." In my reply I as solemnly demand the production I a. .., MfaHii> Report. 13 Answer. t ♦V^a hook as an easy and conclusive mode of set- tJ^tt:^^%^ olrconflicung statements, and *'\rit';-That1f on the production of the Rectd^book of the Court there does appear anv entry or mention of execution v/hatBoever, "& is a surreptitious and fraudulen^t m- assertion, so ^^^'^J JJ/ . equivocal position until needs stand ma panful and equ F ^^^ t^r^r^hielsit.. o.otonvicy of empty ?re'4serL, and I stand exonerated from much of t vTlfiS; and abuse which has been so frce^ ^''nt.TnoTof thTcrc.: fficL, ^(I was not so '''Vnwirof it wh- I addressed my letter of ap- '"""unHsGrace^he Colonial Secretary of State) peal to His Grace tne ^^^^^^.^^ ^^ ^^^ Strren >r Iv^ttg in thatBeport which can u / 1^ , ^ ^ censure, is censure tor ttpropri * or„Xwf, and dteegarf .0 .he diX of Mr.Vicb- own position ; not one word of Sure does there appear for the outrage upon me; on he contrary, the tone, as far as I am eoneemed, s u„e\uWoea{i; that of palliation and exeu«^ " fehtLE »; '^.Tel underSLr^ "I'i to he a taSntl^ertion. The charge is piove It 10 u« , y g tijere s no place within rrLls ofVet'ish Crown for L last .OO years -m which such a charge brough home to a jXe would not have declared him inf mK.us. The At^rney-General has dene me the honour to ™ake%edal aUusion to me personally, -he alludes TwhatTe is pleased to designate my 'persona «oS on " What the precise mean ng ot this elegant pobition. '' ponfess myse f not very clear tT'^Po^L a,e It" n;ej"4noral is en(„lating t"shielin aUned strain But if the .Utornoy- r on..rnl means my posiVion i« society, i h.ne no S;a-lrtelU "what that is. I an,, as ho re- f '1 Urn MlMMItH ll ll tiAm 14 Report. ' ill t Ansioer. presents, of profcp.sional education. T hold Her Majesty's commission as Deputy-Licutonant of an English County. T am also in Ilor Majesty's com- missions of the Peace for three English Counties, in one or other of which for thirty years of my life, and upwards, I have been an acting and active magistrate, and conscientiously can I say (the object of vile scurrility, endorsed as it were, by this Provincial Gov- ernment, palliated, if not positively justified by the Crown officers of the Province, T may be pardoned this little burst of egotism) have ever yet been true to my own heraldic motto, — " nil conscire sibi," and have fairly earned in the opinion of all who have ever known me, the augmentation, "sans tache sans peur." I, it is, who have pitted myself against this stipendiary magistrate of the Province of Nova Sco- tia to prove that if he has not perpetrated a reckless falsehood, palpable of detection, he has falsified the Records of his Court. I believed I was supported, possibly by direct tes- timony, irrespective of my own direct evidence, cer- tainly by collateral circumstances. However contro- verted statements may task the discriminating powers of the Crown officers of the Province of Nova Scotja beyond their strength, with reference to my other charges, this 5th charge scarcely needed " a Daniel come to judgement." Tlie writ of execution itself as an entire and sub- stantive document might, indeed, be a fabrication and no one probably able to detect it, but an interpo- lation in a fairly written Record, as I saw the con- tents of this book to be, is no safe or easy matter to attempt: there is interlineation, over crowding of space, possibly erasure, probably perceptible differ- ence in the ink,— particularly in cases where scru- tiny is prompt,— all, more or less, probable ingredi- ents of detection ; find yet, for aught T know, or can infer to the contrary, not a single step has been 1 taken towards investigation ! I His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor kindly ' permitted me to withdraw certain expressions which I I had inserted in my letter to His Grace the Colonial Secretary of State,—" evade and smother" were the words. I wished to withdraw them, because I felt ' that they might be considered as used, with reference i to the head of the Government, a disrespect that I ' was incapable of intending, because I believe it would I iM^imiBi ii 'li ii jp L. 15 IteporU Answer. be most uniust, for it was the proper and perhaps only curse (certainly at first) that H.8 Excellency could adopt, viz. : to refer my charges, as he did, to the law officers of the Crown. 1 must, however, now take the liberty to resume those expressions, witli reference to the Crown officers themselves,— and I do so out of no disrespect to them either. The imputation of almost any motive would be flattering, rather than the imputations which they would cast upon themselves, viz. : that their reason- in- powers are of such infirmity as to induce them to ab'andon all attempts at investigation of truth, it the facts of a case may happen to be at all in controver- sy and that they labour under such obtus.ty of moral perception as not to see and feel the judicial turpitude of the conduct that I have laid to the door ot Mr. Shiels. I cannot, I will not, infer this. I under- stand the gentlemen alluded to, to be of high profes- sional reputation and much public estimation gene- rally, in the Province of Nova Scotia. But the miserable politics of the Province are notorious. Party strife, none the less virulent, because there is no distinguishing principle on either side --merely ins and outs. Mr. Shiels boasts, as he ca Is it, his " service to the state in old," and I am told that he really has been a serviceable party tool. They were bound to support him.— The work had to be done.— I will only say that I think it might have been done a little more artistically,— for evasion has degenerated into clumsy shuffiing, and smothering to transparent '"''^''y- Geo. p. Dawson. Dartmouth, N. S., Jany. 26, 1863. imm-m