58 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chav. UI. 
In the same despatch, Captain Hobsoii dwelt with 
much emphasis on the recantation and adherence to his 
views of ]VIr. Earp, who had led the meetings for peti- 
tioning for the recall of his Excellency, and of Mr. 
Hanson, who had declared at one of the public meetings 
that the Governor had no place worthy of his accept- 
ance, when accused by some frank democrat of having 
been bought to advocate moderate measures. 
Only a fortnight after the eventful interview, Mr. 
Hanson was gazetted as Crown Prosecutor for the 
District of Port Nicholson ; to which office was attached 
a salary of 250/. per annum. 
Six days later, Mr. Earp was gazetted as a Justice of 
the Peace, and Member of the Legislative Council. In 
order to be qualified for the latter office, he had been 
placed at the head of the list, so that he might appear 
as one of the three senior Magistrates. This is a process 
probably of colonial custom, and very much resembles 
that of boys taking each other down at school. The 
fact was, that none of the existing Justices found it con- 
venient to abandon their pursuits in the neighbourhood 
of Wellington, in order to have the empty honour of 
going 500 or 600 miles to debate in a Council in which 
the Governor secured a certain official majority on all 
occasions. 
Mr. Earp was now treated in Wellington as one 
who had been wheedled by politeness and flattery into 
abandoning his party, and completely lost the confidence 
of the colonists whom he had for a time led, as soon as 
ever he was seen in obsequious attendance upon the 
Governor. Yet Captain Hobson made a great show of 
tiiking a representative for Port Nicholson back to the 
nominal Parliament at Auckland, and professed for a 
long while to consider his opinions as those of the great 
majority of Cook's Strait settlers. 
