The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1887. BY-LAW PENALTIES.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1557, 13 May 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. FRIDAY, MAY 13, 1887. BY-LAW PENALTIES.

Wtiat witfi Statutes and Amending Statutes of the General Assembly, and the thousand and one by-laws of the various governing bodies, the web of the law is so extensive and comprehensive and intricate that almost every, body sometime or another gets involved m its meshes. We do not complain that this is so, we merely state the fact as an almost unavoidable outcome of our complex civilisation. Lots ol things which can be done at pleasure and with impunity m thecountry are forbidden m towns as interfering with the convenience or comfort of others, and especially m connection with municipal regulations many things which are breaches of the law are utterly devoid of anything approaching a criminal character. As for instance, the leaving of some article or object m the nature of an obstruction on a footpath or roadway, the straying of horses or cattle upon public thoroughfares, the omission to register dogs at the proper time and lots of other infringements of a minor sort. For each and all of these and such things the law provides a maximum penalty which is seldom or never imposed, nearly every Court having a recognised tariff of its own for offences of this sort, fines of from five to ten shillings being the order of the day m most cases. Yet very often the actual fine represents but the smallest part of the penalty, as the offenders are generally summoned m batches, and although prepared to admit the charge and pay the usual sum without demur have frequently to wait for any time from half an hour to a couple of hours to get the chance of doing so. They tf manage" these things better m Paris and Geneva, and, we believe, m other parts of France and Switzerland, by allowing the person summoned for such an oftence to pay the penalty into Court before the date fixed for be.sring, thus saving the time both of the persons summoned and of the Court. It has often appeared to us that some similar plan wighjt be adopted m New Zealand with manifest advantage, and we are glad tq see that the matter has been brought under jthe notice of the Minister for Justice whp, with his usual readiness to move forward io the path of Judicial reform, has intimated his approval of this suggestion and his inten;jwn ,to introduce a Bill this session to carry it u&q, effect.