COURTS OF ARBITRATION.

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 124, 24 November 1893, Page 2

COURTS OF ARBITRATION.

| Letter No. 6.] to the editor of the stah. Sir, — As I have stated in a previous article " The Government of a country exists for the people." The Government makes laws for the people, at least that ought to be result, but at the present time the laws benefit one class of the community much more than any other— I namely, lawyers. Many attempts bave been made to establish communistic commonwealths from most of which lawyers were excluded AH these attempts, as I have previously 6tated, have ended in utter failure. Civilised communities cannot do without; lawyers, bnt we can spare fifty per cent of them, while the money screwed out of their unfortunate clients by these truly " social pests " and parasites could be spent in reproductive works- One of the first acts of the Constitutional Assembly in France during the great revolution was to abolish the Ancient Order of Barristers, as it had been understood under tho old regime On the 16th December, 1790, it was decreed that for the future every citizen might come and plead for the accused This measure, like all extreme measures, proved unworkable, and broke down. Napoleon I came nearer the mark by ordering the laws to be simplified and codified. Our laws may roughly be divided into criminal and civil. The former cannot be referred to arbitration, and lawyers are absolutely necessary for the defence of those charged with crime, who may be quite innocent, but through nervousness or ignorance might possibly bo convicted and punished. Even with the help of lawyers innocent men have been hanged for a crime committed by someone else. But all civil cases can be, and ought to be, and will be, as soon as " the dust of byegone ages" lias been removed from the eyes of tho people, referred to arbitration. Even now it is the law of England that parties may agree to refer to arbitration any differences between them, and under various Acts of Parliament civil matters are coinpulsorily referred, in particular matters of account, under the C.L.P. Act, 1854 (17 and 18 Vie, c. 125, sec. 3— 6) when they cannot be conveniently tried in the ordinary way, and under the Judicature Acts 1873 5, by consent of all parties, any question or isstid of fact in any civil cause or matter may be referred to a referee for him to try same ;, so tbat which I advocate is no new thing. In England a further advance has been made, and disputes can now be settled in London before a Court of Arbitration without the lawyers having a picking. Matters of great importance and involving considerable sums of money can be settled for a cost of about five pounds, and the plaintiff and defendant retire aB a rule mutually satisfied. But let us apply the above to New Zealand. It is needless for me to enlarge upon the foolishness of strikes and the amount of misery engendered by them. A reference to the journal of the Statistical Society, published in London will open the eyes of anyone to the enormous loss in money caused by strikes during the past tenyears. The Seddon Government have endeavoured to legislate in this direction by " The Industrial Conciliation "—we know with what results. The object of the Bill, as the preamble states, is to provide for the adjustment of labour disputes and for the settlement of differences between employers and employed, and in Clause 43, section 2, it is provided : that either party to a dispute or claim may for the purposes of this Act be represented by one or more persons not being barristers or solicitors of the Supreme Court. We know how this Bill was opposed tooth and nail by many in tho Opposition, who arrogate to themselves the title "Liberal," and call Seddon, Reeves, Ward, and Co. " tinsel "Liberals. Why, they were not liberal enough to grant what has been conceded in other Anglo-Saxon communities. A petition was sent to Parliament last session by some women of Auckland praying for relief against the rapacity of those social pests there — the unprincipled lawyers— and saying that they were of uo benefit to the community, but only took up cases on " spec," and were bringing ruin and misery upon many an honest household. I did not trace the petition, but from what I know of tho House I should imagine nothing whatever was done for these poor women. The only remedy for this state of affairs is to keep a Liberal Government always in power, who will work in the true interests of the people by simplifying and codifying our laws, and establishing not only Industrial Conciliation Courts but also Courts of Arbitration for all civil cases, in which lawyers will not be permitted to attend, and where the cases will bo heard in equity and not depend upon certain formalities and technicalities introduced and kept up by the lawyers themselves. The laws, which ought to be so simple that everyone can understand them, ought to be made for the people, not for the purpose of employing a whole army of unprincipled bloodsuckers. If anyone thinks my remark too strong let them read the particulars of Gresson's case in Christchurch or that ot another firm involving the loss of nearly _200,000 they will then come to the conclusion that wo want a strong-minded Liberal, yet practical Statesman, to arise among us, who will sweep clean these Augean stable. He must have a moral backbone like a crowbar ; no milk and water man who is afraid to make enemies will be of the slightest use. I am, etc., George Wilks. Clare Lea, Feilding. P.S.— I thank you for publishing these letters. I have done for the present, un less some one in his own name chooses to dispute nny statements or principles con. tamed in these articles, in which case I am prepared to givo chapter and verse.