ACTION DELAYED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20919, 20 October 1942, Page 4

ACTION DELAYED

ABUSE OF JUSTICE STRICTURES BY JUDGE SECOND TRIAL FAILS (P.A.) PALMERSTON N.. this day. In the retrial of Charles Gough, branch secretary of the Dairy Factory Workers' Union, in the Supreme Court on a charge of making a subversive statement to the employees of the Oroua Downs dairy factory on February 24, the jury disagreed for the second time. Formal application for a third trial was made by the Crown prosecutor, Mr. Cooper. This was held over in order to enable him to, communicate with the Attorney-General. Strong comment was made by the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, about the time taken in authorising the prosecution to proceed. Whatever one might think abqut the case, he said there was no use shutting one’s eyes’ to the fact that the case was available, in April, the incident at Oroua Downs having taken place on February 24. For some reason or other, it was not until August 20 that the Attorney-General gave his consent —two days before the expiration of the six months within which the law; required a prosecution to be commenced.

“It would surprise me very much if that did not have a considerable effect on the minds of the jury,” he added. “Seven hundred years ago there was extorted from a despotic, recalcitrant King a charter of English liberty in which it was stated that justice shall not be delayed. This man Gough was entitled to know long before the expiration of six months whether or not he was to be prosecuted. It is unfair to him and to the country. It is a matter which should not have taken more than 20 minutes to decide. If that had been done this case would have been dealt with in May, instead of October. If there was to be another trial, it would be delayed to February, His Honour added