The Globe. SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 1877.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 869, 7 April 1877, Page 2

The Globe. SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 1877.

The majesty of the law is in full swing ail over the colony just now, the various quarterly sittings of the Supreme v ourt taking place, as is customary, at the same moment. And, here and there, as occasion requires it or the spirit moves those who occupy the high Judicial Bench, words of wisdom or of advice consonant with facts disclosed, fall from them. Judges oftentimes are given to inflict their ipse dixit upon the multitude, whether it be in jest, so as to dilute with pleasantry appropriate to the hour the tediousness of the proceedings, or in stern earnest as direct means of educating the lay public. Bur, let it be as it may, those judicial eflusiona contain very generally a great deal of the true ring, and tlu-ir usefulness is much gi taler than most people perhaps imagine. Government very seldom succeed in instilling into the minds oi their officials such clear and definite impressions of what the latter’s mode of doing their duties should be, as the thunder-and-lightning admonitions ol the high judicial Benches. This session, we have no doubt, will be long remembered by a certain class ot public servants, for the plain speaking addressed to them by some of the Judges. lu Wellington Mr. Justice Richmond, without the slightest attempt at mincing his words or his meaning, made a fierce onslaught upon that irrepressible Hydra with many heads, the Magisterial question. He urged upon the Crown Prosecutor, in very strong terms indeed, the necessity of looking more sharply after country magistrates and their clerks, whose shortcomings were absolutely impeding public business. And, from what happened in the Christchurch Court during the week, it would really seem as if this sharp rebuke might be found of considerable application to to some of our local magistracy. Look, for instance, at this gross case of “ Lambing down” at Pigeon Bay, it having been adduced in evidence, by the publican s wife even, that a swagger had been supplied with some £2O worth of drinks—and in buckets too —during the short space ot three days. Well might the Judge exclaim — “ And the Bench, knowing this, renewed the man’s license! ” The J udge, besides, when summing up to the jury, did not hesitate to recapitulate those very reasons —and grave ones they are too —which should have made the Licensing Bench of Akaroa reject at once the application for a transfer of of license to a house conducted in so scandalous a manner. The publican’s wife, he said, bad been guilty of conduct such as would induce crime in such men as the defendant, “ and the publican was totally unfit to hold a license.” Yet, the very evidence which caused Mr Justice Johnston to express himself in so strong a manner, was absolutely the same which was placed before the country Bench.

But far more extraordinary disclosures were made with reference to another case sent up from the same district, which disclosures were thought by the Grand Jury of importance sufficient to cause them to directly address the Judge on the subject in their presentment. We refer to the indictment of tbe Clerk of the Akaroa Court for embezzlement of Court fees. Aud in tiieir presentment, the Grand Jury, misled doubtless by wrong premises, went quite wide of the facts when the) recorded it as their opinion that “some efficient check should be kept on the system of account-keeping bei ween the

clerks of magistrates and bailiffs.” Of course tiro data by which iu this case the G rand Jury were guided gave them ample reasons for that expression of opinion. They reasoned simply in accordance with w hat was before them, and went no further. It is one which evidently lays blame at the door of die Government and of the Minister of Justice especially, implying, as it does, that the system in force with reference to the accounting in the magisterial department is loose and faulty. .Now, as a matter of fact, the greatest possible check is placed upon the mode in which the clerks of Courts deal with public moneys. Their receipts are banked daily, subsequent to their being booked, and the head of the department, viz., the .Resident Magistrate or ihe Chairman of Petty Sessions, has strict injunctions to carefully check those accounts weekly as well as monthly. In this Akaroa case, it would seem as if no immediate supervision, such as that referred to, had been exercised during the last three years, during which period and from its very beginning, small sums had been diverted from their .proper channels. At last, the authorities at Wellington appear to have found out some discrepancies in the audits which led to the discovery that—-unknown to the Resident Magistrate —this state of things had been going on for years. And now the Government is blamed for what in truth was merely caused by carelessness and negligence on the part of one of their servants But the rider attached to the verdict of “ Not Guilty,” which was returned in the case to-day, speaks for itself. Some little delay appears to have taken place in the completion of the lithographed plans of Mr Carr others’ scheme promised by the Drainage Board. According to what was stated semi-officially. the plans should have been ready for issue to the ratepayers last week. At present, however, no intimation has been given of their completion. We trust that no unnecessary delay will be allowed to take place in i his matter. The whole question of j the scheme is now in abeyance until ! the plans are before the ratepayers, j Tiil they have had an opportunity of; i xamiumg these, no steps towards the | adjustment of the difficulty between ; the Board and the rale papers can be j arrived at. Further than this it must | be remembered that the winter i season is fast approaching when j the carrying on of the works j will be much impeded. The low lying laud which it is proposed to relieve will again be liable to flood as before, as it will, unless immediate steps are taken, be too late to carry out the works completely. It will therefore be seen that, though the issue of these plans in itself is but a small matter, very large interests are involved. In view of this we trust, therefore, that the Board will lose no time in placing the plans in the hands of the ratepayers, and thus advance one stage at least towards the satisfactory solution of the difficult question of drainage.