THE VAGARIES OF JUSTICE.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 655, 31 March 1870, Page 4

THE VAGARIES OF JUSTICE.

■7 ' [Anau.s.] The sentences pas3ed by the judges of the Supreme Court have not unfrequently excited public surprise and censure, but Mr Justice Williams' last deliverance has fairly outraged the common sense of the community, The deterrent effects supposed to ensue from the exposure of crime and the punitive action of the law are in the case of Draper utterly wanting. Theie, is a lack of proportion between the extent of the swindle and th,a duration of the punishment, whip!), though it seems to h/ive escaped Judge Williams imposes itaelf very strongly on the mind of every unprejudiced observer. By the penal regulations, as tho judges are well aware, for first offences, the good conduct of the prisoner shortens the term of inoarceration one-third in ajl sentences <tf three months and upwards, The year's imprisonment awarde.l Draper virtually means,. therefore, eight months, Should no further proceedings be taken against him, he will step forth, into the world at the end of eight months a free man, his misdeeds expiated, and justice— that is, Justice Williams— rsatisfied. And this ia the. proud result of the arduous, steps which have been tak.en to indicate the offended majesty of the law ( A whole chapter of,- studies i 3 discovered — one special; instance of robery, of iio. slight magnitude, is sheeted home to the accused, and the administrative head of the. law, with whom rusts all responsibility of passing .■jndgv&ent, condemns him to a retirement of eight months' duration. Docs not this midnight freak of the judge turn, the terrors of the law into a farce, and. offer a premium to embezz'.e.tnent 1 We are pained ti> be compelled thus strongly to condemn the action of one of the occupants of the Supreme Qonrt Bench, an institution which in a.ll Eng-. lish communities commands, as it iv general deserves, the utmost public reapect. The necessity of criticism in, this, easn Is. however, too apparent to render silence on our part possible. If the dignity and character of the Court suffer in coiisiHjncnco, with .Fudge Williams

rests the blame. In a trial of such commercial importance his Honour might with propriety have delayed passing sentence until he had had time for careful conu'deratiou. There was no need for the haste displayed by him after the verdict of the jury h,ad been delivered. From the question put by hia honour to the prisoner's counsel, it would almost seem as if there were a desire to coax the learned gentleman from pressing his reserved points by the leniency displayed by the Bench towards his client. We cannot suppose so unworthy a consideration had any weight with the judge, but the strangeness of the sentence invites the wildest suppositions. The administration of justice is brought into contempt by the uncertainty which marks the sentences passed by the various judges. These, at times, appear to be unduly severe, while upon not a few occa3ious they startle the public by their apparent inadequacy and weakness. The anomalies which they now and then disclose justify the belief that tho administrators of the law rarely take counsel together so as to secure some approach to uniformity and consistency, It is the duty of the Bench to adopt measures to prevent scandals similar to that which is now creating s.uch widespread perturbation. If gigantic commercial swindles, when brought home to their authors, are to be awarded no severer penalty than awaits the. commission of petty thefts, rogues will be encouraged to attempt frauds qf magnitude, and to he afraid qnly of small offences, The cos,t ot crimes of this, kind will be calculated to a nicety. Embezzlement will be rated at so many "thousands a month, and commercial integrity, already not extravagantly honored will find itself a. laughing stack. The colony cannot afford thus to cultivate rascality, and judges, above a.ll men, QHght to. g^ve it no quarter,