HARRIS V. JOHNSTON.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1266, 20 August 1872, Page 2

HARRIS V. JOHNSTON.

[iO THE EDITOR.]

SiE^ln the case of Harris v. Johnston, heard yesterday, in which I obtained a verdict showing the justice -of my 'complaint, I was very much surprised 'that, at the termination, I was also required to produce sureties to keep the peace towards the man who so grossly insulted me. This I consider a great injustice, and Unprecedented in the annals of . judicial procedure, because, in the first place, there was no complaint lodged against tne, and, in the second, the Magistrate assumed to himself a knowledge of what was not brought forward in evidence. " The Justices of the Peace Act, 1866," clauses 87 and 88. expressly states that a complaint must be lodged before a crime or misdemeanor can be laid against anyone ; therefore, the public wOl r see that the Magistrate has evidently overstepped his powers, and assumed to himself a prerogative that he has no right to. This act of his militates to my great disadvantage, which may be shown when I next apply for a license. In erideavoring.»to keep the peace when insulted, I have only received a greater insult than; that originally given ; and the conclusion I have come to is to have no more to do whh courts of justice, if possible, while law is so wrongly distributed. By inserting this in your valuable paper you will oblige ;. ■ ■ v : Yours, &c, ■''■ . .John Harris. Cosmopolitan Hotel, Greymouth. August I9th, 1872. ; .