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Hokitika Guardian, 13 November 1929, Page 4

Thu Minister of Justice has finally decided that no good can be served under existing conditions by “reopening the Elsie Walker case. Mr Wilford’s argument is logical enough, and from the strictly legal point of view no yalid objection can be raised against it. But logic and law do not cover me whole field of human thought and feeling, and it seems to a newspaper at Auckland, where feeling on the matter runs high, that Mr Wil ford has not made sufficient allowance for the amount of anxiety and disquietude aroused in the public mind by this tragic problem and the difficulties that appear to prevent its solution. Opinions may differ as to how far Mr Wilford was justified in assuming for the moment the function of a Supreme Court judge by traversing the evidence that lias been forthcoming since the inquest and pronouncing authoritatively upon it. This is a method of procedure which might easily "supply ground for very serious criti ism. Nor do we think that public opinion.is likely to be satisfied by Mr Wilford’s promise of legislation which would empower the reopening of inquests by the M'nister of Justice. Most of our coroners are stipendiary magistrates: but if their judicial experience is not deemed adequate. a .fudge of the Supreme Court, and not the Minister, is surely the authority with whom such a decision should rest. But this is for the future. For the present, we can only repeat that however sound Mr Wilford’s reasoning may he. lie must not expect that public anxiety will be entirely allured bv his action.