Justices and their Duties.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1687, 17 April 1886, Page 3

Justices and their Duties.

Same of the .Justices of the Peace oft ho colony entertain most exaggerated ideas of their own importance and have a most erroneous opinton of th«?ir position, power*, and duties. The action of the Nelson Justices m refusing to obey t\w Act (if last session by forming a rota, because the G-overment had appointed a new J usttce of whom they, did not approve, we lift ye a 1 ready" commented iipon. The Dunedin Justices appear to be pjvtiy. ueiirly as bad. They wanted to strike and refused to form a rate because the Government would not builil them a now Courthouse. It was only by a vpry narrow majority that they were pleased to formally resolve to obey the clear and distinct povisions of the Justices of the Peace Act Amendment Act, 1885. Several of them complained bitterly of the conduct' of the "f egislature m presuming to require them to do their duty. One or two spoke of ihe Act as being 1 ah insult to the Bench. Both at the Dunedin meeting and also ai the one held m this . city, certain Justice.* applied to have their names omitted from the rota- on one for another. Of coiusp, the meetings had no power to make any such omissions, and to have done so would. Lave been absolutely illegal. Thu ohjecb of the Act is to require that all who enjoy the honour; of , being on the Commission of the Peace shall- perform the duties appertaining to the offiices. Surely there m no hardship m tiieße. The Governor alone can grant exemption or taavo of absence m certain eases. The vagaries of Justices at^the recent statutory meetings seem to hjive reached a climax at Geraldine, where six Justices al tended a meeting, although there are only two resident within the prescribed area, and it requires "three to form a quorum., The six gentleman who had no. lucos standi, however, proceeded to pass resolutions, and actually had the impertinence to request tho Minister of Justice to at once gazette two persons, whom they nominated, to the Commission of the Peace,auil they also directed the clerk to write to three other genclenianinthedistict requesting their conseat to be placed on the Cominis•ionofthe Peace This is apiecwof as cool effrontery as we ever heard of. It is an attempt to introduce a system of election which be infinitely worse than the popular election advocited by Sir George Grey. We would far rather trust to the ratepayers to elect the Magistates than allow those ijlready m the Commission of the Peace to control additions to it. pTntil the law is altered the power of confer ting the honor of a seat on the Bench: vests inher Majesty's re}>resentative, to be exercised, of course m accordance with the advice of his re^pCTi^Sfne' Ministers. Hitherto the system, if not perfect, has worked fairly well, and until the Legislature sees fit to alter the law, the Go\ernienb should most firmly ristst all attempts at dictations such as thost* essayed by the Nelson and Geraldine Justices. — Post