THE COURT OF APPEAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4585, 30 November 1875, Page 3

THE COURT OF APPEAL.

TO THE EDITOR OP THE SEW ZEALAND TIMES. SLR— I confess I think you are rather hard upon the majority of the Court of Appeal in your article of this morning. You half admit yourself that, taking the strict construction of the Act. the decision referred to was right, and I think most lawyers would admit so too. To my mind it would be far more detrimental to the public interest if the Judges, instead of construing statutes strictly according to their verbage were to take upon themselves, by recollection of the debates and their own notions of what the intention of the Legislature was, to wrest the language of a statute from its literary meaning in order to carry’ out their notion of the Legislature’s intention, if the Legislature has intentions it should express them clearly • and. with a little pains, there would be no trouble in doing this, especially If the electors would take more care whom they return to the House. This decision will, it is to be hoped, be a lesson to them It is true this is a very glaring case, where we ml have no doubt what the Legislature meant; but in cases not so clear it might be a serious thing for litigants and for the public. If impulsive, semi-pobtical, not to say dishonest Judges, whom (though we have not any such at present) we are any day liable to have, were to interpret the statute law on your principles!.— lam, &e., ‘