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New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4951, 3 February 1877, Page 2

SeverAli’times recently attention ‘ has beeri drawn to a .hardship inflicted on a certain class of persons by. the rules of the Resident Magistrate’s Court as‘ to Court fees. The last case in' which j this hardship became manifest was that in-connection -with-.the.Himalaya disturbance., It was pointed out by Mr. Barton that seamen hailing from' a foreign port, as Englaind may be considered,, must necessarily suffer in’ a Court case where they had neither the means; to employ professional advice nor to take the necessary measures for the production of wit- 1 nesses, etc. In the latter case they are preju-S diced inconsequence of having to pay certain, 1 ■ Court fees. There seem to be reasonable grounds for sympathising with persons sd situated, and Mr; Crawford, on more than ohei occasion when his- attention has been called to the matter, has stated that he fully recognised the hardship .to sailors and domestic servants, and has made representations to the Government on the subject, but without effect. 1 At one. time, it , was the customto issue, Summonses free of cost in cases where, persons were really in pbor 1 circumatarijces, : payment for the same being an after consideration; but a veto was put upon that practice by the supreme authority, and it had to .be discontinued. ' The Clerk 'of .. the Court, was threatened that he would be surcharged if losses were sustained in that way—and,' in fact, credit was stopped. It is quite possible .that to Admit the practice of credit in! the issue of summonses would.be. to open the'door to imposition in some cases; but, on the, other hand, it is just as possible that .justice may often .miscarry from the fact of ‘a ‘man or woman not being in, a position (financially) to defend himself;, or,‘in other'words’,to, fight”out a case thoroughly.,', What might have, been,' and was in a certain degree, an instance of this, occurred in the case of the colored man. Richards belonging to the Himalaya. He was charged , with an assault^, , upon the mate, and it was only after repeated adjournments, that he - was enabled to produce evidence showing that the charge was not substantiated, and hq . was accordingly dismissed ; but in his case the adjournments were made chiefly on the ground that there was an intimate connection between.it and-that in which another seaman named ■Bruce was ' concerned. It would be well if something could be done to remedy what is .undoubtedly', a, .defect, in. the,..regulations,. by which the Clerk of the Court has to be guided; We fancy that if the Magistrate Were allowed a discretionarypower ,in such cases the revenue would not be very materially affected, .while cases of hardship, such as can be , easily imagined to 1 exist occasionally, under • the present arrangement, .’ would be avoided.. The subject is well worth consideration. i