REMOVAL OF THE DISTRICT COURT FROM GISBORNE.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume X, Issue 1245, 12 January 1883, Page 2

REMOVAL OF THE DISTRICT COURT FROM GISBORNE.

At a meeting of the members ef the legal profession held yesterday, it was decided to write to the Minister of Justice relative to the loss it would be to the place. We have been favored with a copy Of the letter, which is as follows :— Gisborne, Jan. 11th, 1883. Sir, —Understanding that the District Court Office in this town is to be closed, aud the quarterly sittings of that Court abolished, we, the undersigned, members of the legal profession practising in Gisborne, desire to draw your attention to certain serious considerations connected with the administration of justice in this district. Whilst we are deeply sensible of I the boon which has been conferred | upon us and the community generally I by the proclamation of circuit sittings I of the Supreme Court to be held in I Gisborne, we desire respectfully to point out that the benefits anticipated from this concession will almost wholly be neutralised if the District Court sittings are abolished and no office of the Supreme Court is established here. We beg to state that for some years the civil cases tried at the circuit sittings of the Supreme Court at Napier coming from Gisborne have borne the proportion to those arising in Napier itself of about 4 to 3. For, as a matter of fact, owing to circumstamces for which the inhabitants of this district cannot be held responsible, more than one-half of the litigation which ultimately finds its way into Napier Supreme Court Office originates in Gisborne, and a continuance of this state of things must be anticipated for ■ some little time to come. If, therefore, the District Court is abolished the cases which now come before that tribunal will be taken into the Supreme Court in addition to the business which would otherwise flow thitherward in the ordinary course of 1 hings. If the Supreme Court Office is at Napier and not here, agents will have to be employed, all business must be transacted by doputy, except that appertaining to the trial itself; great delay and embarrassing complications will ensue ; the expense of legal proceedings will be largely enhanced ; the liberal policy of the “ Supreme Court Act, 1882,” entirely defeated ; and the last state of the litigants will be worse than the first. But we have only half stated our case. The most overwhelming difficulties will be felt in the transaction of bankruptcy business. Not only will the agency cancer eat up the dividends such as they are, but; the unfortunate debtors must make journeys to Napier or Wellington at the expense of their more unfortunate creditors to be examined from time to lime before the Court, and ultimately to obtain their discharge, whilst the numerous interlocatory applications which become necessary at so many stages in the course of a bankruptcy will have also to be made in Napier or Wellington. Now there is no necessity, we submit, for so generous a waste of time and money. For the last four years the major portion of the bankrupey business of the district has been dealt

with by Mr Greenwerd, the Clerk of the District Court with marked ability and discretion and ta the entire satisfaction of the profession and; the public. It is no answer to these: objections to say that Circuit S tings of the Supreme Court are to be held at Wanganui and there is no Supreme Court Office or Registrar there. Wanganui is still to possess its District Court and we shall be satisfied if we are allowed to retain our District Court Office and Sittings though 1 we Confess that we should prefer the establishment of a Supreme Court Office. expense would-be small; oF’fhe latter course and the advantages great.’ As Registrar of the Supreme Court Mr Greenwood would be able as heretofore to dispose of the bulk of the Bankruptcy business whilst his previous training as Clerk of the District Court and his natural ability leave no doubt a* to his competence to perform the other duties devolving upon a Registrar of the Supreme Court A very small addition to his salary as Clerk to the Bench (say £25 per annum) would doubtless secure nis services in this capacity whilst the travelling expenses of the Registrar from Napier to Gisborne twice a year would amount to about the same sum. Nor must it be forgotten that owing to the holding of the Supreme Court Circuit Sittings at Gisborne instead of Napier a large saving is sure to be made on the expenses of the criminal trials. Recognising your long extensive and varied experience in the actual practice of our professsion of which you are so distinguished an ornament we address you with every confidence that the difficulties of the situation will be understood and appreciated and that no unecessary hardship will be inflicted on the settlers of this district who have had so much to struggle against from an inadequate conception of the true conditions of the problem to be solved. We have the honor tb be Sir. Your obedient Servants, H. Eyre Kenny. W. W. Brassey, Edward fi. Ward, Jun., J. McGuffie Fraser, Thomas D. McDougall, J. W. Nolan, R. Robinson. The Honorable, The Minister of Justice, Wellington. P.S.—We have forgotten to refer to the probate business. The agency charges will prove a ruinous impost upon poor and needy persons, widows, and the like, if they are obliged to apply for Probates and Settlers of Administration at Napier or Wellington, as they must do if the District Court sittings are abolished.