The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. Motto: Public service. FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 1920 ON LAWYERS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 9, Issue 521, 9 April 1920, Page 2

The Times. Published on Tuesday and Friday Afternoons. Motto: Public service. FRIDAY, APRIL 9, 1920 ON LAWYERS.

Observance of the long and cosii\ a lays in legal piocedure, and Lae n 'edless expenditure incurred at the instigation of opposing solicitors leads one to the conclusion that Shakespeare was on sound lines when he put into the mouth of a speaker, "i.et us begin by hanging all the lawyers." (Quoted from memory, but the sense is correct.) the Stale pays the judges, and for any p:r v..te to offer them remuneration would rightly be counted as g oss, unpardonable bribery, absolutely subversive of the ends oJ justice*. And yet this British justice which we are so proud of is often denied to a litigant mainly because his opponent can afford to pay a more brilliant lawyer. In practice, though not nominally, lawye.s are really officers of the Court, tnei ■ p.apose, in the eyes of the Stale, being to bring out all the salient features of a case, from the po ; nts of view of the contending parties, ir. order that the judge may weigh ap the evidence adduced and so arrive a! a just decision. Alas! this decision too often rests on a basis e: ti chnicalities as distinct from one el ji. -itice, and the lawyer most capable ol threading the mazes o! legal points usually gains the day. The weakness of the system of lawyers being in practice as private agents instead ol as official servants ol the State is obvious when local bodies and private companies clash; each lawver does Ins lies! to make .i case where a little tact on botr sides would settle the differences, to the advantage of the private com pain and the ratepayers, either i ; whom must foot the bill, accordi lg to who wins. As with. I lie bam hj, an those whose duties are connected with the dispensation of justice si mild be servants of the State, and should not stand either to gain or to lose according to the amount of litigation indulged in. A uniform bi i reasonable change would prevent indulgence in litigation without good cause. While we have a Parliament fi eiy besprinkled with lawyers ii is ce tain that the laws will be made as complicated as possible, in order that the fraternity may be enriched at the expense of the laymen, but sc. ner or later the public will demand emancipation from the eternal tribute to the legal profession, extracted from the cradle to the grave. While we are on this topic we may comment that we do not think it is the best interests of the borough or the county that local bodies sh uld fail to employ local solicitors when there are fotti practically resit! >nt in Pukekohe. It hardly squares vviih a policy of patronising local industry. A resident lawyer has his lio se in the town, and necessarily sp nds a large amount of money annu .lly in the place, iherelore he sh aid receive preference by local bo .ios. It may occasionally be desirab : that a barrister of some emim< ace should be employed to give co.nsel on delicate local body law, bui for all ordinary legal work any of the four lawyers m regular prartii ■ in Pukekohe are quite as rap ab, • as the imported ai tide.