DELAY IN STARTING PROSECUTION

Southland Times, Issue 24880, 21 October 1942, Page 4

DELAY IN STARTING PROSECUTION

Chief Justice’s Comments (P.A.) PALMERSTON N„ Oct. 20. In the retrial of Charles Gough, branch secretary of the Dairy Factory Workers’ Union, in the Supreme Court on a charge of making a subversive statement to the employees of the Oroua Downs dairy factory on February 24, the jury disagreed for the second time. Formal application for a third trial was made by the Crown Prosecutor, Mr Cooper. This was held over in order to enable him .to communicate with the Attorney-General. Strong comment was made by the Chief Justice, Sir Michael Myers, about the time taken in authorizing the prosecution to proceed. Whatever one might think about the case, he said, there was no use shutting one’s eyes. The incident at Oroua Downs took place on February 24, but for some reason or other it was not until August 20 that the Attorney-General gave his consent two days before the expiration of the six months in which the law required a prosecution to be begun. “It would surprise me very much if that did not have a considerable effect on the minds of the jury,” he said. “Seven hundred years ago there was extorted from a despotic, recalcitrant King a charter of English liberty in which it was stated that justice shall not be delayed. This man Gough was entitled to know long before the expiration of the six months whether or not he was to be prosecuted. It was unfair to him and to the country. It is a matter which should not have taken more than 20 minutes to decide. If that had been done this case would have been dealt with in May instead of October. If there is to be another trial it will be delayed until February.” A stay of proceedings was later asked for by the Crown. In discharging the accused Sir Michael Myers warned Gough of the necessity in future of adopting a different attitude in his addresses to members of his union or lie would find himself in trouble again. Gough was fortunate in that there has been placed in his hands a whip with which he was able to flog the prosecution, napiely, a delay of five months in doing something that could have been done in 20 minutes.