The Daily News WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6. CURRENT COMMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81917, 6 February 1907, Page 2

The Daily News WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6. CURRENT COMMENT.

Ilia,, in any way resembled the following:—"! am about to oiler liivs'f as a Candida I e for election to Parliament, Kindly hep a I nient on of my name out of your widely read paper." "Herewith I send you X.iUOU inwards the caariiies of tin- town. 1 especially desire that my name be siipprcvf'ii.''' "1 am about io leaie New Zealand on a I lip to I'higtafid. Uud \Vols : suaiuc, iny cousin, is the Lord Uentcnan,, ol rt'ke. Mudby, and I shall stay at his country seat, I pray tnat you wi I make no mention of this in your val uab,e periodical." Hut every news paper man is familiar with the person who has broken the law or has. not paid his creditors, or who has done something that makes it imperative in the interests of the public that his name shouid appear in tue public prints, but who demands, generally as a. right., that particulars' shall be "sup pressed.

People who desire suppression of u< us that the public „hmi:d know, generally remark that their family is respectable. "I- Unit publication 'of particulars would all'eet their credit, or something H|iia|ty splend il. T.ie-e Star chamber folks 'have even teen known to tiin-at eu a paper with tli.j withdrawal of iheir MilHcriplion. If this lias not at once frightened the manager,., editors,

[millers' imps ami others \„ death there limy have been talk's about prrsoiml castration ov Miniclhiii'.' witli metaphorical boiling oil i:n it. Suppression of important particulars may lie very kind to one person, or diplomatic of tne nc\v>pape,r. hut it is unkind iiml diseoncst to the public ""'Rorally. The newspaper man who, for instance. pulM-hcs a list of the .Magistrates' Court Mtmnions with tile exeep lion of one or two summonses, the re cipieuls of which have appealed to him to "kee|i my name out of the paper,' is as much a traitor in his profe-sion

as ,hc sillier wiio runs awim\ or the sea captain wiio is the first to leave a sinking ship.

The "keep my name «,nt of (he paper' person i- invariablv a mean man a».;d selfish withal, and'he isn't worth considering in any way. If happens often enough that newspapers use a grea, deal ol discretion in partial snpprcs-.-itj.i of particulars winch mav have a detrimental effect on persons'to whom a "chance" may mem much, but there are forms „f suppression t, a', are most depioiabl,-. \V|,„ does 11..1 know ol the Main.- of the im llier. but is is also invariable flu.,; (he name „f t |,.. ,„«,,- i- wilhlie'd. Usually because he is not known. According to a Supreme Court Judge no ca-o aeainsl a woman should be brought unless it is at the same time brought against ; i,.. mm,, shiner, too. Men in prominent positions are Hie worst oll'euders in the "please don't mention my name" business, but if is more c-seiitial i„ Hie in. teresls of the public that pr.iiiiiiifnl wrongdoers should have the fullest publicity given 'to their btile hi'.lies Jt is cNpected that Hill Svkos bur-dar shall ligure largely in anv'casr broiight ligaiiK-t him. I'ejvy Vere !dc AcreJ'onsonby H'Hslenv. 'embezzler, should also get all Ihe publicly 1 rat'is com in"' I" iiiin. It is a 'peculiar thing that (he aicrage liuiiiau being is ex iremely anxious lo haw: publieily gi\cn to his real or assume,! virtues aiud none lo his little "laches," "Hespeelabilily" generally means the possession of good clothes or Ihe lack of necessity toi take one's, coat off lo work.

We know many apparently good and virtuous people who have seen olfences committed against the law. For instance there is the man, who calls in to say that he observed a carter driving, a .surc-shouidercd team through a boggy spot. Hogging all the wav. ' lie is willing that the driver shall appealbefore the .Magislralc. but he isn't willing that he should ligure a, witness in any case lhat may be brought. All the branches of the S.P.C.A. in N.-w Zealand are familiar with.this type ot person, and it is a severe handicap to the administration of justice. Pub licit > of courts, publicity of iicwsp-,.

ers. impartial treatment of persons of Whatever degree arc the people's safe guards. " 1 lie keep mv name out of the paper" person is a blot, lie should not be listened to. If lie is too re-pee ■table to have his name printed, he is too respectable to have given any cause for the printing of his name. 'Thr' man who makes such a request should be given a black letter loading despite his threats to wilhdraw his weekly sixpence. We have seen a lot of him Ulclv.

<>l!,' is able 1,, |i„,k Willi :l -I,ml deal of cijiiauiiiiilv -mi t In- [iriijM>.-ii'« nl llu- n.-w Al .<n-ni-v C :.-ii.-riil In set up u Parliamentary Hills Drafting Department miller the control nf Unit ilisiiji -uislled hiwvcr. I'role-sse,- Sail i,l, in «• lecturer. Of Hi:- making „l' jiillHut,' is no end. 'Many nf them aiv ill-made in,l,'fil. iiml it is u little sur prising that a lawyer who is a mcmbnf a' I'arliami'iit 1 ha ; , contains very linuiv lawyers siiould ilowiic to simpli fy tin) Statutes. f„r tnat is what the lirnposiil amounts to. A.s an example of tile eonfnsioii of (lie aw. tile dice,,, ing Hill miglit Ij<: ,|U»te,l. It is so involved, anil so enniplicuted that it is quite lieyollil tin- eouipreliellsio,, „f tile avera.ee layman ami a vendible -foils lu linuiv lawyers.

.It has been a Pariianieitnrv boast I hat N'ew Zeahuiil is par excellence I he legislating couutrv of Hie world. Crude 1,,-iWation .such as -'The Shops ami, niliees Act," for instaiajc. has been held over until the close of a wasted session and Ih.-n thrust tl,i-,,„_rh will, indecent hasle bv lired legislators. Subscpieiil sessions are used l„ drop legi.slalioii ahoiil. ii.,ilil Ih an who is supposed to know 111,- law has In search in a dozen volumes !n liu-l light. „n a mall.-r thai should b,- simp',enough jf I lie law were consolidated and -iniplilieil. (If course tin- iie«-bil'.-t will be a .sineciive. that --oe- will, out saving. In order for ' l'iof.-ss,„. Salinnnd to ll.iu- sound hii.L' In do ill's necessary dial I'arlia nnvil should make new ISil's. If il doesn't ,|„ so I he head of the new Deparlnicnt as proposed will have no work to do. Parliamentarians who nalurahy do not licli.r-ve in sinecures will, it mav be assured, got to work and innk,A Tiills whelher there is anv need for (hem or no.- If Parliament makes them, well ih„'iv is still no need for Professor Salniond or his work or his depart mcil. His work will be ,'o delect Ihuvs and make necessary verba! alterations: a work that is supposed to Jinve been done before there was any Liiilk of this new appointment. •This "will avoid litigation" is an ex Amordinavy evidence ,of geU-effftg^.

nieiil on the part of the AttornoyCcneral. There] is more litigation to tho square acre of statute law in New Zealand t.liuii■ is at ail desirable, ami it is an extraordinary thing that a House of lawyers should no! lie competent Lo turn out a perfect Hill wittiout creating a highly lucrative billet fur an outsider. It 'is evidence either that legislative lawyers are incompetent or that they have purposely allowed weak, complicated, badly-drafted laws lo pass into law on the principle of "all's grist that conies to the mill.'

Charles Kiialton Jzard, a member of on.e of the hc-t and must- honorable \ew /(ca'land famijlici, brother of a Member of the House of Represent*lives, and himself a member 'of the lo-

,:al profession, lias gone lo gaol for ; live years for embezzling large .sums of trust moneys. It is no good moralising about defaulting -solicitors or throwing (he stone at Izard. We look upon Izard a- a man with a mental kink—the gambling- kink. We be lieve he would be relieved when the dc locations were at last discovered. We believo he will be glad to go to gaol, because the strain of things financial is oil his mind—and it isn't a stroiic mind. Of course he w.is just a plain fool. Always gambled with the expectation of "gutting nis own back." or at least the money owned by his clients. He probably couldn't' help being a fool. Abu.y people, have weak muds like Izard. Izard had other people s money to feed his weakness Lots <'t people are quite good because thev haven t tho handling 0 { other people's uioney awl no temptation. (Joodi.css is sometimes a matter of onvironm™*. Badness is frequently a question of opportunity. x

. udoesut deserve gaol any t„c less because ],„ was a i„ 0 l. j lc j„ in . 'ft Z '? a l'«uish.ueut for himself as a protection, of society. Tic 1-robab y won't embezzle any niore mo- "«}' when ho comes out of «aol be cause he won't be allowed to handle ,!'" ""'■"'y. And here in the point. I'" public must be asle,cp very souud.v '1 it is possible for any man to rob he pul.be-of money for years without '"-i":, found out. The man „-],„ does not get nis all'airs squared up occasionally, or until lie is robbed is morally an aider and abettor of the dclanller. tie plays into his hands by being foolishly trustful. If people '""I not been trustful. Izard would probably not l» in gaol now. As it is, he is of course ruined, there is black disgrace cm his family, and his \ictims are paid for their carelessness, 'the man who beits year after year with other people's money is a (it "subject for a menliil hospital.