OUR COURTS OF JUSTICE

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 300, 13 May 1911, Page 6

OUR COURTS OF JUSTICE

CHARGES OF " INTERFERENCE." ASSERTIONS BY MR. JAMES ALLK.X. Auckland Weilne-vlay. | Mr. James Allen, M.l' f .1' ilrucc. c!e- | livered a public address at Hamilton last night. The Mayor presided. Mr. W. F. 'Massey was present. Mr. Alien declared that the 'Government had been guilty of consistently ignoring the people's repiv.-ontariv'.s ;n Parliament. The same eaj'.tn was followed in connection with the gift of a Dreadnought. It had since '.r-nispirod that there was no occasion for this hn.-ty action. The Government voliev was weak and vacillating. If i.he Government was not prepared to stick to a clear-cut policy, they should resign and give someone else a chance. Our courts of law had not been kept as olean as they should have !ie?n. lie made this statement in full confidence. It was a wrong thing for a >oimg. country to in any way interfere with the administration of justice. It wna interfering with those dispensing justice if they were offered emoluments which were not the emoluments of office. Our judgeß and magistrates should be free from such interference, but anyone ';? ho knew anything about it knew that such interference had taken place and that those who had charge of affairs in New Zealand had not acted cleanly in respect to those administering the law.

Commenting on the above, the Wellington Times says:—For our part, we believe the grossness of Mr. Allen's indictment destroys its possibilities for evil, and that the public, instead of taking seriously the allegations he makes in "full confidence," will resent this attempt to make the Bench the sport of wrangling politicians. Quite recently in Wellington there was a scandalous incident of the extent to which for political purposes the Opposition will go in connection with the Courts of Justice. It might have been supposed that Mr. Allen would have shrunk from joining in this part of the Opposition's campaign; but since he lias not, and evidently desires to be very closely associated with it, we trust he will at least play the part of a man and tell the community exactly what it is he asks it to believe.