The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, JULY 3, 1880. THOSE LAWYERS!

Temuka Leader, Issue 269, 3 July 1880, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, JULY 3, 1880. THOSE LAWYERS!

Mb Stbwabt initiated a movement this seadon of Parliament for law reform, but so far aa we can gather the proposed reforms are of an abstract nature. If Mr Stewart, like the Ministry in cutting down salaries,began at the lawyers themselves, there would have been some show of earnestness in dealing with the matter in hand It has often been remarked that when times are bad lawyers thrive best or, in other words, the ruin of the many is the enriching of the few Another attempt ia to be made at tinkering up our bankruptcy laws —chiefly with a view of giving more power to the creditor There is room for improvement in this direction Cases daily crop up of in i viduals who have spent their all, and other people's money besides, in riotous living, and when tradesmen make anything like a sharp demand for a settlement of a long-standing account, they are frequently met with the reply—“Oh, if you push mo I will file my schedule." Nor is this an empty threat A 1 our very [doors we see this threat put into execution, so that tradesmen who have bills to meet must sue others, and And that, after being put to considerable expense in bringing a debtor to bay, he has at once flown to the nearest lawyer, and by giving him a £2O-note had been relieved of all his troubles, while the creditor, who may himself be sore pressed, has to withdraw There is something wrong somewhere when this is allowed On the other h»nd debtor* are compelled to endure great hardship, by being obliged to stable and feed a bailiff, and pay hiip 8* or 10* a-day until the claim is settled, or the impounded goods are sold Here the Bankruptcy taw* are wrong The Scotch Bankruptcy Laws, from which most nations copy, Is equally efficient without being so wasteful After judrment, the bailiff or sheriff's offieer goes to the debt* o»'( house and takes an inventory of his goods leaving a copy of their number and value with the debtor If the claim is not settled in the usual time —say, eight days—the bailiff advertises the goods for sale, but if he (the debtor) makes away with them he is punished as a criminal No expense goes in the interim, and if the debtor has any prospects he has a chance of relieving himself t but according to our law a debt of L 5 may be doubled before the debtor ia able to turn himself round Again, where a writ is served, hardship of *a occurs The law allows a solicitor to charge L 5 6s for a debt of L 5, and we know of an instance of a farmer who was unable to satisfy the demands made upon him for sundiy sum* being served with writs, and when judgment was entered up he found that the original sum was more than doubled by law expenses The man could not afford, or would not con* B ent, to go through the Court, consequently he had to sacrifice his crops and sell his cows to pay the lawyers A lawyer is empowered —or at any rate do so—tp charge from Ll 5 15s to LiO for a claim a little over LIOO This should not be Lawyers get wealthy,and who can wonder at the present state of the colony when this oppression is tolerated Yet Mr Stewart does not make tho lea-t attempt at reform in this direction No, not he f His own office knows full well the rich harvest it has yielded them We cannot help crying'out —" Woe unto you, ye Scribes and Pharisees, for ye devour widow’s houses,” When Stewart shows that he is prepared to grapple with these two evils We will believe him in earnest but not till then New Zealand lawyers accumulate more riches than any ether class in the colony, yet not a finger is lifted up against them, although the country is being ruined by them In these times this iniquity should be stopped It will not make a rogue an honest man, but it often makes many an honest man a beggar.