"Alpha" on Justice.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3570, 5 June 1880, Page 2

"Alpha" on Justice.

In places where there are a number of Justices of the Peace, the unlucky mem* bers of society who are compelled to appear before them, often meet with scant justice. In fact in a good many case's" the law is meted out according to the bias of Personal favor, and not that of evidence. 'he weight of the former often counter balances the latter, except in such cases which from their clearness do not admit of such a glaring misdemeanour. Those who are placed as fudges between two conflicting parties should be wholly free from side, and should sum up and give judgment without fear, favour or ill-will. But in the case where Justices of the Peace are in the ascendant real justice is often never obtained. Those individuals who are permitted to attach those magical letters "J.P." to the end of their names are often least fitted to fulfil the duties incumbent on their position. They are in nearly all cases men who have been fortunate in raising themselves from the common horde, and by the carrying out of measures beneficial to the public, are rewarded by being gazetted " J.P." As far as their legal knowledge it .cannot be said of them, as it is of Sir Joseph Porter, that" of legal knowledge he acquired such a grip," and when adjudicating on a case out of the ordinary way they are completely at the mercy of the Clerk of the Court, who in many instances as good as acts for plain* tiff, defendant, judge and jury, all in one. The title " J.P." should be a complimentary one, and should not give to men who know nothing of law, the power to judge cases which require |the aid of the legal mind of the Clerk of the Court. The title is bestowed indiscriminately on for* tunate individuals, such as retired grocers, bakers, butchers, and Government officials. The latter are more frequently favored, as they have more opportunities of pushing themselves under the eye of the powers that be. They see men who carry themselves prroudly as "J.P's." and do not rest until they are Justices of the Peace themselves. It is amusing to see the grave countenance they put on when sitting on the Bench for the first time. Indeed they " pull faces " as long as a fiddle, but this soon wears off, and after a few tries they settle down to their work of (mis-) judicature with the magisterial demeanour which they have successfully learnt. The blunders they commit and the absurdities they fall into are highly ludicrous, and when disseminating justice often make themselves the laughing stock of the place. Then there are the Resident Magistrates crammed with legal technicalities, and full of red tape. With Quixotic notions of duty, and £10 a week, and with notions of importance as great as the Lord No Zoo celebrated by Charles Dickens. With ideas of law, but few of equity, and with an absurd and tenacioos grasp on the act of So-and-so. Then there is the Licensing Bench, consisting of some half-a-dozen individuals who know as much of licensing as licensing knows about them, who close houses and grant licenses at will, bat of course in fulfilment of the sections of the Act, who put a strained construction on legal points, and give umbrage to various sections of the community. This kind of justice will soon bring the B.M.s, the Licensing Bench, and the awful J.P.V into disrepute. Alpha.