IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT IN HOKITIKA.

West Coast Times, Issue 233, 21 June 1866, Page 2

IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT IN HOKITIKA.

TO THE fIDITOIt 0* THE WEST COAST TIMES. Strt,— Thore certainly muet be something Radically wrong in connoxion with impriion* ment for debt, as it obtains i» Hokitika, whibh is not only totally differont to that adopted ill other provinces, but is an injustice to tile debtor, and a flagrant wrong upon thti public in general ; and, as ah itistancdj t xnay bito a oaso (and whioh ifl only one of malty) that has come under my own immediate no* tieo, in whioh the debtor applied for release from oustody upwards of five weeks back, ill consequence of tho detaining creditor ceaiing to jJay the' maintenance mondy, and was' told by tho authorities, if the creditor did not gay 1 up by the end of tho weok he should bo receased. At tho end of the week he again applied, and was informed that it wns necessary that affidavits from the jailor, setting . forth the non-payment of the maintenance monoy, must be forwarded to Judge Gressotf, at Christohuroh, before an order for his releaso" could be obtained. This was accordingly done, and at the end of teri days* a telegram was received by Inspector Bfoliam, Stating that tho Judge had made a " new rule," By" whioh it was necessary that the dotaining oreI ditor should receive a notice of the debtor's application for releaso, and that affidavits of tho same should bo forwarded to Ohristohnroh. All this was dono accordingly j still the debtor remains in jail, notwithstanding nearly six weeks has elapsed since his first application for release, during whioh time the detaining creditor has not paid ono penny towards bfi maintenance Now, sir, I maintain that if imprisonment for debt is tho law of the land it should be made to assimilate, in its opera* tiohu in Hokitika, as near as pessible to thd manner in which it works in other provinces — as in Auoklandand Dunedim— -where, if the maintenance money is not rogularly paid the debtor is sot at liberty forthwith $ and there cannot be a doubt that this was tho intention, of tho fraaiers of the law, for why should tlid State bo called upon to support Jones, because he refuses to pay Brown an account that exists botween them. If this state of things was generally known and tolerated, I apprehend that the HoHtika logs would bo tho best patronised establishment in town. But tho most inexplicable part of tho oaso referred, is to tho judge (who is pronounood to be humane man) making "a now rule," for tho service of detaining creditors with "notico." Surely he cannot bo awavo of the migratory habits of tho residents of this Bido of the dividing range, and that although tho debtor may know tho residence of his creditor one week, the follow* ing wcok ho may not be ablo to ascertain bia whoroabouts, particularly whon incarcerated in tho logs, and that tho effect of this " new rule" will bo tho moans of detaining men in jaol longor than over was intended by the law. Perhaps if his Honor the Judge knew as woll as tho writer of this does of tho hardships that debtors havo oven now to endure> to say nothing of the indiscriminate mixture of prisoners and debtors some few weeks back, and that they aro now huddled together for twenty-throe hours out of twenty-four, during which period they are breathing a contaminated atmosphero, I say again if he was aware of theso facts, I think he Would hesitate before promulgating this " now rule," whioh instead of ameliorating the position of tho unfortunate debtor only tends to strengthen the olaim by whioh ho is bound to the pesti* forous logs. Trusting you will obligo by giving this a corner in. your valuable columns, I am, sir, yours &o. JUBTIOB.