PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume xxix, Issue 7542, 18 July 1908, Page 1

PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.

INTVEKCARGILL, July 17

Mr Crjickshank, S.M., gave judg-j ment as follows^ to-day in the case of INiichol v. Pratt ':' "This is a claim foi £52 9s Bd, the amount of two dishonoured promissory notes and interest, against Thos. Pratt, the member for the Southern Native District in the House of Representatives. The summons and statement of claim, together with a certified Maori translation, was served upon the defendant on the 22nd June last at Pnketeraki. I have received a, certificate under the hand of the Speaker showing that defendant is a member of the House, and the present session commenced on the 29th of June, 1908. I. have: to take judicial notice of the Speaker's certificate. The defendant was .thn3 : .served seven days prior to the commencement of the session. Section 11 of the Privile^'.) Act, 1866, says that if any member is served with a summons issued out of aify Court not of record during thf--I'Oriod extending from ten days before [the session to ten days after the sos- ! sion, such service shall be invalid and of non-effect.. Mr Harvey, counsel for plaintiff, quoted this section, and urged that, as the Magistrate's Court is by the Magistrates Court Act of 1893, made a Court of record, the service upon this member of Parliament war good, and that the hearing should proceed. The interpretation clause of: the Privilege Act of 1866, however.; f.'ives a definition of tho words •Conn of record.' which includes the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court, the ! Court o:' ;!ie Vice-Admiralty and the j District Court, and no other Courts.] It follows, therefore, that, although the Magistrate's Court is a Court of record, and has all the powers of sneb at common law, still it was intended by the Privileges Act to prevent members being served with anything less important than Supreme Court writs raid District Court summonses during the session, and to do so they have given for the purposes of their Act a restricted meaning to the words ' A Court of record.'. t The service, therefore, is non-effective, and the hearing ] of the plaintiff's case must be adjourn-! e<\ sine die, until. sotr.a more substantial mode of service is made."