SUPREME COURT JOTTINGS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 31, 5 February 1910, Page 5

SUPREME COURT JOTTINGS.

NOTES FROM THE PRESS BOX. The Supreme Court Sessions are in ■full swing again. This week Mr Justice Edwards lias presided in civil jurisdiction. The Criminal Sessions open on Monday. For the next fortnight two Supreme Court judges will be sitting simultaneously in Auckland. Mr. Justice Cooper -will again take the criminal sessions, whilst Mr. Justice Edwards will carry on the civil business. When I say that the sessions are in full s-wing I ought to add v'oat the pressure is not very great just yet. There has been a sort of slackness about the first week of the civil sessions, due to a variety of reasons. In the first place, owing to the fact that the long vacation does not terminate until the end of January, the sessions 'began on Tuesday instead of Monday. Then there has only been one jury case, so that, except on the first day, there have been very ■few people about the Court. (By-the-■bye, why have the mats not (been laid in the corridors? People passing to and fro make a most unpleasant and distracting noise which the mats would deaden). Again, for some mysterious reason, civil actions never seem to be ready for hearing when the sessions start, and repeated applications, with excuses innumerable, are made for future dates. Despite all this, however, quite a lot of business has been transacted by the judge. All the divorce cases—a very short list this session—have been disposed of, a large amount of chamber business has been transacted, and two eases have been heard—one a divorce case before a jury, in which the petitioner, at the close of hie case, abandoned the action; the other a rather dry claim for specific performance of an agreement arising out of a coal-mining venture.

Apropos of two judges sitting sini/1taneously in Auckland next week, the public will have read -with interest the remarks made by Mr. Justice Edwards ■the other day touching the growth of judicial business in the Auckland distriot and the necessity for extra judicial power. The business in Auckland hae grown to such an extent that it is no longer possible for one judge to cope with it, and it will not be long before we have two permanent judges here. Those innocent people who imagine that a judge has finished his work -when he adjourns the Court are labouring under a great delusion. It may surprise many people to learn that during the sessions here Mr. Justice Edwards is hard at work in his chamber's night after night frequently until long ■past the witching hour. It is too great a strain to impose upon any man. And even then the pressure of business last session was so great that the judge had to sit during the Long Vacation in Hamilton. His Honor has been able to secure the assistance of Mr. Justice Cooper thie session, and next session Mr. Justice Sim will preside at the Criminal Sessions, but it is certain that some permanent arrangement will have to be made, and. it ie understood that the matter is receiving the earnest consideration of the Minister of Justice. When the new judge does happen along the present one will be able to exclaim, 'Tor this relief much thanks." Mir. Justice Edwards held a short criminal session yesterday .for the purpose of sentencing a batch of prisoners in the Lower Court. It is quite evident that his Honor is determined that the amount of crime shall be reduced in tliis district, if anything a Judge can do will have that effect. To his mind— "Diseases desperate grown. By desperate appliance are rellev'd, Or not at all." And he has been inflicting some pretty stiff sentences. Yesterday no less than three prisoners out of four were criminals with bad records, and got three years apiece. They will have ample time to think over their misdeeds. Moreover, his Honor has no intention of allowing the gentry who break the law to imagine that if they are convicted of several crimes, one sentence will cover the lot. Not at all! Yesterday one bright, young gentleman, who came up for sentence upon charges of forgery and theft got 18 months on each charge, and the sentences were made cumulative, not concurrent. Criminals at large, kindly note! "What fine chisel," exclaims the Divine Will, "could ever yet cut breath?" Mr. Justice Edwards very nearly winded a learned counsel yesterday, at any rate. And, incidentally, he taught us all a very pretty lesson in the art of reading documents carefully. The case was one in which the plaintiff held a mining option from the defendant. Under it he was required to thoroughly prospect the defendant's land, and find coal as a condition precedent to his right to obtain a lease for coal mining purposes. The covenant set forth that the plaintiff must "search for coal upon or under the land" of the defendant. What plaintiff did was to deduce the existence of coal upon the defendant's land from the indications he obtained by boring operations upon adjoining lands, and counsel for the defendant contended that this did not constitute compliance with the obligations imposed on the plaintiff by the terms of the covenant, which, he argued, clearly contemplated that the boring operations must take place upon the defendant's land. But his Honor did not read the covenant in that light. "The covenant," he said, "declares that the plaintiff 'must search for coal upon and under the defendant's land.' It does not say that he must 'search upon and under the defendant's land for coal'!" It was a hit. a very palpable hit!

When in doubt toss a coin. If you want to be strictly orthodox, let the coin be a half-crown. This is no immoral precept, but an easy way out of a difficulty recommended and justified by eminent legal authority.. At the annual meeting of the Law Society last Monday the election of a committee resulted in a tie between two candidates. Now, when such a contingency arises in common or garden societies and clubs, it is customary to take another ballot to decide which of the two is to assume office. But to the erpert logician with a legally-trained mind, such a procedure is barbarous. How can sane people, he argues, change their minds so quickly? If we have another "ballot, there will be. a tie again, and we shall have no finality. (It is wonderful how quickly people do change their minds, all the same.) Well, the learned president was for a moment non-plussed, but only for a moment. Whipping a half-crown out of his pocket, he beamed upon the assembled array of legal talent, and exclaimed, "Heads so-and-so, tails so-and-

so; tails has it. That concludes the business, gentlemen, , thank you!" So there you are! By-the-bye, at the same meeting Mr. Reed referred to Dr. Bainford and himself as the House Committee, instead of the Library Committee. Soon we shall hear lawyers referring to their patients instead of their clients. Well, let them do so. It doesn't matter much to the victims what they are called.