THE ELSIE WALKER CASE.

Auckland Star, Issue 265, 8 November 1929, Page 6

THE ELSIE WALKER CASE.

The Minister of Justice has finally decided that no good purpose can be served under existing conditions by reopening the Elsie Walker case. Mr. Wilford's argument is logical enough, and from the strictly legal point of view no valid objection can be raised against it. But logic and law do not cover ;the whole field of human thought and feeling, and it seems to us that Mr. Wilford has not made sufficient allowance for the amount of anxiety and disquietude aroused in the public mind by this tragic problem and the., difficulties that appear to prevent its solution. Opinions may differ as to how far Mr. Wilford was justified in assuming for the moment the function of a Supreme Court judge by traversing the evidence that has been forthcoming since the inquest and pi'onouncing authoritatively upon it. This is a method of procedure which might easily supply ground for very serious criticism. Nor do we think that public opinion is likely to be satisfied by Mr. Wilford's promise of legislation which would empower the reopening of inquests by the Minister of Justice. Most of our coroners are stipendiary magistrates; but if their judicial experience is not deemed adequate, a Judge of the Supreme Court, and not the Minister, is surely the authority with whom such a decision should rest. But this is for the future. For the present, we can only repeat that however sound Mr. Wilford's reasoning may be, he must not expect that public anxiety will be entirely allayed b£ his action,