Justice Delayed

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 21026, 30 November 1933, Page 8

Justice Delayed

A short message yesterday reported Mr D. G. Sullivan's protest in the House against the Government's failure to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court bench. It is not the first to be made in the House or outside. It has been uttered by other politicians, by the press, by members of the legal profession, and officers of the Law, Society; and the grave consequences of the delay have been described in very blunt language from the bench itself. The

Government is incurring a heavy responsibility. It is causing justice to be delayed, and justice delayed is often justice denied or too late to be complete. Unfortunately, the Government's statements upon the subject have done as little to explain and excuse as the reply received by Mr Sullivan from the Minister for Justice, who observed that he had not long been in politics and had not yet risen high enough to appoint judges. It is many weeks since Mr Justice Adams retired, many weeks since the Prime Minister returned from London and has been able to consult with his colleagues; yet the Government has said nothing but soon, soon, soon, and introduced the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum Amendment Bill. The Government has not been too busy to choose a new judge. «Jt has not been embarrassed by the too great abundance of eligible men of law or by the total want of any. But whether it is sulking, or saving money, or squabbling, it must come to its senses. The demands of justice in the Dominion are urgent. That they should be denied at the source of its authority is a scandal which is already unforgettable and will soon be unforgivable.