The Dominion MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1908. RESPECT FOR THE LAW.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 307, 21 September 1908, Page 6

The Dominion MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1908. RESPECT FOR THE LAW.

The question, discussed at some length in the House the other day, as to whether the unoffending public out for an airing on a Sunday afternoon ought to be granted facilities for indulging in a cup of afternoon tea and a piece of cake at the various seaside and other resorts which they are in the habit of frequenting on such occasions, is not one of profound importance. Apparently the Minister for Justice has no intention of discouraging the practicc of spending a bright Sunday afternoon in the open air by closing up the light refreshment kiosks. One or two of the speakers, however, touched during the debate an exceedingly important principle supposed to underlie our social system, namely, the urgency of obeying the law whatever the.law may be. Whatever oxcuse there may be for people to break laws which have been imposed upon them without their consent, there can bo none whatever under democratic institutions where it i§ the peoplo themsolves who, through their elected representatives, determine what the law shall be. Mr. Baume, K.C., asserted tho supremacy of law when ho insisted upon tho noccssity of placing beyond all doubt the legality of a practice which obtains all over the Dominion, and, infcvcntially, 110 defined that limitation to useful law which was expressed in more popular language by Me. Ciiarles Lewis, member for Courtonay, when he protosted against the passing of laws which, in a given state of public opinion, cannot be enforced. Manifestly, rcspoct for the law must declino if we tolerate practices which are illegal or make illegal practices which arc firmly rooted in the popular favour and which arc likely to be persisted in despite their being placed under the ban of law. This is an opportune time to pause a moment in order to examine the public conscienco on tho very memontpue quoti_tion .whothor reafiect for law is as pro-

found now as it ever was—whether in our daily behaviour we display that due senso of tho supremacy and majesty of law which wo ought to display. Were we to judge solely by the amount of legislation which finds its way on to the statute book no two answers to the question would bo possible. Not only do we and other democratic countries add to tho volume of statute law at a greater rate than ever before, but law is invading for the first time spheres of human activity which hitherto had been .left severely alone, even to the extent of entering the private homo and regulating the most private family affairs. We are not here concerned with the question whether this bo a good or a bad sign. Certainly tho tendency itself is unmistakable, and should it continue unabated there may be good grounds for revising the ancient dictum that " ignorance of the law excuseth no man," if, indeed, such grounds do not exist already. Confining ourselves, however, to such law as is well understood of tho people, it is impossible to overlook the rather remarkable fact that in these days people aro in tho habit of deliberately and openly evading and defying tho laws made by them whenever it suits them to do so. • This fact is illustrated in many directions. Tho most glaring example of it recently, which has been engaging an enormous amount of public attention, is, of course, the attitude of many trade unions towards our industrial conciliation and arbitration law under which strikes, in certain circumstances, arc declared to be illegal. Notwithstanding the heavy penalties imposed, strikes arc following one another with quite astonishing frequency—a frequency which would still be astonishing in such a young country as New Zealand oven if there were, no law against them. This, as wc have said, is the most glaring symptom of the changed attitude of large sections of the community towards law as such, but it is by no means the only one. The licensing laws of the country are loosely regarded by many otherwise law-abiding citizens. Again, Parliament has passed an anti-gambling law, making it illegal for gambling literature to be sent through the post. Yet it is a matter of common knowledge to all who livo in tho world with their eyes open that bookmakers are sending " cards " broadcast through the post to theiv customers in tho most barefaced way. To cite other examples, wo pass fiscal laws imposing duties upon certain articles coming into the country, and it is the constant endeavour of travellers to " do " the Customs officers if they have any dutiable articles in their luggage; we make municipal laws relating to building, sanitation, and so on, and, especially in regard to the former, it is a common practice, where inspection is not strict, to risk the fine consequent upon discovery and openly evade those laws; we pass by-laws declaring, for example, that cyclists shall not ride on footpaths, shall carry lights at night, and sound bells, and these regulations are commonly disregarded without a qualm of conscicnce. And so tho examples might be multiplied almost ad infinitum, but we have quoted sufliciont to establish the truth of our proposition that respect for law as such, in spite of the continued and astonishing increase of all sorts of laws, is not as deep-rooted as it ought' to bo.

It remains to inquire whether this serious state of things is duo to bad legislation or whether it is to be attributed to a relaxed public conscience We are inclined to think that it is duo' to both. To consider the character of legislation first: tho newspapers have again and again had to complain for several years past of the hasty, ill-considcrcd, and worse-drafted legislation which is con-stantly-finding its way on to the statute book. Nobody who glances intelligently through tho volumes of our statutes cap help being impressed by tho remarkable number of amending Acts, modifying previous legislation, which find space i therein. We are, of course, aware that social conditions change much more rapidly under the complex conditions of modern civilisation than they ever did before,- and this no doubt must bo held to account for some of the amendments of the law which arc made. Obviously; amending legislation must be more frequently demanded now than heretofore. But when every allowance is made for this aspect of the matter, it still remains true that a good deal of amending law would be entirely unnecessary if Parliament were moro careful and more deliberate in passing the laws it does place on tho statute book. Governments with huge'majorities bring down measure after measure, and, in the early hours of the morning not infrequently, when minds are no longer on the alert, all sorts of ill-considercd and wretchcdly-draftcd Bills are passed into law, only to be found defective in all sorts of unsuspected directions soon after.they como into operation, with the inevitable result that amendments are insistently demanded in tho next session. There can be no excuse for this sort of thing. This continual tinkering with defective legislation is calculated to, threaten the majesty of law by diminishing tho estimation in which it is held by the general public. On the other band, there is some reason for the view that the people no longer respect law per se as they used to do, and, without venturing a dogmatic opinion upon so difficult a problem, we feci inclined to adopt tho view that the relaxed conscience of tho public in this respect is in a great measure to be attributed to the inadequate sanctions of the law—the inadequate penalties imposed for breaches of the law. People still fear tho disgrace of imprisonment; they no longer fear fines. Tho scale of fines remains much what it has been for years past, whilst the increased opulence of life makes it much easier to pay them.