THE UTILITY OF GRAND JURIES.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1237, 20 September 1911, Page 4

THE UTILITY OF GRAND JURIES.

BATHER STRIKING CASE. (By TclcEraph.-SDCciiii Corrcsnondeiit.) Wannanui, September 19. In charging tho Grand Jury at, the Supremo Court this morning, Mr. Justico Edwards, referring to a. case in which throe brothers were accused of «!ltiiis flip to a house, remarked that the i.liufso rested on a baro suspicion which no common jury would convict on. That k'iiiij tho caw, it would not ba right to place tho men in , dock whoa an acquittal wns practically certain, as even, if acquitted/ the stigma of tho dock might attach to them afterwards.

■ Later, when tlio Grand Jury returned "no bill," his Honour said •. "This is ono of those casts where a Grand Jury has rendered a real service." The value of a Grand Jury, he continued, was frequently underestimated, but it was really a bulwark of liberty, standing as it did between the Government and tho people, and preventing the latter from being brought to trial on insufficient grounded I)i a democratic country thero was more and more of a tendency to leave matters to the control of the Executive Government, and, while that power had not yet been abused in this Dominion, that was no guarantee thiit it would not bo abused in future. That being so, tho Grand Jury would be able to stand between the Government and tho people, and prevent any man from having tho stigma of an accusation luid on him on insufficient ground to convict. For that reason the Grand Jury must be considered a bulwark of our liberties, and he hoped that it.would always be maintained. It was true that a Grand Jury was not often called upon to exercise this power, but that did not affect the principle, and the present occasion was a striking example of how it could render real service to the country.