The Daily Southern Cross.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3349, 10 April 1868, Page 2

The Daily Southern Cross.

LUOKO, NON TOO. X I hftva b«tn •xdnfoiihtd, y«t Ultra tin A ttaonund btaooni from tht'iptrk I bort.

FRIDAY, APRIL 10.

Among the twenty-six bills that were suffered to lapse after being laid before the House of Kepresentatives during its last sitting, there was one that certainly deserved a better fate. An Act to amend and consolidate the Law relating to Juries in New Zealand was introduced at the fag-end of the session, read a second time about a fortnight before the House broke up, ordered to be committed next sitting-day, and then, with other matters, good, bad, and indifferent, was left to be forgotten or to be considered at some indefinite period. This unfortunate measure was introduced about the same time as the Bartley Pension Bill, but it met with a very different j reception, although the one involved the interests of thousands, and the other those of a solitary individual. This appears the more unfair when it is considered that a Juries Bill was introduced at the previous session of the Assembly, but was not carried into effect; and yet the gentleman who introduced the measure, on the last occasion, acknowledged that " any person having had anything to do | " with the administration of that branch of " the law must admit that it required amend- " ment" —an opinion in which many of our readers will cordially coinoide. "Whilst in no way interfering with the principle of trial by jury, which is, to use a familiar phrase, "the palladium of an English- " man's rights and privileges," the proposed Act would have introduced various and most desirable changes in connection with the working of the system. One of the most important changes contemplated related to the payment of jurors. To this we have directed attention on various occasions, and have shown the unnecessary hardships and injustice that have been inflicted upon the labouring classes, and upon settlers residing in the country districts. In England, notwithstanding the facilities for expeditious travelling are so great, the non-payment of jurors is found to be exceedingly oppressive by some portions of the community ', but in a colony like New Zealand, where one-third of those who are liable to serve on juries are entirely dependent on their daily exertions for a livelihood, it becomes a burden intolerable to be borne. There are also a large j number of industrious settlers within the prescribed district who have no means of support beyond their own homesteads, and to expect them to travel ten or twenty miles in a new country, and to support themselves whilst attending the protracted sittings of a Court of Justice, is neither reasonable nor equitable. The senator who makes the laws by which the people are governed receives an honorarium for the services he renders to the State; the various officials who administer those laws are remunerated for the duties they perform; even the last executor of the law is requited for the unenviable task he is called upon to undertake; the only individual connected with the administration of justice who is unremunerated for his services is the juryman upon whom so much depends. About a year ago we adverted to the practice of the American Government in connection with the Californian and Oregon districts at a period when the circumstances of the people would be analogous to those of the settlers in New Zealand. "We showed that each juryman was entitled to receive a fair daily allowance, and a certain amount per mile, going and returning. The proposition laid before the House of Representatives was to allow jurors, summoned under a jury precept, residing within four miles of the Court, ss. per diem, and when residing more than four miles from the Court, 10s. per diem. To offer a settler residing within four miles of the Court ss. per diem, and a neighbour who may live a few yards beyond that distance double that amount, appears to be capricious and unreasonable. The individual residing justbeyond the four-mile boundary would also, under this arrangement, be on the same footing as the settler having to travel twenty miles. This relates to criminal cases. In. civil business, common jurymen would be entitled to receive 10s., and special jurymen £1 for each service. Here, too, is something objectionable. The man who would be compelled to attend Court, by travelling forty miles there and back, would only receive the same amount as the city juror who would have to traverse the same number of yards. The method to which we have referred, of allowing a uniform sum per diem, with mileage expenses, is undoubtedly the better arrangement. Whichever method may be approved of, it is to be desired that one of the first acts of the Legislature at its next sitting should be to do justice to a number of individuals who are at present compelled to perform a public duty under considerable hardship. '. \ The Act also proposed to perpetuate that ancient institution " a G-rand Jury," not, we should suppose, because of its value or of its being essential to the due, administration of the law, but from a dread of change. The existence of a grand jury is by no means absolutely requisite for securing the ends of justice; it may even be questioned whether it is not a hindrance to business, and whether it does not in some instances defeat the object for which it was instituted. On a former occasion we quoted from an English paper a case in which the grand jury of the Central Criminal Court purposed to ignore a bill, but fortunately for the ends of justice a true bill was returned by mistake, and after a proper trial the prisoner was found guilty and sentenced to ten years' penal servitude. We also gave another instande in which the Middlesex grand jury at the Clerkenwell, session* returned true bills

against & male and female prisoner, who were tried and sentenced to eight and three months' imprisonment respectively. After sentence had been passed the Court was informe.d that the grand jury meant to ignorethe bill against the female, who was, therefore, brought back and informed that she had been tried by mistake, and that, although she had pleaded guilty, she was at liberty to depart. Mr. Payne, the Deputy-Assistant-Judge on that occasion, remarked, " This " showed the use of grand juries." In New South Wales some years ago — we are not acquainted with the practice of the present day — the Attorney- General occupied the place of a grand jury, and the responsibility of ignoring or preferring an indictment very properly rested with him. That gentleman was in a position to ascertain, prior to the assembling of the Court, whether there were reasonable grounds for placing a prisoner upon his trial before a jury, and thus a considerable saving of time was effected at the commencement of the sittings of the Court ; and the ends of justice were, if anything, better secured than they can be under the present arrangement, where grand jjpries are frequently compelled to hurry through a case in order that the rest of the machinery of the Court maybe set in motion. In this colony it would, of course, be impraemoable for the Attorney-General to bestir his attention upon every indictment sen! to the Supreme Court, but surely the Crcmn Prosecutor by whom he is represented possesses legal acumen and business-likehabijft sufficient to enable him to say whether oapiot a case ought to go before a jury. Hisfiecision and his reasons for ignoring a bilLjpf necessary, would be made known to the^T udge of the Court, who, in addition, caj at all times direct a prisoner to be acquitted by the jury for reasons which may haveflßcaped the nonlegal mind of a grand jvmf. "We are of opinion that a matter like Kis, whichis open to discussion in the mother country, and which is of importance ijl a new land where the facilities'for carryindTout the provisions of the law are necessamy limited, deserves the careful consideratijm of the Legislature. Under the contemplated changes no person would be liable to serve as a juror for a ; longer period than six consecutive days at any one sitting of the various Courts, except it be in a case that had been partly heard, whenof necessity a jurorwouldhavetoremain until the case was decided. In case a jury should remain six or more hours in deliberation, and be unable to agree as to their verdict, the Court would be empowered to discharge them, and, if requisite, to order further proceedings to be taken. Another portion of the rejeoted bill authorised the Governor to make rules for forming Maori jury-lists, providing for jurie of natives in criminal and civil cases, and also for mixed juries of both races. The exemptions from serving on juries were, with some slight exceptions, the same as under the existing law. The proposed schedule, however, confers exemption upon " all managers, cashiers, accountants, and " tellers employed as such in any bank." Every commissioned officer of the Militia or Volunteers, whether on actual service or not, and every other member whilst on actual service in the field, would be exempted ; and from the wording of the clause we should suppose that it is intended to exempt " every " Volunteer holding a certificate of efficiency "granted under and in accordance with the "provisions of the Volunteer Act, 1865." Our friends the chemists, who made so vigorous an effort to obtain exemption a year ago, will not obtain it under the proposed law ; they are, however, exempt from the common lot, and would only be liable to serve i on grand juries, which is to consist of " esquires (?), accountants, merchants, " brokers, chemists, druggists, civil engineers, " architects, warehousemen, or commission " agents." The jury districts would remain the same as at present, and would include a radius of twenty miles from the Court-house. As the law now stands the jury lists are prepared by the Eesident Magistrate, but under the new arrangement the duty of compiling them would devolve upon a portion of the police, who would be compelled to act under the warrant of a " juryofficer,who would " probably be the Resident Magistrate, and "for whom no payment would "have to be made." Copies of the lists after being thus prepared would have to be affixed upon or near to the door of the Eesident Magistrate's Court, other Courthouses, and every church or chapel in the district. Notices would also require to be appended specifying the day of revision and the form of objecting to or of adding k> the list. The mode of striking juries is also improved and clearly defined. Hitherto we believe there has been no settled mode of procedure, and it may be satisfactory to some to know that the principle of the ballot-box has been introduced. There are various other alterations and improvements suggested to wlu'ch it is unnecessary now to refer. "We hope to have the pleasure of again referring to the subject when it is brought fairly and honestly before the House of Legislature.