CORONERS’ FEES DEPRESSED

Evening Star, Issue 19442, 28 December 1926, Page 6

CORONERS’ FEES DEPRESSED

At times when there is a balance of imports over exports tho Finance Minister is compelled to adopt every possible means of keeping the public expenditure down to reasonable limits. An indication of one of the Government’s new year economies was given in the ‘ Gazette,’ and showed that coroners’ fees, like primary producers’ returns, are entering upon a “ period of stabilisation at lower values.” As from January 1, 1927, a coroner, denuty-cor-oner, or justice of tho peace other than a salaried stipendiary magistrate, holding inquests will be entitled to receive only £1 Is instead of £2 2s for every inquest. Stipendiary magistrates were granted increases of salary under the Act passed last session, so they will not in future receive any fee for conducting inquests. Tho Government’s mew year resolution relating to inquests also contains another funereal feature, in that coroners’ travelling allowances have been altered from the rate of Is 6d per mile to 2s per mile “counted one way only.” Medical witnesses, too, will be losers under the new scale, as they will receive allowances at the rate of 2s per mile counted one way only, instead of the former straight-out fee of 2s per mile. When the new regulation operates coroners will doubtless feel a meed of sympathy with those individuals who, when the custom of summoning juries for inquests fell into desuetude, lost what had become almost a part of their professional occupations.