A RESIDENT MAGISTRATE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 13 July 1925, Page 4

A RESIDENT MAGISTRATE.

AND WEEKLY COURT SITTINGS. LAW SOCIETY’S REQUEST. A strong deputation of fourteen members of the Hawera Law Society waited on the Under-Secretary for Justice (Air. R. P. Ward) at the courthouse on Saturday and asked that the Magistrate’s Court should sit weekly at Hawera and that a resident magistrate should be provided. In the event of a rearrangement of the work the deputation desired that the services of Air. J. S. Barton, S.M., should he retained at Hawera. The president of tbe society (Air. D. G. Smart) said that since 1915 civil work here had doubled and criminal work hadiucreased by 50 per cent. Air. O’Dea said that last year Hawera ranked about eighth amongst all the courts of New Zealand hv the totals of work transacted, and this, he thought, warauted the appointment of a resident magistrate. A considerable amount of civil work was taken to the Supreme Court because it was not dealt with by the magistrate. Air. Ward said he did not think the territory between Waitara and Wanganui would support three resident magistrates, and there was little possibility of stationing a magistrate at Hawera. He believed, however, that the figures placed before him fully justified Hawera’,, claim for a weekly sitting of the court. He was going into the whole matter, considering the whole district from Waitara to Wanganui, and would make his recommendations to the Alinister for Justice.