THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 1877.

Inangahua Times, Volume III, Issue 6, 22 January 1877, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, JANUARY 22, 1877.

Ax the opening of the sittings of the District Court, on Monday last, Mr District Judge Weston made Rome remarks concfirning Court -a'ce^mtaoda tion at Reefton which ife is earne.sUy to be hoped will reach the proper ears. There cannot-be two opinions that the subject is one which ought to receive the earliest possible attention of the Colonial authorities. Years ago tbe same matter wa3 referred to on the Bench by Judge Harvey, it has been frequently mentioned in Court by counsel, has been a stock sub]ect of complaint by suitors, and has on many occasions been treated upon in these columns, but as yet nothing ha? been done to tha evils complained of. Not only is the building itaclf wholly inadequate to the amount of Court business to be transacted, bm there 13 neither accommodation for tbe 1 Judge, the Bar, tbe jurors, ths Preys, or the public. The Judge for a retii ing room is thrown entirely upon the courtesy of the Resident Magistrate The merabera of the Bar are either driven .to. robe in open Court in the presence of the public, or to squeeze into the Clerk's office, therp, one by one, to doii, their wigs and gowns, for the space 'available will not admit of more? than one person being accommodated at a time, A jurors ro^m there is none, and in criminal cases the officials of the Court are compelled either to clear the Court, or to conduct the jury elsewhere to pursue Lhtir deliberations. Witnesses nrdersd out of Court n?« forced to hang about the precinct a exposed to tbe vv^itbor, or to seek the (.shelter 'of the nearest in,tf:l. The evil '„{' driving a number of witnesses in irnporinut! csw-t \\Uo the bar of a pubiio-hnu^ for |,o?,s ; ,!i!v h.miv | togellw-r, !•, U,r, np[,!;;e'|i «•• );e : f.i C -Ui- \ meor. Tht space aliowci :•> \\vr->~\ porters ir? riduiuiously j;u,iJ* .; ■■, ! - ■« I that tho Court procegdingy ara :;rfJ

j more fully rcporffvl may b& in a great ■ degree attributed to the want of conj venience afforded to the Press for to j ait out a tolerably long sitting, I cramped up like a penitent Mandarin ia almost too much fur ordinary professional zeal. The most serious part of the complaint, however, lies in the remarks which his Honor very justly made with regard to the inadequate accommodation allowed to the<C!erk of the Court, and with regard to the provi-; don for keeping the records of the Court The whole sprier allotted to the Clerk both for the performance of liia ordinary duties and keeping the Court records, is no greater than that of an ordinary siced sentrybni. As to privacy in relation to transactions with the Clerk ordinarily there is none, it being quite out of the question. A person atteniinff the Courf for the purpose of issuing a summon?, a warrant, or Wying an in* formation, is exposed to all the annoy, ances of intrusion by others either on business bent or prompted by a prying curiosity, and as the Clerk is quite powerless in the matter information not infrequently resiehea the public ear in time, it is possible to conceive, to balk either the interests of p.irties or the ends of justice. But by far the most ysrious aspect i* in rela^ tion to keeping, the records of the Court, and it is qr.ite- alarmirfg to think of the number of valuable docu* ' inents hiaped about in the small space, at the taervj equally alike of fire and thieves, Having added this much to his Honor's remarks, we do earnestly trust that the subject will be at once brought under the notice of the General Government in order that an in« quiry inoy be made into the complaint, and prompt steps taken to correct it,