THE DISTRICT COURTS ABOLITION.

Inangahua Times, 8 May 1909, Page 2

THE DISTRICT COURTS ABOLITION.

At the close of the public meeting held last night to make arrangements (or the l welcome of the Minister fot ' Railways, the chairman called on Yr\ I. Patterson to_ read a motion which he had prepared in reference to the abolition of the District Courts from the judicial system of the Dominion. Mr Patterson 111 a speech of some length, in which he traversed the various reasons adduced in lavour 01 the abolition, stated that the change would entail an additional serious expense on the litigants in cases which had to be taken to a higher coujL The barristers in the court centres would do all the work. No longer would Supreme Court Judges like those in the District Court be able to visit the grcund affec'.ed by disputes and he instanced the utter want of mining4aw displayed in a mining case he had heard in Wellington brought before the Court of Appeal. The judges he said with the exception of the Chief Justice knew nothing or little about mining law and made a fearful hash of it. He moved—That the Hon. Dr F indlay, Minister for Justice.be informed—That it is the unanimous opinion of this public meeting that the abolition of the District Court is conlrafy to the mining, industrial, and financial interests of the district, and that the constitution of the Supreme Court as a circuit Court or the conferring of special jurisdiction on Magistrates will not be so advantageous to 0111 interests as the retention of the District Courts, Mr Lawry in an able speech pointed iout the great inconvenience and expense that would be inflicted on litigants if the • abolition were persisted in. The motion (vas carried. , The Chairman stated that he would 'telegraph a copy of the resolution to the Minister fjr Justice in. the morning. A vote of thanks to the clvir closed the meeting.