SUPREME COURT WANTED

Northern Advocate, 5 February 1926, Page 5

SUPREME COURT WANTED

WHANGAREI CLAIM URGED. MINISTER ADVISES ECONOMY. Yesterday afternoon Mr W. Jones, M.P., introduced Messrs R. P. Trimmer and N. E. Crimp to the Hon. A. D. McLeod, as a deputation from the Whangarei Chamber of Commerce, to urge the establishment in Whangare of a Supreme Court. Mr Trimmer informed the Minister that members of the legal profession and the ■ Chamber of Commerce had been agitating for some time foj establishment of the court, and tha details had been gathered and set out; which justified the claim. He instane ed the fact that at the present crim inal sessions of the Supreme Court ii Auckland there were 24 charges pre ferred against 20 people, of whom six were from North Auckland. Great ex ) pense and loss of time were incurred in taking the cases and witnesses to Auckland. He asked that the Min ister should place the request before his colleague, the Hon. F. J. Eolleston Minister of Justice. It was stated that Mr Rollestou would be in the North this wpek and Mr Crimp regretted that he had been unaware of that, because the request he made was that the Minister of Justice be asked to visit Whangarei! and see for himself how well th> claim for establishment of the court was founded. However, Mr McLeot ' could be of assistance to his colleague j , in that respect. Whangarei, he con tinned, was the centre of a surprisingly vast territory, in which, until provision of better reading facilities had been made, there had been considerable difficulty in obtaining reforms; ahd • furthering development. The population of the borough was over 5000, and the old figures showed that of the Whangarei' county to be about 10,000, while Whangarei was the centre of the North to at least as far south as Maungaturoto. There were several other towns with lesser populations, but the strong point was that Whangarei was the centre, and that, since the railway connection with Auckland, there existed facilities for judges coming to the borough. The ' existing magistrate's courthouse was ’ wholly inadequate for the amount of 1 business done. Mr Crimp concluded by 1 expressing a hope that the granting o ! the request, which had been shelved 1 so long would soon reach finality. ' In reply, the Minister stated that J the subject placed before him did not t come under his department, but he 3 would confer with his colleague upon < it, and meanwhile he suggested that members of the deputation should get in touch with Mr Rolleston, as he understood that he would be visiting! Whangarei soon. However, as a member of Cabinet, Mr McLeod was familiar with the many calls made for erection of public "buildings in all direction. The number 'was so great that any Government had difficulty in keeping pace. Signs ivein not wanting that the time had arrived when the Government would ha n to scrutinise very carefully any proposals for .expenditure on public offices that 5 could possibly be done without, ( Meanwhile it was the dun,- of people f who desired such expenditure to apply E to their member with, a view to hav- < ing provision for it phi-.;;-.! upon the jestimates. Mr McLeod concluded that he would be pleased fo ’.dace the representations of the deputation before Mr Rolleston, and h< hud no doubt that the Minister of Ju-dice would be glad to give his w'.-rnti' a to' the subject. I