Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1898.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXII, Issue 272, 24 November 1898, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1898.

Latin, of the verb " To Heir "-—the I Court ctier cailed npon all the jury- ] men who had already taken good ' Care to be present to come forward I and do their duty an I avoid being fined or imprisoned or hanged, drawn and quartered for neglect. And finally when it was duly found that no ono was to be led out to execution, the crier expressed th-* satisfaction of the Court in a .jaunt triplet of words or exclamations, fomething- like "OHe! 0 He ! O Ho! " Why it is not " 0 Ho ! O Ho ! 0 110 ! " may be loft to antiquarians to decide ; bnt all with a sense of humour must find difficulty in repressing a, smile while this relic of the past— a Norman survival j — Hko a poor supeifluous veteran lag3 upon the stage. It is also a mystery to those who are not antiquarians why the Court crier carrier a long wund like a billiard cue. It is a mercy ihat he has not to make passes with it, for ho would assuredly poke out the eye of the deputy sheriff if not of his Honor the Queen's Judge himself. We believe this wand of office is put to base uses when the court is not sitting, r.nd in fact during tho solemn function 100, lor it has been known io push open high windows and adjust blinds out of roich. It would aleo make a good ' fishing rod ; but for economy's sake it has neither punt nor gold tipping. Seriously, however, two or three score business men were summoned from thoir avocations and kept in tbe court for half a day yesterday— for what ? For the pleasure and honour of attending a mere funclion, because the only two persons to bo tried had already arranged to plead guilty, Every constab'e, every court official, from the Crown Prosecutor downwards, knew that lhe plea of guilty would ba made ; but the fiction of the kw had io bn maintained, md, lest at the last moment the accused shon'd change their minds, a grand jury and pa-els of common juiies were summoned. There was no alteration of mind, however, yet the grand jury had to stand around in a solemn attitude, go into anoth r room, and thero take evidence in order to bring in true bills. Meantime, the court sat doing nothing solemnly, and the common jury did likewise, while a stalwart constable stood at the funny little gate which could keep out nobody v, ith an average pair of legs and occasionally cried •' Silence 1" Then, after about an hour, ihe grand jury brought in a true bill against one prisoner, who intended to plead gnilly, aud shortly afterwards aquinst the second prisoner who also inteadid to plead guilty. All this whi e iho common jury, whose services would not ba required, and who knew that their services wonld not be required, had to keep their lmels aB Btill as possible in the body of the court. I hen, when the pleas of guilty had beenjentered and sentence had been been passed the Judge solemnly dismissed tho juries from attendance, thanking thu one for having proved that two and two make four, and tho other for having done nothing except sit around as quietly as may be. Whereupon there was a general scattering, and a large number of business men returned to thier duties, deploring a wasted day — wnsted in the performance of a folemn oIJ-timo farce which their instincts of modernity had outgrown. Perhaps there is no remedy, or perhaps it is better, (paraphrasing Bhake;peare), to bear the ills wo have than to lly to others which rmy be worse. But it is a confession of impotence when we know lhat, though there is absolutely no business for juries to do at a court, thoy should be summoned from miles around and kept in attendance for half a day. As to the Grand Jury systsrn. it may have ita merits ; but, in most colonial communities at least, tho cumbrous and expensive method bas been abolished, and the Attorney-General, or rather, tho Law Otlice of the Crown, decides ou the rinding or lejection of a trao bill. The change has not led to abuses elsewhere, and it lias saved both time nnd money. A Bimiiar change in New Zea'and i3 within measureable distance of accomplishment ; and it may also be utg d that a simplification of the paraphernalia of our assizes generally, especially in regard lo the summoning of common juries when it is obvious (hat there is nothing for them to do, is a reform much to bo desired.

The survival of old systems, and their application to conditions in the colonies without regard to the amallnesß of the population, eomotimeahave as an effect the ridiculous waßie of strength described as breaking a butterfly with a steam hammer. An instance waa afforded yesterday at the Assizes, which were hold with all duo solemnity' ' with their accompaniment of" judge, ] juries, barrister, and court crier. Thero wero only two cases for trial, and it was known to till tbat iu both the accused intended io plead guilty. Yet ihirly or forty men, mostly in business, wero summoned io attend as yrand nnd common juries. As ih ■• court did not open till 11 o'clock", and as there are woful fines and penalties for absence, it waa necessary for all the summoned to bo present in ample time. Thus tho forenoon was lost ; and the complaint of the foreman of the grand jury was more than justified, for there was no reason why the court should not have met at 10 o'clock. Howover, when the business began, the judge solemnly ascended the bench while the crier callsd in stentorian tone? for "Silence for hU Honor the tiueen'ajudge." No one was doing an ythiDf/ else but preserve sih nee at tho time; but the farce had to be gone through because in the old days of the Javelin Men ifc happened to be necessary in a country with u popu.nlion nfiy or sixty times aa great as that of New Zea and. Then, with an " 0 Viz ! 0 Yez I 0 Yea !"— which, by the bye, is one word, imperative mood, Norman-Franca-Law* I