UNEQUAL JUSTICE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 10970, 26 January 1899, Page 3

UNEQUAL JUSTICE.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir —I was much struck by the severe pun* ishment meted out to Mr. Cowan yesterday by two justices, who seemed to be swayed

more by zoal than discretion. Probably the present poorness of the estate irritated these amateur administrators of justice; but I have yet to learn that paying a small dividend is a criminal offence. The old bankruptcy had nothing to do with the present case. Tho defendant probably pleaded guilty to a technical breach of tho Act (having through his nicrtgagce kept a record of his monetary transactions), knowing that whenever gross cases of this sort had been brought before tho Courts they had met with merely nominal punishments at tho hands of the Supreme Couit judges, probably owing to the undermentioned reasons: In all cases of dishonesty fraud has to bo proved. Ir the case under review the prosecution admitted that there was no fraudulent intent. Failing to keep proper books is not made a crime in England or scarcely any other' country except New Zealand, the reason being probably that it is considered unfair and un-English to make that which, at the time of doing it, was perfectly lawful and justifiable afterwards, by force of circumstances over which the accused perhaps had no control, criminal. In the present case the accused had paid his cieditors 10s in the £, and had had a friendly resolution passed in his favour by a largo majority in number and value of his creditors, so that the prosecution was at the instance of a few creditors, who might have been actuated by personal feelings.—l am, etc., Justttia. January 23, 1899.