DEFENCE APPEAL CASE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15002, 25 May 1912, Page 8

DEFENCE APPEAL CASE.

FAILING Tq PARADE. CONSIDERED BY FULL COURT. [BT TELEGRAPH.— ASSOCIATION.] Weixington, Friday. AN important defence appeal case in regard to the attendance of territorials at camp came before the Full Court, consisting of the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) and Justices Cooper and Chapman, to-day. Mr. W. G. Riddoll, in dismissing informations against Victor Furness and F. Murphy for failing to render personal service, had said that he determined, as a matter of law, that as all members of the territorials were subject to military law I and an thero were regulations in force which gave ample and special powers to military authorities to deal in detail with breaches of discipline, proceedings for such, broaches should be taken under the regulations and not under section 51 of tho Defence Act. An appeal by the Defence Department against this decision was heard by Mr. Justice Cooper last week, His Honor referring the matter to the Full Court for reargument. Mr. J. W. Salmond (Solicitor-General) appeared for the appellant and Mr. R. Kennedy for the respondent (Furness). Argument proceeded on similar lines, to the previous hearing. Mr. Salmond said that Mr. Justice Cooper had referred to the severity of punishment. Mr. Justice Cooper: What I said was that the magistrate considered the punishment under section 51 exceedingly severe, and therefore he thought he ought to read the section so as to exclude a man from having committed an offence under it. .• The section, continued Mr. Salmond, after imposing a liability to a fine of £5, went on to provide that an offender should not be entitled to be enrolled as an elector or to enter or continue in the Civil Service. It was difficult to know exactly •what the part preferring to enrolment meant—whether the punishment was for a term or indefinitely. The Chief Justice: Tho magistrate did not have that before him in the Commonwealth Act mentioned. Mr. Justice Cooper: There was a provision limiting the period of electoral disqualification to the time during which a person continued in default. The Solicitor-General said that these 5 words had been omitted from the New Zealand Act. It would have been better had they been inserted. The Chief Justice: If a man in the Government service will not attend camp for a week, . why' should he stay in the Government service longer? Ido not think the penalty is severe. Mr. Jos-ice Cooper: If a man will not prepare to take part in the defence of the country why should he take part to making our laws ? Tho only severity Is in the indefinite character of the penalty. Referring to a contention by Mr. Kennedy that an offender should be tried by military law, the Chief Justice remarked that in the old militia days they did not trouble about court-martial and military law. If a man did not attend parada a picket went off and fetched him. * The Court reserved its decision. $ " ■■'■»■ —— . •-.■■■--.,-■