JAY PAY JUSTICE.

NZ Truth, Issue 380, 5 October 1912, Page 7

JAY PAY JUSTICE.

The Vyonderful Wisdom of . Walton;

---"Truth" notices with great distress; tnat Bill Massey has unloaded a fresh bafifti'^f ' "Jthat wonderful heaven-sent creafoorii known -as- the, Jay Pa.v, y'n to' the long-suffering public/ of-Noo,,Zea-land. Also "Tr^th"/ learns, with hbjror that Bill, . m ,his Infinite , wisdom, has appointed eyery Chairman of a County C&imcii'a Jay Pay with full' powers 'to' make, himself ridiculous m the public eyfc«Dyv handing out • that which is known as "Justice" tb'th'e; poor unfortunates who have, the bad luck< to lie brought before him. '■' > -t (.--. Wh6n Mr E. C. Gtftten is put on his circuit^And things arV slack ,[ntho Auckland S.M.s Oourt,' the Mw is•wdntfta call-in certain brainy; geniuses to handle the/Swordand Scales m the., matter of Bill- Smith found 'drunk ; m. al public place, and. other, gross' breaches, ofdCfeorge V: ? s-, Statbots, • which Sir. Robert Stout " and the Hon.! Ngata,. spent quite a lot of time m condensing.; As a general riilej- the' decisions of ; ■ the j^ucki?.nd Jay Pay "are like 'unto ' BternaUPeac&— which passeth . all \mderstan'din'g. ' . . . " On' 1 Thursday of last week things •were slack iri the 'court, so": tiiree' remarkabie .Splons called J. Walton, T,'H.. ; #n[eS'deh "and ' W> W. . Wyman mounted the Bench and held down Mr Cutten's swing chair .and: two ••other « ones-, without. swings. ; , . ' ~ AfteY 'dealing wfth" the . common or garden species" of drunks, v/ ho were Unfortunate m not getting L . presen ted jfitisti& fr6eaom.W the .city; the ■learn-.- --'" eef" hoiders of George V^s Commission passed on to 'de'al with; the case of one Alfred Ireland. -■-••—• j.Thitf.y party had a r -dbuble-i)arTelled charge of beer and committing . a grossly indecent^ act m a public, thorajughfare levelled at him, and admitted both impeachments. The- police statement, as put forward Vy' 'Sub-inspector Hendry, shoWed that Ireland, whilst iri a state of beer, committed the act- m the full view of wonte.n,. and other ' passers- by. ' learned Jays Pay showed their wonderful sense of .proportion, . and Brotected. society m future, hy mtiki'tigf art example of Ireland 'and fining him/the enormous, siim of TE^T SHILiLINGS: OR 48 BEQURS.'- < .- .Evidently Jay Pay Walton and his ' rieapned bi;6thren cannot read, or. have m' much knowledge _,of the "Police Of-' fepces Ac,t" as a hen, has of the game •of billiards. ' Ireland was charged with the grossly indecent act under the section of ths "Police Offences Act" dealing • with Buoh crimes, and that section does not admit ?pf the Vimpbsidpn. of a fine — mafVe'llous as it may seem to Mister I iWjdlton^and his learned confreres. When cases of such a nature as Ireland's are not of the' "grossly Indecent" order, the police are wont to ask that the charge lie taken" as a contravention ok the city by-laws, which admit of the imposition of a fine. However, m this case the police made no such application, and the evidence disclosed gross Indecency. Therefore!- Mr Walton and his "learned" brethren had no power to Impose' a fino and, even If they had, the ridiculous ami trumpery one often shillings,, did not meet the seriousness of thp' v case;by miles. . It would be Interesting to know whether blister Walton and Co. consider that a 10s fine will protect the women and children of Auckland from insult. After the huge fine had been Imposed upon Indecent Ireland, the worthy Bench proceeded to deal with some truancy cases, and onco more showed, with great vehemence, their sense of proportion and how- the Law must ho upheld, even if the skylight of 'the ; co.o.rt; jfcll In. . All the defendants In the cases were j vorkhig-i toeople, and obviously not too j Well. oft m this world's goods and gear. Certainly, In some cases, their offences were "somewhat aggravated and. their excuses trivial, but the fines Imposed upon thorn were— -to say the least of it —savage and harsh. "Truth" does nof' want for a moment to .condone the offence of, falling to .icnil a child to school, because that eommbdlty, known, as Free Education, Ik supposed to be the most desirable

r thing which, has been left . lying about promiscuously m Masseylarid. ; Still, . have Messrs : Waltoii , and ; Co. considered the /awful burden which they, In their "infinite wisdom, imposed upon a working, man when they imposed the fine ( wi th costs) of £ .6 12s ? . Taking the learned decisions 6f Jays Pay Wait-on and : bther Solons cf Auckland as an : indication) "Truth" is. of opinion that the day is not far distant when "truancy, and breaches of the city by-laws will- be deemed,/ if not capital crimes, at least indictable ones. And partieX.oyilty of burglary, rape, indecent assault, murder arid other min6r crimes will 'be . severely adrrJonished by a Jdy. Pay Bench and told to "Go and sin no more." ._ :,,