THE JUDICAL BENCH

NZ Truth, Issue 605, 20 January 1917, Page 1

THE JUDICAL BENCH

IS A VACANCY PENDING ?

Wlien the "Square peal" party was returned to power by a majority which required a great deal of finding, and which lack of majority was the main factor m ac- . tuating Mr. Massey m being so miserable m his. "magnanimity," when the National Government idea solved the problem of avoid- • ing an early election, the rumor was very current that one of the " unwritten understandings " between the negotiators was that, at least two members of the "Reform" Government would, at the first opportunity, be provided for by being snugly tucked away on the judicial bench. Later 6n, when most people were wondering how the vacancies on the judicial bench could be created, somebody or, other came to light with the brilliant suggestion that the Chief Justice should be further honored, or was it "placated"? with- a pension, and a seat on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, and that another judge (no name was mentioned) would retire on his well-earned pension, and thus "all m the garden would be lovely^ " To date, the Chief Justice has not evinced any great desire to vacate his position. On the contrary, Sir Robert Stout is more than ordinarily virile, and his philosophy and wisdom have gone a long way towards offering consolation to a people who are oppressed with care. For did not Sir Robert Stout, m a recent lecture, bid the people to be of good cheer, and to learn to realise that "if the Executive of a State attempts to encroach on human liberty, those oppressed are not without redress." He. further pointed out that if politicians gave no redress, it was not beyond all possibility that judicial tribunals might set aside decrees of the Executive Government and Acts of Parliament. • • • However, 'while there does not seem-a ny early likelihood of the office of Chief Justice being vacatod, which might be very disappointing to certain ambitious politicians, there does not seem to he very much doubt about an early vacancy on the judicial bench, that is to say, m the. shape of an ordinary judgeship, and the likelihood of an early announcement of a vacancy on the bench will be *uch as to set political tongues a- ' It seems almost, safe It'to-say th«t the retirement of New Zealand's senior Judge, Mr. .Justice' Denniston, is about due, m fact, at time of writing, it was quito possible that his Honor's resignation had been sent m, and after twenty-eight years of service as a judge, wo might very well assume that the judge m question is entitled to spend the remainder of his days m peace and quietness. Mr. Justice Denniston is m his 72nd year. He was appointed « judge on February .13, ISBO, and. accordingly,* has wndorcd many years of service to Vhfff Zealwnd. If we are not mis-

taken, a judge is required to serve twenty-one years before becoming entitled to a pension, and here again we find that the judge m question has more than qualified for his pension. As the^Chief Justice was appointed on June 22, 1899; it is clear that he has not yet qualified for a pension, and, m the circumstances, it seems hardly likely that a special Act of Parliament would be passed to provide a pension and thus deprive the Chief Justice of further serving the country for, at least, three years. "We see that Mr. Justice Denniston's length of service qualifies him for a pension. His age, also, is such that one can | reasonably assume his need of relaxation from onerous duties. While there is no reason for assuming a vacant post of £hief Justice, the circumstances as mentioned by "Truth," apart from "information received," which' might not be too reliable, point to an early 'vacancy on. the bench. The question naturally arises, who will fill that vacancy? All along the rumors have been persistent, and there has been no denial that part of the political pact was the appointment of one, if not two, politicians to the judicial bench. Now that there is but one prospective vacancy, and that not a Chief Justiceship, what will be the position? Perhaps an ordinary judgeship would not be appreciated,. by one of the two politicians. But would the other have any delicacy, any refinement of feeling 1 . "Would his ambition be satiated with an ordinary judgeship?. In some quarters, not m th e "Truth" quarter, the abilities or the qualifications of t^e politician m question have been questioned. Here, however, "Truth" is not concerned. This paper does not profess to be competent to express its opinion of qualifications for the office. "What this paper is mainly concerned about is whether this particular politician, m fact, any politician, is entitled to "feather his own nest," to provide a haven of safety from the coming storm. Come that storm must. War Ministries have always proved unpopular m times of pence,, because, as this paper has before pointed out, Governments m office during extraordinary times, adopt, extraordinary repressive and probably ! distasteful .measures. The fate ; which promises to overtake the present Government might, or might not, be deserved, lint' one thing is certain, its doom is already sealed. The politician who truly nnd clearly reads the signs, who can find a "soft" pface whereon ho might fall, or "gets ! from' under" at the first fitting and opportune time, is neither 'cute nor clever. It is instinct. • • • Now, New Zealand has not boon noted for its "political judgeships." Sir Robert Stout proved an exception. Kicbarri Soddon

saw an opportunity of placing a political rival, and Sir Robert Stout was placed. In England it is the time-honored custom, though not the law, for the At-torney-General to fill the vacated office of Chief Justice. In Australia, m the past, there have been many scandals connected with the political appointments to the judicial bench, but, of recent yearsj some semblance of decency m connection witiwthese appointments have be^n displayed. There have been great temptations to "Labor" lawyers to jump on to the judicial bench, but, fortunately, Labor m Australia has not countenanced this sdrt of thing, and "Labor" lawyers have hesitated to drag the judicial bench into the stinkpot of politics. Furthermore, the Federal High Court judges,' while paid well, are not provided with pensions, a provision which Labor politicians wisely enacted when the Federal Judicature Bill w£s before the Australian Parliament. The result, therefore, m Australia has been that good, sound barristers hav^ been appointed to the judicial bench, and political patronage of the bench has died a natura). death. Now, the question arises m- New Zealand whether the people will tolerate any politician, making a nice, soft- ..bed for himself , such ,as a judgeship would be. '* Truth has no doubt that all sections of the community would rise m protest. Is it likely, therefore, that the politicians m power m New Zealand would drag the judicial bench of the country into the miry mud of politics? * * * It is to the credit of the "Reform" Government that during I its regime of office it made two. judicial appointments, and there is no gainsaying the fact that v the appointments made were such as to earn the commendation of all who are interested m such matters. The opportunity has twice presented itself for the politicians to provide for one of themselves, but it was not availed of. It is true that times have somewhat changed. The politician who was popular two or three years ago has started on the decline, he views with alarm the elections, which cannot be postponed for ever. A Cabinet Minister to-day might be a "nobody" to-morrow, but on the judicial bench he attains a prominence which politics can never give him. Will he dare take it? Politicians need thick "hides," and this is where a thicker "hide" than usual is required.