ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 207, 7 August 1862, Page 4

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. (To the Editor of the Daily Times.) Sir» —Permit me space to make public the extraordinary state of the law, which ou^ht to reeulate the proceedings of the civil side of the Resident •Magistrate's Court. Finding, in the course of my reading, that there was a great deal of contradictory legislation on the subject, I nKvle a carefai examination of all the published and accessible AcU and Ordinances affecting the constitution, limits of jurisdiction, and powers of enforcing the civil and criminal decisions of that important Court. The result of my investigations is, a strong impression * that although that Court still * has power to give judgment In civil cases, (and even this is doubtful,) it has no power to enforce that judgment If this conclusion be well-founded, all imprisonments! all sales of property—in shert all proceeding under proems, issued after judgment in civil cas e , &«, illegal and voni; and, as a necessary consequence every prisoner ought to be released, and all proDertv taken m execution, restored. , - "

This conclusion is so startling, that it will hardly be ciedita! as correct. I can only say, that I have several times carefully goue over the several acts and ordinances on the subject in -Domett," and in the statute book, but always with the same result-that the legislature, by some extraordinary fatality had ingeniously contrivt-d to leave the Court without an? statutable mode «f enforcing its judgments. The importance of the subject to the public and especially to persons suffering imprisonment for debt under process of the Resident Magistrate's Court ha» induce, me to write this iettor. It oiav also stir up the authorities, jshen they find it doubtful whetherthe only Court TFe have in Dunedin is abls *o do justice between litigants, without issuing voii pk>-» cessss and making illegal arpests. To set out the train of reasoning, by which the above deductions have b^eu made, would be very gnlaterestmg, and perkaps unintelligible to the bulk o^ your readers. I enclose my card, by which you will percoive that I am a meuber of the'le^al profession and, as such, am supposed at aU evente fe> be able to give an opinion on the subjcA. I am, Sir, ■ ■ • •

Dunediu, August 4th, 1562.