The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1886. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1521, 19 June 1886, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, JUNE 19, 1886. JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.

The clause to make Justices of the Peace j elective, which Sir George Grey tried to get inserted in the new Justice! of the Peace Bill has been rejected, and, therefore, appointments will in future be made as heretofora. Justices of the Peace will be appointed by the Minister of Justice on the recommendation of Members of Parliament, and, though this system has led to great abuses, it is perhaps as good as the elective one. The present Government have been frequently accused of having made too many appointments to the Commission of the Peace, and they have, we think, answered the charge very satinfactorily. We have no intention of discussing this point at present. What we desire to point out is that Temuka has been neglected in this respect, and thai it is indispensibly necessary to make one or two more appointments. For three years there was only one Jnstice of the Peace living within a radius of five miles of the town, and even he lived between two and three miles away. After much pressure, Mr Gray was appointed; but Bhortly after Mr Barker left the district, and now we are as badly off as ever. One Justice of the Peace cannot act alone, except in very simple esses, and consequently in most instances he is next to useless. Even the one Justice living within ihe town is frequently absent. The nature of his occupation calls him awny very frequently, and, of course, he cannot be expected to remain at home in chbo he should be wanted in the Ooutt. This has led to great inconvenience. For instance, on last Friday a person was arrested, and brought before Mr Gray on a charge of larceny, but, as he could not deal with it, he remanded the case until Saturday, in the hope that a second J.P. could be got by that time. The police strained every nerve to get another Justice to attend, but failed, and when the case was brought up on Saturday only Mr Gray waß on the Bench. He conld not convict, and so he bad to discharge the accused, although the same person had been previously charged with a similar offence. On last Wednesday, in the same way, Mr Gray was alone on the Bench, and had to adjourn the case until 2 o'clock, so as to secure the attendance of a second Justice. A messenger had to be despatched to Winchester, and Mr Inwood had to leave his business to attend the Court, while the witnesses were kept all day waiting for the case to be heard. These are two instances which have occurred within the last week, and, if we desired to do so, we could quote handreds of cases in which not only inconveniences were caused, but hardships inflicted, through the impossibility to get Justices to attond the Court when required. When we look round and see Justices thick as bees in the adjoining districts, the matter becomes more iriitating. We ha\e to thank our representative in Parliament for this. He holds the appointment of Justices in his hand, for the Government will not make any appointment without his recommendation. The subject has often been brought under his notice, but so far as we can ascertain he thinks there is no one in the town suitable for the position. It is because their member has such a bad opinion of the people in this district that they have to suffer this inconvenience. In reply to this, we have to say that a dozen men could easily be got more suitable than some of those who have already been put on in other purts of the colony. However, Mr Rolleston is the judge in this matter, and we have to abide by his decision. There is a great cry about appointing too many Justices. One would think that they cost the conntry something, such is the opposition to their appointment. In our opinion, there are not near enough of them appointed yet. Tbey cost the country nothing, and their presence anywhere is calculated to preserve the peace. As an instance, we have only to point out the action taken by Mr R. H. Postlethwaite a few days ago. If he had not been a J.P. he would not have taken any notice of the "three card trick" man, and perhaps the result would have been that someone would have been fleeced. Thu 3 the presence of a Justice of the Peace gives greater security for the law being upheld and respected, while the cost to the country is nil. Why, then, should so much noise be made about a few Justices more being appointed ? The cry is absurd; all that is in it is that the Atkinsonians are afraid they will have no opportunity of conferring such favors on their friendß when they get back to office, as all the eligible men in the colony will be on the Commission of the Peace before then. However, there iB room enough for a few appointments in Temuka still, and, as our own representative will take no steps in the matter, the best thing to do is to send a petition to the Minister of Justice pointing out the want, and praying that it may be supplied.