THE LAW PRACTITIONERS AGT AMENDMENT BILL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 2412, 15 June 1882, Page 6

THE LAW PRACTITIONERS AGT AMENDMENT BILL.

[From the Timahxt Hbbam>, Jnna 12.] : Sib Giokge Gbey. has carried the; second reading of .the Jiaw Practitibnira Act Amendment Bill without a division. This fact may fairly bo assumed to prove one of two thijaga. 1 the time has arrived tor the. legal profession; ac a close corporation, to be reformed

out of -existence by general; consent i;» or' else the' lawyers are : wonderfully weakly represented. In the '.Hcrtse."; jSijr George. Grey'e Bili is hp tirbid merely feeling the, way towards 'jjefpi'ms: of particular abuses. On the contrary, it is a Measure of the most radical kind, whicb^ if it^asees'into law, will practically alolish the exQjuaive character .of the profession, and make > it almost 'as easy, to become a lawyer as it is to become a commission agent?. It proposes firstly, .fch&t any man of ! ,good' character whp passes' the necessary exa?hination shall be admitted to,, practice at ,'■ .any time,, and - secondly, that any '■ man,: without examination', may be employed' by anyooM else 1 to plead a cause, m the Courts of 1aw. .., It will ' be seen., at* a glance that, if these proposals. are. adopted, thje legal profession will immediately cease to be' a pursuit confined to a limited number o? specially ' trained practitioners, and the' widest competition will be established amongst all who have any aptitude for the business. In short, free ' 'trade will be substituted for the effective protection which lawyers" enjoy under, the existing' system. , j It might reasonably have been expected'that such a change a3 this would have been stubbornly resisted, not only by the lawyers themselves, but by many others who have no personal interest m the question. What we mean is that if there have hitherto' been good reasons for the privileges accorded to the legal profession, By. ancient tradition, and by successive, enactments, there ought m the ordinary course of things, to have been' a powerful display of arguments against , a Measure which proposes to sweep those privileges' bodily away: The lawyers have always been understood to constitute' one.' of the most influential sections of the community, if notjhe most influential section; and it appears incredible that, if their influence has been based on a solid foundation of right and reason, they should submit to be deprived of '■ all their exclusive character, without making even, a serious effort m defence of it. Yet the second reading of the Bill has been : carried without a division, and there seems to be every likelihood of its passing through Committee 1 just 'as. easily. , It' i» true that one lawyer;, and he a man . of - some weight, opposed the Bill : strenuously . on grounds of public expediency. Another, who also stands high m his profession, said he hoped it would not pass, though he declined to oppose it actively. But on the other hand, its promoters supported it with- the utmost confidence and vigor, and ! ' several lawyers were among those who did so. , One, who has been m the law for forty-years, and has also been Minister of Justice and : a J[udge, recommended the House to pais 1 the Bill. The reason, why a division was apt, called,, for, we' are. told 1 , was simply because the opponents, of the Bill were sofew that- they thought it wiser not to. expose their weakaess. Surely this ' is' a verjr extraordinary state of airs) and one which we cannot readily account for. , Are we.,to be. told that the influence of the legal profession; is a mere delusion; that the necessity f6r ; suoh an organisation has no real existence, and that the public hold the profession m so little estimation, that they are willing and anxious to ccc its privileges done away with ? If so, then ••■ it is ■ most astonishing that the Law Practitioners Acts have been allowed to remain m force so long. But we cannot; help thinking the ■ case is ■• capable of some other explanation than this; and we should be glad to 'hear what the' lawyers themselves have to say about it. We are quite aware, of course, that a. Bill is often outwardly supported by many' Members "who do not approve of its provisions, and who, while' : they vote for insincerely trust it'w.ill^not pass! We have no doubt that, was so. with this Bill. . It is not every Member, by a long way,- who has the courage of his opinions; especially where those opinions are adverse to w.hat appears to be the popular; view. . Many Members, again, support Bills which they do not approve of, or at least abstain from opposing them, beoa'ase 1 they feel snre the Legislative .Council will ..throw thetn put ; and thua .save them all .trouble and. responsibility. We venture to say : that a large proportion' of those who supported : Sir George • Grey the other night, did so with a feeling ; of implicit faith m the Upper House. .It,, nas^ come, indeed, to be regarded, as an understood thing that any of (Sir George Grey's ' startling Measures may ; 'safely be passed by the House 1 of Representativea,- m, the certainty iof their : be^ng thrown^ out !' in' another place." -Last session he earned a batch of Bills- of this ; "kind, 'including- this very Law Practitioners Bill, with hardly any opposition ; but the Council rejected them all without, the slightest- Hesitation. The session before last, the same thing took place. One Bill which Sir George carried through the lower House without a division, proposed! to confer on Mr Moorhouse a free railway pass for life as a reward for his eminent public services ;' and Hbbbdy was ever able tb ascertain whether it was intended for an insult- or a compliment, or whether it was : mei"ely- intended as a test of how much the House would stand from Sir George Grey. ' : The Council of,, course threw the. Bill out without themselves i to. enquire into its purpose. In a word, the : House have habitually indulged 1 Sir-G eorge "Grey's 'freaks, almost to any extent, on "the' tapit understanding; that that '^lndiilgehjcej would lead, to no practical res alt a. Sooner or later, however,- there must bean end of this sort of thing. - 1 List session tße Council were very angry at the' degree of responsibility thua 'tnrpton upon them. They were getting tired; of "doing the dirty work of -the House of Representatives," and incurring all 'the odium which Sir George Grey' wad only too eager to arouse against tnem^ They rejeoted -his 'Bills, but- there were not wanting ■ suggestive indications iof i a determination on their part not toperform the Batne office again. . It will bQ interesting to see how they will treat thq Law PrAotitipnere ' .8i11 , ,';.. 7»h!en it reaches them. They . w.ottld: be'ftlHy justified' Hn passing it without amendment, ] though entirely difea^prpving of it, pn 1 Me I gronnd. i 'that ifelias; been passed ihree times'by Chamber, and this / time, . immediately after ah appeal td the' country! ' If they dp so, there 'wjll^e/wauirig land gashing of teeth'ambng the legal pro/esAioli,' who will discern,' when it is too lale, the mistako ' they made m allowing Bill to pass the lower House ~>yede after yeaV' without' 1 bfiferinV ! ariy"' effectual reßißtancfe'toit. 1 " ( '* ■ *'■' •'■"'] "' :