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Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2061, 12 August 1875, Page 2

Ik one part of Sir George Grey's speech on resuming the debate on the Abolition Bill, reference is' made to the opinion given by the late Attorney-General as to the legality of the Government proposals, and a presumed opinion from the present Chief Justice on the same question. Of course our readers do not require to be told that the Attorney-General who furnished the opinion is the gentleman who now fills the office of Chief Justice. On this point Sir George Grey, as reported by the Herald, says:— '/■

" The Government have the opinion of the late Attorney-General, and they wish to cap it with the opinion of the present Chief Justice;"'and'.-'T(re"'/havc''. i > secn; him under, what I: consider, a serious error. For the first time in this country, we have seen from our own Bar a Chief Justice selected, righteously, and with the unanimous consent of all who believed him to be worthy of the position in which he was placed; and I should, therefore, have liked to hire seen him set an example which should have been written in every history read in every school in New Zealand. Would that his answer had been given, when the Ministry asked him- for his opinion —"You have my opinion, as Attorney.GeneraL If you desire my opinion as Chief Justice, I shall be found at all proper times seated on the Bench of Justice."

We do not pretend to any legal knowledge of the' question, but at the same time we hare no diffidence in expressing an opinion on this matter. -We consider that we are as much entitled to say that Sir George Grey erred in thus talcing to task the Chief Justice of the Colony, as Sir George was justified in calling in question the procedure of one who has been called upon to fill the highest judicial appointment in the power of the Government to bestow, arid to which the gentleman who fills that office has been called 7 without question from any section of the community. We regard this attack of Sir George Grey's as most illtimed arid in bad taste. Thero has been really no "opinion" from jthe Chief Justice, and the courtesy which prompted him to reply to' the note from the Minister of Justice should have protected him from any attack of the nature which Sir George Grey is reported to have made. The Chief Justice ought, to be credited with at least a due sense of the dignity and responsibility of his office ; and his reply to a polite note from a Minister of the Crown can scarcely be strained to the length of conveying an extra judicial opinion. We are inclined to accord, to Sit: George Grey tile utmost latitude in discussion, and would willingly give him credit for being actuated by motives of the purest nature; but we scarcely think the policy of his party will be advanced by introducing in the debates of the House any matter calculated to lower the dignity of the Bench as represented by the <3hief Justice. :