The Star. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1926. OVERWORKING THE MAGISTRATES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17835, 1 May 1926, Page 8

The Star. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1926. OVERWORKING THE MAGISTRATES.

The collapse of a Christchurch Magistrate in the street, following an exceedingly long day’s sitting of the Court, should put an end at once to the impossible arrangement by which two Christchurch magistrates are expected to do the work performed by four magistrates in Auckland and three in Wellington. For a number of years past, it has been recognised that Christchurch magistrates have been grossly overworked, and there was an understanding that Mr Uawry, now in Westport, where there are only about eight sittings a month, was to be transferred to Christchurch. For some reason or other —it is alleged to be a matter of rivalry between Westport and Greymouth—Mr Uawry’s appointment has not been confirmed, and the two Christchurch magistrates are left to struggle along as best they can. The unfairness of this arrangement can be realised in relation to the great growth both of civil and criminal business since the long-distant day when Christchurch first secured the appointment of a second magistrate. Motoring cases have to be inquired into very patiently, not only because of the heavy penalties involved but because, in many cases, the poiice court prbceedings are the prelude to a civil claim. The nervous strain on a magistrate, where his public duty, in the event of a conviction, demands the imposition, maybe, of a term of imprisonment, is very considerable, apart from the inevitable lengthening of the hearing, and where there is much evidence to be heard, a civil case may run into two or three days, like that in which a Brighton bus and a tram were involved this week. It is highly undesirable, for reasons which need not be gone into at present, that Justices of the Peace should be entrusted with the responsibility of dealing with any cases in which a man’s liberty may be at stake, and altogether there is an overwhelming case already made out in favour of the immediate appointment of a third stipendiary magistrate.

The beginning that has been made with the improvement of the Avon in its upper reaches shows what can be done as a result of agitation; and the movement that is taking shape in the form of a River Conservancy Board for the improvement and beautifying of the Estuary will serve not only to keep the Drainage Board up to the mark in regard to its share of the work, but will also bring into use what must some day be a remarkably fine waterway for yachting and boating. In to-day’s issue of the “ Star ” two views are given, showing how popular Sumner has become as a week-end run for motorists, and indicating the point at which an estuary bridge might some day connect New Brighton and Sumner at Shag Rock. A work of this description is by no means ambitious for a community that pierced the Lyttelton tunnel within a few years of the colonisation of New Zealand, and the advantages which would follow the opening up of a delightful round trip can hardly be over-estimated. There is no reason why the banks of the Estuary should not become something more than mere sand dunes, but at all events there are great possibilities in the improvement of the waterway, and when this is accomplished settlement will he spread in the direction of the sea as a result of reclamation and improvement. The enthusiasm displayed at Thursday night’s meeting on the subject augurs well for the success of this movement, if the local bodies, in particular, can be persuaded to retain their present interest in it.