The N.Z. Times and Mr Wardell.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XVIII, Issue 1670, 6 February 1885, Page 2

The N.Z. Times and Mr Wardell.

The New Zealand Times has an article on the subject of the appointment of Mr Wardell as Eeaident Magistrate at "Wellington, in which it asserts that the deputation which waited upon Ministers to speak in favor of Mr Wardell, had no authority whatever to speak on behalf of the citizens of Wellington, and that they took up a position which they had no right to assume. It then remarks : “ There was no reason why Mr Wardell’s qualifications should have been compared with those of his predecessors on the Wellington bench. But the comparison was made, and it was alleged that he was the most success ful Magistrate who had ever administered justice in Wellington. We protest against such a statement. The services of one gentleman who has passed away, and of another now compelled by illness to retire, should have been remembered, and should have checked the ill-considered obser vation. Finally, the Times objects to Mr Wardell’s appointment, remarking : —“ However great may be the esteem in which he is held, the people of Wellington would prefer to see the magistracy filled by a barrister of the Supreme Court. Tn a place such as Wellington many cases aro likely to arise which could bettor be adjudicated on by a professional man.”