WHAT IS JUSTICE?

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume IV, Issue 1121, 17 October 1904, Page 3

WHAT IS JUSTICE?

10 THE EDITOR Sir.—Three most extraordinary verdicts from the judicial forum havo quite reoently born thrust, upon us with each rapidity and variety that one is perplexed whether to arrive at the conclusion that tbo law must bo an ass, or tlmt tho gonllomen on tho Bench ignoro tho law and simply allow their knowledge of equity and law to be overridden by their own prejudices. I refer to 'tho recent sly grog oases in An and tho Upper Thnmos, Bnd ili: :•niouß "Truly Rural" caso of our ow.i Magistrate's Court. Both Jodge Kettle, Dr Giles and ths press, etc,, condemned in strong terms the methods of procuring ovidonco in sly-grog oases, tho former dismissing the caso which lately camo boforo bim, Wo liavo oxactly tho same methods—if not worse—adopted in tbo Waibi giog casos, yet fines are inflictod aud oo comment appears to have boon made re (be meanß of procuring ovidonco by the informers so omployed. Mr Bush S.M.. said he preferred to beliayo tho police's vorsion. In the" Truly Hural caso" the police wore absolutely unanimous and their ovidcnco unshaken, yet the wiso Justices placed tho bun of incredibility upon il, and gave the" benefit of tho doubt" to the accused because of" tho conflicting ovidonco," forsooth. "Whero tho conflicting ovidoncc came in, is n poser I am not oapablo of ovon attempting to oxplain. Consequently, if thero is any justice in law, why did not Mr. Bush book the bonofiL of the doubt and the conflicting evidence to tho credit of tho accused in his caso? and why did Judgo Kettle utter such extraordinary statements and

donunoiations, which Mr Bush evidently ignores? If it is not law, well, wlnt is it ? Tho beautiful unanimity of the ilirco cises a a glaring examplo of the stupipiiy of tho aw, or of its administrators. We havo the polico ignored in tho " Truly lturnl cise," and tho benolit of a problematio doubt given the accused, Wo Bud the informed evidouco upheld, and tho bonefit of tlis doubt givon against the accused, in tho grog case, and wo pass on to Anokland, and listen to a violent declamatory outburst by a judge againßt similar moans of procuring evidence, the cr9o dismißscd, and tho police donounced.' Then follows a diametrically opposite result in tho Upper Thames cases, which taken collectively forces me to question whether there is really such a thing as truo jnstico or a common sense statute, —I em, etc,. PKM'IiKXKDi