HAMILTON COURTHOUSE.

Waikato Times, Volume 103, Issue 17412, 26 May 1928, Page 6

HAMILTON COURTHOUSE.

A clamant need iii Hamilton is a new courthouse. The matter has been repeatedly placed before Ministers during the past few years, and all have unreservedly admitted the necessity for the provision of belter facilities for the administration of justice than those now obtaining. The present building was erected many years ago, when litigation in the district was confined to cases in the lower court, and when, in the interests of the public, it was deemed necessary to inaugurate sittings of the Supreme Court in the town it was found that the building was not adequate to requirements. Presiding judges have made very strong representations on the matter, and successive Ministers of Justice have seen and recognised the need for improvement. When Sir James Parr, the present High Commissioner, was head of the Department of Justice, he was induced to visit the courthouse while the Supreme Court was in session, and the crowded and unsatisfactory condition so impressed him that he gave an immediate promise that the provision of a new building would be made a matter of urgency. He J.ook steps to secure a suitable site in'another portion of the town, and it was then thought that the erection of the building would be expedited. The .Minister's promise, however, was not redeemed, and the matter was delayed. In the meantime the volume of court business has largely increased, and the conditions have, gone from bad to worse. The present Minister of Juslice, as the result of personal observation, declared that the provision of a new building was a necessity, and must be promptly provided. Plans were prepared and passed and a promise given that tenders would be called at once. For some unknown cause, however, the matter was again held up, and' the 'scandal—for a scandal it is when justice is administered undor conditions such as obtain here session after session—continues. The matter is to be placed before the Prime Minister during his visit to Hamilton next week, and it is hoped that, as the outcome ol the representations then made, the erection of the promised courthouse will be at once put in hand.