Evening Post. MONDAY, MARCH 7, 1904. "GUARD YOUR LIBERTY."

Evening Post, Volume LXVII, Issue 56, 7 March 1904, Page 4

Evening Post. MONDAY, MARCH 7, 1904. "GUARD YOUR LIBERTY."

To most of our readers the chief items in Friday's paper wero tho recovery of " thoao nKhes " by the English cricketera at Sydney and tho wnr news from the Far East ; yet, without dieq)»raging the athletic value of our -noiionul game or tho importance of its Mendly rivalry as a real bond of union between the colonies ! und tho Mother-country, and without ignoring the fateful possibilities of the grimmer game that i^ on /oot between tho Yellow Sea and Vludivoslock, it is safo to say that on item of much amullcr dramatic interest touched issues of even deeper concern for these colonies. Wo refer to tho very gravo attack upon iho independence of tho Bench which was reported to us from New South, Wales. Tho main facts of the coso woro public property several months ago, but they aro given fresh prominenco now, with some interesting additions. Tn October lust, a member of the Labour party took the extraordinary courso of moving a reitolution to reduce th© salnry of Mr. Justice Stephen, who had been appointed Acting-Chief Justico to relieve Sir Frederick lWl«y ; and the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales took the atill | more extraordinary com-sc of carrying tho resolution. On liis retirement from" tho j position JMr. Justico Stephen has written to tho press detailing tho circunmlßncCM, which make a very rcmarknblo story. It acorns that a majority of those who supported tho reduction were members of the Labour party, .und thnt tho member who moved tho resolution had recently been a party to a law suit which the Jiuk'o had tried aud dooided against him. Tho unt«v|cce.ssful litigant then took what Mr. Justice , Stephen calls, lot us hope correctly, " the unprecedented courso of writing to him from Parliament lloutso complaining of the judgment." The Judge replied, pointing out the impropriety of Iho courso which the inoinber had taken, but " to a socond letter, tnking exception to tho reply, ho did not reply." Getting no «atiafn«tion by his letter-writing and finding an appeal inadvisable or iniptitmiblo, tho member then moved to reduce the salary cif tho Judge who hnd boon so misguided as to deliver a judgment against him, aud the Assembly to its Insting dißgrnco cai-ricsii the motion. Mr. Justice Stephen was por■«—"ily unliuft Uv* Um> .lwaUoft, btvwiiso

he was no longer a puisne Jndge, and his f..daiy ah Actin<>-Ghief Justico wan " giiiiiauti>od by tho Uoveniment," mid he lvfmiiw from imputing motives ; but he pertinently asks, "Will any ono que.'ition that if 1 had remained on the Bench and any member of Parliament l»iul become subject to my udvcisu decision, J should naturally have npptvhcnsion that the decision nughl bo followed by a mihsivo from I'arhanicnfc House, follo\ved possibly by another attempted reduction of my salary V" Tlie jWcehs of reducing a Judge's salary every time ho gave a decision disploiising to a prominunl j)6litici;in would soon clear tho Bunch of troublesome occupants, and provido ono which the politicians ■would find thoroughly manngcable. By tho tnno a recalcitraui/ Judge hud given v Huilicicnt number of unpalatable decisions ho would cither huvo to starve or go, nnd tho boss and tho wirepuller would loign as biipi-enie on the Bench as nl the caucut. One of the gravest charges bioughl against Mr. Kruger's autocratic rule in tho Transvaal was his barefaced attack upon tho independence of the Judges, and the whole Bntiiih Empiie was louvd to wrath about it, bub now we huvo the Parliament of the mother colony of Au.sIralasiu lending itself to piucihely similar tactics. In tho Tratiwvaal, a:i 111 the United Stale.-), the power of the Legislature and tlie Hxccutivo wus limited by n Constitution uhich the Judges had to inlcrprul, and Chief Justico Koezo having had the audacity to declare an illegal proclamation of the Government to be invalid, Mr. Ki.uger immediately look the necessary &tops to geC oven with him. Tho Volksuiad, which foljowcd Mr. jvruger us our Parliament follows Mr. Seddon, wus induced to pass a law empowering the President "to exact assurances from the Judges that they would icspect all resolutions of the VoHcsraad on having tho force of law, and declare themselves not entitled to test the validity of a law by its agreement or conflict with the Constitution; and it further cmrjowoied the President, in the event of his not being satisfied with the character of the replies, to summarily dismiss the Judges." The Chiof Justico failing to give vho necessary assurance or to withdraw his obnoxious judgment, President Ivrugcr dismissed him ; and .under the same law which authorised tho dismissal, Mr. Kolze's successor reversed tho judgment, and gavo a decision in favour of the Government. To secure tho reversal of un honc&t, lawful, and competent judgment already given and the dismissal of tho Judge responsible for it, and to effect both objects by subordinating th« whole Judicial Bench to tho dictatorial power of tho unsuccessful party in tho original litigation, was a masterstroke of audacity ; and Englishmen wero naturally alarmed for their fellow-countrymen in tho Transvnal, whoso property ahd hbeity wero subject to such lawless and highhanded despotism. • The Transvaal question, however — or rather tho small part of it to which we havo referred— "-is now settled, and it is timo for us to look nearer home. Many of tho vices of Mr. Kruger's rule can be closely paralleled in this colony, and instead of pointing tho finger of soorn at tho departed tyranny of tho Transvaal or> at tho threatened 'tyranny in Now South Wales — both of which are as easy as any other dead or distant abuses to attack — it would bo well for us to take tho losxon to ourselves and removo tho beam from our own eyo. Are there no similar tendencies observable in New Zealand 'i Is the attitude of Parliament and Executive to the judiciary nil that it should beY Is the independence of the Bunch aa thoroughly bccuie ws it should be? Tlie salaries of our Supreme Court Judges aro fortunately beyond' the reach of such a motion as has been passed by the Xow South Wales Assembly, but a. Minister's denunciation not ho long ago (X ono of tho most re-motely impartial men that" ever adorned any Bench as "a Tory Judge" shows that weurc not entjroly free from tbe sumo Bpirit. And with tho exception of the Supremo Court all our judicial salaries nro open to the same method of attack as were miecestifully employed against. Mr. Justico Stephen in Sydney, ami every District? Judge and Magifitrate holds his oflice- subject absolutely to tho whim of tho Ministry of tho day. Two or three years ago ono of the ablost of our Judges raised a strong piotost against having to try a political libel caso, ono of tho parties in which would afterward* havo to vote upon his salary, but he hud to take the trial nevertltclcss. Since thon tho most fearless and outspoken of our Mngistratxw found himself in direct contliot with the Government over a railway collision caso in which, though tho engine-driver was sued, the Governmunt was practically the defendant. He ordered the production of certaiu papers, but tho Government refused 'to produce tlrem. Ho inflicted a fine with tho alternative of imprisonment, in order to compel production, and the Government remitted tho fine—remitted, practically a flno inHictod on itself ! Is there no Krugeriam about thnt? And how miuiy men could have stood to their guns as bravely as Mr. Ifc. S. Hawkins when a stroke of tho same rjeYi which remitted the fine could have dismissed the recalcitrant Judge? "I- havo been very zealous for tlio honour and independence of this Court," said Mr. Hawkins in taking his farewell of tlie Bench a month ago, "for justice is liberty, nnd my last word to you all is "guard your liberty." He ho# been a valiant guardian of our liberty on *tlie Bench, but the task must be made easier for men who avo less courageous. 1