The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Thursday, April 23, 1891. A JUDGE’S POSITION.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume IV, Issue 598, 23 April 1891, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Thursday, April 23, 1891. A JUDGE’S POSITION.

Bejrut and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy eonalry’A Thy God'a, and truths:

The position of Judge Edwards is a most humiliating one. It is one of those troublesome legacies which the Atkinson Government left to the colony. They took upon themselves to make an appointment which, it is said, was not needed; which was made in opposition to the wishes of the other Judges of the Supreme Court, and which, being the appointment of an extra Judge, should have first been sanctioned by Parliament. No one should have known better than Mr Edwards the complications that would be created, but he, like other mortals, thought the Continuous Government would again come from the country with the same old majority, and there would be no difficulty in whitewashing the appointment. Things did not turn out exactly as he wished, and now " the fat is in the fire." A grand opportunity has been offered to lawyers seeking for cheap advertising, call it fame, notoriety, or what one may. For his part Judge Edwards holds on to the appointment,, although under present circumstances there is no salary attached to it. We heartily sympathise with a man who makes such a plucky stand, but never* theless it is degrading to the colony, and the fact that a Judge of the Supreme Court, or who claims to be one, has been placed in such a false position will remain one of the worst memorials of the shameless acts of the Atkinson 1 Ministry. The present Government | have taken a straightforward cotifse in , the matteCi When In Opposition Mr ,

Ballance and other leading members strongly protested against the appointment, both in and out of Parliament. They urged, and had good authorities on their side, that it was a violation of all constitutional principles. They held that Parliament must give its sanction, but the only way of revoking the appointment was by refusing to vote a salary. The Government maintain a consistent attitude in the matter, and Judge Edwards’ position may be considered a sacrifice which the late Ministry made in the hope of saving themselves from being ousted from office for their misdeeds.