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« in India is fikll to five times that *...
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The New Haoknky Proprietors' Souismk.—A....
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Proposed Reform Of The Judicial Establis...
in India is fikllj equal to five times that sum to aH Englishman living in England : so that , in paint of fact , the above table of figures represents a series of salaries ranging from £ 120 to £ 7 , 800 a-year . There is yefc another very serious objection to the proposed scheme of reform . It is recommended that the Judges of » the High Court shall hold their offices during the pleasure of the Crown—or , in law phraseology , durante bene placito—and not quarn diu bene pesseris , as long as they shall fairly and honestly discharge their official duties . And it is added that the Governor-General in Council shall TT . -1- " /» r 1 » ¦¦ . /» " . ^ . -
be competent to direct the suspension , of any Judge of the High Court until the pleasure of the Crown be known . If his lordship hare power to suspend one , he must have power to suspend all—a most dangerous prerogative , even though it may never be acted upon , for it ¦ makes the Judges entirely dependent on the caprice of the Governor-General for the time "being .
The High Coiirt , presided over by ihe Chief Justice , shall be an Appellate Court , in € he last resort , its decisions being subject only to aii appeal to her Majesty in Privy Council . It niiiy be also divided into courts of original jurisdiction , presided over by one or ! mj > re Judges selected , by the Chief Justice j ljtit from these Courts & n appeal shall always
lie , in oases of civil" jurisdiction , to the Appellate Court in which the same Judges sit and have a voice , though in criminal eases there shall be no appeal : questions relating to propertyIjeing considered of greater importance than questions relating merely to life . A point of law , however , may be reserved for tiie opinion of the High Court ; the due maintenance of the technicalities of the law
being of greater moment than simple facts and arguments which can affect only the truth of the case . ¦ . ' .-.. Under the present system the highest Civil Court is called the Sadder Dewanny , uader which , in , the Bengal Presidency , there are four grades of Oourts . The MoonsifF adjudicates in disputes when the value of the property , does not exceed 300 rupees . The Sudder Ameen ' s jurisdiction extends to cases where property to the value of 1 , 000 rupees is iir dispute . The Principal Sudder Ameen has original jurisdiction in disputes above 1 , 000
rupees . And the Zillah , or District Judge , has power to withdraw any case from the files of the subordinate Courts and to try it himself . The Zillah JucLge also receives appeals from the decisions of the MoonsifF and " the judder Ameen , and from the Principal Sudder Anaeen when the value of the dispute is not tmore thaai 5 , 000 rupees —beyond that sum the appeal lies to the Sudder Dewanny Adawlut . The 0 ommissi , oners propose that ' those four grades shall be replaced by three ; the Mconsiff —• having original jurisdiction up to rs . 2 , 500 ; the Principal Sudder Ameen — taking in . hand , in the first instance , all cases above that
euna ; and the Zillah Judge vifch much the same powers as at present , ! ' . " ^ ^ ' r fig » t ° - criminal jurisdiction , it is pmpb ' sedthat there sliaU be Courts of Session . . with full powers , save , as to pronouncing , se , ntence of death , which is reserved for the ffigk Oourt ; , Courts of the Magistrates , —empowered to pa . ss sentence of imprisonment for any term not exceeding two years , and to impose a fine , of ^ 000 rupees and under : and
, » upordn * atQ Criminal Oourts , divided into two classes , with inferior jurisdiction , to tho preceding . Acceding to the system which now prevails , thor ^ . ^ ro fouu , Oourts : the Suddor mzamut ^ Aa « i * ht , . the Session Court , fch © mawatrato , arf & Various assistants . The new ^ mgemteat ,, if outvied out , wm undoubtedly
tend to simplify legal proceedings , and will produce a material improvement in the lower graeles of the magistracy . In matters of detail there is much to praise , and also something to reprehend . In the former category must be classed the abolition of the stamp duty , which has long been regarded as a vexatious grievance . The sum demanded for each paper , or official statement —namely , one shilling , may appear a mere trifle to the guinea-dispensing Briton : bufc to _ . - _
the poor native it acts as a serious obstacle in the pursuit of justice . We also hail with satisfaction the proposal to appoint public prosecutors , as likely to prevent unfounded prosecutions as well as collusion with the accused , and to secure regularity and uniformity in the mode of conducting criminal trials . And peculiarly gratifying it is to observe some progress in the minds of the Commissioners with regard to the atrocious vindictiveness displayed in the imprisonment of poor debtors .
They have not , indeed , the moral courage to recommend the entire abolition of this legalised form , of revenge , but they limit the period to two years , during which the creditor is bound to pay a monthly allowance for the prisoner's suvbsisterace ; the omission to do so within the space of twenty-four hours after it has become due , entitling the prisoner to immediate release . The surrender of the whole of his property lifcewisesecures the liberty of the debtorany fraud or concealment subjecting him to a
criminal action at the hands of the public prosecutor . Mot is it less worthy of commendation that the police are forbidden io offer any inducement , by threat or promise or otherwise , to induce any suspected person to make a disclosure . Confessions before the police are not to be reduced to writing , or held of any account , except so far as they may convey information calculated to discover the actual delinquents . But we are not prepared to view with equal favour the proposed abolition of o > a , ths ; and other kinds of affirmation in the
examination of witnesses . In former times it was customary to swear Hindoos upon the Granges water , and Mohammedans on the Koran 3 but in 1840 it was enacted that the members of both these religious professions should make an affirmation to the following effect : " I solemnly affirm in the presence of Almighty God that what I state shall be the truth , the whole truth , and nothing but the truth . " This enactment has undoubtedly proved a failure : but , rather than abolish every form of
adjuration , it would be assuredly desirable to resort to the original usage . That the natives ate not remarkable for their love of truth is a proverbial fact . They will commit perjury in the most wholesale manner , and with something like conscientiousness . Some years ago a wealthy landowner was accused of deliberately shooting a neighbour during a village affray . He pleaded an alibi , and brought upwards of forty witnesses to prove that at that time he was twenty miles away . On the
other side , more than twenty persons positively swore that they had eoen him with their own eyos take aim at , and kill the murdered man . Both parties wore guilty of wilful perjury . It was well known to judge , jury , witnesses , and all , jthafc [ the accused neither fired tho gun nor was twenty miles off , but actually in ttho village and in hip own house , whence he probbl
ay encouraged and directed his party . I-n this case the oath was a dead lettor j but wo have the evidence of a most intelligent Mohammedan gentleman and law officer , mentioned in Col . & mkgman ' i 3 Rambka and Recollections of an Indian Official , that by far tho larger portion of the Dativo community are restrained by an oath when they , would not otherwise hesitate to toll a falsehood ; and ho adduces a Btriking
judge asks us the question without an oath , we will say , yes : it will saTe nmch trouble , and we know that she did give the paper , thou g h we did not really see her give it ; but if he puts the Koran into our hands , we must say , no : for we should otherwise be pointed at by all the town as perjured wretches ; our enemies would soon tell everybody that we had taken a false oath . ' . Now , the form of an oath is a great check upon this sort of persons . " ,
example , « In taking an oath , " he savs "they are afraid of two things—the anger of God and * the odium of men . Only three davs ago I required a power of attorney from a lady of rank to enable me to act for her in a case pending before the court in this town . It was given to me by her brother : and two witnesses came to declare that she had given it . < Now * said I , < this lady is known to live under the curtain , and you will be asked by the judge whether you saw her give this paper ; what will you say V They both replied'If tie
There is another point on which it is desirable that more light should be thrown . The pleadings before the High Court will be conducted , as at present , before the Supreme Court , in . the English language . There . is no alternative , unless all the judges be required to know some of the native languages . But there is no apparent objection to such a requisition , except that it would confine the selection of judges to the memb ers of the Indian bax , and thus
diminish the value of the patronage of the Crown . As far as the administration of strict justice is Concerned , there would be great gain in . rendering it indispensable to the obtaining a seat on the Bench that the future judge should be well acquainted with the manners , customs , and idiomatic expressions of the people in whose disputes he will be called upon to adjudicate . And the prospect of this high prize would , undoubtedly , raise the character of the local bar , and stimulate its members to increased
exertions . As an instance of the absurdities which arise from t he judge ' s ignorance of the native tongue , an amusing dialogue may "be quoted that once took place in the Supreme Court . Interpreter— " Prisoner at the "bar , how will you be tried f J Prisoner— " Ap ma bap . " Judge— " "What does he say ?" Interpreter— " My Lord : he says he will "be tried by God and Ma country . "
JN ow , the literal signification of Ap ma bap is , You are my mother and father I" and simply means " just as you please , " " I leave myself in your hands : " it is a common answer with people too stupid or indifferent to express any particular wish . Perhaps one of the most important suggestions made by her Majesty's Commissioners is that which establishes one law for natives and Europeans . Hitherto , if a European committed
a crime on the extreme frontier of tho empire , the witnesses and himself had to be conveyed at a great expense to Calcutta , to appear before the Supremo Oourt . Tho natural consequence was that many offences were overlooked rather than incur the fatigue and costs of a long and tedious journey , together with the loss of much valuable time . And even when a prosecution was undertaken from a sense of justice or other motive , it was difficult to say who was the greater sufferer , tho victor or tho vanquished .
« In India Is Fikll To Five Times That *...
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The New Haoknky Proprietors' Souismk.—A....
The New Haoknky Proprietors' Souismk . —A . general adjourned meeting of tho London lmckuoy carriage proprietors was held on WeduoHrlay ovoning at tho Ooaoh nnd Horses , Maraham-flfcroet , Westminster , for tho purpose of considering the oxpcdioiioy of storting tho cabs as one-horso naetropolitun stage carriage ^ an a moans of supplying tho inoroasod accommodation ir » tonnaifc whioh tho roquiromontu of tho public demand . ltoaolutdons in accordance witli th « a < T views yravo unanimously earned , and it wfti rouolvcid to institute a , " London Orauibua Abboowtion . "
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), April 19, 1856, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_19041856/page/14/
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