The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1879-05-20 00:00:00

THE TIMBER POUND CANE.

--- --
At the hearing of the woniunns strainst Messrs. Ceorga
William Betts and Unnpany, in re:erenee to the timber
pound at Hartford-terrace. Mr. If :sward took at objection
that the niagistrate, Meer. It dams and Milledg,. had
no right to act as mateistrates and hear and decide this
cue, on the grounds that, they, as members of the Local
Boa rd, had taken an active part in the dicussions of the
matter in question and publicly exprassel their views,
and one, If not both, had been present when a resolution
had been passed to take these proosedings, and that their
acting would be an act of legal indecency and contrary to
justice, and by decisions expressly forbidden, and if they
so acted it would be like a judge sitting and deciding his
own matter. The magistrates considered they had an
express right stews them under a section in the Public
Health Act to act, and 41d act. The caw coals on for
bowing before the Q4Ollll a Beach on Thursday th , e 15th„
Mr. Channel, instrwted by Mr. It. N. Howard, appearing
on behalf of the applicant. ; and Mr. Pitt-Lswia appearing
on the behalf of the inagistratea, instructed by Mr. F. C.
Steggall. the Town Clerk, awl, after the case had been
gone into, without calling upon Yr. Channel' to reply or
argue the case, the Judges decided that the magistrates
were wrong, and had no right to take part in the case, and
made abasinge the rule for gertiorari. The Times gives the
following report :—This CYO raised • question whether
when the Town Council el a lxwough are, as is usual. the
Local II stud of Health, and institute • prosecution for any
breach of the Public Health Act, any uswistrate who la a
member of the Town Council can sit ae magistrate on the
bearing of the complaint In Use_pressnt case the Town
Cuenca of Weymouth, the Lical Board of Health, insti-
tuted • prosecution against certain_persects foe • violation
of the Act, and it wine before a BM& Of magistrate.,
three of whom were members of the Council. The parties
prosecuted were convicted. and they had 113 an
application for a certiorari to bring the oonviction Miters
the Court to be quathed, on the ground that these
magistrates were •' interested" as prosecotors In the case.
This application now CAM" 011 to be heard upon affidavit.
by the martian-sites that the prosecution, wlrich was for a
nuisance. bad beeu inantuted at the instance of some of
the inhabitants : that the nuisance was not disputed, and
that the resolution to prosecute was 110/1111111011A1 ; that the
magistrates referred to had taken no active part in ths
prosecution or in the hearing ; that they had none of
them any interest in the matter, otherwise than as
ithabitanta, and had only acted in the discharge of their
public duty; f Gilkey. that thews were seven
maelstroms present, • majority of whom were not
members of the Council. In answer to the application,
also, a provision in the Public Health Act of 1875 was
relied on, providing that no magistrates shell be incapable
of acting in caves under the act by reason of being a
member of any local authority. Mc. Upon these material'
the case came on to be heard and determined. Mr.
Channall was for the applicants, the defendant,; Mr. Pitt-
Lewis was for the magistrates in support of the
oeuvictien. The Court pointed out that Owe it appeared
the ruagl4rabs,s referred to had been, as members of the
Town Council, parties te the resolutiou to prosecute, no
that they were proescutors and Judges It was urged
they could sot help prosecuting; but to that the Court
replied they were not obliged to lii on the hearing of the
rant If they had not sat or taken any part in the bear.
ing it would have been otherwise: then the provisions in
the Act of 1875 would have allelic& But that enactment
did not warrant • party sitting as judge who w. also
prosecutor; and these magistrates were actually parties
to the ressoiutkt• to prosecute, and had than sat and taken
part In the bearing of the gas, td it rras impossible but
that they should be biassed. it 'waa a dangerous principle
to admit parties who had any bias or interest in a OM
should sit and act as jukw in the caw. It was • great
pity these gentlemen had sat as magistrate. :11 was not
necessary that they sbonld eft. It was repugnant to fret
principles tha a party utten,,bal sw.r.ild sit VI judge. It
might be the interest had no fudgew" but it apparently
affected the purity of justice. It was impossible to get
over the objection of the proceeding, and therefore the
order for a certiorari was made absolute,