The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-12-25 00:00:00

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THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

conduct the prosecutions fairly and bring oat t*:e
evidence according to established rule's. The fact
was he was confronted with a state of things of
this kind: Tnere were the Magistrates' Clerk, the
Superintendent of Police, and a body of magis-
trates before him, all of them cross-examining his
poor unfortunate witness at the same time—
(mush es and cheers); and what was more un-
fortunate, if tbey found that a pair timid witness
stammered or hesitated under such an ordeal they
said he was prevaricating—(laughter). He did not
hesitate to say that that was not a ptats of things
that shoeld exist," &c. Mr. Stokes on that occa-
sion, seeing magistrates present, invited them to
take heed te what he had said, and he (the Mayor)
having been at the c inner—though he had left
before Mr. Stokes made his speech—had taken
heed, and had invited Mr. Stokes to come there
that morning and listen to what he had to say.
With reference to the complaints that Mr. Stokes
thought proper to make to his friends the licensed
vic'uallers, two courses were open to him. Having
himself sat as a magistrate, and long practised in
that e tart, he might, if he thought fit, have
addressed the magistrates, and have called their
attention to any course of procedure which he
thought admitted of alteration, and supposing he I
had failed to gain redress, and if he thought the
matter of sufficient importance, I e might even
have gone to the Lord Chancellor, who exercised
jurisdiction over all borough magistrates, and he
would have seen that right should be done. Mr.
Stokes did not thine it necessary to take that
course, bat he thought it more becoming to make
these charges at the dinner of the Licensed Victual-
lers' Association. With regard to the matter com-
plained of, the course taken in that court was such
as had always been adopted since the constitution
of the borough Bemis and it was still more strange
to say the course that was adopted dur:ng the time
that Mr. Stokes sat on the Bench—to yours FIA
Mayor and one ye sr as ex-Mayor—and during the
whole of that period, when he had the power un-
doubtedly to call the attention of the magis.rates
to the course of procedure to which he now obj scted
not one single word was said upon that subject,
and he (the Mayor) learned from the magistrates'
clerk that no complaint, or even a suggestion of a
complains, was ever made during the three years
upon the matter, The magistrates of the borough
were publie servants, and their conduct was open
to observation and liable to be inquired into, and
punishment awarded, if necessary, by the Lord
Chancellor, and on behalf of the magistrates of that
borough he (the Mayer) now publicly required Mr.
Stokes to formulate those charges which he made
at the Licen3ed Victualler,' dinner, and send them
to the Lord Chancellor in order that a fit and
proper inquiry should be instituted. He as a
magistrate eleclined to be arraigned before the
licensed victuallers, to be put upon his trial as it
were, before them, but was willin,r to be pat upon
his trial before a'competent julge, and he dared
say the magistrates would meet every charge made
against them. Mr. Stok a was good enough to
indicate the course that should be taken in these
matters. He suggested that every case ef mis •on-
duct on the part of licensed victuallers should be
first a quired into by the Watch Committee,
Mr, St ,kes must know that the Watch Committee
had no power whatever of bringing cases before
them, and probably it did not escape his attention
that -Mr. Challingsworth, the president of the
Licensed Victuallers' society, was also a very
active member of the Watch Committee; so that in
point of fact it came te this, that no licensed vic-
tualler we sto be brought before the Justices un-
less it met wit:i the approval of Mr, Challings-
worth. His Worship then again called upon Mr.
S.okt s to properly formulate his charges and sub-
mit them to the Lord Chanceller, and he further
requested the magistrates' clerk (Mr. Barradale)
to call a general meeting of the magistrates that
day fortnight to further consider the question.--
Mr. Stokes rose to reply, and was met with the re-
ma.sk from the Mayor, that he had better address
the Lord Chancellor.—Mr. Stokes: I claim the
rig* to address you, sir. Proceeding, he said, the
Mayor had asked him to attend there that morniag,
and he therefore claimed the privlige to reply.
His reply was this,and espe +illy as some inaccura-
cies had entered into the Mayor's speech, it was
only right that he (Mr Stokes) should put them
st,aight. He would first say, however, that thee
Mayor was not tee first magistrate who had cm-
wit ed a great indiscretion in making comments
from the Bench about his public:utterances. What
he chose to say in public was not a matter for com-
ment in that court. He should have felt it his duty
in accordance with his dignity and self-respect to
have met these remarks with perfect silence ; but
he was rather pleased than otherwise that the
Mayor had givea him the opportunity by his com-
ments to still further extend he remarks that he
(Mr. Stokes) made the other evening. Before he
did so be wi-hed, however, to make this correction,
that he did not intend those observations to apply
to the entice Beach of magistrates ; it was a purely
psrsonal matter. He was bound to say the licensed
victuallers who had been represented by him from
time to time in that court had received from the
general body of magistrates every possible respe
which was due to the humblest person who entersd
the Court. He spoke now with special reference
to the magistrates who sat on Mondays and Wed-
nesdays, and his observations were not intended to
apply to any of them. He further wished to
correct a statement which appeared to have wrongly
impressed the mind of the Mayor, viz, that he
wished the chargcs against licensed victuallers to
be brought before the Watch Committee first an I
investigated by them. Such a thing never entered
his mind, and what he said, and what he now re-
peated, was that all police charges should be su ) -
ported in that Court es in other courts by pro-
fessional men engaged by the police. He did not
think it was a part of the Town Clerk's duty, as
Town Clerk, ts conduct such prosecutions, but as
he was connected with that public body he °tight
to be employed by the police to conduct these cases
in a proper manner, and as c inducted in other
courts. He (Mr. Stokes) reiterated everything he
said the other evening as to the e oiduct of victual-
lers' cases in that court, and he would say their
cas -s were net,condueted in the way they ought to
be. He made no irnputat!ons as to the motives of
anybody, but he said there was an irregularity as
to the mode in which those cases were conducted.
In answer to the Mayor's observations, ,when he
(Mr. Stokes) had anything to say about such mat-
ters he had never gone behnd the backs of the
magistrates, but had always raised his protest in
that court, but had fouud that his complaints had
not been met with the response he had a right to
expect, and when he had the opportunity of calling
attention to these matters in the presence of other
magistrates he had availed himself or the opportu-
ni y. He did so on V.lts occasion of a case in which
he appeared a she complainedortep,g f
O;
othetheMaoyboserrvwatotounlds
recollect that h
weieh oae of the magistrates choose to make to
his client's wife, a woman .of the highest respecta-
bility, amid he should again complain of anything
else which occurred, and vhen he thought was
vvr.ns. His client's witnesses were cro es-ex-
arnined by three different sets et persons.—Mr.
Barradale : That I deny.—Chief-Supt, Burt su : 1
did not examine them.—Mr. Stokes: The pence,
the magistrates' clerk, and one of the magistrates,
each cross-examined them, and I thought it right
to make the observations.—The Mayor : With
reference to the wrongs done your client in th is
Court, you had better adopt the suggestion I made,
and have a proper enquiry by the Lord Chancellor.
—Mr. Barradale : Especially as the justice ho is
now atroking is absent, and cannot reply.—The
Mayor s4.id if Mr. Stokes declined to take that
c urse he had no doubt the magistrates would
themselves about some mode of action by which
their condnct should be inquired into upon the
charges made against them. The Be :ch would
now en ter into no fuither discussion, but proceed
with the ordinary busiuese—Mr. Stokss said he
should continue to make soy observation he liked
when he felt there was anything wrong in the ad-
ministration of justice in that Court.—Mr. Ban's-
dale: What I have to say about myself I will say
through the Press to shew whether the remarks are
inconsistent or not.—The Mayor said he found
charges made that the magistrates, having to try a
case worked themselves let° a state of partisan-
shipi
wh ch was most improper, and t was plain
that magistrates who so conduct themselves were
not fit to sit upon the Bench, therefore to tee
should be new justices, and the Lord Chancellor
should see it to get rid of some of the old ones.—
Mr. Stokes : I hope so.—The ordinary business of
the Court was then proceeded with, Mr. Stokes de-
fending in one of the first cases heard.