The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1876-08-01
MUNIclrAL CoURTs.
How rAsy are ns.esea Here ana m Old

now They are manase4 Here and m Ola
/ ~ - En&lano. e
/ Referring TO the prvposltion Of reduc-
iny the number 6f tho municipal or
police courtA Of this city. we had an in
Iteresting conversation on the subject
with an sEnglishnan yesterday. a gen.
tleman OF fine ability, who has himself
occupied the position IN london OF com
mitting magistrate, and from which
soma Interesting facts tnAy be detluoed
IN rMis prTx
we aro hirtiened With no fewer than
seven m&Histrates, 1T an expense Of
little, II any, less than $40,OVU n year:
| Four Of these are called municipal
nagistrates and are appointed 10y the
l0overnor. and their jurisliction extends
Second, Third and Fourth Districts; la
| the Fifth, Sixth and seventh the, duties
| Of cotnmiftiDg tnaRietrates devolve by
law on the sstiees of the peace, who
are authorized to charge certain fees
Tor the duties performed by them, but
by agreement with the city receive Il
salary instead, The most Important
stIfees arc doubtless those Of the
First and Second Districts, and
long experience in these courts teaches
that the labor performed by these ma
gistrates amounts on an average to
three hours day. at most. during six
days OF the week. That they have tor
many years been poorly administered
besides, Is too evident to require repe-
iition OF the abuses and scandals OF
which they have been the scenes,
and it would be difficult to find in
stances TO cite since the days OF
the laInented A'Hern, where the judges
have shown themselves above me-
diocrity. On the contrary, several
have, in too many cases, proved
first water, and IN public notoriety
stands for anything like evidenee.the
city has besn enormously swindled by
the filse returns OF the fines collected
bv tIleae officinIn.s yT
That tho nunibersof our committing
magistrates
IS TOO LARaE
Is selfevident. and Ia comparison with
the English system IL is out OF all pro-
portion. and the proposed reduction Of
the number TO two would provide
all the eiiicaciousnsee required. In the
great city. OF Loudbn,t with over four
millions OF l'eopte. there are only six
teen OF these magistrates, or In the
iity thousand OF the population, or
jurisdiction over eight times larger than
our own.
THERE ARE ONLY TWO
for the great district OF Manchester,
with nearly one million and half Of
people. These magistrates have. be-
sides other duties, TO perform ex otftcio,
such as members OF the school COM
mission, etc. They are of necessity
barristers OF ten years standing
and. for their varied duties, receive
salaries Ringing from Gs00 to E24O0, the
chief magistrate receiving Aas. high s-as
e2500. Their duties begin al nine o'clock
in the morning and they are generally
occupied until five In the afternoon.
Their duties are certainly arduous, but
they are we'll paid in proportion TO the
Importance OF their Office, and can avail
themselves OF promotion-and they are
appointed for life or during good be-
havior.
IN STRIKING CONTRAST I
with our own system, no affidavits
Or writs OF arrests are required
In cases OF ofmisdemeanor. The practice
is simple and unique, aud IL controlled
mot by any law, but by custom and
common sense. The first part OF the
morning Is devoted to listening to com
pkAlut6 dSdlnSt OutUS6S leS5 tAhu
felony. The complainant appears in
person before the magistrate, who puts
nim under oath, and after listening TO
mis- complaint. cross-questions him I'm
order to ascertain Ii the complaint
is not trfliDg. Ii in the opinion
or the magistrate there are good
grounds to justify action in the matter,
ne orders a summons to be issued
against the person complained Of mot u
warranty to appear and answer the
charge, the time being within forty
eight hours. The complainant is ex
pected to be ready with his proofs on
the trial OF the case, and postponements
or delays do not occur.
THE DIFFERENCE
between this system aud our own Is
this: the most contemplate individual
can, here, on the most tritiing pre-
respectable citizen and by slipping
tive dollar note In the hands Of
policeman Qf such police
man can be found , have the accused
dragged from his business, or his bed,
and taken to Jail for an imaginary
offense, or at best one that does not
justify the law to put Il citizen 20 even
the Inconvenience OF furnishing bail for
his appearance. In England he might
not De aDle 10 oDthln even SUMMONS III
similar case and his pique or ven
geance would go unsatished.
IN THE MATTER OF FINES.
The magistrate Is provided by the
police with a "charge sheet" upon
which he enters, as the cases
are decided, the disposition he
has made OF them, and this
sheet, showing the fines imposed, is
handed to the clerk-an officer not de-
pendent OF the magistrate-who Ia his
turn hands it over, with whatever money
has been collected into the treasury, at
the end OF every month Here the
police magistrate simply makes a
weekly return In general terms OF the
amount received to the Administrator
OF Police.
The English magistrate has, besides,
jurisdiction in rent cases and other
smaller matters. BY statute he is also
empowered to accept or reject pleas OF
guilty in cases OF felony, where the
I