Secretarial practice

Responsible government in the Dominions (Vol. 1)

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1828236004

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-249926

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Secretarial practice

Edition:: fourth edition

Place of publication:: Cambridge

Publisher:: W. Heffer & Sons Ltd

Year of publication:: 1930

Scope:: viii, 987 Seiten

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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274 THE EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT [part II terms enacts the legality of the sentences in question, and provides that they shall be deemed to be sentences passed in the regular and ordinary course of criminal jurisdiction. This Board has no power to review these sentences, or to enquire into the propriety or impropriety of passing such an Act of Parliament. The only thing for persons who are subject to such an Act of Parhament to do is to obey. The question in this case arises under the Natal Act of Parliament in respect of offences committed in Natal, which Act has been assented to by the Governor and, having the force of law, is binding on their Lordships. The language of the Act appears to their Lordships to be subject to no question of doubt or ambiguity at all. Section 6 enacts that :— * All sentences passed by any Courts-Martial or by any Court or person administering Martial Law under the authority of the Governor or of the Commandant of Militia in Natal, or by any military officer purporting to exercise authority in that behalf, since the date of the aforesaid proclama- tion of 9th February, 1906, including fines and other punishments inflicted by military officers in the field, are hereby confirmed and made and declared to be lawful, and in so far as the same shall not have been already carried into effect, shall be deemed to be final sentences passed by duly and legally constituted Courts of this Colony, and no appeal shall lie in respect of same, but they shall be and remain in force and shall be carried out in the same manner as the sentences of the Courts of Law in this Colony.’ Under these circumstances their Lordships feel that it is impossible to entertain any question of appeal, and they will therefore humbly advise His Majesty to dismiss the Petition. Their Lordships are of opinion that in the circumstances of this case the Petitioner ought to pay the costs of the Petition. Thirdly, it has been discussed with some confusion of thought whether or not the Governor is required to act on ministerial advice in proclaiming martial law. The answer is of course legally that he is not bound ; he is never bound to act on ministerial advice, and still less so when he may incur even with an indemnity act personal responsibility, and, even if he is safe from chance of criminal conviction, runs the risk of being in a troublesome position. No Governor wishes to be haled before magistrates, as happened in the case of Eyre! or to have a Chief Justice delivering a long address to a grand jury in which he possibly figures as the villain. But it is clear that this is precisely one of the 1 3Q. B. 487; cf. Parl. Pap., Cd. 4403, p. 129. =

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