Review of Reviews, I/S/06 



Law and Order. 



131 



of enforcement, and in every civilised community 

 the policeman stands as the emblem of that power, 

 the outward aj:d visible sign of the presence and 

 power and authority of Law and the necessity and 

 possibility^ of Order. He is the representative of 

 the force which has been created to preserve the 

 people's liberties, to stop the encroachment of the 

 lawless upon the law-abiding, to go so far as physi- 

 cal demonstrations of compulsion should a member 

 of the community prove rebellious. Indeed, the term 

 which is on our lips most often with regard to the 

 nomenclature of this department, " The Force," 

 shows how the principle of compulsion, of authority, 

 of active administration, is recognised as belonging 

 to those who have the fulfilment of Law and the 

 observance of Order in hand. 



Thgre is therefore no excuse for laws on the Sta- 

 tute book not being enforced. The man in charge 

 has all the machinery at hand to do it. It is the 

 intention of Legislatures when framing laws to have 

 them enforced. Otherwise, legislation is a piece of 

 lunacy. When an Act is passed it is practically put 

 into the Administrator's hand, with full authority 

 and abundant power to carry it into effect. The 

 legislators have for the time done with it. It is in 

 the hands of the Head of the Department, who is 

 to see that its provisions are carried into effect. Up 

 t') this point it is an intangible thing. He is to tum 

 it into a form appreciated by outward sense, make 

 it visible and tangible. He has no option but to do 

 this. That is what he is there for. If he does not 

 wish tT enforce it, he should resign. Certainlv he 

 has no right to discriminate as to what laws shall 

 or shall not be enforced, and he has no authority to 

 determine the extent to which they shall be enforced. 



ENPORCB OE EEPEAIi. 



// a lanv be on the Statute hook, it should be en- 

 forced. If it be a bad law, and the enforcement 

 would cause wrong to be inflicted on anyone, then 

 the law ought to be repealed. It has no business to 

 be en the Statute book. But the Administrator has 

 no authority to exercise his personal opinion upon 

 any law. Good or bad. the law should be enforced. 

 That would be the quickest way of getting a bad one 

 repealed. Non-administration of it would only leave 

 it on the Statute book to work harm to someone when 

 an Administrator chose to jiut it in force. Parlia- 

 ment, as representing the j)eople, is the authority 

 upon the laws which govern the country. There can 

 be no loophole, however tiny, in this principle. To 

 allow an administrator liberty in the enforcement of 

 law would be to allow one man to flout Parliament 

 and override its decisions. It would undermine 

 the very foundations of law and order. Besides. 

 why should the breaker of one law be protected above 

 thf breaker of another law? Justice is supposed to 

 be blind. In the eyes of the law all men are equal. 

 In a whole row of shops in a street, the law should 

 apply to each one without fear or favour. If one 

 l^e subject to the law of closing, another should be. 



If the poor man break a law and is punished, the 

 rich man should be punished also. Rigid enforce- 

 ment of law by those in authority is indispensable. 



WHICH APPLIES CHIEFLY TO VICTOfilA. 



But while these principles apply generalTy to all 

 civilised peoples, the application of them in some 

 quarters is quite another thing. Taken generally, 

 law is administered faithfully in our States. It is 

 the exception to have lax administration. But that 

 makes the exceprion all the more discreditable. In 

 a country where corruption is rife, lax administra- 

 tion is not so much to be wondered at ; but when 

 good examples are all round a man, and his is about 

 the only bad one, his shows up all the more glar- 

 ingly. With regard to our Customs Department, for 

 instance, administration is stringent. And so it ought 

 to be. The necessity for administration of every 

 law cannot be emphasised too much. " Enforce or 

 repeal " ought to be drummed into the ear of every 

 departmental chief. A little time ago, an Early 

 Closing measure was put through the Victorian 

 House. How strictly that law was observed every- 

 body knows. There is no fault to be found with 

 that. We stand for strict administration every time. 

 But a month or two ago, the law with regard to the 

 smoking of opium came into force, and nothing was 

 done to enforce it till the Chief Secretary's adminis- 

 tration was attacked. And while generally adminis- 

 tration is good, the Victorian Chief Secretary's de- 

 partment is so laxly administered that the liquor 

 dealer, the gambler, and the keeper of the house of 

 ill-fame break the law with ease and with little con- 

 sequence of ill to themselves. 



GOOD GOVERNMENT AND THE SAFETY OP THE PLTBLIO. 



Now this is contrary to the basic principles that 

 stand for good government and public safety. If 

 the law be administered laxly in one respect, it is 

 rea.sonable to suppose that it will be so administered 

 in others, and a citizen whose rights are invaded 

 may here and there lay hold of the law expecting a 

 support, only to find he has clutched a broken reed. 

 If it be administered laxly with regard to drinking 

 and gambling, burglary and murder may be similarly 

 treated, and where would the community be then ? 

 Citizens surely fail to grasp the necessity for the 

 upholding of the general principle of the obsenance 

 of law. 



WHICH EELATE8 TO GAMBLING— 



But in Victoria gamblers have flouted the law for 

 years, and little effort compared with what might 

 have lieen has been put forth to .suppress them. A 

 few efforts have lately culminated successfully, and 

 the community is thankful for this, but after all the 

 Collingwood ." Tote " remains, and betting is carried 

 on in city clubs despite what has been done. It is 

 quite true that our laws relating to gaming sadly 

 re<:]uire amendment. It is hard to trap the man who 

 keeps a gaming shop, but nevertheless it can be 

 done. Out of date though the weapon is, it would 



