Page 32 - Keeping the Peace

26 Keeping the Peace – A History of Honorary Justices in Victoria
1950s: loyal to the British Empire
The role of the JP during this period was no doubt influenced by a desire to preserve domestic security. It was reported that during a JP conference in Wangaratta, attendees were told that, ‘Every JP, irrespective of his political views, must be truly anti-communist, for no man could be loyal to a communist regime and swear his allegiance to the King’.
Upon the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953, JPs were invited to restate their commitment to England:
“We are Members of the Judiciary, commissioned by Her Majesty, for a specific duty in our own particular sphere. We are commissioned from among the people, because it is believed, by experience, we know the tempo of the people and are fit and proper people to preserve Her peace and maintain Her laws, tactfully, discreetly, and with all the dignity becoming a person so highly honoured. It is the Commission of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, who has so recently dedicated Herself to Her People, that we now hold. Her Oaths are inseparable from those taken by each JP and She is entitled to the best each can give”48
However, questions about their role and integrity continued to be raised in the press. In the mid-1950s, the Melbourne newspaper The Argus ran articles documenting the apparent incorrect handling of cases in Melbourne’s 227 suburban and provincial courts by JPs. The main issue under debate was their personal knowledge of defendants, which meant the punishment might be more lenient in some cases or, in others, harsher, depending
48 ‘The Justice of the Peace’, 15 June 1953, p 3-4.