FATE 20
334
3.
performance of his Duties.
The post of Sheriff has from time to time been held by Officers holding Colony appointments in the administration, as no one could be found to take the post for the sake of a matter of stipend. It was a matter of surprise that no Person should have been found willing to accept the appointment.
The main question which presented itself was how to provide for the Sheriff the means of meeting the heavy Fees incident to the office.
On many occasions the Sheriff, who in this Colony is of necessity an unprofessional man and cannot afford to take legal advice, has been harassed by fears and threats of actions at the suit of litigants for alleged wrongful acts of commission or omission in the discharge of his Duties, and it is getting proper advice in doubt, without relieving him unduly of that feeling of responsibility which is the best incentive to the diligent performance of his functions.
In the Bill which I drafted it was provided that he should be empowered to apply summarily to the Court in cases of debt and difficulty, and that he should...