Our History – Vice-Regal Advice: “Keep Up Standards”

In 1933 His Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, was the guest speaker at the Annual Meeting of the Auckland Justices of the Peace Association. His advice was to maintain the highest standards… “take every step in your power to prevent unworthy people from joining your ranks. If the office of Justice of the Peace is to be held in high honour and repute it is important that it be restricted to men and women who have clean lives and upright characters, who have a reasonable standard of education, a good knowledge of the world and their fellow countrymen, and judgment that can be relied upon to be sound, fair and unprejudiced…”. His Excellency continued “…if you can manage to prevent those who don’t have those qualifications from entering your ranks, you will do much to raise the prestige of this organisation with individuals ready to play whatever part might be added to their duties”.

Researched and compiled by Ric Carlyon