Henderson

Past Law, Present Histories

“…Chief Justice Sir Edward Willes noted that while the common law is a Christian institution, the substance of an oath predates Christianity, and has 'nothing to do with Christianity, only that by the Christian religion we are put still under greater obligations not to be guilty of perjury ...'. 12 While the forms of oaths may vary, the substance is the same: God in all of them is called upon as a witness to truth. 13 Thus, it followed that 'a man is not to be questioned as to his particular opinions, (as, whether he believes the gospels,) but, whether he believes in the Records (Ottawa: Government Printing Bureau, 1914), vol.…”

“…12 The varying conclusions in these works can be explained in part by the different subjects of the studies, as well as the differences of time and place. Jackson was examining non-consensual sexual activity, or the rape of (mostly) young children.…”

“…11 Despite such powers, the RSPCA prosecuted only 247 cases, or about 0.46 per cent, of all the complaints its inspectors investigated and, of those cases, 185, or about 75 per cent, resulted in convictions, a high success rate due to 'a very high proportion of guilty pleas'. 12 Despite the high success rate, courts rarely impose custodial sentences even though only serious cases are prosecuted and usually in cases involving 'extreme violence', often verging on sadism. 13 Most offenders are fined 'modest' sums and thus receive 'the least severe sentencing option'.…”

“…12 Baxter's enlistment of Bungaree was largely symbolic, and his placatory words either naive or cynical. Unless able to prove that they understood English and had a belief in a higher being in order to demonstrate the meaning of an oath, Aborigines were not able to be sworn as witnesses; neither, as Threlkeld and Biraban repeatedly found, could Aboriginal advisors be sworn as official translators.…”

“…In only eight cases out of the 68 was there a significant variation from this pattern. Two cases involved girls who might be described as either middle or lower middle class and working-class 78 82 Backhouse,[86][87][88]107;Ravished,[10][11][12][13] defendants. Catherine Bazeley was a baker's daughter from Leongatha whose father had employed the defendant as an apprentice.…”