THE LATE MR. GULLY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 54, 27 November 1907, Page 8

THE LATE MR. GULLY.

TRIBUTE FROM BENCH AND BAR;

ELOQUENT PANEGYRICS.

There was a large' gathering of members ofthc Wellington Bar iii.tlio Supreme Court yesterday morning to pay'attribute of respect' to tlio memory'of their lato'. lamented col-' league, Mr. Hugh Gtilly,:. It was fitting, in a 361150, that the sad ceremony' should intervene during, the progress-of; tho Criminal Sessions, with which his name! had long been associated as Crown Prosecutor,,.and that the audionco should include', such .'an-array of friends, witnesses, and;officials, with most' of whom he had.for many years boon familiar. Tho Attorney-General (the Hoii. J. G. Findlay, K.C., LL.D.), who had crossed; swords with, Mr. Gully in many a friendly, forensic bout, : was thcro in tho post of honour as official.leader of the Bar. Alongside him stood the chief of Mr. Gully's late firm, Mr. 11. D. Bell, K.C. There wore also tho other partners of Messrs. Bell, Gully, Bell, and Myers (Mr. Ernest T."D. Bell and Mr. M. Myers), also suc'li iintiinato personal friends for many years as Mr;. C. P. Skerrett, K.C, Mr. Alexander Gray,'and Mr. D. G. A.' Cooper (Registrar of the Supremo .Court). Tho Court was crowded .when the proceedings opened, and the scene-when-the Chief Justico took his seat, followed by, Mr. Justice Cooper and Mr. Justice Button-, was impressive in tho highest degree; The Attorney? General's speech fulfilled the; high expectations with which it was awaiteg, and was by general acclaim a masterpiece, of classical eloquence. Sir Robert Stout, although his panegyric was briefer, also rose to the occasion, and in the graceful and dignified languaco always ready at his command, convoyed an admirable appreciation of the do-, parted gentleman's personal'and professional worth. .'

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL!S SPEECH,

■Tlio Attorney-Generali . lvlip , spoke, .in measured and feeling tones', ■■said:—Before your Honours proceed with the duties of the day, I desire, on behalf of this- Wellington District Law Society, and of the wholo profession in New Zealand, to : express the profound sorrow universally felt at tho death of tho late Mr. Hugh Giilljv,' I :speak for tho whole profession of Now ■'..Zealand; not? merely because I'happen tp'betbo official representative of it, but tho illustrious monibor who • has'passed. away was known, admired, and loved, py his professional brothers throughout the length and breadth of these islands..; Bui; horo in Wellington, where we knew him. juost-intimately, we feel his loss most "keenly. 'For more than thirty years the profession in Wollington has been able to .trace, his. rise), from his beginnings as an .unknown-, law student to his. crowning successes asi one-of.-the most conspicuous leaders the. New ,-Zealand lias over had; and we feel: that we are hero ito-day to mourn one, conspicuous, not only for his great abilities as.'-Lo.-.-barristcr, but also for his bight rectitude of, character, and for all the graces of the hear|..that made him one of the most beloved of our,, community, tho pathos of the.. prcsqnt. moment is intensified by tho reflection- that these walls surround the arena ..where- in .his strenuous years of life he won his most- triumphant successes. Before this Justice Seat, and in this Court, for over thirty years, or nearly thirty years, he' won a reputation and maintained it, not only tor■ -brilliancy, but for the highest sense of honour and the utmost kindliness of heart;■',: Success 'is often won by qualities which make'-no friends —tho hard, keen, relentless course,;,often leaves a man. at the zenith * of-.-success friendless and alone-;but Hugh Gully fouiid accompanying his triumphs honour, loyo,' arid troops of friends. And well; he might expect that crown.- Many a time, -here in this place, when the heavy burden of:his Bar work sat upon him, when he was harassed with anxieties about a succession of cases, one would find him* amid all these perplexities, maintaining that same courtesy which was unfailing and unforced; and no matter under what trying circumstances one had to■ .interview him, lie never failed to be the kindly, gonial gentleman that marked his whole career oii'tllis'jearth. -He bore no malice; blade straight and steel true himself, his. weapons at the Bar were never envenomed. No arena tries the qualities or "mettle of manhood more than .the Bar. Tho temptation to ignoble methods—the mean advantages begotten of the strife, begotten of the struggle for victory, the trials of. temper, of fairness, of tho qualities that men . honour/ aro great—but throughout this thirty years. *pf our departed brother's professional life, who ever found him to "bo. anything but an honourable, chivalrous, ' and magnanimous opponent? Brilliancy at the Bar may win admiration, but it could never van the deep affection which we all felt for the one who has passed away. That affection goes beyond, tho intellect to the heart M\d, Sir, it lay in the personality of; Mr, (Jujly-M.he true characteristics which made him so well beloved was -in himself.!/ '■'. The geniality which he always -'carried _ with him, no matter what' his'stj-ess ■ of circumstances might be, made Mm,; probably, the most popular member:-.of tho profession m Wellington. Who has not felt tho genial influence of his nature? Who has not- liad the dusty path of daily. practice brightened by his cheerfulness.and by his wit, as well as by thoso kindnesses which ho carried about with him like an atmosphere? To all those qualities ho added those of-'true.culture; the grace of culture, art, and literature reflected themselves in his tongue, his'pen, and his pencil, not obtruding but unconscious, wearing them lightly like a -dowerl It is difficult to find so'uniquc a typo of high manhood, and the feelings'which are. almost too deep for words, aro due, as il havo said, not to the intellectual side entirely, porhaps\ but to that personality which had all the human kindliness and grace to which I have referred. Wo mourn not only his loss, but /tho loss his helpmate has.; sustained. One of tho saddest incidents .of the close of his glorious career is the fact that it leaves foreshortened in tho track of timo a married life which promised' a golden, harvest of happy days, and we surely'feel oven more deeply that she is left alone.'—: truo with memories of one she cap-cherish to her dying dny, but with that sense of insulierablo loss wliich must accompany her to the grave: No oiie, I tako leavo to say, will fill his place in our hearts; the possession.he ; 'held over us was unique. We were proud of. him, as a member of our honourablp profession;' wo admired him as an honourable'citizen, but we each mourn him as bno of our truly-loved departed friends. Others, and•• some xf thoso who walked with equal s.tep throughout most of his life, would be hero to-day, but, unfortunately, one of those, and. one of his oldest associates, Mr. Martin Chapman, ia laid aside by illness, and could not be hore to-day, but ho is with us in spirit. Sir, I havo lio moro to add. Words are not easily mado the medium of truo grief;, true sorrow is not easily expressed. : ' '.' Quis desiderio sit pudor aut modus tarn cari capitas?" THE CHIEF JUSTICE'S ! SPEECH. The Chief Justice, rising from his seat, liis collcaguos also rising, said:—Mr. Attor-ney-General and Gentlemen- of the Ear, — There are one or two words which I would wish to say on this occasion. I am bound to say that I am speaking-.not for myself only, but for the whole Bench in Now Zealand. Wo considered that it.\y»s only fitting that public reference should be mado on this occasion to tho untimely death of Mr. Gully. Ho has been known to us for very many years—known to us' not only as a distinguished member of the Bar, but as one who, with all tho strenuousn'ess of the advocate's profession, never forgot that ho was a Minister of justice, and that it was his highost aim and highest ■ duty to seo that justice was dono. As has been wo|l said, it was owing to no..mealiness, and to no subterfuge in carrying on ..the 1 work of his profession, however strenuous, on bohnlf of his cliont, that ho owed his universal estoem. His loss has como upon us all, I am sure, with surprise He might havo looked forward—as • we looked forward—to many more years of distinction and usefulness in his profession and in his country, but that silent onemy, which calls on overyone, has called on him, and ho has passed away. Ho tvns, as has been well said,-not only a distinguished lawyer, but a man of artistic temperamont, and I do not know—if ho had followed tho profession of .his father—that he would not havo been as,,distinguished in

art as he was in lair. Ido not know tbnt anything further is.to bo said m-roference to him than this—that lie- was not only an ablo membor of the profession, but} lie was also a . good citizen, and one whoso conduct and duty wore such as to cause everyone with whom he camo in contact to reypre and love him. I hopo that this public expression of sympathy may, perhaps, mitigate or soft-en the great blow that has falloiron his young ,wife and on his relatives, fan'dl that in tho 'midst of their sad.bereavement and irreparable loss they may be comforted by the thought that thoy are not alone in mourning bis doparture, but all those with whom ho camo in contact revered and loved him', and* Jfcoked upon his -loss as personal to themj'WlVCS.. • ' . ■-■ .•; .• ;.: ■' The Magistrate's Court was, c)osed yesterdsjy'" afternoon, out of respect to the memory of'deceased. ' * ■. " . ■y .' '■■.:' ; >i-:- . THE FUNERAL'

- .Tile interment of the late JJr. Gully-took' place at the Taita Cemetery, Lower Rutt,. yesterday, afternoon. There was a largo and representative attendance.'' ThV'weather was cloudyjand leaden, and a slight 1 drizzle beganto fall ,-as the • procession. of mourners lined up outsido the residence of Mr. Robert Lee (air.! Gully's brother-in-law) on the Belmont Koad. Almost all the members : 'of the Wellington !r, l3:_ir wore present,' as 1 iwell as the Chief Jiistice (Sir Rriljert Stout); Mr. Justice Cooper,i and Mr. Justice The Magisterial rßench was ; represented. by Dr.' A. . M'Arthyr, S.M., ; and Mr. W. G. Riddel],.S.M., Wellington, while the Concourse' in-' eluded members of the Ministry of bothi'"' branches of the Legislature, of public,bodies,, and Justices of the .Peace. Amongst' th'a most prominent of the.early arrivals were thv Right Hoii; Sir J. G. Ward; 'PIC. (Prime ' Minister), "And the Hon.' Dr. Findlay, KtC. (Attorne j , -(reneral); Dr; T.' CaHill, Messta. T. M. Wilford, and W. : ». Field 1 , M.H.R'.'s, as well a's many other personal friends of the late Mr.' Gully. The colfin, which was surmounted I with a number of beautiful wreaths, bore thor'simple inscription" Hugh Gully, died _ November 24, 1907, ag<id-. fifty-two years'." 1;: , • ' "t: • The chief , v mourners were Messrs. Robert Lee • (brother-in-law), R. Hugh Lfce, "Lincoln Leo, and Lee (nephews),'and H.-M. Heywood (husband of Mr. Gully's'niece). Mr. H. V. Gully, Town Clerk of' Nelson, brother to the 1 deceased gentleman;: was unable to arrive in time for the funeral,'as h'B happened to bo away in the back country of Collingwood at the time of his, ? brother's death, but. he, forwarded a messago' ! of sympathy to MrSJ'Gully.' 'the number'of telegrams of;c(ftid6lence received from Jail parts of the Dominion was. very ]argc , . n I Wreath! were sent by ,Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Rawsou, Miss Skerrettf -Mrs.- Harold Jofirißton, Mr. Harold Coon'orj. 1 and members of'!the staff o! Bell, Gully, 'aliid Cooper (Palmerstpn North),' Mr. and Mri! Alexander Gray, Utri... and' Mrs. - I'ourig, Mr. Jhd !I Mrs. C. H. Treadwell, members of the W'fellcsley Club, tin! I 'Wellington Law Society,'' Messrs. Russell and Campbell. (Auckland), J -Mf? C. P. Skeitett,' 'K. 0., Messrs. Logan, 1 : Williams, • arid- Campbell (Napier), and"th'<-i Bellevue Gardens Proprietary. About 'forty cabs and' other vehicles conveyed tlio mourners to the- quiet and pio- ; turesque little cemetery at whera, ( the remains were laid to rest. The Rev.' Joshua Jones,"'6f ,r the Lower Hutt, recited the last grave, according to the' rites of the ChU'rch 1 of England;. . ■ ; \ > . -i n{-.' _i -. , , .-,