OBITUARY

Evening Post, Volume XCVIII, Issue 38, 14 August 1919, Page 7

OBITUARY

MR. JACKSON PALMER.

The death occurred yesterday of Chief Judge Jackson Palmer, of. the Native Land Court, from lethargic encephalitis, from which he had been suffering for some considerable time. Born in Belfast, Ireland, in 1867, Mr. Palmer came to New Zealand when very young, and was educated at the Auckland College and Grammar School. After leaving' school he was articled as a lawyer to the late Hon. John Sheehan, formerly Minister for. Justice and Native Minister, with whom he remained for some years. After being admitted as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand, he for some time practised in Auckland. Later he was admitted a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of Samoa, in which, as well as in the Court of the High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, he figured in many important cases. In the famous election of 1890 ho was elected as member of the House of Representatives for the Waitemata seat, as a supporter of the Liberal Party. For six years he occupied that position, and in 1899 contested tho Ohinemuri seat, which he won against six other candidates. He retired from politics three years later, and was subsequently appointed a Judge of the Native Land Court, where his knowledge of Maori laws and customs was of very great value. On the. death of Mr. Seth Smith he was appointed to the position of Chief Judge, and held that honourable position up to the time of his death. In his capacity as a politician the late Judge Palmer was a strong and faithful and frequently eloquent supporter of' the Ballance and Seddon Gdvernments, and as a Judge of the Native Land Court he. was remarkable for his sound knowledge of law and his intimate acquaintance with Native-" customs and traditions. In private life ho was of a quiet,' somewhat retiring, disposition, with a host of. friends, all of whom will heai\of his death with deep regret. Ho leaves a widow, but no family. . . ,