FROM THE BENCH TO THE BAR.

Manawatu Herald, Volume III, Issue 48, 15 February 1881, Page 2

FROM THE BENCH TO THE BAR.

» It is generally understood tb&t amongst the greatest vexations of a Judge's life are the long addresses which members of the Bar inflict upon them, and. probably no occupant of tbe Bench-— either of the Supreme or the District Court— ever passes a year of his existence without regretting VittCrl j" the longwiadednesa of the Ban* If a learned Judge wara reminded that he* himseK was not a model oi brevity before being elevated, he would doubtless reply, " A.h, but I have learned batter now !" Yet there seem? to be sonic recondite induence that affects the legal mind, — or shall we say the legal tongue ? — causing the owner thereof to delight m talking by the hour, and in making Or* by (Quantity of words What his speech la'cka in quality. It is not often that one has* the opportunity of viewing the effect of a change from the Bench to the Bar. The chauge from the Bar to the Bench is comparatively common, but the descent fieo/ri. $ke lattar to the former is a thing one hardly sees in a lifetime It is what the Maoris call " the white crane cf rare appearance," and what naturalists call "a phenomenon seldom witnessed." How does the reduced one demean himself ? Are the proclivities of " the profession " extinct, or are the fires merely " banked," and ready to burst out with the old vigour directly the faint breeze of "clients' fees" blows adross the erstwhile judicial furnace? Alas! recent experience teaches that a Judge — at least one of the District Conrt — upon being relegated to the rank and file displayed to au eminent degree the longwindedness he so often deprecated when on the Bench. Mr Thomas Weston was until lately Judge of the Westland District Court, but was retrenched. He is now practising as a barrister in Christchurch, and appeared for th 6 defence in the recent case Ivess versus Crisp, which arose out of an alloged libel in the Ashburtou Mail. We will not refer to the merits of the case, except to record the fact than an enlightened jury gave a verdict against the ex-Judge's client. What we wish to point out is, that it is recorded that Mr Weston's speech for the defence occupied two hours ! " Tell it not in Gath ! mention it not in Asbkelon 1" The first speech the ex-Judge made in Court as a barrister occupied two full hours ! Fie, Mr Weston ! If you should ever again be raised to the Bench, would you be able to put on that meek, despairing look you so often gave as counsel still spoke on after the clook registered an address of onebour?